HM Treasury Positions

I have also applied for the job zinzin88 done all the tests but, i keep getting messages from SHL telling me to complete the tests I hope everything fine

I think there was a slight problem with the SHL site a couple of days ago. I got an email from the Treasury office saying they had to "refresh" everything....but it's all sorted now.

You could always contact Tribal Resourcing/SHL to confirm that everything's okay. The office number will be at the bottom of the email they sent with your username/password.

How did you find the tests? Did you have enough time to get everything done? I'm going to take the final one (numerical) on Thursday. I want to spend a bit more time looking over currency conversions/percentages.

Hey,

I've applied too... There was a problem with the Situational Judgement testing, but I phoned them up and they sent me a new link. They assured me that everyone is having issues, as there is a problem with the link.

I found the practice numerical reasoning really difficult, however, I gave the real test a shot, i didn't finish had one or two left at the end, i generally find them quite hard. The verbal was ok, still a bit of an eye strainer though.

the situational judgement, i don't know if there are any right answers or if they just want to test how you would respond to certain situations, so it's hard to tell......

hope you guys find them okay and am looking forward to hearing back from them - wonder what the next stage is......!!

Having problems with the Situation Judgement Testing!

They've provided a link which goes on to ask for a Username/Password, i've used the username/password provided which works for SHL, but doesnt work for this!!!

Is the link the same one you guys got (asks for username password)? Or did the link go straight to the test?

HELP!

(I have emailed them and called earlier around 4.30pm... no reply no pickup!)

The Situational Judgement test didn't require a username or password. You just click the link and you pretty much go straight through to the test. You have until COP tomorrow to complete the test, so don't panic. Just get on the phone first thing in the morning.

Hi, yes, they have been having issues with user name and password. Call them they will send you a link that takes you straight through.

• Goodluck*

I've been a bit worried about taking the numerical test. As I mentioned before, the time restrictions are a bit too tight for me. So, I phoned up the testing office to see if there are any time extensions for people with dyslexia..... It turns out that dyslexics only have to do the Situational Judgement test!

I wish I'd found that out before I completed the Verbal Reasoning test....but I suppose it WAS good practise.

ZinZin,
I'm surprised at dyslexics only having to do one of the three tests! Handy for you though!! Thought they might have used a different percentile pass mark, interesting...
Have you found that at any other organisations??

Once you have finished all tests, do they email you confirming you have done so?

Plus, is everyone here applying for the Policy Advisor position?

If so, are you all Economists?

hey,

has anyone received e-mail for the interview yet?
how long do you think it might take ?

I was initially surprised too ucayman. But, the more I think about it the more it makes sense. The severity of dyslexia and its impact on test results is such an individual thing. There are some dyslexics who excel at competency tests. But, if you asked them to write a ministerial speech/prepare a concise briefing from complex data, then they'd run screaming from the room. They just wouldn't be up to the job.

Whereas, other dyslexics might fail a verbal/numerical test miserably....even though they had the skills to do the job very well. There's just something about the test conditions themselves......

I just don't think that setting a standard percentile for ALL dyslexics would work. Where would you set the pass/fail mark if you knew that THE TEST ITSELF was the stumbling block for many people with dyslexia?

Dyslexia just means that you process information differently - not that you're dumb. I think that it's a good thing that the Treasury recognises this.

Tan-kut,

The HMT office said it could be a couple of weeks before we hear anything.

anyone heard anything from them yet? :s

I really do hope I performed adequately ,on the numerical test particularly, because numerical tests have not usually been my strong suit. Look you zinzin you do not have to complete the numerical test. How will they determine that you are really dyslexic ?

I am as anxious as you are to hear from treasury , nishpooat, and take consolation from the fact that 14 days have hardly elapsed

vbector

I have been checking my email account everyday, in eager anticipation of Treasury job news, for the past two weeks. And, so far nothing! It is a little frustrating. But, I'd be more worried if I was the only one waiting for news.

In terms of my dyslexia......I was officially tested for the condition whilst studying at university. They give you lots of paperwork that can be shown to lecturers/employers, if necessary. Or, I suppose the employer could go directly to the testing board themselves.

I know what you mean about the numerical test though. I took the practice one on the shl site and found that tough to complete within the time limit. Was the actual test harder/easier than the practice?

The actual test was tougher, more questions, I tried to use logic towards the end by adding and subtracting the figures in the table .

If you find any treasury job news please inform me.

Are you also based outside the UK ?

zinzin, if you think you have dyslexia i would let the hr people know and then provide them with the details of the place where you were tested for dyslexia. they will then be able to help out, i think.

i got a reply from them yday and have been invited for an interview.

has anyone been to the assessment days and do you know what type of interview it is?? they also told me i have to do a presentation, do you know that they look for here?

any help would be greatly appreciated.

thank you!

I wouldn't worry about it. It wouldn't surprise me if SHL purposely gave candidates less time than they needed.

now that nishpat has been invited for an interview would you say the opportunity has gone zinzin, or should I wait for a reply.

Do u have any leads zinzin ?

Hmm. I don't know vbector. I think it would be wise to start applications for at least one other position.

has anyone heard since?

Have you had your interview nishpopat?

how did it go?

how many positions were there?

hey sazio,

yea i had my interview. not sure how it went, some good parts and some bad parts... :s ... so fingers crossed

haven't heard back since, said they will reply in four weeks. not sure if thats a good sign or not. is that normal? or if you read between the lines it means 'not successful'? its been three days since the interview.

not sure how many positions they had...didn't ask and they didn't mention.

Just got rejection -

We are sorry to have to tell you, that after careful consideration of a very strong range of candidates, you have not been successful on this occasion.

Hi nishpopat

Can you tell us about the questions you were asked? What the interview setting was like? What did they want from the presentation? Did you get to see other candidate presentations? What were they like? etc.

hey in it 2 win it, when did you have your interview?? i had mine on monday and havent heard since!! :s

the interview was pure competency based, so all the usual team work, analysis etc. for the presentation i had to present for 10 mins about the work of the treasury, a scenario they provide you with on the day. the presentation was only infront of the panel.

i found the presentation rather straight forward, well i think i did well. however, i think i didnt do so well on the interview. guess just have to wait and see!!

you got an interview coming up zinzin??

Hello,

I'm curious as to how the presentation works since you only get the topic on the day. I have an interview for a different civil service role where i have to do the same thing. How long did you get to prepare? What did they ask you to present on? Did they just give you some date and ask you to present that along with some conclusions?

Many Thanks
itsaboutime

Anyone heard anything after their interview?

i remember being told that we should receive a reply around the 11 aug...

how did everyone's interview go? mine went well until they decided to bombard me with 9 competency based questions!!!

I felt I did really well with the presentation, but less well with the interview. When I left I thought my interview went really badly, but now I have had some time to think about it, I think I gave some good answers. The competency based questions were tougher than most others I have experienced though.

BTW driveby, when did you have your interview. I had mine on the 29th.

i had mine two weeks ago. I was struggling to come up with more decent examples from the competency based questions. I hadn't really prepared myself for more then 6!!

but apart from that the interviewers seem pretty chuffed with my presentation and Q&A session. but I think there is a stronger weighting on the competency based questions.

I did not reach interview stage, I received the same reply as inittowinit. if anyone has any other leads, please, inform me.

Had my interview some weeks back, though presentation went really well and the competancy q's caught me off guard me a bit but looking back on it I think I gave some pretty strong answers.

Still waiting to hear back!

Are you guys economics/politics students?

Best of luck all

Sounds like everyone here was interviewed in 'phase 3'. I had an interview as part of phase 2, back in June. Was told I'd find out in a couple of weeks, then got an email saying that I wouldn't find out til after July. But also that I "met the required standards for the policy advisor roles" but they couldn't confirm positions until the end of all the interviews in July and when they new more about how many people they'd be getting. Anyway... I'm still waiting. It's been a long, long time since then. Don't really know what to make of it. The email sort of sounded like a semi rejection email. Not feeling particularly optimistic after such a long time. You guys are all lucky because being in phase 3, you wont have to wait 2 - 3 months before you find out!

Aristocrat - yes, economics degree. And driveby - so you think August 11?

Fingers crossed. Good luck everyone!

ruddbot

I got the same e-mail yesterday. I was interviewed as part of phase three, just a week or so ago. The mail says I met the required standard but they cannot confirm offers of employment until the selection process has been completed. It said they would only be reviewing the results mid-August. I actually thought it sounded positive but now i'm not so sure!

Would be great to hear if anyone has been offered anything yet?

Yeah, I got that e-mail as well squirrel. They told me they'd be reviewing the results mid-August but it didn't say they'd be *in touch* in mid-August.

Two other points worth mentioning: when I asked in the interview when I'd find out, they told me "it could be weeks" as they're still interviewing for a while. They also told me that during the previous 2 phases they had recruited about 40 or so and would probably recruit a similar number this phase.

A friend of mine also applied during Phase 3 and he isn't being interviewed until the end of August. Seems strange that they say they're reviewing results in mid-August if they're still interviewing all the way up to September.

My opinion on the whole situation is that they did interviews in 3 phases and probably recruited the very top candidates, ruled out the people that didn't meet the standard and then put the rest into a "maybe" pile. I reckon in this phase, they might take into considerations the "maybes" and see if they can place them.

js1000, I thınk you are right about us being in some kınd of 'maybe' pile. Especially since you say that they had recruited from phase 2, yet I seem to have recieved the exact same email as you and squirrel. No doubt they sent some firm offers already to some candidates in phase 3.

But yes, the whole thing does seem strange. Did they say how many people they were interviewing in your round? I was told in my interview that they were interviewing 180 people in my round alone - that's so many!!! Multiple that by 3 and it's no wonder they seem to be interviewing until September.

In the meantime, I am getting a bıt anxious about being left on the 'maybe' list for so long (my intervıew was 7 weeks ago). I wonder if there are people from phase 1 who have been waiting even longer.

Ruddbot, I can't remember how many they said they would be interviewing.

The whole idea of recruiting in 3 phases seems odd to me. For example, there could well be people who were interviewed in phase 1 and didn't get recruited, who performed better than someone in phase 3 who did get recruited, simply because more people applied for phase 1 than 3.

That's precisely why I think there must be some sort of 'fastest loser' system so that the best candidates are recruited regardless of which phase they were in. I just can't understand why they say they're going to review results in mid-August when they're still interviewing up to September!

At this stage, I'm just taking heart from the fact that I met the required standard. These Policy Advisor positions are so competitive and it's nice to know that the HMT think I've got the skills to do the job even if I do get edged out by someone who scored a little better than me in the last stage.

The length, confusion and insecurity over these civil service recruitment processes means it's so dangerous to pin your hopes on getting the job.

Has anyone heard anything yet?

Nope, haven't heard anything yet. Put in a request for some feedback by email and phone and nobody has got back to me... despite it saying in the email that they would give feedback!

hey guys...same here....didnt get through...however awaiting feedback as well! so annoyed got a reply from them while i was on holiday...lol!!

Hey nishpopat. Bad luck... but best of luck finding something else! When did you hear from them? And did you also initially get the email that some of us got, saying that we met the requirements but they couldn't tell us yet if we had got the job?

For everyone still waiting, I have potentially some bad news.

My friend has found out the date of his interview for Policy Advisor position - 17th September. So it's fair to assume that we are unlikely to find out about the position until October given that they are still interviewing right into September.

js1000, despite the bad news, I really appreciate the update... since HMT isn't too keen on giving any!!!

I do think it's a bit slack of them to leave applicants on the line for so long. I also requested feedback approximately 9 weeks ago and am still waiting. I can just imagine next hearing from them in October, only to finally be properly rejected... oh well!

I originally found out about the policy advisor job at a careers fair. The man I spoke to said that a good number of people were recruited from the fast stream.....

The fast stream doesn't OPEN for applications until September....let alone for interviews etc. I'm just guessing, but I think everyone here will find be accepted/rejected before the fast stream process begins. It's just too complicated to have ANOTHER major recruitment phase when you've already got lots of acceptable candidates waiting around.

hey js1000,

no i didnt get that email, like everyone else. I heard from them about three weeks ago

Hi all, just got another mail saying this, which I think is pretty much a rejection:

As stated in our earlier email, you have met the requirements for Policy Advisors, however at this point in time there are no vacant positions available.

We would like to retain your details until 30 June 2010 and contact you if any suitable vacancies arise before this date. I’m afraid that I can’t give specific information as to timescales and should stress that as we are not yet making you an offer of employment, we would not want you to turn down other opportunities you may be offered.

Never mind. Good luck to the rest of you!

Hi,

Got the same email... I think it is as good as a rejection.

However, what strikes me as really strange is that my friend is still being interviewed later on this month. It seems strange that they are still interviewing even when there aren't any positions left!

Oh well, who am I to second guess the recruitment process.

Good luck everyone else! Interesting to hear from someone who has actually been recruited!

Hello js1000 and squirrel

Hard luck guys. I got the exact same email also.

Yes js1000, I think given that your friend has an interview at the end of September either: they are wasting your friends time, or they told us a little white lie about there being no vacancies.

But I do think that email is as good as a rejection email we'll get from them. I do wish they'd do it properly instead of always keeping options open for themselves. Although I wouldn't complain if they did ever call me up.

I wish you all the very best in the future with other jobs. And I do hope your friend does OK js1000.

so what actually happened to this program?? anyone got any feedback? did they recruit anyone?? i am still waiting for my feedback, anyone else had theirs?

No feedback from my end... been waiting well over 2 months. Am doubtful that will happen now.

No feedback from me either.

I also applied to the FCO and went to their assessment centre and am awaiting feedback for a long time.

I'm quite frustrated by how you put so much into an application procedure, undergo an interview that lasts 1.5 hours+ and they can't even find the time to give you a bit of feedback.

I completely agree js1000. I think the entire recruitment process is flawed. They could improve it pretty simply by making a few small changes... like:

1. send out proper rejection emails;
2. don't offer feedback if you're not going to give it; and
3. don't interview 400 - 600 people - it's a waste of time and resources. Narrow it down to 150 at least. If you can't narrow it down, get rid of the recruitment team that does the filtering and find one that can.

Guys, we seem to be carrying on continental conversation here why don't we somehow discuss starting an organisation or some political party.

Let's start conversations that will give birth to an organisation that will serve our interests.

We may be more financially secure serving our own interests

hey guy

i actually got a feedback from the Treasury a couple of weeks ago.....tbh the feedback was absolutely useful and one of the best feedback i have ever had!

i was told that competition for places was extremely fierce and that many individuals from the banking sector had also applied. this year was the largest number of application they've had in a long time. i guess that explains the delay.

anyone else heard back?