You’ll have the opportunity to explore a policy issue, consider different perspectives and walk us through your thinking. Before the assessment centre, we’ll give you a general policy topic to research, along with some articles to help you get started. On the day, we’ll ask you a specific question within that topic and you’ll have 30 minutes to prepare your answer. At the end of the discussion, we’ll ask you to reflect on how you approached the exercise and what you learned from it.

How to prepare for the structured policy conversation:

• Make sure you spend some time looking at additional – the latest – articles to get a sense of what’s going on in relation to the topic and what the government’s stance is. House of Commons briefing papers and relevant reports from think tanks can help you understand the wider context. These will provide impartial context on your policy conversation subject and help you to demonstrate a range of views on the policy to the assessors.
• Take time to structure what you’re going to say. Make sure that you answer the question asked, and that there’s a logical flow to your conversation. Try not to spend too much time talking about the background.
• Think about how what you’re saying fits in with the bigger political picture.
  • What has the government done before in this area and why?
  • Think about how your ideas will be received by politicians, the public, the press and people within that industry.
  • How would these ideas be funded and what are the other options available to achieve the same outcome?
• Be yourself. We’re looking for people with different skills, experiences and perspectives who can contribute to better policy decisions. Just because you may not have prior experience of the subject doesn’t mean your thoughts aren’t valid or valuable.
• The most important fact to bear in mind is there’s no wrong opinion when it comes to policy. What matters is being able to explain your thinking, use evidence and show that you understand different perspectives.

Here, we’ll give you a booklet of information on an unseen topic and ask you to write a summary giving thoughts on your recommendation based on the options provided.

This exercise is designed to understand how you analyse information, consider different perspectives and make clear, evidence-based recommendations — all important skills for a Policy Adviser.

How to prepare for the written exercise:

• Read the instructions carefully on the day. If you have any questions, please ask before the exercise begins.
• Structure your report clearly. Start with an introduction that summarises the background, provide an overview of the available options, and finish with your chosen recommendation and the reasons behind it.
• Time management is key for this exercise. Plan how you’ll split your time at the start between reading and writing in order to give a balanced overview. Some find it useful to make a quick plan.
• Think about how to make your response clear and easy to follow. Policy Advisers need to communicate complex information effectively, so try to be clear and concise, using plain English to get your message across.
• Keep in mind that there are no right or wrong answers when it comes to recommendations. We’re looking to see that the piece is well written, covering the points asked and that you’ve given thought to why you’re making a certain recommendation with any supporting evidence provided.
• To practise similar skills, you could try summarising news articles, policy or research papers, setting yourself a time limit on how long you have to respond. Think about what you are writing and why:
  • Is the point you’re making important in the context of the wider topic?
  • Have you considered different perspectives and possible impacts?
  • Can you explain your recommendation clearly and support it with evidence?

Your interview is designed to help us get to know you better — your experiences and what drives you. It helps us understand whether HM Treasury is the right place for you and whether you can see yourself building a career with us. We’re looking for people who are passionate about making a difference through public policy and can demonstrate the values and behaviours needed to succeed as a Policy Adviser. These are the skills you’ll bring with you from day one and continue to develop throughout your Civil Service career.

You’ll be asked a mixture of scenario-based and strength-based questions by our interviewers. The scenario-based questions will ask you to share examples of how you have approached situations and the impact of your actions. The strengths-based questions explore what motivates you, what you enjoy and where your natural strengths lie.

About the scenario-based questions:

• Prior to the assessment centre, you’ll be told which behaviours you’ll be assessed against, so you can prepare. Spend some time familiarising yourself with these and think about what they might look like in practice for a Policy Adviser.
• You don’t need a particular type of experience to perform well. Drawing on your experiences from work, volunteering, education or other activities can help you think about how you would approach different situations and make decisions.
• During the interview, you’ll be presented with realistic workplace scenarios and asked how you would respond. Interviewers will be interested in your thought process, judgement, priorities and decision-making.
• There isn’t one perfect answer. Focus on explaining how you would think through the situation, what you would consider and why you would take a particular approach.
• Your interviewers may ask follow-up questions to explore your thinking in more depth and understand how you would adapt if circumstances changed.
• A useful way to structure your answers is to think about:
  • The situation, what are the key issues, stakeholders and priorities?
  • Your approach, what steps would you take, and what is the rationale behind your decisions?
  • The impact, what outcome would you be aiming for, and how would you measure success?
  • Reflection and adaptation, what challenges, risks or alternative approaches might you need to consider?

About the strength-based questions:

• In strength-based questions, we’re looking for your first, unrehearsed and natural response to the question. This means you won’t be told before the day what Civil Service strengths will be assessed at interview.
• You’ll be asked a warm-up question at the start of the interview. This helps assessors recognise how you speak and show engagement when talking about something that really matters to you.
• Your interviewers won’t ask follow-up questions for strength-based questions. Responses tend to be short, approximately 2 minutes per question. We’ll be observing the content of what you say as well as how you say it.
• There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for strength-based questions in advance of the interview. However, you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what motivates you, the activities you enjoy and what you do well.