Applying for my graduate job

I have known for a while what I wanted to do as my graduate job, working within a team to help reduce/ stop modern slavery and human trafficking and at the start of October I applied to get started on the process. The process is 6-9 months long with multiple stages and consists of many tests(including health and fitness tests), interviews and exams. Within this blog post, I am going to use the Gibbs reflective cycle to discuss how I prepared for stages 1-4 and how I completed stages 1-3 as well as what stages I am yet to complete. The Gibbs cycle uses the following steps:

• Description
• Feelings
• Evaluation
• Analysis
• Conclusion
• Action plan

Stage 1

The first stage in the application process was a simple form that consisted of basic information such as:

• My Name
• My age/ date of birth
• Education level
• Country of residence/ proof I’ve lived in the UK for so many years
• Criminal history
• Work history
• Minor health questions 
• Willing for relocation/ where you want to be located in London 

The form took no more than 30 minutes to fill out and was a very simple first step in a long process which I didn’t have to prepare for or put much thought into and I felt confident that there would be no reason for me to not pass onto the next stage. In this situation, there wasn’t anything I’d do differently due to the nature of the form. 

Stage 2

When it came to finding out I’d made it to the second stage of the application process it only took a few days. I then received the invite to do a behavioural analysis test which again was very basic. With this test, I couldn’t prepare for it due to the nature of it and therefore was a little bit worried about it. The test lasted around 45 minutes and asked me a range of questions which were made to try and find out more about you in the working environment and how you would deal with certain situations. The test was really accessible and easy to answer however I found myself overthinking certain answers especially when all the examples were important and hard to rank against each other. After completing the behavioural test I felt fairly confident about my answers however was left feeling a tiny bit anxious due to the 2-3 week wait time to find out if I had made it onto the next round. If I were to do the test again I think I might have not overthought my answers as much as I did, even though I still passed.

Stage 3

The third stage of the application process was something called the sift. This is where they go through all your available information such as social media and even a Google search with your name to see that you aren’t associated with any hate groups or anyone who is, aren’t posting anything inappropriate or offensive, aren’t involved in anything that would breech a future contract and anything else that would be against contract/ their views and policies. Personally, I didn’t have to do anything to prepare for this such as deleting certain posts or comments on social media, however, some other applicants might of had to. I was very confident for this stage and wouldn’t do anything differently at all due to the fact I’ve never posted anything or been involved in anything of that nature.

Preparing for Stage 4

When it comes to stage 4 of the application process I have to complete a:

• Competency based interview: This is where I have to use examples from my work and personal life to answer a series of questions based on the competencies of the role.
• Written assessment: This is where I complete a roleplay of an urgent written task using given information whilst assuming the role.
• Briefing exercise: This is where I have to read the given material and answer questions, in a video setting, based on what I have read whilst assuming the role.

To prepare for these assessments I have done a lot of work. For the competency based interview, I have looked into the competencies given by the team and then looked at my personal and work life to see examples I could use to answer the questions I will be given. For the written assessment it is a little bit harder to prepare due to the fact we haven’t been given any examples or clues as to how it will work however I am confident I will do well. Lastly, regarding the briefing exercise, while again I don’t have any idea of what the questions could be on I have practised the STAR method (Situation: set the scene, Task: describe the responsibility, Action: explain what I did and why, Result: explain the impact I made and the lesson I learnt) for answering questions so I am now confident that I will do well. At this point, I am both confident and nervous about the tests which I will complete within the following week, however, I am going to try not to let the nerves get the best of me as I can only do as well as I can do.

Preparing for Stage 5

Although stage 5 of the application process isn’t going to be for at least 3 weeks after stage 4 I have started preparing for the fitness aspect of the stage now. For this stage, I have to complete:

• A fitness test: this includes a work based fitness test which you have to pass up to level 5.4 as well as some circuits. 
• A health test: this includes a blood pressure check, diet and BMI check, hearing test, eye sight test (including testing for colour blindness), smoking check, substance misuse check and a basic health screening which is signed off by a personal GP.
• An interview: this is where the team get to personally question me and get to know me in person. It also includes a small roleplay to see how I’d deal with a situation in person. 

To prepare for the fitness test I have increased the amount of times per week I go to the gym and focused more on my cardio rather than weight training. As well as this I have also joined a taijutsu society and go to classes once a week for this which is increasing both my cardio and strength at the same time as well as helping me with pushing through physical exhaustion. When it comes to the health test I am going to make sure to go and get both an updated sight and hearing test to ensure there are no issues and if there is that I can deal with it and get it sorted before going for the health test. I am also making sure that I am keeping up with a healthy diet and not falling into the traps of how easy frozen food and take outs are. Lastly, for the interview there isn’t too much I can do to prepare for this however I can as before work on the STAR answers to ensure I can confidently put across what I want to say. Even though I am working to improve both my health and fitness I feel like there is still more I can do to improve this such as walking rather than taking the bus and going to the gym every other day.

Stage 6

For stage 6 of the application process, I have to submit a form including information about me, my family, my friends, and any romantic partners and any past involvement with the police. This is so an in-depth vetting can take place looking into every aspect of my life to ensure I am not only a good fit for the team but also not going to be at risk of or already joined/ associated in any way with a movement such as the EDL or a terrorist group.

Overall

Overall I am confident in my past stages and the preparation I have done for the upcoming stages and hopefully I will be successful in my application and can move to London after graduation to take up a position on the team.