Are Success Profiles the same as the old competency framework?

No. Success Profiles replaced the Civil Service Competency Framework, with departments moving over during 2019. Competencies were one fixed list; Success Profiles let each job pick from five elements, and behaviours are only one of them.

Which behaviours will I be asked for?

The ones listed in the advert, typically two to six, chosen by the recruiting manager. The first one listed is often the lead behaviour used for an initial sift if there are many applicants.

How are Success Profiles scored?

Behaviours and personal statements are commonly scored on a 1-7 scale (4 = acceptable). Ability tests have their own pass marks, and strengths are scored separately at interview.

Civil Service Success Profiles Explained: the Five Elements and How You Are Assessed

Success Profiles is the framework the Civil Service uses to recruit. Instead of one fixed list of competencies, each job is assessed on a mix of five elements chosen by the recruiting manager. Knowing which elements your advert uses, and how each is assessed, tells you what to write in the application and what to prepare for interview.

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The five elements

Element	What it is (GOV.UK)	How it is usually assessed
Behaviours	The actions and activities that people do which result in effective performance in a job	Written examples in the application, interview questions, assessment exercises
Strengths	The things we do regularly, do well and that motivate us	Interview questions answered on the spot, never in the written application
Ability	The aptitude or potential to perform to the required standard	Online tests such as the Civil Service Judgement Test or verbal and numerical reasoning
Experience	The knowledge or mastery of an activity or subject gained through involvement in or exposure to it	CV, personal statement, interview
Technical	The demonstration of specific professional skills, knowledge or qualifications	Qualifications, professional standards, technical questions or tasks

What it means for the written application

The advert says which elements are assessed at which stage. At the application ("sift") stage, the two written parts are usually behaviour statements and a personal statement, often with a CV. Strengths are almost never part of the written sift.

Behaviour statements are scored one by one, each on a 1-7 scale against the descriptors for your grade. A personal statement (also called a statement of suitability) is scored against the experience and essential criteria in the advert, often on the same scale. Some adverts ask for both, some for only one.

Read the "Things you need to know" and "Selection process details" sections of the advert: they list the behaviours, the word limits and the lead behaviour.
Write a separate example for each behaviour asked for.
Answer the essential criteria in the personal statement in the order the advert gives them, with evidence for each.
Use examples from your own experience, at the level of the grade you are applying for.

Behaviours by grade

The behaviour descriptors are published for each grade group: Administrative Assistant and Administrative Officer, Executive Officer, Higher and Senior Executive Officer, Grade 7 and Grade 6, Deputy Director, and Director. The expectations grow with the grade, so the same example can be strong at one grade and weak at the next.

Strengths at interview

Strength questions are short and quick ("Do you prefer to plan or to get started?", "When do you feel at your best at work?"). You can't prepare a script, and that is the point: the panel listens for energy and natural preference. They are scored separately from behaviour answers. Behaviour questions at interview are scored on the same 1-7 scale as the written examples.

Civil Service interview questions by behaviour →