Mindset and methodology were at the heart of our career conversation with Scott Fielding, a former Senior Civil Servant working as a consultant at Deloitte. Scott shared a candid account of how he cut through the complex language and process of Civil Service applications to secure new roles & promotions across six government departments.

Here are three stand-out insights for anyone applying to or working within the Civil Service:

1. Analogies can help you understand Behaviours 

“Linking a behaviour to a real-world scene makes it instantly memorable.”

Scott uses analogies to picture what it’d look like to live out each Behaviour in an everyday situation. This is because each behaviour is a way of describing how you navigate that situation, rather than a specific type of situation. 

His favourite analogy? An imaginary car-wash. Picture yourself managing a queue, dealing with demanding customers and juggling limited resources…that’s “Delivery at Pace in” action. Visualising what it looks like in a situation you’re more familiar with helps make it feel more real and easier to think of an experience you have that aligns. 

Actionables:

• Think of an everyday task you do or a problem you have to solve.
• Describe how you’d perform that task or implement a solution using the language of each behaviour.
• Find examples from your own experience that align with each approach, and use those in your applications.

2. Build your reusable example bank

“A ready-made story bank ensures you always have polished, relevant examples.”

Hunting fresh examples for your application each time drains energy and takes up time. Instead, write 5–7 stories about your experience (using STAR) that can be adapted to different behaviours. Rather than reinventing the wheel each time, you just have to make edits to tailor to the specific application or interview. 

Actionables:

• Reflect on the experiences you’re most proud of and/or ones where you learned the most. 
• Tell each story using STAR: Situation → Task → Action → Result. 
• Tag every story with 2–3 behaviours it could work for.

3. Practice, Practice, Practice!

“Convert your story-bank examples into conversational anecdotes.”

Knowing your examples is only the start. You need to put in the time to refine them, and effort to not only see what you’ll say, but how to say it. This is so important. When the moment comes at the interview, you want it to feel like second nature to tell your story. 

Actionables:

• Get feedback from friends, family and colleagues. 
• Record yourself talking through each example and adjust for clarity.
• Ask for feedback from hiring managers (even on written applications!)

Conclusion

Scott’s reflections show that acing Civil Service behaviours isn’t about using jargon or perfect planning. It’s about making the concepts fundamental to you, creating a small list of stellar examples, and practising your execution!

It’s not about talent, it’s about finding a way that works for you.