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Civil Service Apprenticeship Competency Questions — With Answer Guidance
Civil Service uses competency-based questions at the video interview and assessment centre stages. Here are the questions to expect, mapped to the competencies they test — with guidance on what strong answers look like.
Competency Questions by Area
Making Effective Decisions
“Tell me about a time you demonstrated making effective decisions.”
“Give me an example of when you had to show making effective decisionsunder pressure.”
What strong looks like
A specific STAR answer with a clear individual role, measurable outcome, and genuine reflection. Avoid: describing what “the team” did without isolating your contribution.
Seeing the Big Picture
“Tell me about a time you demonstrated seeing the big picture.”
“Give me an example of when you had to show seeing the big pictureunder pressure.”
What strong looks like
A specific STAR answer with a clear individual role, measurable outcome, and genuine reflection. Avoid: describing what “the team” did without isolating your contribution.
Changing and Improving
“Tell me about a time you demonstrated changing and improving.”
“Give me an example of when you had to show changing and improvingunder pressure.”
What strong looks like
A specific STAR answer with a clear individual role, measurable outcome, and genuine reflection. Avoid: describing what “the team” did without isolating your contribution.
Working Together
“Tell me about a time you demonstrated working together.”
“Give me an example of when you had to show working togetherunder pressure.”
What strong looks like
A specific STAR answer with a clear individual role, measurable outcome, and genuine reflection. Avoid: describing what “the team” did without isolating your contribution.
Developing Self and Others
“Tell me about a time you demonstrated developing self and others.”
“Give me an example of when you had to show developing self and othersunder pressure.”
What strong looks like
A specific STAR answer with a clear individual role, measurable outcome, and genuine reflection. Avoid: describing what “the team” did without isolating your contribution.
Managing a Quality Service
“Tell me about a time you demonstrated managing a quality service.”
“Give me an example of when you had to show managing a quality serviceunder pressure.”
What strong looks like
A specific STAR answer with a clear individual role, measurable outcome, and genuine reflection. Avoid: describing what “the team” did without isolating your contribution.
Delivering at Pace
“Tell me about a time you demonstrated delivering at pace.”
“Give me an example of when you had to show delivering at paceunder pressure.”
What strong looks like
A specific STAR answer with a clear individual role, measurable outcome, and genuine reflection. Avoid: describing what “the team” did without isolating your contribution.
The STAR Framework
S — Situation: Set the scene briefly (1–2 sentences). Enough context, no more.
T — Task: What was your specific responsibility? What was expected of you?
A — Action: What YOU did — not "we". Be specific. This is 60% of the answer.
R — Result: Quantify if possible. What changed? What did you learn?
Preparing Your Stories
Aim for 5–7 strong STAR stories before your first interview. You should be able to adapt each story to answer multiple different competency questions — a good teamwork story can often be reframed to show communication or resilience too.
Examples can come from school, part-time work, sport, volunteering, or any other experience where you had a genuine individual responsibility.
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Civil Service Apprenticeship Prep Pack
Application stages, competencies, real interview questions, commercial awareness, and a pre-submission checklist — in one complete pack.