On the date your online assessment process opens, you will receive one invitation email with three separate exercise links. Please allow for the full day to receive your email invitation. Your recruiting force will inform you about when you can expect to receive the invitation email and inform you of the deadline.
If you do not receive this email by 5pm on the day specified, please contact your recruiting force or[emailprotected]. If you have a Hotmail account, please ensure the domain[emailprotected]is added to your approved senders list. If you have a Gmail account, please check all folders.
Please note that the timings of each exercise may vary if you have a reasonable adjustment. More information can be found in the Reasonable adjustments and accommodations section.
Competency-based interview (CBI)
You will be asked five competency or values-based questions about how you have dealt with specific situations in the past. This is your opportunity to provide some examples of the key competencies and values that are important for police constables. You can use examples from both your work and personal life.
During the interview, we encourage you to:
- refer to the online guidance given on the platform including use of prompts to structure your answer. Please note that you may need to scroll to view all of the prompts
- express yourself clearly and concisely
- be specific – remember that you only have a limited amount of time to respond
- try to relax – we are only making an assessment based on what you tell us about how you have dealt with situations in the past in relation to the relevant competencies and values, nothing else
- answer all five questions, ensuring you consider the relevant competency and values
Do not use notes or scripts that have been prepared prior to your assessment to support your response. Any evidence of this may result in an automatic failure.
Completion time
Approximately 40 minutes.
CVF competencies and values assessed
The CVF competencies and values that are assessed are:
- integrity
- public service
- transparency
- take ownership
- innovative and open-minded
Method for answering competency and values-based interview questions
A common approach to respond to competency and values-based questions is the STAR (situation, task, action and result) method.
The STAR method allows you to structure your answer to ensure that you cover the relevant points. It may be beneficial to provide one example for each question and describe this in greater detail, as opposed to using different examples.
| Situation | Briefly describe the specific event or situation. This should be a short description to set the context. |
|---|---|
| Task | Briefly explain what you had to do. What were you trying to achieve from the event or situation? What were the success criteria? |
| Action(s) | Here is the main part of your answer where you can really explain how you displayed the relevant behaviours and understanding. What did you do? How did you do it? Why did you do it that way? What skills did you use? |
| Result | Summarise the results of your actions. What was the outcome? What did you learn? |
What to expect
The interview will follow a structured format with a set list of questions. These questions are designed to make the process as fair and objective as possible.
You will be presented with five questions in total. You will be asked each question in turn. Each question will provide some prompts for you to consider when answering. These will be presented as text on screen. A pre-recorded video will also appear, and the questions will be read out to you.
For each question, you will have one minute (60 seconds) to consider the question and prepare your answer. You will then have five minutes (300 seconds) to record your answer. Nothing that you say during the preparation time will be recorded. Please note, preparation time may vary if you have a reasonable adjustment. Once you have answered the first question, you will then move on to the next question and progress through until you have completed all five.
Written exercise
In this exercise, you will assume the role of a police constable and will have to complete an urgent written task for your line manager. You will be provided with four items of information to help you with this task. In your response, please only use the information provided and do not add or invent any additional information.
During the written exercise, we encourage you to:
- manage your time using the timer displayed on the top left of your screen
- make use of the information that is provided to you in the exercise
Completion time
The candidate instructions should take approximately 10 minutes to read. The exercise should take approximately 40 minutes to complete but we have set a time restriction of 120 minutes (two hours), so you don't have to rush things. Make sure that you do not let time run out as if you do, your response will not be submitted.
CVF competencies and values assessed
The CVF competencies and values that are assessed are:
- impartiality
- analyse critically
- deliver, support and inspire
- collaborative
How can I complete my written response?
Once you feel confident you have completed the written exercise, please click the ‘Continue’ button to submit your response. Once you have submitted your response, you will not be able to return to your answer. Therefore, please only press ‘Continue’ when your answer is completed to your satisfaction.
The only way for you to complete your written response is through the Outmatch platform. Please do not use any other means of communicating your answer as this will not be accepted. Copying and pasting your response from another application onto the platform will not be accepted.
If you have any system issues, please:
- report them to [emailprotected]
- do not complete the exercise
Will my spelling and grammar be assessed as part of this exercise?
No. We appreciate candidates will be completing the written exercise on different devices and some may have access to spell check while others may not. Therefore, to ensure a fair approach, we will not be assessing candidates’ spelling or grammar in this exercise.
Briefing exercise
In this exercise, you will assume the role of a police constable and will have responsibility for dealing with some issues presented to you. You will be tasked with providing a verbal response to a number of questions in relation to these issues. You will be provided with preparation materials to consider your answer. In your response, please only use the information provided and do not add any additional information.
Each question and subsequent prompts will be presented as text on screen. A pre-recorded video will also appear, and the questions read out to you.
During the briefing exercise, we encourage you to:
- consider the issues raised and how the police can build positive relationships
- refer to the online guidance given on the platform including use of prompts to structure your answer – please note that you may need to scroll to view all of the prompts
- express yourself clearly and concisely
- be specific – remember that you only have a limited amount of time to respond
- try to relax – we are only making an assessment based on what you tell us in relation to the relevant competencies and values, nothing else
- prepare alone and without reference to any materials or information outside of the preparation material, whether electronic or printed
- answer all of the 12 questions, ensuring you consider the relevant competencies and values throughout
Do not use notes or scripts that have been prepared prior to your assessment to support your response. Any evidence of this may result in an automatic failure.
Completion time
Approximately 60 minutes (one hour).
CVF competencies and values assessed
The CVF competencies and values that are assessed are:
- public service
- emotionally aware
- take ownership
- innovative and open-minded
What to expect
Exercise preparation
You will be presented with some initial information about the exercise. You should take approximately 10 minutes to independently read the preparation materials and consider your response to part one of the scenario, although this initial preparation stage is not timed and is not assessed.
Exercise
You will then have approximately 50 minutes in which you will be given questions to answer. This will be split into three parts.
Part one
After completing your preparation, you will be asked to answer four questions in part one. For each question, you will be presented with a video where the question is read aloud. The question will also appear on your screen so you can also read it. Once the video ends, you will have up to one minute (60 seconds) to prepare your response to the question. You will then have three minutes (180 seconds) to provide your response to the question.
Part two and part three
In part two and three you will be provided with some new information to consider, and you will be asked to answer a further four questions for each part. Again, for each question you will be presented with a video where the question is read aloud. The question will also appear on your screen so you can also read it. Once the video ends, you will have up to one minute (60 seconds) to prepare your response to the question. You will then have three minutes (180 seconds) to provide your response to the question.
Please note that additional time will be made up of viewing video questions and platform navigation.
