Applying for a job with North East Lincolnshire Council

How to complete our application form

We’re really pleased that you are considering working with us at North East Lincolnshire Council. We want you to submit the best application that you possibly can, so here’s some tips on how to make sure your application form provides all the information we need.

Provide details of your education and qualifications, starting with the most recent first. Only provide details of what’s relevant to the role you are applying for – we don’t necessarily need to know about your school swimming certificates! For the relevant qualifications, we will ask you to bring them to your interview if you are shortlisted for this, so make sure you have them to hand.

Give some information on relevant training courses you have attended. These are courses that do not necessarily lead to a qualification but provide you with skills and knowledge of a particular topic.

You might have completed such training on-the-job, for example carrying out practical exercises which were observed by an assessor or by attending classroom based courses. These could also be a course provided by your employer.

Start with the most recent first and only include those that are relevant to the role you are applying for.

Only complete this section if you are a member of a professional body that is relevant to the job. For example, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development or the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

To be a member of a professional body, you normally need to:

have a relevant qualification
pay an annual subscription fee

In this section, give us details of your current or last job, even if this was some time ago. Try to create a bullet point list of your main duties and responsibilities. To do this think about the main purpose of the job and what you spent most of your time on.

Here, we are asking you to list all the jobs you had leading up to the one you described in Section 5. Start with the most recent one and work backwards.

What we are looking for here are any gaps which do not explain what you were doing, so make sure the dates are consecutive. For example, your form may look like this:

Employer	Job title	Date from	Date to	Main duties
Boots the Chemist	Customer service assistant	January 2017	December 2018	Helping customers with queries, taking cash and card payments, maintaining stock levels … etc
East Riding of Yorkshire Council	Library assistant	May 2014	December 2015	Maintaining book stocks and filing systems, helping customers with queries, issuing books and resources … etc

This will make us question what you were doing between December 2015 and January 2017. However, this can be easily explained if you ensure your form looks like this:

Employer	Job title	Date from	Date to	Main duties
Boots the Chemist	Customer service assistant	January 2017	December 2018	Helping customers with queries, taking cash and card payments, maintaining stock levels … etc
n/a	n/a	September 2016	December 2016	Unemployed – in this period I was also caring for a sick relative.
n/a	n/a	January 2016	August 2016	I went travelling across Europe, staying in youth hostels and writing a blog about my experiences.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council	Library assistant	May 2014	December 2015	Maintaining book stocks and filing systems, helping customers with queries, issuing books and resources … etc

This is the section you can use to really sell yourself to us. Think about what is going to make us shortlist you for interview. Break it down into the required sub headings:

Experience

What work or life experience have you had that means you are well suited for the job role? Have you held a similar role elsewhere?

Skills

What skills have you got that are needed in this role? Match these to the ‘advanced skills and abilities’ section of the Role Profile document for this job and give examples to evidence this if you can.

For example, if the role profile requires you to be able to organise your own work, you might describe how in a previous role you would draw up a work plan for the week and explain how you would prioritise the tasks. Explain how you would deal with any lower priority items that can not be completed.

Knowledge

Explain what key knowledge you have that relates to this role. Again, refer to the role profile, particularly the section on knowledge and match where you can. For example, if the role profile requires knowledge of safe manual handling practices, you might explain how you have completed manual handling training with your current employer, including annual updates, and ensure you read the safety bulletins that are issued every month for any changes to best practice.

Personal attributes or qualities

This is your chance to tell us something about you. What do other people say about you? For example, you might be described as always thinking of others.

Specific achievements or examples of success

Tell us what you are proud of. For example, you may have been awarded a certificate for being Employee of the Month, or you may have come up with an idea which saved your employer money. Do not be afraid to blow your own trumpet!

Give us the details of two people we can contact to provide a reference for you.

This should ideally be your current or a previous employer, but could also be someone who you know through other activities, such as volunteering or through a community group that you attend.

In all cases, they should hold a position of responsibility, such as the manager or chief organiser and you should ask them before putting their name on the form whether they would be prepared to provide a reference for you if approached.

Finally, make sure you check the closing date for submitting your application and ensure you get it in to us on time.

We hope this guidance will help you to complete your application form and result in an invite for an interview. We wish you the best of luck.

Preparing for an interview

If you are invited to attend an interview at North East Lincolnshire Council, make sure you are well prepared to perform at your best and increase your chances of being offered the job.

Before the interview, do your research and plan ahead. Make sure you:

Check the interview details and make sure you know where it is being held – We have multiple sites and your interview could be at any one of them. Research your journey in advance and aim to arrive ten minutes before your interview begins. If you are unfamiliar with the location, you may want to practice the journey in advance to make sure you know where the bus stop or the car park is.
Do your research – How much do you know about the Council? Try looking on the website to find out what we do and what our priorities are. Then you will be able to speak confidently at your interview about why you want to work with us. You could also check out our social media feeds such as Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn, YouTube or Instagram .
Prepare your answers – Think about common interview questions and what job specific questions we could ask.
Prepare some questions – Think about what you would like to know from us and prepare some questions to ask at the interview.
Bring your documents – Prepare a folder to take the necessary documentation including your interview letter, role profile, your educational certificates and proof of ID if requested.

When you attend your interview, remember to:

Be positive – We are on your side! We really want to find the best person for the job and if you show us that that’s you, then we will be very happy.
Be clear – Answer all questions clearly and concisely, to show us just how good you are. Make sure you tell us about your skills, experiences and achievements. And if we don’t ask the right questions to allow you to shine, then tell us anyway.
Be curious – Feel free to ask us some questions. You are interviewing us just like we are interviewing you.

Contact details

People and Culture, Municipal Offices, Town Hall Square, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, DN31 1HU

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 01472 313131

Previous – Employment support and training

Applying for a job with North East Lincolnshire Council

How to complete our application form

Section 2 – Education and qualifications

Section 3 – Training courses attended

Section 4 – Membership of professional bodies

Section 5 – Present/last employment

Section 6 – Previous employment

Section 7 – Supporting information