Completing your application form

Introduction

The following information is designed to assist you in applying for a job at Westminster City Council (except for jobs in Schools which have a separate application form).

The application form plays a very important part in the selection process, and will be used as the basis for shortlisting you for a job. You must fill in all sections of the form, making sure the information you provide is clear and accurate. The information you provide will be treated as confidential. If you are filling in the application by hand, please complete it in black ink or type. If you are completing the form electronically, please keep to the format in the form and do not change any of the fields.

Remember to send your application back within plenty of time and we advise that you take a copy of your form for future reference should you be invited for interview.

Job Details

Please list the job you have applied for, the job reference number & the job closing date. You should also state where you saw the job advertised, being as specific as you can (for example if you saw the job in a newspaper, please specify which one). This will be vital to our approach in equalities monitoring.

Personal Details

Make sure you complete this section fully. It is important that you provide us with a full address and contact details as we will need this to contact you should you be shortlisted for interview.

• National insurance number -The Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 makes it a criminal offence to employ persons who do not have permission to live or work in the United Kingdom. If you are unable to supply a valid NI number, you will be asked for alternative evidence, e.g. P45, P60 or passport showing you are entitled to live and work in the UK, a birth certificate confirming both in the UK or Republic of Ireland or a letter from the Home Office confirming you are allowed to work in the UK.
• Work Permit - Any offer of employment will be subject to you providing evidence that you have the right to work in the UK. A work permit will usually be required for citizens of countries outside the European Community who do not have UK residency.

References

Please complete details for both referees, who should not be related to you. If you are a school/college leaver, please give us the name and address of the head teacher/tutor and also the manager of your most recent work experience placement, if applicable. Please indicate on the form if you do not want us to contact your referees unless you are offered the job.

Present or Most Recent Employer

Detail the name and address of the organisation, your position and grade, the date you started at the organisation and the date and reasons for leaving (if applicable). You will also be required to include a brief description of your duties.

Previous Employment

In this section, it is important that you include all relevant work experience including part-time work or temporary jobs, work experience or voluntary work. Remember to fill in fully the name and address of employer, your position and salary, main duties of the job and the dates you started and left, including reason for leaving. You may continue on a separate sheet if necessary, but remember to put your name on the top of it.

Additional information

• Disability Information - We have adopted the principles contained in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Code of Practice for the elimination of discrimination in the field of employment against disabled persons or people who have a disability. If you have a disability which you would like us to take into account, please state this on the application form. The Council is a Disability Symbol user and wishes to encourage disabled people to apply for jobs. We also guarantee an interview for disabled people who demonstrate on their job application form that they meet the specified selection criteria for the job. Please let us know if, in relation to any disability, whether you have any particular requirements in order to attend for the interview. When applying for a job, you can request key information in braille, large print or on tape.

Education, Qualification and Membership of Professional Associations

You must ensure you provide all the information about your education and qualifications obtained, including those qualifications you are currently studying for. Please do not forget to include dates. If you are appointed, we will ask you to provide original copies of your qualifications upon joining the Council.

Relevant skills & competencies

This section is a very important part of your application and if the section is not filled in adequately it may affect whether or not you are invited to attend an interview. Before completing this section, read through the Job Description and think carefully about why you are suitable for the post, relating your skills, knowledge and experience to the duties of the post as fully as possible.

Review the person specification and include any relevant details about your skills, experience, training or qualifications (that you haven't recorded elsewhere in the application form, here).

If the person specification contains competencies, please provide an example of how you have demonstrated each competency in the past. The example you give should outline what you have done in the past to demonstrate that competency rather than what you would do if a particular situation arose. The example may be from your current job or from an activity you have done in the past.

For example, if one of the competencies in the person specification is 'communication and influence' it will not be adequate to just state 'I am an effective communicator'. You must provide an example of how you have demonstrated effective communication skills in the past. A more relevant example would be: "I recently delivered a presentation to some of my colleagues. In order to ensure I got the key message across, I spoke with several staff beforehand to gauge how they might react to the messages, anticipated questions and prepared some notes. I also practiced my presentation with a colleague beforehand. During the presentation I recapped on key points to clarify important things and invited questions at various stages. I made sure everyone had understood the key messages by asking staff to repeat back to me what they were. The feedback I received was excellent"

Please note: You do not have to provide an example for each behavioural indicator under the competency title. One example per competency is all that is required.

When completing this section of the form, try to list your examples in the order they appear in the Person Specification, as this will help when we are shortlisting. Do ensure you mention all relevant experience as we cannot assume anything from a job title you may have had in the past. Feel free to continue on a separate A4 sheet if you need more room but don't forget to put your name on it.

Applicants Declaration

When applying for or being considered for a job, you must disclose if you are a relative of a Councillor or a senior officer for the Council, in order that we treat all applications fairly. In signing the form you confirm that all the information you have given in the application form is true and accurate. Giving false information which results in your appointment to the Council's service will render you liable to dismissal without notice.

Equal Opportunities Employment Monitoring

The Council is committed to equal opportunities policies and action to ensure that it appoints the best candidates for any post irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, religion or creed.

All aspects of recruitment are monitored to ensure that our policies and procedures are not discriminatory. Without accurate data on the composition of our workforce and on job applicants, we are unable to monitor the effectiveness of our commitment to equal opportunities in all our policies and procedures. It is now also a statutory requirement under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2002 for all public authorities to promote race equality. Please help us comply with this requirement by filling in your form and returning it with your application.

The monitoring form is confidential. It does not form any part of the recruitment process and is not seen by the interview panel.