Job application guidance
Before you apply
To apply for any of our jobs, you will need to complete an application form.
Job description and person specification
You should read the job description and person specification carefully before you fill in your application form as this will tell you what qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience you will need to do the job. These are the criteria we will use to decide which candidates to invite for interview and which candidate to employ.
Completing the application form
How to apply
Completing the application form is the first step of the recruitment process.
It is important that you complete all sections of the form as clearly and as fully as possible. Shortlisting panels will not be sent any covering letters, CVs, copies of references, certificates or any other information added to applications so you must include everything you want us to know on the application form.
To ensure you don’t lose information as you complete the online form you can type any long text information on a separate document (for example, Microsoft Word or Notepad), then copy and paste it into the relevant section of the application form. This means if you leave the application form open and it times out before you have saved it, you still have your wording.
Personal details
Enter your personal details fully and clearly so that we can contact you about your application. You can find your National Insurance number on a recent payslip, P60, P45 or any advice slip from the Inland Revenue or Child/Tax credits. If you do not have a National Insurance Number, leave this blank.
Employment history
We require information on your past and present employment history and it is important to ensure you explain any gaps in your employment.
If you have recently left school or college and have not yet had any permanent employment, please give details of any other work that you may have had such as work experience, holiday work or voluntary work.
Education, training and development
We are interested in any form of education you have had, including any courses that did not lead to an examination or qualification.
Please tell us of any qualifications or learning/development programmes/professional membership or institutes that are relevant to the post you are applying.
Supporting statement
This section is to provide you with an opportunity to explain how your knowledge, competencies, skills and experience meet each of the essential requirements of the person specification.
Please read the job description and the person specification and think about how you can meet the criteria for the post. We will be looking for demonstrable experience so avoid statements such as “I feel I meet all the requirements of the person specification.” Instead, try to fully explain how you meet the requirements – for example, if the person specification asks for ‘experience of organising community events’ you need to explain, when, where, who and what was involved in events you organised. Even if you have not had employment before you can draw on life experiences – for example, “I helped volunteer as organiser of events at my local cricket club for two years, such as a fundraiser event for 150 people which raised £800 for our club.”
Other information to include
If you have a disability, please let us know. We guarantee an interview for any person with a disability who meets the essential criteria.
It will also help us to make any arrangements for the interview and/or a work based exercise to ensure you are not disadvantaged in the selection process.
We will discuss with you at interview if there are any reasonable adjustments that we can implement in order to help you to work with us such as providing specific equipment.
If you are related to a councillor or an employee of the council, we ask you to tell us so that we can make sure all applications are treated fairly. You need to tell us if the councillor or employee is a parent, grandparent, partner, child, stepchild, adopted child, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, or a partner of such person.
Soliciting any employee or Teignbridge District councillor to gain an unfair advantage in your application may disqualify you from consideration for the role.
References
Please ensure that your referees cover at least the last three years of your employment or academic history as it is a requirement that we check this as a minimum if you are successful. This may mean that you will need to provide more than two referees.
If you are unable to provide referees to support your last three years employment history, please contact Recruitment@teignbridge.gov.uk for advice.
Declaration
You will need to sign/electronically sign your application.
Any false information will result either in your application not being pursued or dismissal if you have already been appointed.
Diversity monitoring form
Monitoring applicant diversity allows us to see if we are representative of the communities we serve.
Please complete the diversity questionnaire so we can gather data to see if we are meeting our legal duties. The data is collected, collated and anonymised for any internal or external reporting.
This form is separated from the application form prior to shortlisting and does not form part of the recruitment and selection process. The contents will form part of your employment record if you are successful.
Criminal record check
As a responsible employer we ask the successful applicant to complete a criminal record declaration so that we are aware of any criminal convictions.
We only require you to declare any unspent convictions if you are made a conditional offer of employment unless the role which you have applied for requires a higher level of check from the Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS), in which case we will state clearly the level of DBS disclosure required on the job description paperwork.
If you declare an unspent conviction we may request further information. In these circumstances you are advised to seek guidance from Nacro and prepare a written disclosure statement.
We recognise the contribution that people with criminal records can make as employees and volunteers. Suitable candidates will not be refused posts if an offence is not relevant to the job for which they are applying.
Problems with completing the application form?
If you need the application form in another format or you are having any difficulties with your application please email recruitment@teignbridge.gov.uk so that we can discuss your requirements.
Completed application forms should be submitted electronically or returned to Human Resources. Please check the closing date of the vacancy.