Candidates are asked to submit their CV along with a supporting statement. The content of both documents will be assessed against the Person Specification that is found at the end of the Job Description, so please use this document when writing your statement.

Your CV can be in any format. It should highlight all the skills, knowledge, experience, and personal attributes that you have that are relevant to the role you are applying for. Before finalising your CV, ensure you have proof-read it for any spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors (it is often helpful for a friend or family member to proof read it too).
For further guidance about CV basics, we recommend the following article: https://fairmuseumjobs.org/2021/07/26/cv-basics/

Your supporting statement is your opportunity to expand on the key parts of your experience, skills, abilities, and achievements that are most relevant to the role you are applying for. The job advert will state what we want you to cover in your supporting statement and specify a maximum word count. Usually, the brief for the supporting statement is along the lines of “tell us what interests you about this role and your relevant experience”.

Please look at the Person Specification and demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria. You should use specific examples; please do not generalise e.g. “I usually…”, or use most of your word count limit by telling us how much you love museums and how often you visit Tullie House – while we’re thrilled that you do, we want you to use your word count to focus on the essential criteria so don’t waste words. We want to be persuaded that you can thrive in the role advertised. We cannot make assumptions about your abilities from the fact that you may have done similar roles in the past or have qualifications so use examples to clearly demonstrate your relevant skills, knowledge or experience.

We aim to shortlist candidates for interview within two weeks of the closing date, but please allow up to three weeks before contacting us. We will respond to all candidates to tell you whether you have been shortlisted or not.

Our shortlisting process involves us completing a shortlisting matrix, scoring the evidence we can see in the supporting statement and CV, and how this meets the requirements of the Person Specification. Those with the highest scores will be invited for an interview.

The interview date will normally be advertised in the original job advert. We will try to make any reasonable adjustments to the interview date, time or venue to accommodate any requests. However, we cannot guarantee we can agree to every request, especially if this would disadvantage other candidates or significantly delay our recruitment process.

There will be an interview panel of two or three people, occasionally it may be four people, but this would be for senior posts only. You will be told in advance who will make up the panel and who is the line manager for the vacancy.

Candidates will be asked a number of questions at interview. These questions are designed to understand more about your relevant abilities, knowledge, experience and personal attributes. Questions will always be tailored to be appropriate for the role applied for; they are not designed to catch candidates out.

Some examples of the questions you may be asked (If appropriate to the role):

• Tell us about your experience and how it is relevant to this role.
• Can you give us an example of when you have had to work calmly whilst under pressure?
• In your opinion, what are the main skills needed to successfully fulfil this role?
• What systems or software are you familiar with that will be helpful in this role?
• How do you prioritise tasks when scheduling your time? Do you have any examples of how you have dealt with conflicting deadlines?
• Tell us about a positive change you have made within an organisation.
• What makes you a great communicator?
• Tell us about a time you’ve had to motivate yourself to complete a task.
• If faced with an irate visitor, how would you handle the situation?
• Can you give an example of how you have used digital techniques to engage with audience?
• Can you give us an example of when you have had to communicate some complex information to others?
• Thinking about your ability to carry out all elements of this role, what areas do you think you might need to develop further?

All candidates will be asked the same questions. The panel may ask supplementary questions to help tease out more information if this is needed. The panel will understand that everyone will be nervous, and they will try all they can to help candidates relax. We want to get the best from you! The panel will be taking notes as you answer their questions, this is to help them remember points you have made.

You may be asked to prepare a presentation for the interview. You will be given notification of this in your invitation to interview so you have time to prepare this and ask any questions in advance. You should ensure that you stick to any time limit that is given for your presentation as over running might mean that the panel do not have sufficient time remaining in the interview to ask all their questions.

Depending on the type of role you are applying for, you may be asked to complete some short competency assessments after your interview. These short tests are designed to test things like numeracy, literacy, attention to detail, etc. Again, you will be notified in advance if these tests will form part of your interview process.

The panel have to agree on the successful candidate, based on all factors that have been assessed. A decision will usually be made within one week of the interviews, and we will contact all candidates if the decision is taking longer than this. Unsuccessful candidates will usually be notified by email. The successful candidate will receive a telephone call to offer them the position. All offers of employment are subject to two satisfactory references, completion of a medical questionnaire, and proof of the candidate’s eligibility to work in the UK. The successful applicant should not give notice to their current employer until they have received an offer of employment letter and contract from the Trust.