If you have met the essential criteria for the post and the Guaranteed Interview schemes you will be invited to interview. If you do not meet the essential criteria for the post the recruiting manager will provide feedback by email about what essential criteria you do not meet. 

Once the vacancy has closed, the recruiting manager and selection panel will review your application against the job profile of the position you're applying for. They will look to see how your knowledge, skills, qualification and experience meet the essential and desirable criteria of the post.

The recruiting manager and selection panel will decide on which candidates fully demonstrate the essential / desirable criteria and who will be invited to interview.

If you are successful in being invited to interview, you will receive this information by email. You'll be asked to book an interview time slot online. It's important to check your email address linked to your myjobscotland account regularly after the closing date to avoid missing the invite or general updates on the vacancy.

If, after booking an interview appointment, you are no longer able to attend the interview or wish to withdraw your application, please contact the recruiting manager as soon as possible.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to support you with your participation in an interview, please contact the recruiting manager in plenty of time in advance of the interview to request this. Recruiting managers will consider all requests and advise what reasonable adjustments are able to be made.

Some interviews may be a straightforward series of questions, others may also involve the use of other selection tools eg presentation, written exercise or a practical test. Details of any additional selection tools will be notified to you in your invite to interview email. Please read this information carefully and prepare as appropriate. 

It's a good idea to bring along copies of your application form and job profile to interview. You can read the information while you are waiting and it will be fresh in your mind when you begin the interview.

Before the interview it is useful to go back through the essential criteria for the role and consider what experiences you have had that meet the criteria eg times you have dealt with a difficult person, times you have managed a project etc. Think about what you personally did in these situations and how that influenced the outcome eg the project was delivered on time, you were able to resolve a difficult situation etc. If you are a school/college leaver with limited work experience please draw on other experiences eg at school/college, as part of a sports team, voluntary work etc.

If the position requires a qualification to be held as part of the essential criteria, you should bring evidence of holding this eg HND certificate to your interview, in order for the panel to review this. You are not required to bring every qualification you have ever obtained, just the key ones for the post. This may also include, for example a driving licence if driving is an essential requirement of the role.

The interview panel will likely consist of between two to four members and include the line manager for the position being recruited. Senior posts such as Head Teacher will consist of a larger interview panel and a more specific recruitment procedure which will be notified to you if appropriate.

Please ensure that you arrive promptly for the interview as the interview panel may be interviewing all day back to back, and they may not be able to accommodate you if you arrive late. Please ensure in advance that you know the location of the interview and that you arrive in plenty of time in case there are issues parking, you get lost etc.

All recruitment panels will appreciate that applicants may be nervous attending interviews and will make allowances for this. Below is some useful interview advice: 

• Try to relax – take deep breaths and if you need to pause to collect your thoughts during the interview don't be afraid to ask for a moment
• Listen carefully to the questions and try to answer the specific question as best you can
• Try to take your time when answering questions and try not to rush, nerves can often make you talk quicker
• Talk clearly
• If you are unsure about a question don't be afraid to ask for clarification
• Answer honestly, if you don't know something it's better to say so
• The recruitment panel are hoping to get to know you better and assess how you meet the essential criteria of the role so try to give as much information about your skills, experience and knowledge and how this meets the criteria of the role
• Consider what questions you would like to ask of the recruiting manager about the role, the team etc. so that you can learn more about working with Falkirk Council 
• Leave the recruitment panel with a positive impression of you  

Myjobscotland also has useful information in their Career Hub section on interview skills: How to Develop Effective Interview Skills.

Following the interview while it's still fresh in your mind it's useful to note down the questions you were asked. That way if you aren't successful this time you can learn from the experience and think about how you might answer the questions differently if you were asked them again in a future interview.

The recruitment panel may be meeting with applicants over several days so don't worry if you don't hear back from them straight away regarding the outcome of your interview. Recruiting managers will contact all applicants regarding the outcome of their interview whether you were successful or not so please keep checking your emails regularly. If you weren't successful you may wish to contact the recruiting manager for feedback to help you with future interviews.

If you are the preferred candidate after the selection stage, everything you need to know will be detailed on an email. Ensure that you read and understand what you have to do next as all pre-employment checks will have to be completed before you are given a formal offer of employment. 

Thank you for your interest in working for Falkirk Council and good luck with your job search.

If you would like to know more about working with Falkirk Council please refer to the Employee section. You may be interested to find out more about our Terms and Conditions and if you are applying for a teaching post the SNCT Handbook and Pay & leave specification will be useful for you to be aware of.   

Information on our recruitment checks is available at How to carry out recruitment checks.