Guide for applicants
Thank you for your interest in a role at Bridgend County Borough Council.
We want you to complete an application which best reflects your abilities for the job, so please read the following guidance before submitting your application.
In order to apply online, you will need to create an online account. If you are an existing user, please log in using your current username and password. This will allow you to save applications which are in progress and view submitted applications.
The advert, job description and person specification
The key requirements of the job, skills and qualities required are in the advert, job description and person specification.
You should read these carefully, so that you fully understand what is required. Only applications that provide evidence of the essential criteria as the person specification notes will be considered for shortlisting.
The application form
The application form is the first and critical stage for us to see if you are suitable for the post. It is very important that all sections of the application form are completed as clearly and fully as possible. This is all we have at this stage to determine whether you meet the requirements of the role.
Please follow the guidance notes on each section of the online application form:
- personal information
- current and past employment
- education and training
- professional membership
- additional information
- references and supplementary information including Guaranteed Interview Schemes (GIS)
- declaration
- equal opportunities and Welsh language abilities
Additional information (personal statement)
Give special attention to the additional section. In your personal statement, it is critical to show you have the knowledge, skills and experience to fulfil the post’s duties. Please give full, clear information about your abilities, and include relevant examples showing how they meet the person specification’s criteria. Applications will only be considered for shortlisting if they meet all essential criteria. To help you, we have included some examples of how to give such information.
Examples
“I have excellent IT skills and have working knowledge of MS Office. I use Excel for updating spreadsheets; generating pivot tables to summarise data and ‘VLOOKUP’s’ to analyse data across multiple spreadsheets. I also have experience of using bespoke company systems and applications such as…for…”.
“I work in a busy supermarket. I regularly help customers find items in the store and deal with queries at the self-service checkouts. There isn’t just one way to deal with customers as they all have different queries, concerns and needs. This has given me confidence to be able to calmly deal with different situations and achieve customer satisfaction.”
“My current role involves a varied workload with different internal and external deadlines. I am responsible for administering the recruitment process. I have to adhere to fortnightly advertising deadlines and two monthly payroll deadlines. At times, the advertising deadlines fall in the same week as the payroll deadlines so I have to be organised. To do this I make a daily ‘to do’ list. I work out what order to do things in by the deadline date and time required to complete the task. I use my email calendar to book the required time to undertake the tasks as well as set reminders. If I’m given a new task I add it to the list and decide when to do it, so I adapt the order in which I do things as necessary. If I can’t complete all tasks I request help from my colleagues first but refer to my manager if they are unable to help.”
“At university, I had to complete a variety of assignments at the same time to meet submission deadlines. I also worked in a part-time job. I had to ensure that my work was planned. I made a timetable as a planning tool to help me spend time on each assignment. This ensured I followed what was set and I completed everything on time.”
“During peak season in my current role I worked with my store colleagues to meet branch sales targets set by head office. It was important that all members of the team were positive and remained enthusiastic even though the shop was very busy. I contributed by meeting all my personal targets and helping my colleagues close sales. I learnt that helping out team members rather than simply focusing on my own goals improves productivity and makes for a happier work environment.”
“I currently volunteer at my child’s sports club. I work with other volunteers to arrange fundraising events, maintain financial records and organise team activity days for the children and parents. This creates a positive and supportive environment for all and creates a sense of belonging.”
Welsh language
We encourage and welcome applications from Welsh speakers and learners. The person specification will clearly state if this is an essential requirement.
Guaranteed Interview Schemes (GIS)
The council operates Guaranteed Interview Schemes (GIS):
For People with a Disability
As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to interviewing disabled applicants (as the Equality Act 2010 defines) meeting the person specification’s essential criteria.
The Equality Act defines a disabled person as someone "who has or has had in the past a physical or mental impairment with substantial long term adverse effects on their ability to do normal day-to-day activities".
This scheme does not guarantee a job for disabled applicants. Selection procedures will ensure the best candidate for the job is chosen based on the job pack’s criteria.
If you are eligible and want to apply under this scheme, please state your eligibility in the relevant section of your application form. Only eligible applicants will be considered under these schemes.
Veterans
As an employer we recognise that we have a role to play in helping those leaving the Armed Forces (veterans) fulfil their potential in civilian life. We acknowledge that making this transition can be extremely challenging, and in particular finding and securing lasting employment.
A guaranteed interview will be offered to people meeting the role’s essential criteria as the job specification outlines and:
- who are currently serving in the armed forces and within 12 weeks of the discharge date
- or their last long-term substantive employer was the armed forces, and no more than three years has passed since the discharge date
This scheme does not guarantee a job for veterans. Selection procedures will ensure the best candidate for the job is chosen based on the job pack’s criteria.
If you are eligible and want to apply under these schemes, please state your eligibility in the relevant section of your application form. Only eligible applicants will be considered under these schemes.
The declaration
By completing and submitting the application form you are accepting the terms of the declaration. Any false statement or omission of information may result in your application being withdrawn or your appointment being terminated.
Equal opportunities and Welsh language abilities
Bridgend Council is committed to creating a workplace culture that recruits, retains and develops staff from diverse backgrounds. In turn representing, and therefore better serving, our communities.
We are enthusiastic about equality, committed to improving our staff diversity, and supporting an inclusive culture which allows everyone to bring their full and authentic selves to work.
We are dedicated to recruiting Welsh speakers, disabled people, people who identify as LGBTQ+ and people from minority ethnic backgrounds as part of our commitment to address under-representation across all levels of the organisation.
The equal opportunities questions form part of the application process and this information is used by the council for monitoring purposes only. This is not used as part of the selection process and is not available to managers.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks
Where a post is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check you are required to disclose details of any convictions that will not be filtered from the Police National Computer by the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Read the DBS filtering guide to find out more.
Further guidance on unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings is also available.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Your application will be processed in line with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It will be held by the council for recruitment purposes. If you are appointed, this information will be retained in accordance with the HR Fair Processing Statement.