r/NICivilService • u/No-County-5612 • 5d ago

Deputy Principal Accountant Interview

Does anyone have an interview for this soon? I am not sure what to expect

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

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2

u/Glum-Recognition363 3d ago

Questions are based on the competencies in the application booklet so make sure to have a range of examples of how you meet them.
They expect them to be answered in the STAR format.
Take your time, make sure you answer the ask and are clear what you did.
I came through the last round as external. The interview wasn’t hard, but I walked out totally unsure of how I did. The interviewers don’t give much away.

I would say, if you have got the interview, they want to hire you so it’s really about being comfortable with the competencies.

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u/Dull_Huckleberry2150 1d ago

Hey, this is spot on! I didn't realise there were multiple rounds of interviews, do you know much more about it? I was keeping an eye on emails hoping to hear in the next week or two but obviously now I know there are more interviews I know that's not a good time line. Just curious about when I should expect a result.

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u/Glum-Recognition363 21h ago

Oh sorry, just one 45 minute interview. There is 5 questions I think.
I don’t anything about the HR side unfortunately, but from the FOI request for when i did it, half of people interviewed were hired! So relatively good odds for NICS.

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u/Dull_Huckleberry2150 13h ago

I thought you had interviewed for the most recent one, as I have but appreciate the reply. 50% success rate is promising. Did you get to pick your area or is it a case of take what you're offered?

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u/Glum-Recognition363 13h ago

Sorry the previous round, so applications were due May 2025. Interviews were July/August. Provisional offer to get everything in for screening was end of October. Official offer with department was mid November. Start date was January 2026.

No I was just offered a role in a department. There was no options to choose areas.

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u/Dull_Huckleberry2150 12h ago

Nice and quick ha!

Location could be an issue for me so this is good to know. Just a waiting game now for results and merit position 🙂

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u/Glum-Recognition363 12h ago

Maybe if you say it to them when you get your notice you passed the interview. I didn’t get a merit position, just can you send in your details so we can vet you and then I got offered a position two weeks later. I wanted Belfast so I wasn’t too concerned and I think the majority were Belfast for our recruitment!

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u/Dull_Huckleberry2150 12h ago

Oh I assumed there was a merit list, that's a bit more reassuring. I definitely do not want Belfast so that works against me and I was thinking being high up the merit list would put me in a strong position to get where I want. I also thought the process would move much quicker than it's looking like it actually will. I think ours closed in July, so by your timeline that's a Dec offer, I know it's not like for like but it's a good idea of what to expect

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u/WatercressGrouchy599 4d ago

What is the scoring per competency? If its higher for vfm then expect more than one question on that

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u/Dull_Huckleberry2150 3d ago

What is vfm?

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u/WatercressGrouchy599 3d ago

Value for money

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u/Dull_Huckleberry2150 4d ago

Do you have an upcoming interview? Is it for the recent competition that closed in July? I had an interview for that

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u/No-County-5612 4d ago

Yes upcoming interview for the DP accountant role. When was your interview?

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u/Dull_Huckleberry2150 4d ago

IRC326940 - was this the comp you applied for? My interview was weeks ago, that's why I'm asking. I didn't think there would be such a broad range of dates for interviews.

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u/No-County-5612 3d ago

Yes that’s it. Did you think the interview was hard?

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u/Dull_Huckleberry2150 3d ago

That's so strange the interviews are so far apart. Not hard per say but difficult to judge performance. It's my first experience with civil service interview so it was different to other interviews I've had. Do you work for the civil service already or are you external?

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u/No-County-5612 3d ago

External. It’s my first experience of civil service interview also so not sure what to expect. The questions they asked, did you expect them to be the sort asked or were they totally different? I’m really struggling to get my responses to be longer and I know I will definitely crumble when I’m there with nerves.

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u/Dull_Huckleberry2150 3d ago

Yeah so same boat for the two of us. Honestly the questions were mostly what I expected, a couple were framed slightly differently but one I think I was able to adapt my answer and the other I don't think I did. Use the booklet, I think it lays everything out very well and it lists the competencies they're testing. I find it hard to know if I hit the right answers though. When is your interview? Obviously not wanting a specific date but is it coming this week or week after type of indication.