A Civil Service Success Profiles interview assesses you against the elements listed in the job advert, usually a mix of behaviours, strengths, experience and technical skills, with each answer scored by a panel. For behaviour questions you give real examples (STAR works well); for strengths questions you answer spontaneously, because the panel wants your first, genuine response rather than a rehearsed one.
This guide explains the framework, how answers are scored, and how to prepare, using the official GOV.UK guidance as of October 2026. Departments run their own campaigns, so always check the candidate pack for your role.
What are Civil Service Success Profiles?
Success Profiles is the recruitment framework used across the UK Civil Service. It was first published on 18 June 2018 and last updated on 29 January 2025. It moved away from assessing only competencies and lets recruiters choose from five elements. Not every element is used for every role; it varies by profession, level and type of job.
| Element | Official definition (summarised) | How it is usually assessed |
|---|---|---|
| Behaviours | The actions and activities that result in effective performance in a job | Personal statement, interview examples, presentation, judgement test |
| Strengths | The things you do regularly, do well and that motivate you | Interview questions you are not expected to prepare for |
| Ability | Aptitude or potential to perform to the required standard | Online aptitude tests |
| Experience | Knowledge or mastery of an activity or subject gained through involvement in it | CV, personal statement and interview |
| Technical | Specific professional skills, knowledge or qualifications | Qualifications, technical questions, practical tasks |
What are the nine Civil Service behaviours?
The Civil Service behaviours are: Seeing the big picture, Changing and improving, Making effective decisions, Leadership, Communicating and influencing, Working together, Developing self and others, Managing a quality service, and Delivering at pace. Each is described at several grade levels, from Administrative Assistant and Administrative Officer up to Director and Director General. Recruiting managers pick the behaviours that matter for the job, so you will never be tested on all nine for one role.
The level matters. An Executive Officer example and a Grade 7 example of "Leadership" look very different, so read the indicators for your grade and choose examples of a similar scale.
| Behaviour | Practice question (written by us, not official) |
|---|---|
| Seeing the big picture | "Tell me about a time you adjusted your work to support a wider organisational priority." |
| Changing and improving | "Describe a process you improved. How did you bring others with you?" |
| Making effective decisions | "Give an example of a decision you made using evidence from several sources." |
| Leadership | "Tell me about a time you kept a team motivated through change." |
| Communicating and influencing | "Describe a time you explained something complex to a non-specialist audience." |
| Working together | "Give an example of building a working relationship with another team." |
| Developing self and others | "Tell me about a time you helped a colleague develop a new skill." |
| Managing a quality service | "Describe how you improved the service a customer or user received." |
| Delivering at pace | "Tell me about a time you met a tight deadline without lowering quality." |
How is a Civil Service interview scored?
Civil Service interviews use numerical scoring. Civil Service HR's guidance on applying Success Profiles to HR roles from Executive Officer to Grade 6 (May 2020) sets out a model that many candidates will recognise:
- A "blended" interview typically assesses experience, technical skills, behaviours and strengths, and often includes a 5-minute presentation.
- Experience, technical skills and behaviours are scored on a 7-point scale; strengths on a 4-point scale.
- Each panel member observes, records and scores every question independently. Scores are then discussed and reconciled by taking an arithmetic average, which produces a merit list.
- The same guidance recommends prioritising no more than four behaviours for a role, so each can be tested properly.
That document is guidance for one profession, and pass marks are set per campaign. Your candidate pack or invitation letter is the authority for your role; if it does not explain scoring, it is reasonable to ask the vacancy holder.
What raises a score in practice: a specific example, clear personal actions, evidence pitched at the grade you are applying for, and a result. Vague "we usually…" answers score poorly because they give the panel nothing to credit.
How do you answer behaviour questions?
The official behaviours guidance says you may be asked for examples of when you have shown a behaviour, which can come from work or from elsewhere, such as volunteering or a hobby. You may also face situational questions ("What would you do if…?") or be asked to show a behaviour in real time, for example in a presentation. It suggests structuring examples with STAR, and notes you do not need to show every part of each behaviour to succeed.
- Map examples to indicators. For each behaviour in the advert, read the indicators for your grade and pick one strong example and a backup.
- Spend most of the time on Action. Keep the situation to two sentences. Panels score what you did.
- End with a result and a reflection. A number, a decision made, a service improved, then one line on what you learned.
- Expect probing. Follow-ups such as "What would you do differently?" test depth, so know the detail of every example.
Our guides to the STAR method and competency-based interviews cover structure in more depth.
Example behaviour answer (written by us)
Behaviour: Delivering at pace, Executive Officer level. Question: "Tell me about a time you had to deliver work to a tight deadline."
Situation: "I processed grant applications in a team of eight. Two weeks before the funding deadline, two colleagues went on unplanned leave and we had 140 applications still to assess."
Task: "My manager asked me to organise the remaining workload so every eligible application was assessed on time."
Action: "I sorted the backlog by complexity, set daily targets for each person, and moved the simplest cases to two colleagues from a neighbouring team after agreeing it with their manager. I built a shared tracker so we could see progress each morning, and flagged three complex cases early to our policy lead."
Result: "We assessed all 140 applications two days before the deadline, with no errors found in the quality check. The tracker is now used for every funding round."
How do you answer strengths questions?
The strengths guidance says there are no right or wrong answers and asks candidates not to rehearse, because the panel wants your initial response. Examples of strengths it names include Adaptable, Analytical, Decisive, Resilient and Team player. Strengths can also be assessed by recorded video interview, situational strengths tests, simulations or personality tests.
Strength questions tend to be short and quick-fire. Practice questions we wrote:
- "What kind of work gives you energy?"
- "How do you feel when plans change at short notice?"
- "Do you prefer to start tasks or finish them?"
- "What do you find yourself doing well without trying?"
Preparation here means reflection, not scripts: know which tasks you genuinely enjoy and answer honestly with a short, real example. Our greatest strength answer guide helps with the self-reflection.
How to practise for a Success Profiles interview
Write your examples, then say them out loud against a timer; most behaviour answers fit comfortably in two to three minutes. CoPilot Interview's Mock Interview builds questions from your CV and the job description (paste the advert's behaviours into it), reads each question aloud, and scores your spoken answer out of 10 with what worked, what to fix and a model answer, then gives you a report card. The free plan includes 15 minutes a day with no account. For more structure, the STAR story builder turns rough notes into a STAR outline, and behavioural interview help explains how the app supports behaviour questions.
For the wider picture of interviewing in the UK, see our UK job interview tips hub, and if your campaign includes one, the assessment centre guide and strengths-based interview guide.
Rehearse your behaviour examples before the panel does
Upload your CV, paste the job advert, and answer questions aloud. Each answer gets a score out of 10, what to fix and a model answer. 15 free minutes a day, no account.
Try a free AI mock interviewFAQ
How many behaviours are assessed in a Civil Service interview?
The job advert lists them. There are nine Civil Service behaviours, but recruiting managers choose only those that matter for the role. Civil Service HR guidance for HR roles recommends prioritising no more than four.
What is a good score in a Civil Service interview?
Pass marks are set per campaign, so there is no single answer. Civil Service HR guidance describes a 7-point scale for behaviours, experience and technical skills and a 4-point scale for strengths. Check your candidate pack for your campaign.
Can I prepare for Civil Service strengths questions?
You can reflect on what you enjoy and do well, but the official guidance asks you not to rehearse answers because the panel wants your initial response. Answer honestly and briefly with a real example.
Can I use examples from outside work?
Yes. The behaviours guidance says examples can come from work or other areas such as volunteering or a hobby. Pick the example that best shows the behaviour at the level of the job.
Do I have to use STAR in a Civil Service interview?
It is not compulsory, but the official behaviours guidance suggests STAR to structure examples, and it helps panels find the evidence they score.
What is a blended interview?
A blended interview tests several Success Profiles elements in one sitting, typically behaviours, strengths, experience and technical skills, and sometimes a short presentation.