Civil Service behaviours: examples and practice
Behaviours are one of the five elements of Success Profiles, alongside strengths, ability, experience and technical skills. Each job advert names the behaviours it assesses. Here is what each of the nine means, what a strong example shows and how the tests check it.
A drill for each of the nine behaviours: rate four actions per workplace scenario at your grade, with the reasoning for every rating.
See every Civil Service test
The nine Civil Service behaviours
1. Seeing the big picture
Understand how your role fits with and supports organisational objectives. Recognise the wider Civil Service priorities and ensure work is in the national interest.
- In a written or interview example
- A time you connected your own task to a wider goal: you spotted how a local decision affected another team or the public, and changed your approach because of it.
- In a judgement test
- Connect the immediate task to the service’s purpose. Check who benefits, who else is affected and whether a local gain creates a wider problem.
2. Changing and improving
Seek out opportunities to create effective change and suggest innovative ideas for improvement. Review ways of working, including seeking and providing feedback.
- In a written or interview example
- A process you improved: what was not working, the evidence you gathered, the change you proposed or made, how you brought others with you and what changed as a result.
- In a judgement test
- Identify the problem before changing a process. Seek useful input, test a proportionate improvement and check whether it actually works.
3. Making effective decisions
Use evidence and knowledge to support accurate, expert decisions and advice. Carefully consider alternative options, implications and risks of decisions.
- In a written or interview example
- A decision you made with incomplete information: the options you weighed, the evidence and advice you used, the risks you considered, what you decided and how you explained it.
- In a judgement test
- Separate facts from assumptions, compare realistic options and take a timely decision. More investigation only helps when it could change the choice.
4. Leadership
Show pride and passion for public service. Create and engage others in delivering a shared vision. Value difference, diversity and inclusion, ensuring fairness and opportunity for all.
- In a written or interview example
- A time you set direction or took responsibility, even without a formal title: how you involved people, handled a difficult issue fairly and what the group achieved.
- In a judgement test
- Give a clear direction, take responsibility and treat people fairly. Look for actions that address difficult issues while helping others contribute.
5. Communicating and influencing
Communicate purpose and direction with clarity, integrity and enthusiasm. Respect the needs, responses and opinions of others.
- In a written or interview example
- A time you explained something complex or changed someone’s mind: how you tailored the message to the audience, listened to concerns and checked understanding.
- In a judgement test
- Choose information and a channel that suit the audience. Explain the reason for a decision, listen to concerns and check understanding.
6. Working together
Form effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds, sharing information, resources and support.
- In a written or interview example
- A piece of work you delivered with people outside your own team: how you built the relationship, shared information and resolved a disagreement constructively.
- In a judgement test
- Share relevant information and coordinate responsibilities. Constructive challenge can help a team; avoiding disagreement does not necessarily solve the problem.
7. Developing self and others
Focus on continuous learning and development for self, others and the organisation as a whole.
- In a written or interview example
- A skill you built in yourself or someone else: the gap, the feedback or practice you arranged and how performance changed afterward.
- In a judgement test
- Turn a learning need into useful feedback or supported practice. Look for a practical opportunity to improve rather than blame or a vague promise of training.
8. Managing a quality service
Deliver service objectives with professional excellence, expertise and efficiency, taking account of diverse customer needs.
- In a written or interview example
- A time you met a customer’s or user’s needs well: how you understood what they needed, kept to standards, handled a problem and followed through.
- In a judgement test
- Understand what the user needs, maintain standards and follow through. A quick response helps only if the information and service remain reliable.
9. Delivering at pace
Take responsibility for delivering timely and quality results with focus and drive.
- In a written or interview example
- A deadline you met under pressure: how you prioritized, tracked progress, dealt with an obstacle early and kept quality up.
- In a judgement test
- Prioritise what matters, track progress and address obstacles early. Speed alone does not justify errors, hidden delays or unrealistic commitments.
Definitions: Civil Service Careers, “Behaviours” (Open Government Licence v3.0). Grade-by-grade examples: GOV.UK: Success Profiles — Civil Service Behaviours.
Behaviours change with the grade
Each behaviour has its own examples at six levels: AA and AO, EO, HEO and SEO, Grade 6 and 7, Deputy Director, and Director and Director General. Take Making effective decisions. At AA and AO the examples are about using guidance, checking information for errors and asking colleagues for input. At EO you take responsibility for fair, timely decisions and explain how you reached them. At HEO and SEO you empower others to decide, invite challenge and present recommendations with their costs, benefits and risks. At Grade 6 and 7 you make sure decisions happen at the right level and draw conclusions from complex, incomplete evidence. Match your examples to the grade in the advert.
Which tests assess behaviours
- Civil Service Judgement Test: three scenarios for each behaviour the job selects, rating four actions each.
- Management Judgement Test: five management aspects (Collaborative, Decisive, Empathetic, Confident, Agile) related to the behaviours.
- Casework Skills and Customer Service Skills tests: analysis and problem solving, delivering a high-quality service, making decisions and delivering at pace.
- Fast Stream: the assessment center uses its own Think, Relate, Adapt and Strive framework.
Behaviours and strengths
Strengths are the things you do regularly, do well and that motivate you. The Strengths Dictionary lists 36, from Adaptable and Analytical to Team player and Visionary, and they are not defined by grade. Strength questions ask what you enjoy and how you naturally work, so answer from experience rather than a prepared story. Read the Strengths Dictionary.
Common questions
What are the Civil Service behaviours?
They are nine behaviours in the Success Profiles framework: 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. Recruiting managers choose the behaviours that suit each job.
How many behaviours will I be assessed on?
Only the ones listed in the job advert. You will not be asked to demonstrate all nine behaviours for one role, so read the advert and prepare an example for each behaviour it names.
Are the behaviours different at each grade?
Yes. The behaviours are specific to the grade of the job. The GOV.UK behaviours guidance gives examples of what each behaviour looks like at each level, from Administrative Assistant to the Senior Civil Service, so use the examples for the grade you are applying for.
How are behaviours assessed?
Through written examples in an application, the Civil Service Judgement Test, personality tests, interviews, assessment centers and job simulations such as presentations, in-tray exercises, written analysis, group discussions, role-plays and oral briefings.
What is the difference between behaviours and strengths?
Behaviours are the actions that lead to effective performance, and you give evidence of what you did. Strengths are the things you do regularly, do well and that motivate you; strength questions ask what you enjoy and what comes naturally, and they are not defined by grade.
How do I practice behaviour questions?
For written and interview examples, prepare a short situation, task, action and result story for each behaviour in the advert. For the judgement tests, practice rating workplace actions: our Civil Service Judgement Test practice has a drill for each of the nine behaviours at four grade levels.
Independent preparation, not affiliated with or endorsed by the UK Civil Service.