 Help and advice when applying for a job at West Sussex County Council. Benefits of working for West Sussex County Council. As an employer we recognise, it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance. Here are just some of the benefits that we offer. A competitive salary, an excellent local government pension scheme, generous holiday entitlement of between 23 and 32 days, depending on your job grade and length of service. The opportunity to buy additional annual leave, a range of flexible working options depending on your job role, learning and development and career progression. How to apply. All applications are submitted online via our job website. When completing your application you will need to provide the following. Your national insurance number, personal details and up-to-date CV. The advert will specify the application format. If it is an application form, the application form will focus on the key skills for the role listed on the job description. Submitting your application form is designed to take no longer than 10 to 15 minutes to complete. We suggest you spend additional time constructing the contents of your application. After submitting your application you will receive an email confirming its receipt. Why do you need a good CV? Your CV is your opportunity to say yourself to prospective employers. It should tell them about you, your professional history, your skills, abilities and achievements. Ultimately it should highlight why you're the best person for the job. What makes a good application form? Your application form is your opportunity to sell yourself. The best application form should showcase your experience, qualification, skills and attributes while showing how these are directly relevant to the key skills provided on the job description. A key element is evidencing your skills with relevant examples. Here is just an example of our application form. Cover letter. Some of our roles ask you to complete a cover letter alongside submitting your CV. Make sure that your cover letter is tailored to the job that you're applying for, headed with the job title, reference number and your name on two pages unless otherwise stated. It should be a compliment and an expansion to your CV. Again highlighting and showcasing your skills, experience and attributes. It's really important that you use the key skills listed on the job description as a starting point. Preparation for your interview. Research the role, companies and or industries. You can check their website to find out about their plans, products or services. Read the job description and make sure you're clear on the role expectations. Prepare examples on how you meet or have relevant knowledge or experience. Ensure you can complete and bring along relevant task or documentations including right to work and any other item that's requested. If interviewing face to face, plan your journey and parking if driving. Many of our sites have limited or no public parking so you may need to consider local car parking alternatives. The start technique. Situation, task, action, result, reflect. Situation, describe a situation or problem that you have encountered. Task, describe the task that the situation required and why it was important. Action, describe the actions you took, obstacles that you had to overcome. Result, highlight outcomes achieved and how success was measured. Reflect, sometimes is it appropriate to say that you reflected on what happened and decide how you would tackle the problem next time. How to be a star. You can use the star method to structure your answers during the interview and highlight particular skills and qualities. You can use examples from homework or volunteering. Keep your examples short and to the point. Be prepared for follow-up questions. Always focus on your own contribution. Describe how you made a difference. Use I for your answers rather than we did this. Describe a wide variety of situations. Avoid focusing on one particular experience as it does not reflect the breadth of the experience that your employer may be looking for. Example of a star technique. So here is an example of how to structure a star answer. Top tips from hiring managers. Always ensure your CV is in a standardised format. For West Sussex County Council roles, we use the key skills listed on the job description as a focus and how these relate to your skills and experience. Ensure you are descriptive and do not use generic single sentence answers. You are unlikely to be shortlisted if this is your approach. Make sure your CV and or application form or cover letter highlights all skills listed in the job description for the role. We want to know that you have read and understood the role. Do prepare questions for the interview. This is your chance to clarify any questions and check that this role is right for you as well. If a hiring managers contact details are available on the job app that you are encouraged to reach out and gain information about the role and the team that you'll be working in.