Interview preparation
Do your homework
Find out about Harrow Council and the department you have applied for. To help you make a start you may want to familiarise yourself with the Harrow Ambition Plan, which sets out the key aims and direction for the organisation up to 2020.
Read the role profile and make notes on how you can demonstrate that you have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience that is being asked for and your recent achievements.
Think about some questions that you may be asked and consider how you might answer them. You may want to refer to our values and how you can contribute to building a better Harrow.
Before your interview
Be sure you know the following information about your interview:
- the time
- the date
- the location
- the names of the interview panel
- any assessments
Plan your route to the interview and how long it will take allowing for any delays that could mean you are late. Try to anticipate any delays that could make you late.
Ensure that you have all the documents you have been asked to bring with you to the interview.
What to bring to an interview
When you attend your interview at Harrow Council you will be required to provide a number of original documents to prove that you have a legal right to work in the UK and hold relevant qualifications/registration that are required to carry out the role you are interviewing for.
The most commonly produced documents are:
- valid UK or EU/EEA passport in your current name
- relevant qualification/registration certificates
There are certain vacancies that are subject to a criminal record check (DBS). If you are interviewed for such a role, you will be required to produce three identity documents to support your applications. If you are unsure whether the role you are interviewed for is subject to the criminal record check, please refer to the advertisement and role profile.
To support your criminal record check application you can also bring:
- a driving licence (photocard and counterpart licence) in your current address and in your current name
- original of a household bill (not mobile phone) or a bank statement which is in your name, includes your current address and is less than three months old. Print-outs from a webpage will not be accepted.
You must ensure that you bring the original documents with you on the day of your interview so that they can be photocopied by the interview panel. There are a number of other documents you can produce, so if you don’t hold the documents above, please refer to the available guidance.
If your application is successful then the offer made to you will remain conditional until you provide the above-mentioned documents. So do remember to bring them with you to the interview. This will make the recruitment process quicker at the later stages.