DWP (Department for Work & Pensions) Tests

Careers at DWP (Department for Work & Pensions)

Within this fast-paced government department there are many job roles, from entry-level positions right up to senior management. The DWP currently employs around 80,000 people across the UK.

Nearly everyone in the UK will come into contact with the DWP at some point in their lives, so it strives to ensure its workforce is diverse and inclusive.

Whether it’s a position in the digital team, driving the importance of improved technology, or working to get vital payments to jobseekers, carers and pensioners, there’s a huge variety of roles to discover.

The DWP hiring process is designed to probe every candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, and ensure only the best make it through. As a result it’s lengthy and competitive — but highly rewarding if you do get hired.

As with most roles, you’ll be required to submit a CV and supporting statement.

The DWP has recently brought in a new structure for selecting candidates to interview, known as ‘Success Profiles’. This is designed to make the process fairer and more inclusive, as well as make it clearer what you need to demonstrate.

As such, it benefits both the candidate and the DWP, as it helps you to tailor your answers, and ensures employers see focused and relevant information.

Success Profiles consists of five different elements: experiences, strengths, behaviours, technical and ability. Some of them are more relevant for different roles than others, but you’ll be guided as to which ones you need to showcase in your application.

If you’re successful with your CV and electronic application, you’ll move to the next phase of the process – which will include one of the tests listed below, as well as at least one interview.

Online application form

Before you start filling in the form, read through the form itself, the job description and the success profiles to get a good understanding of the requirements of the role and the traits you need to demonstrate.

Typically you’ll have around 1,200 words to sell yourself in your personal statement, and your CV will need to be limited to two sides of A4. So make every word count by writing in a clear and concise manner, forgoing any unnecessary details or jargon.

Tailoring your strengths, experiences and skills to the job you’re applying for is really important. It makes it really clear why you’d be a great hire and allows you to use everything you’ve learnt along the way as evidence for this.

Don’t forget extracurricular activities. Showing who you are as a person outside of the workplace can help bring your character to life, especially when the skills you’ve learnt are applicable to the role you’re applying for.

DWP Aptitude Tests

SIFT situational judgement test

As part of the process, you may be required to take a SIFT situational judgement test. This test assesses how you respond to different workplace scenarios and dilemmas, through multiple-choice questions.

Technically there aren’t any right or wrong answers. However, the answers you select are indicative of your personality traits, strengths and weaknesses, so there will certainly be favourable answers.

The best way you can prepare for this is to look closely at the skills required for the job and the DWP competencies, and ensure your answers are reflective of both.

Practising as many situational judgement tests as you can before the big day will help you familiarise yourself with the question language and format, and ensure you feel more confident on the day.

DWP numerical reasoning test

This test is designed to assess how comfortable you are with numbers and putting mathematical formulas and principles into practice.

Pay particular attention to your weaker areas. Brushing up on the things you find more challenging ahead of the test that counts will really help boost your confidence — and your results.

On the DWP numerical reasoning test you’ll be required to answer a series of multiple-choice questions on information displayed in different graphs and tables.

Striking a balance between speed and accuracy will be essential as you make your calculations — another thing that is greatly improved with practice. Click here to practice numerical reasoning tests.

DWP verbal reasoning test

Verbal reasoning tests are often used by the DWP to assess your written communication and comprehension skills.

You’ll be presented with a passage of text to read, before answering multiple-choice questions on the information in front of you. No prior knowledge of the subject is required, but answering the questions correctly is a fine art, and practising as many of these tests as possible beforehand will stand you in good stead.

You’ll normally have to answer the questions by selecting ‘true’, ‘false’, or ‘cannot say.’ The main trick is to show you understand the difference between fact and inference, and that you’re capable of sifting through lots of text to find the really crucial information.

The test is timed, which adds to the pressure and is yet another reason that practising verbal reasoning tests beforehand is so important.

DWP panel interview

If you’re successful in the online aptitude tests, you’ll be selected for a panel interview. Normally conducted by two to three people, the interview is largely designed to assess both your communication skills and your competencies.

To prepare, it’s essential to review the job description and the DWP competencies. Think about how you can apply these to things you’ve done at work or in your personal life, to show you have the skills needed to excel at the job you’re applying for.

The interviewers will be looking for detailed, relevant and clear examples of how you’ve previously shown these competencies, so it’s important to prepare. You may be allowed to take notes in with you, though make sure you’re not reliant on reading from them.