Wiltshire Council is a place where everyone matters - both
residents, and the people who work for us. We value the critical
role each and every individual plays in helping us to deliver more
than 300 different services across the county.
We are an innovative and progressive authority, offering a wide
range of careers. If you are looking for exciting career
opportunities, you'll find these pages are the best place to begin
your search.
Take a look at where you could be working and the activities that take place.
Could you be a great fit for Wiltshire? Our questionnaire will help you decide.
Here at Wiltshire Council, we believe in doing the right thing, and not always the
conventional thing, so we look for people who are brimming with ideas and not afraid to share them (something that's as true for our most junior roles as it is for our leadership positions).
We need people who are happy to take on responsibility, and are innovative and collaborative in their approach.
We also strive for excellence in everything we do. That could mean finding ways to keep things simple; using new technology to work more effectively and building partnerships with our local communities to deliver great results.
This may describe the way you like to work, but perhaps the best way to find out if we'd be a good fit for you, and you for us, is to take our questionnaire.
You'll be given a number of different scenarios based on situations you might find yourself in if you join us, and then we'll ask you to select one of two possible responses.
This will help you to see how well your approach reflects what we look for in our employees.
The questionnaire is totally anonymous, and has been created purely as a tool to help you decide if your future lies with Wiltshire. There is no pass or fail. We will not consider the results of the questionnaire if you decide to apply for a job.
Completing the questionnaire
To get the most benefit from the questionnaire, you need to be as honest as possible — remember, we are not looking to catch you out.
You will be presented with a brief scenario followed by a pair of statements. Choose the statement which most appeals to you or is most like you.
Once you have made your choice, we will give you more information about what we expect at Wiltshire.
When you have finished the whole questionnaire, we will tell you if working here will suit the way you like to work. We will also provide links to other information to help you with your application.
Before you start, we want you to know there are 13 scenarios in this questionnaire. It is not timed and should take about 10 minutes to complete.
You have a new task to complete and have been shown the standard procedure you need to follow. It's the first time you have completed this task and you think the process is confusing.
What might you do?
I would discuss my ideas for improvements with my line manager.
I would keep quiet as this is the first time I have followed the procedure. I would feel that I shouldn't say anything at this stage.
At Wiltshire, we want to provide our community with high quality services. To achieve this, we need everyone to think about how they could improve the way we work and ask 'how could we do this better?' We would like all our people to feel comfortable suggesting improvements so that we can provide a better service.
You have been asked to sort out a tricky customer issue within your own area and immediately have an idea of how to solve the problem.
What is your preferred approach?
I would check my ideas with someone else before doing anything.
I would feel confident dealing with this without having to refer to anyone else.
At Wiltshire we trust our people to take responsibility for their work and give them the freedom to make decisions. A career at Wiltshire Council means being accountable for your own work and feeling confident enough to take action without asking others first.
It's a busy time of year and you are feeling under pressure, as you have a lot of work to do before the end of the day. A colleague is looking very unhappy after a stressful meeting.
What approach might you take?
I would keep my head down and concentrate on my job; it's their own private matter.
I would stop what I was doing and ask my colleague if they are alright.
Teamwork is an important factor in our service to customers, but it also makes Wiltshire a tremendously rewarding and enjoyable place to work. At Wiltshire we value our colleagues; we look out for each other and we support each other, no matter how busy we are.
You are working with a very close-knit team within a wider service area. As a team you are consistently achieving your goals and are one of the best performing teams in your service area.
How might you feel about this?
I would feel that it is important to continue to work as a close knit team so that we can achieve even better things together.
I would feel that it is important to get to know the other teams in our service area to find out how our work relates to theirs.
We know we can achieve much, much more when we work together across boundaries. Knowing your own team goals is important, but greater understanding across the organisation and with our partners will help us work more efficiently and to a higher standard, right across the council.
On top of your usual day-to-day tasks, you have been handling a difficult customer situation that is not officially your responsibility. It is taking more time than you expected it to. You know that others (including the customer) are relying on you to sort this situation out.
What would be your priority in this situation?
I would want to focus on my day-to-day tasks and would try to hand the problem over to somebody else. That way, I could concentrate on other customer issues.
I would want to find a way to manage the difficult situation and my workload at the same time, until the problem was resolved and the customer had a result.
At Wiltshire we need our people to accept responsibility. They need the flexibility, initiative and determination to achieve results, even if this means taking on extra responsibilities outside their usual day-to-day tasks.
You have noticed that some customers have to speak to several people to get an answer to a particular issue.
What might you think about this?
I would think about what could be done to simplify the process.
I would think that it is important to have a thorough process with checks in place to ensure the final decision is well thought out.
One of our values is to place our customers first. If we can identify and cut out unnecessary steps and processes it will help to make our services better and more efficient for customers.
You have been told that there's a new project in the pipeline, to improve how Wiltshire Council works with other organisations. Your Line Manager wants to have a team meeting to discuss views and ideas.
What might you think about this?
I would expect my Line Manager to tell the team about the new ideas.
I would expect to be involved in sharing and discussing ideas with the team.
We know that excellence can begin with a good idea, and that a good idea can come from anyone, at any level. So we want everyone to contribute to new ideas — this will help us to think of new and better ways to work with our communities.
You are very busy working on a task and feel confident that you have all the information you need to meet the fast approaching deadline. A colleague from another team stops to talk to you as they have some ideas on the work you are doing.
What is your preferred approach?
I would stop and listen to their views.
I would apologise and explain that I don't have time to consider this now as I need to finish my work in time for the deadline.
At Wiltshire we value our colleagues and we know we can achieve more when we listen to others and work closely together. Understanding different views is key to the work we do and helps us build trust and respect with the people we work with.
At work you overhear a team member's conversation with a customer. Your colleague seems very hesitant and nervous, which may give the wrong impression of the council.
What might you do?
I would ignore the situation as I wouldn't want them to think I was listening in.
I would empathise and would share my own experiences. If I could, I would offer some tips on how I deal with similar conversations.
We believe that you don't need to be called a leader to be one. Leadership is important at all levels in the council and we would like people who work here to inspire others and show leadership, whatever their job title.
After attending a meeting with people from other service areas, a person who you don't know very well gives you some feedback. They felt that the way you challenged others was unhelpful.
How might you react to this?
I would think they are being overly critical and don't know me very well.
I would think about the feedback and whether I should change my approach in the future.
A career at Wiltshire Council means taking responsibility for your own actions. This includes accepting and learning from feedback, and taking responsibility for improving the way you work.
You have been asked to attend a meeting to discuss ways to simplify processes.
What might you think?
This sounds like something that I could get involved in, as I know my job better than anyone.
This sounds like a management issue and I expect that I will to be told what I need to do differently.
At Wiltshire we are aiming to simplify our processes to make them more efficient. This will improve the customer experience and save money. You might get the opportunity to be involved in 'systems thinking' and to give your opinion on how things could be simplified in your own job.
It is your day off and you have visited the local library. You overhear a conversation between a customer and a member of staff. It appears that neither of them knows how to use a council internet site you have used before.
What might you do?
I would offer to help them, by showing them what to do.
I wouldn't do anything as the discussion didn't involve me.
At Wiltshire we want everyone to be an ambassador for the council to help make the community a better place. We want all our people to think about what would make their own and others' lives easier.
You have been told that there are going to be some changes to your usual way of working which will involve some initial upheaval.
How might you feel in this situation?
Worried, as I work better in an environment where there is stability.
Confident that I can adapt to the changes.
We need people who can adapt and cope in an environment where change is the norm. For example, flexible working, hot desking and use of new technology are becoming the norm at Wiltshire Council.
Thank you for completing our questionnaire. Based on the answers you gave we think you are a % match.
We hope it has given you a useful insight into what is expected of our people at Wiltshire and what we are hoping to achieve. We believe that the way you work will help us to achieve our ambitious goals over the next few years. We strongly encourage you to complete our on-line application and look forward to receiving this. To find out more about what we are looking for during the selection process, it might be helpful to check out our "Behaviours framework" (if you haven’t seen it already).
Good luck with your application!
Back to website
Thank you for completing our questionnaire. Based on the answers you gave we think you are a % match.
We hope it has given you a useful insight into what is expected of our people at Wiltshire and what we are hoping to achieve. We would encourage you to apply for a job. However, before doing so, we think it would be a good idea for you to learn more about the way we work. Our "Behaviours Framework" will help you understand what we look for during the selection process. Good luck with your application!
Back to website
Thank you for completing our questionnaire. Based on the answers you gave we think you are a % match.
We hope it has given you a useful insight into what is expected of our people at Wiltshire and what we are hoping to achieve. Based on your answers, we think that Wiltshire Council may not be the right place for you. We encourage you to review our "Behaviours Framework" and think carefully about whether this is the right career move for you before applying.
