How to complete the online application form

The online application form is a straight forward way of completing your job application.   You do not have to complete it in one go as you will be given an ID number and PIN to use to go back to your application.  This can be e-mailed to you as well as reminders letting you know if a closing date is near.

You will be able to keep returning to your application until either you submit it to us or the closing date of the job is reached.

The form itself is divided into eight sections:

• Equal Opportunities Monitoring Information
• Personal details
• Education
• Membership of Professional Bodies & Training
• Present employment
• Employment history
• Relevant skills & experience
• References & supporting information
• Viewing your application

You do not have to complete the form in a particular order.  To move between sections either use the “Previous” and “Next” buttons at the bottom of each section or just click the section tabs on the left of the form.  Any information that you have entered will automatically be saved whenever you leave a particular page.

Once you have completed each section you can review and print it before finally submitting it to us.

To start your application simply select the “Apply for this job online” button that you will find at the bottom of each job advert.

Equal Opportunities Monitoring Information

We should be grateful if you would complete the information requested so that we can monitor equality and inclusion data to ensure that we are treating all candidates fairly and appropriately.

This information will be treated as confidential and will not be forwarded to recruiting managers nor used as part of the selection process.

Personal Details

You may have already completed much of the information required here when you completed the Equal Opportunities Monitoring page.  If so, this information will have been brought forward into this section.

There are a number of fields that need to be completed and you will not be able move on until you have entered the information required.

To assist in the organisation of interviews we may need to contact you.  Please indicate on the form if we would be able to contact you at work and if we could, enter your work contact details.  We will only contact you at work when necessary and will exercise the utmost discretion if we do.

We should also appreciate it if you would list any dates that you are unavailable for interview if selected.

Education

Use this section to give all relevant information about education received and any qualifications gained.  You will be asked to provide evidence of your qualifications where they are a requirement of the job.

Details should be entered into the grid on the page.  Follow the instructions on the page on how to do this.  You should complete a new row for each qualification gained but you do not need to enter the education establishment each time if it is the same as in the previous row.

To save the details entered, use the update button after entering each row.

Membership of Professional Bodies and Training

Use this section to enter membership details of any Professional Bodies or relevant training courses that you have attended entering the details into the appropriate grids on the page.

To save the details entered, use the update button after entering each row.

Present Employment

You will need to provide the following information for your current position (where applicable) and for each previous employer you wish to tell us about:

• Company name
• Address (current employer only)
• Job Title
• Date appointed
• Notice period required
• Your current salary
• What position you report to (and what positions report to you)
• Your key duties and responsibilities (use bullet points for simplicity)
• Reasons for leaving your present employment
• If you are intending to continue with additional employment if appointed (and if so, to give details)

Employment History

Use this section to detail any previous paid employment that you may have had.  You should also account for any gaps in employment (subject to provisions relating to disclosure under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974)

You should complete a new row for each of your previous employers.  Remember that to save the details entered, use the update button after entering each row.

This section also asks if you have previously worked for Fareham Borough Council.   If so, list any details in the grid provided, again remembering to use the update button after entering each row.

Relevant Skills and Experience

The information that you provide in this section is important as it is used to help us decide, in a fair and objective way, who will be invited for an interview.   We also use it as the basis of the questions we ask at interview and for any testing we may use.

Begin by reading through all the information in the recruitment pack, paying particular attention to the skills, experience, personal qualities set out in the Person Specification.

Set out each requirement of the Person Specification in turn explaining how your experience and skills meet each requirement using examples where possible.   Using sub-headings can be a useful way to do this.   It is really helpful to us if you use the same order as the requirements appear in the Person Specification.

If you do not have recent work experience or if you are a school/college leaver tell us about any relevant experience from your involvement with school/college or community, voluntary or leisure interests.

Please bear in mind that a relevant and concise application is much more helpful than an extremely detailed application where we have to search for evidence that you meet the Person Specification.

You may wish to take time to complete this section off line.  If this is the case and you decide to use a different word processing application (eg Word) to type into, you can copy & paste your text into the application form when you log back on.  Simply return to this section and paste your work into the appropriate box.

(n.b. although bullet points, carriage returns etc can be pasted into the application form, formatting such as bold or italic is not supported)

References and Supporting Information

Please provide details of two referees who have given their permission for their names to be used.  One of these should be your current or most recent employer, and your previous employer if you have been in your current employment for less than two years.

Referees should not be friends, neighbours or relatives, but those who can comment on your conduct and behaviour at work and know you in a professional capacity (i.e. as your Manager, Supervisor or client).  If you are a school/college leaver, or have not been in employment for some time, please provide two similar alternatives e.g. Headteacher.

Our preference is to request references by e-mail, as this speeds up confirmation of the employment offer - so please provide an e-mail address where this is available.

Enter the referees details in the grid provided, remembering to use the update button after entering each row.

Please supply information regarding work permits and transportation.  If appropriate, complete the details relating to previous convictions and days absent from work due to sickness by completing the appropriate grids.

You should also use this section to declare any relationships (personal or business) that may impact on your employment with Fareham Borough Council.

Viewing your application before submission

Before you submit your application to us you can review the information that you have entered.  Use the “Review Application” button at the bottom of section 8 to view your entire application.

Should you wish to change anything on the application form use the “Return to Application” button at the bottom of the page and you will be taken back into your application to allow you to edit any of the sections.

This application form can now be printed if required.  Use the print facility on your internet browser to do this.

If you wish to submit your application use the “Submit Application” button at the bottom of the page.