The Home Office have been advertising various admin type jobs recently. I wondered if any forummers have experience of working there, and would recommend it as an employer?

I applied for a job and 3 months later i am still waiting clearance.

I have been re-assured i have the job, pending clearance and a start date!

I applied for a job and 3 months later i am still waiting clearance.

I have been re-assured i have the job, pending clearance and a start date!

Thats some delay! I hope they sort it out soon.

They have said its "normal" pratice to be waiting this long.

Macbeth- where are all the Government jobs advertised? Whenever I look at the homepages there is never any links? x

Macbeth- where are all the Government jobs advertised? Whenever I look at the homepages there is never any links? x

They were in the Star - some in a couple of weeks ago.

which home office base are you applying for?

I did 4 yrs at the Home Office so if you want to know anything, message me and i'll spill the beans.

My friend worked there and didn't enjoy it at all! But it didn't sound different to any other office job. she just didn't have much to do.

Hey Hansky, Kind of in same situation. Whens ur planned start date? Keep telling me they can't give me a rough estimation of how much longer it'd gonna take :-(

Hey Hansky, Kind of in same situation. Whens ur planned start date? Keep telling me they can't give me a rough estimation of how much longer it'd gonna take :-(


It took them over 8 months to sort our my application...after which point, i gave up

It took them over 8 months to sort our my application...after which point, i gave up


Ah, not very encouraging news, cheers for letting me know. Did they just keep telling you they were still doing pre-employment checks? No idea how it takes so long.

Thanks for info folks.

Ah, not very encouraging news, cheers for letting me know. Did they just keep telling you they were still doing pre-employment checks? No idea how it takes so long.

Yeap thats what they saying - waiting to "clear" the system etc - I had my interview and computer test in August.

Thing is - Im pregnant now so not sure if they can still employ me!

Hmm, so you expect to walk into the Home Office??

Security checks take ages, they need to make sure you're not a terrorist just applying there to get all your terrosrist mates UK Passports and stuff..

[QUOTE=Azrael316]Hmm, so you expect to walk into the Home Office??

[QUOTE]
Not really, but when I applied for this evening job, I explained i was after some "christmas money" and had my interview and was told someone would contact me in about a week.

That was August - although they keep ringing me and saying im waiting clearance.

Great. :rolleyes:

I've been checking this (http://www.careers.homeoffice.gov.uk/vacancies_vac.asp) site for months without a hint of a job. Civil servants. Pah!

I have just recieved the application pack and a forummer has reassured me that the selection process and security checking takes quite a while.

i work there and my husband has been waiting 9months!

i work there and my husband has been waiting 9months!

How long did you have to wait for?

I tried to go for one of the evening admin jobs at the Home Office via Brook Street. Arranged an appt & when the day came to go in I was told the lady was ill so they would reschedule. Rang to reschedule the next week as no one had been in touch and was told by someone else that there were no Home Office jobs available :mad:

How long did you have to wait for?

2 months....but that was just because of the police checks and i started just after xmas so there was the holidays delaying it too. i guess i was just lucky because HR are awful here! i havnt been paid right since i started!

my friend applied to the home office and even the application was a nightmare

my friend applied to the home office and even the application was a nightmare

Ah rightio, how was the application a nightmare? Application went ok for me-still just waiting on pre-employment checks being completed :-(

to be honest i dont like working here and im looking for another job. The pay is average, the people are bitchy, HR dont know there arse from there elbows and the more you work here the more the days just drag on, you do the same thing every day and people are constantly pushing you to do more. I dont want my husband to work for the home office but we cant afford to be picky with jobs!

I wouldnt sit waiting for a job like this, it could take over a year and youll only be disapointed in the end!

I know ppl who do and they don't want to so hope that answers your question.

Just sent off an application and i am now discovering this thread.:mad: looks like i wasted an hour of my life filling in that strange application form.:loopy:

I have just recieved the application pack and a forummer has reassured me that the selection process and security checking takes quite a while.

Certainly does, and thats just for basic clearance...

The next level up is a whole new ball game!

my friend applied to the home office and even the application was a nightmare

I thought the application form itself was quite straightforward. It asks for examples of competencies in several areas, such as IT and writing skills. The job needs a range of skills, so applicants need to demonstrate they have them. Understanding information and deciding how to deal with it appears to be part of the job, so completing the application form adequately is the first step in their recruitment process.

I had an interview a couple of weeks ago, now waiting to see what happens.

I hope they ain't advertising my job :hihi:

Hi Gillian,

I've had to post this directly in the forum as you've exceeded your pm inbox storage quota. Thanks very much for the information and link. However, it's not working for me. Can you give me more information or a different link to explain how I can apply? I understand it's only a week until you begin interviews but I would like to apply if it's still possible!

Kind regards,

Fiona.

PS. If anyone else has the info on how to apply for Home Office jobs directly then do let me know. :) :) :)

I've only seen them in the Sheffield Star - there were various adverts, the last one had a closing date of last Friday 17th Nov. Not much help, sorry.

Thanks yeah, it seems I was too late. :) Never mind.

ello peeps.....I have an interview next week at the home office and I was wondering if anybody(prefferably sombody who works/worked there!) could give me an idea of what to expect.

cheers

I can, pm me or e-mail me at lee_hamilton69@hotmail.com

I used to work there and did interviews and got promoted 3 times so i can help if required.

I can, pm me or e-mail me at lee_hamilton69@hotmail.com

I used to work there and did interviews and got promoted 3 times so i can help if required.

........ you helful person you.....i'll have to e-mail you because i'm abit of a newbie thus my post count isnt high enough to send pms..... thanks:thumbsup:

The Home Office have run a series of adverts in The Star, the first one I enquired by telephone about and was told that I couldn't apply because I had not lived in the UK for the best part of the last 3 years!! Even though I was born and bred in Sheffield and lived and worked in Sheffield for nearly 20 years, 13 of them for the Civil Service!! The second job advert I got from online and it didn't mention the same criteria. So I rang the contact mentioned in the job spec at the Home Office to check specifically about the condition and she informed me that I was OK. I then checked the paper the next day and there it was staring me in the face the condition that she told me didn't apply. A friend of mine then followed up this for me who works at the HO and it seems I do not satisfy the UK Immigration laws!!!!!!!!! I know we have tightened security but that is ABSOLUTELY RIDDICULOUS! Me - UK , Sheffield, born and bred, worked 13 years for the civil service not satisfy the Immigration laws!! The world's gone even madder

Same title, but new question

My friends are wondering when its time to freak out about getting their passports back.

They live in Spain and both their passports are at the Sheff HO, and they have been told it takes 3 months to process, but thats cutting it really fine for them and their intended travel.

If anyone works at the HO, please PM me.

This is not the thread I wanted to see!

I'm also waiting for "security" clearance. I went through an agency, so I don't know whether this will speed things up or slow them down? Surely if they are using an agency and looking for temps they can't expect people to wait months! The only good thing I've heard about this place is the casual dresscode.

I'm on a gap year and plan to go travelling in April so want to have a decent amount by this point. I'm also bored stiff sat around at home. I'd go looking for part-time work if i had a better idea of how long this would take.

I signed all the stuff and had it all sent off 3 weeks ago and haven't heard anything back from them.

It seems daft to me that it takes them 3 weeks to check that I don't have a criminal record, I hold a British passport, the son of British citizens and have lived in Sheffield for all 18 years of my life.

The amount of stuff they wanted as well. Driving license and paper counterpart, passport, 6 months bank statements, all my education certificates, national insurance, 3 year referees. If I was mugged on the day when I was carrying all that stuff about I'd be well and truly screwed.

One tip, don't bother! The people are mostly great but the place and work is awful. A really depressing atmosphere, and the new building is terrible. I'm so glad I left!

Get used to waiting though, takes about 3 months for them to pay your overtime!

I'm more than used to depressing places Downloadist so that doesn't bother me too much.

It's just the waiting and hanging around.

How long did it take you for your security stuff to come through?

Just you wait! You'll see! ;)

The security stuff took about five or six months to come through, that just about sets the standard you can expect for your future. Other tricks include interviewing people for promotions then not having a job for them after they're accepted. Some people I knew had an accepted promotion offer for a year, and then were told they'd have to reapply for the same job as the offer had expired. Great, eh?

Five or six months?! I really can't wait that long, especially for £6.50 an hour! I'm going to ring these people on Monday and find out what the hell is going on.

Even if I started working there tomorrow I'd only be there for 6 or 7 months. Thankfully I'm not getting into it as a career path, sounds like a nightmare!

Thanks for the info.

Same title, but new question

My friends are wondering when its time to freak out about getting their passports back.

They live in Spain and both their passports are at the Sheff HO, and they have been told it takes 3 months to process, but thats cutting it really fine for them and their intended travel.

If anyone works at the HO, please PM me.

does anyone know of a direct dial number into the passport department?
my friends have said they have to ring a general 0845 number and press heaps of buttons only to be cut off..... and it costs a lot when yo live in Spain.

Can anyone help? Pretty please?

I applied over a year ag.Got an interview.Didnt hear anything, so I rang up and they said that I had scored highly at the interview but there wasnt actually now any jobs!!.
However, I would be placed on a waiting list so that when a job became available, I would be near the top of the list!!:huh:

As you know, I didnt wait and am now both employed by another Company and self employed..(by myself!)

reading this lot is makeing me wonder how long my daughter will be waiting for her crb check to cum thru. she had the interview 2 wks ago + they told her 2-6wks! she has turned 2 interviews down else where since cos didnt want 2 start a jb then leave after a few wks. gutting r wot!

to be honest i dont like working here and im looking for another job. The pay is average, the people are bitchy, HR dont know there arse from there elbows and the more you work here the more the days just drag on, you do the same thing every day and people are constantly pushing you to do more. I dont want my husband to work for the home office but we cant afford to be picky with jobs!

I wouldnt sit waiting for a job like this, it could take over a year and youll only be disapointed in the end!

Sounds a lot like the Sheffield PCT!

Theres lots of places like this....its not unique.

The way I look at it is this...if you have some kinda middle management / team leader who is a right thicko and they have been there for 5 years.....just think it'll take you that long to get into their position (that you dont want) so just quit and get on the bottom run of a decent companies ladder. (or work for a smaller company)

Norwich Union sounds pretty similar (i worked there for a bit)