Talent Acquisition Process and Advice

The Central Bank of Ireland has a standard recruitment process with the slight difference of a second round interview with presentation for roles at a BP2 level and above. The below gives further information as to the process.

(BO, BE, BP3) - The interview process for BO, BE and BP3 is a one round interview where you be assessed on your technical ability and experience as well as the core competencies aligned to the requirements of the role. Two hiring panel members will interview you and this will last 50-60 mins.

(BP2, BP1, Head of Function, Head of Division) As mentioned, there are two rounds. For the first round you be assessed on your technical ability and experience aligned to the requirements of the role. In the second round, you will be given a particular topic to present on, this will be followed by follow up questions and answers and then finally you will be assessed on the core competencies aligned to the requirements of the role. 60-70 mins.

For the technical element of your interview. We will assess you on some of the key technical requirements for the role, these will be particular to the role requirements and the panel will have questions that will assess your abilities for the role.

For the competency questions, we focus on finding specific skills that are important to a job. These questions are based on our priority behaviours, which can be accessed here.

In addition, for Head of Function, Head of Division, you will be required to complete a set of personality assessments designed to align to the senior responsibilities of the role.

Our interview process is hybrid approach in that we still carry out remote interviews through WebEx. However, you may be required to attend on-site interviews for final stages.

Yes, for our Graduate Programme potential candidates will be required to complete these online assessments. In addition, for some BO and BE roles, we do reserve the right to issue online psychometric assessments for candidates to complete. 

We recommend to all candidates when interviewing to use the STAR Model Technique.

Situation - Provide a brief description of the “why”

Describe the context within which you performed a job or faced a challenge at work. Include the particular setting and details of the circumstance.

Task - Provide a brief description of the “what”

What was the piece of work to be completed, or challenge to overcome? Describe your responsibility in the situation.

Action - Provide a larger description of the “how”

What actions did you take and why? Focus on what you did, rather than team/manager. Use “I” language, as opposed to “we”.

Result - Provide a description of the outcome

Explain the impact of actions and the end outcome. Focus on successes delivered and lessons learned.

Analyse the job description: Review the job description and required experience. Consider what sorts of challenges might arise or what obstacles you may have to navigate in the position. What competencies would you need to be successful in this role?

Relate this to your experience: Write down various situations you have handled in your work history that would display the sorts of competencies you will need to succeed in the role. You will be provided with a Role Profile that will identify the key competencies required for this role. Prepare each example using the STAR Model Technique.

Practice: Practice talking through your answers aloud to make sure each story is as concise and coherent as possible. This will also help you feel more confident and natural when delivering the answers in an interview.

Learn the tech: We recommend that in advance of the video interview, everything is set up correctly and you are familiar with the particular video interview platform. We recommend that you make sure the laptop you are using is charged and camera is working. You should also ensure you have contact info for interviewer in case of any tech issues.

Ensure you are set up: Ideally, if you can avoid any harsh lighting behind you. Instead, try to have some natural light in front of your face. You should also ensure you have no distractions for duration of interview if possible.

A large part of the way we communicate is non-verbal. Thankfully, a video interview still allows for face, tone and body language to show through.

We recommend considering the below tips, when preparing for a remote interview:

•  Make eye contact with the camera, to the best of your ability.
•  Remember, it is ok to pause for a moment if you need to consider the question for a moment before responding.
•  Reduce external noise or distractions around you so you can focus on the interview.

We know it's our people who make the Central Bank special and we are focused on creating a diverse, inclusive, fulfilling and progressive work environment. We encourage applications from candidates with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives as it strengthens us, as individuals and as an organisation. We are committed to positively supporting candidates with disabilities. If we can make any reasonable accommodations for you in the recruitment process in order to give you the opportunity to perform to your best, please email our Disability Inclusion Partner, [email protected]  or 01 224 6711. Any information that you provide will be used only for the purposes of providing relevant support and will have no bearing on how your application will be viewed. 

Once the panel have completed their set of questions, they will hand over to you to see if there is any questions that you would like to ask. We don’t have any set questions that we advise to ask, but we recommend that you ask any questions that you may have particularly  regarding the role, career development or indeed anything that you may want to ask. The panel will answer as best they can.

We recommend that candidates dress in a business manner for any remote/in-house interviews.