MISFORTUNE IN THE 1980s
9312 Civil Service Selection Board
The Civil Service Selection Board, colloquially known as CSSB (pronounced 'cisbee') was just about the most thorough recruitment procedure I've ever been through. It is used for all those who want to enter the administrative grade of the civil service in the UK; that is the senior professionals who run the civil service, and hence the country. My involvement was as part of a recruitment campaign for late entry, experienced, civil servants. The reason for this was that, by the late Eighties, the civil service was no longer the career of choice for the brightest coming out the British universities and - even worse - was losing its brightest people to the commercial world. Accordingly it had to start to fill the holes that were appearing in the upper levels. This particular job was for, I think, level 7. It was one that promised advancement to at least Assistant Secretary, maybe to Undersecretary. As such it was taken very seriously by their recruiters.
The selection board took place over two days in the Cabinet Office on Whitehall. We were split into teams of 6 and each team had three recruiters attached. One of these was psychologist, one was an up-and-coming civil servant and one was a senior civil servant; in my case he was an ex-ambassador.
The selection procedure was based on four main processes. The first of these was a series of very rigorous intelligence tests, along with some personality tests. The second was writing skills, revolving around producing a minute for submission to a minister. The third was a series of meetings, where each individual ultimately chaired one of these. Finally there were the individual interviews with each of the recruiters. As I have said, the intelligence tests were very rigorous and were very carefully tailored to the position. Indeed, so careful was their work on these that -- after asking our permission -- they set another test at the end of the second day. This was to enter into their database of results. It was not to count towards our Board but might some stage in the future be entered into the main body of questions. This particular test has already been on trial for five years. However, they felt it would probably take another ten years to normalize it against the other questions!
I found these relatively easy, as I did the personality tests -- but you never know really what they are really looking for.
Writing the minutes came very easily to me, since I've been doing such things all my working life.
The discussion groups, and chairing these, again was something of which I have a great deal of experience.
My individual interviews were notable for the one with their psychologist. He eventually asked me about why I had had so many jobs. I said, first of all, that I guessed I was a dilettante. He was clearly not impressed. Then I changed, to say "...or perhaps it's more that I'm a generalist." His eyes lit up. The whole process of recruitment was, you see, intended to find people who were generalists. At that time, at least, the top level of the civil service was staffed by very powerful intellectuals who could turn their hand to anything.
Which of these tests I got right I don't know, but within a fortnight I was invited back for the final selection board. That was much faster than normal, since it normally took around two months for this to happen. I guess they were desperate.
The final selection board was just as impressive, not by its tests -- since here the procedure only consisted of an interview -- but the status of the people interviewing me. They were the permanent secretaries of three ministries; just about the highest powered group of people I have ever met in the United Kingdom. At the end of the interview I was offered a position in the civil service, with a bright future. Unfortunately, it was another five months before the position I wanted, in the DTI, was offered to me.
By then, however, I was already immersed in the Open University and loving every minute of it. Thus, are the best laid plans of recruitment undermined.
My interview at the Open University Business School (OUBS), then called the Open Business School (OBS), couldn't have been more different. It was true that some attempt had been made to test our intellectual ability -- in that we had been given one of the units of the marketing course to comment on -- but the main part consisted of two interviews. Each was with three of the academics at the University, with the most important one being the Dean of the OBS; Andrew Thomson. I always thought I was lucky, since the marketing material was rubbish and I was prepared to say so. Everyone else, who fortunately went ahead of me, said as much and I suspect offended the selection panels. By the time I got to my interview I suspect the panels were sick to death with the negative thoughts; and so they simply didn't ask any questions on it, which was very lucky indeed. Later, however, I found that my previous IBM boss, Mike (who had got me the Exceptional Achievement Award), was advising Andrew and gave me a good reference.
I suppose I was well-placed, because I had a good track record of industrial management experience -- which was one of the great things they were looking for -- whilst having some academic experience working with the London Business School (a reference you couldn't beat).
I liked Andrew as soon as I met him, and continued to like him throughout my career at the OUBS. On the other hand, on the other panel was a senior lecturer, David Asch, who I immediately distrusted. I remember going home and saying to Pat "I hope I do not have to work for that David Asch , he's a bastard". Of course that was exactly what eventually happened, and he was my downfall.
Andrew phoned me that night and said I had got the job, which was totally unexpected. Accordingly, it was with a very light heart that I left Mentor. In recent years, my one objective had been to get into the academic world. Even my project at Computerland was intended to be the cash cow which would buy my way into academia. Now I had achieved this.
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