Help with your application
Our application process is simple, but robust and effective. It gives you insight into HS2, while giving us the information we need to ensure you’re right for the role.
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have made the decision to postpone all of our public face-to-face engagement events and meetings for the safety of our staff, stakeholders and communities. We have also put in place alternative ways of communicating and engaging regularly with communities to ensure that we can continue to inform, listen and respond.
The HS2 Helpdesk remains operational all day, every day, and is your first point of contact: Freephone 08081 434 434; Minicom 08081 456 472; Email: [email protected]. If you contact us by post there will be an extended delay in us responding to you.
Our application process is simple, but robust and effective. It gives you insight into HS2, while giving us the information we need to ensure you’re right for the role.
We ask for a variety of detail in your online application, however we perform the first assessment of suitability for a role based solely on the information in your CV. So make sure you include evidence directly related to the criteria in the role profile.
Make sure you read the job advert carefully. To give you a clear idea as to knowledge skills and ability we are looking for.
Brevity is the sister of talent. ― Anton Chekhov
Once you’ve done this, sit down and rewrite your CV to make sure that the specific experience that you believe is relevant to the role is clearly described by examples.
Laszlo Bock who was Head of People at Google has a simple formula for quantifying any experience that will transform your resume from a list of duties into a clear picture of your achievements and skills: Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z].
Start with an active verb, numerically measure what you accomplished, provide a baseline for comparison, and detail what you did to achieve your goal,
For example, take this sentence from a sample resume:
Bock rewrote it to say this:
The role profile includes the knowledge, skills and experience that we are looking for.
We use the scoring matrix below to enable us to measure and align measurements.
This is why re-writing your CV is critical.
By quoting examples of when, why and how you demonstrated the skills, knowledge and other qualities in the past, you show that you have the potential to apply them in a new job in the future.
A great way to be automatically notified about suitable new roles as soon as they are advertised is to set up job alerts on the HS2 careers portal.
There are two different methods of setting up job alerts
At the bottom of Personal Information page there is a checkbox which will share vacancies based on keywords in your CV. You need to select the check box at the very bottom of the personal information page which will match your profile to new positions.
There is also the capability to set up saved searches when you are in the front screen of the HS2 jobs portal – you can save up to three searches.
Depending on the role you have applied for, there may be a range of technical, role-specific or psychometric tests to assess your knowledge, skills and experience.
To give yourself the best chance of a high scoring answer, the STAR technique can help you think clearly about identifying a situation, task, action and result and provides useful guidance on structuring your answers so that they are clear and easy for the interviewer to follow.
Situation: how, when, where, with whom? (Set the scene and context for your action).
Task: what was the situation or what task were you faced with? (Explain what your responsibilities and objectives were and where relevant what resources you used).
Action: what action did you take? (Describe what you did, thought, felt and why. Focus on your specific involvement in the situation and how you went about achieving what you set out to do).
Result: what results did you achieve/conclusions did you reach? (Describe the outcome(s) of your actions and the impact of your actions on others and on the situation).
Write your answers down in the STAR format or practice your examples out loud. Check that your answers are clear and comprehensive by trying them out on your family, friends and anyone who’ll listen!
Try and anticipate the interviewers’ follow-up questions and be ready with your responses. The interviewer might follow up a main question with probes like: what difficulties did you experience, what resistance did you encounter, what might you do differently?
We will be looking for your evidence to be clear, comprehensive and to display positive behaviours that are consistent with our values.
If you are invited to interview you will meet with a panel of 3 HS2 employees including the line manager, a representative from HR and a third individual, potentially from outside the team or function. A diverse interview panel helps us to consider candidates from a broader range of perspectives and this makes our roles more accessible and our decisions better. Our interviews are designed to measure behaviours, skills, knowledge and experience. If you’re selected for an interview, consider how your experience demonstrates your ability to do the job. It’s likely we’ll also ask you about the HS2 project, our Leadership framework and our corporate values.
If you are successful and we offer you a role with HS2, then we will go through a number of background and verification checks before you start.
These include: Previous employment verification, education verification, finance checks and a basic check of unspent criminal convictions.
Some roles may require more in depth background checking, but we will discuss this with you during the application process if this is the case.
For careers-related enquiries, please email us at [email protected].
For any general enquiries, please see our contact and help page for more information.
Safety, respect, integrity and leadership are central to HS2 successfully delivering our vision. They don’t build the railway but they absolutely shape the environment we all work in while we're doing it. For this reason we look to include our values as part of our assessment process.
Caring for our workforce, passengers and the public by creating an environment where no one gets hurt. That means making safety our first consideration and speaking up and intervening if something is unsafe.
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Understanding others, recognising their value and behaving accordingly. That means listening and being open-minded; explaining decisions clearly; working flexibly; and appreciating the impact of our actions.
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Acting fairly, transparently and consistently. That means using the powers we’ve been given wisely; acknowledging the impact of the HS2 programme; and doing the right thing, even in difficult circumstances.
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Using innovation and challenging to lead by example. That means making the most of the unique opportunity HS2 offers; having clear direction to deliver excellence; and setting new standards for mega-projects.
Leadership
using innovation and challenging to lead by example
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At HS2 we all have a leadership role – in setting standards, expectations and investing into the development of teams and colleagues around us. We use the framework below to assess and develop our leaders.
The people leadership element is about getting people to follow you as a leader, and executing the delivery of projects through people.
Relationship leadership includes suggestions and ideas for developing your skills in influencing others and collaborative leadership.
Business leadership includes ideas and learning around making sustainable business decisions, and conveying a vision consistently.
Entrepreneurial leadership includes content and resources on innovating and leading major change, and developing and growing talent around you.