When you're applying for a job with Cheshire and Wirral Partnership (CWP), you will need to complete an online application form to tell us about yourself, your experience, qualifications and how you feel you meet the criteria and requirements for the job.
Your application form plays an important role in the recruitment process and a great application makes a great first impression, helping you to stand out against other applicants and increase your chances of being invited to interview.
It’s important to take your time to complete the form in full and accurately. This will help us to decide whether to shortlist you and invite you to an interview with us.
To help you, you may find it useful to ask yourself why you are interested in the job. Ask yourself:
• Do you have the relevant experience and/or qualifications required for the role?
• Do you share our Trust values?
• Why do you think you would be a good fit for the role?
Understanding what the role involves and the essential criteria required will help you in completing your application.
When we shortlist, we look at how well you demonstrate on your application form that you meet the essential (and desirable) criteria for the role, so please make sure you evidence as much of the person specification as possible.
To do this, you need to demonstrate you have the necessary qualifications, knowledge, skills, experience and values, and provide clear examples within the supporting information section.
Never submit the same application form twice for two different roles. Always adapt it to show how you meet the person specification of the post you are applying for.
Below you can view some helpful guidance broken down by each section of the application form to help you when completing this, as well as guidance around what happens after you have submitted your application.
Don't forget to take a look at the main application guide, for more general guidance around applying for a role with CWP and the wider recruitment process from application, to interview, to job offer.
Application form questions
In this section, you will be asked for your immigration status.
If you are a UK passport holder, please select:
- I am a UK/EC/EEA citizen with the right to work in the UK
If you are not a UK passport holder and you need help with understanding your visa status, you can contact the Home Office by clicking this link: www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk
In the 'Personal Details' section, you will be asked for the following:
- Title
- Forename
- Middle name/s (leave blank if you don’t have one)
- Surname
- Address
- City / town
- County
- Country
- Postcode
- Mobile telephone
- UK National Insurance number
- Preferred employment type
In the 'Relationships' section, you will be asked the following:
- If you are related to a director, or have a relationship with a director or employee of an appointing organisation, please state the relationship.
This questions is asked to identify bias, and ensure that any interviews or decisions are made without a conflict in interest.
If you are related to a director or employee of CWP, simply use the box to give their name and job title.
CWP have recently introduced the 'Refer a Friend' scheme - if you have been told about the role you're applying to by a family member or friend (working for CWP), you could both receive a £50 Love2Shop voucher each if you are successfully appointed. You can let us know their name and role by adding it to the ‘’Relationships’’ box.
In this section, you will be asked to declare any convictions. Please be honest and transparent in this section.
There is lots of supporting information on the application for and links to access further information as part of this question. If you do not fully understand the instructions or would like to speak to someone, please contact the recruitment team: cwp.
As part of your employment checks you may be asked to make an application for a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check. You will see on the advert whether you will a DBS check will be performed.
More information about DBS checks can be found on the Government website.
The find out what qualifications are required for the role you are applying to, please check the person specification - this can be found on the job description.
You will be asked to list your qualifications. This includes any GCSEs, A Levels, NVQs, BTECs, foundation degrees, degrees, masters degrees or postgraduate certificates you have obtained. For help, please contact the Recruitment team via email at: cwp.
Please see an example below:
| Subject / qualification | Place of study | Grade / result | Year obtained |
|---|---|---|---|
| English GCSE | High school name, city/town name | C | 2009 |
| Health and Social Care (NVQ) | College name, city/town name | Pass | 2011 |
In this section, you will be asked to list any additional training courses. This includes any work based, or additional certificated courses such as First Aid, Leadership training, Information and data handling. If you have 5+ courses to list - list the 5 most relevant to the role, you can then use the 'Supporting Information' to talk about the others if they are relevant.
Please see an example below or what information will be needed:
| Course title | Training provider | Duration | Year completed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health and safety | Place of work/study | 3 months | 2018 |
| First aid | Place of work/study | 2 weeks | 2019 |
Professional registration is not always required. Please check the Person Specification on the Job Description for if professional registration is required for the role you are applying to. If you are still unsure, please email cwp.
In this section, you will be asked to select one of the following options:
- I do not have the relevant UK professional registration
- I have a current UK professional registration relevant for this post
- I have temporary UK professional registration status relevant for this post
- UK professional registration required and applied for
- I am a student
- Not required for this post
In this section, you will be asked if you have worked for the NHS previously. It will ask for the employment start date, and end date.
If you have previously worked for the NHS, you will need to enter the month and year you started, and month and year the employment ended.
If you have continuously worked for the NHS, you do not need to enter a date for 'Employment end date', only the employment start date.
If you have never worked for the NHS, please leave this section blank.
In this section, you will list your previous periods of employment (most recent first). You will be asked for the following:
- Employer name
- Employer address
- Type of business - industry: health, retail, etc.
- Reporting to (job title) - your managers job title
- Telephone - your manager's phone number
- Your job title
- Start date
- End date
- Grade - this is not always required)
- Salary - or hourly wage (again this is not always required)
- Period of notice
- Reason for leaving (if applicable)
- Brief description of your duties and responsibilities - what were your main duties and what did you do as part of your role? What responsibilities did you have?
In this section, you will be asked to list any gaps in employment. This is for any period where you have been out of employment, education, and/or training. This can include for any personal circumstances, travelling, raising children, caring for someone, etc.
Please see an example below :
- Raising child (4 months) Jan 2018 - May 2018
- Studies (2 years) Sept 2020 - Sept 2022
- Long-term sickness (3 months) Feb 2023 - May 2023
If you have no gaps in employment, you can leave this section blank.
This is an important part of your application. The 'supporting information' section is your opportunity to sell yourself – think of this as your covering letter - so make sure you use it to your advantage. You can include any information here which has not been covered elsewhere on your application form. However, please remember to keep the information relevant for the job you are applying for. In fact, providing a small amount of information which clearly relates to the requirements of the person specification is much better than providing lots of information which is not particularly relevant to the role.
We recommend that you spend some extra time to draft what you would like to say in this section. You can use our Application Guide for extra support.
To write a strong application, you should use the person specification which can be found on the job description. Address each of the points and think about how you meet the essential and desirable criteria. Think about your good qualities, skills and experience.
You have 1,500 words to use for your supporting information, but do not feel that you need to use all 1,500 - just use as many as you need.
Tip: Use a digital typing program that can then be copied and pasted into your application form, or write by hand a draft of your supporting information which can then be typed in to your application form.
| Section | Talk about |
|---|---|
| Opening | Think about why you are applying for this role. What makes you suitable? |
| Qualifications | Talk about what qualifications you have. Check if the person specification asks for GCSEs, A-levels, diplomas, NVQ, degree, etc. Explain how you meet the criteria in this section. Address each bullet point in the person specification found on the job description. |
| Knowledge and expertise | In this section, you can talk about your work skills and work knowledge - including your communication and your organisation skills, as well as your ability to work alone and your experience at fulfilling the duties or responsibilities relating to the role you're applying for. This is an opportunity to demonstrate your abilities. |
| Experience | What experience do you have that you could use in this role? Have you worked in a similar role before? If not, do you have any transferable skills? |
| Analytical and judgemental skills | Read through each of the points in this section and write about how you meet them. |
| Personal skills | Write about the persona skills you bring to the role. Think about your good qualities, eg are you able to work as part of a team and collaborate with others. |
In this section, you will be asked the following questions:
- Please declare if you have any secondary employment, private work or company directorships.
Here you can tell us if you have any additional jobs or contracts of employment.
- Are you a member of the Armed Forces community?
If you are a member of the Armed Forces Community, you are entitled to a guaranteed interview if you meet the essential criteria. Here you can select 'Yes', 'No', or 'Do not wish to disclose'.
Members of the Armed Forces include:
- Veteran
- Reservist
- Cadet Force Adult Volunteer
- Partner or spouse of someone actively in the forces
In this section, you will be asked for references covering 3 years of study or employment. If you do not have study or employment references, you can select to use a character/personal reference (someone who has known you for 3+ years). You will be asked for:
- Referee's title
- Referee's first name(s)
- Referee's surname
- Referee's organisation name
- Referee’s Job title (e.g. Store Manager, Team Leader, etc.)
- How do they know you? (Character, Employer, Tutor etc.)
- Referees telephone no. (If you have it)
- Referees mobile no. (If you have it)
- Email address (This cannot be a personal email address, for example, @gmail.com)
- Can the referee be approached prior to the interview? (CWP do not typically request a reference before your interview)
- Period this reference covers from:
- Period this reference covers to:
- What name will the referee know you by if different from your current name?
- Why has your name changed?
This information will not be visible to the person who will be reviewing your application.
In this section, you will be asked for the following information - you can select from the drop down lists.
- Please state your date of birth
- Please indicate your gender
- Please indicate the option which best describes your marital status:
- Please indicate your ethnic origin
- Which of the following options best describes how you think of yourself? (sexual orientation)
- Please indicate your religion or belief
We ask for this information to ensure that we as a Trust as being fair and equitable. If you need any help with completing this section, please contact the Recruitment Team: cwp.
On the application form, you will see the following question and statement:
- According to the definition of disability do you consider yourself to have a disability?
If you have a disability, do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme if you meet the essential criteria as specified in the personal specification.
The Equality Act 2010 protects disabled people - including those with long term health needs, learning disabilities and 'hidden' disabilities, and neurodivergence. Please let us know if you have needs and would like us to make reasonable adjustments to ensure the recruitment process is fair and equitable. You can select more than one option.
If you are neurodivergent - please select ‘Yes’, and then 'Other' in the second drop down box.
Reasonable adjustments will be made available should you be invited to interview.
You will be asked where you heard about the vacancy you are applying to. For example:
- Social media
- Cheshire and Wirral Partnership website
- Referral
This is to help us understand where people are able to find our vacancies and the visibility of careers available with CWP.
After you submit your application
What happens next?
Once you have completed your application, you will receive an email confirming that it has been submitted. This email will be sent from TRAC with the subject:
- Application for job **vacancy number** **job title**
When the vacancy has closed, your application will be reviewed. You should hear back within a few weeks.
You will see the closing date of the vacancy on the advert. An example of where you will see it is below:
You will find additional information about the shortlisting process on page 6 of the Application Guide.
You can contact the Recruitment team if you would like an update on your application form: cwp.
Being invited to attend an interview
What happens next?
Once your application has been reviewed, the hiring manager will either:
- Contact you to let you know that your application has been unsuccessful.
- Invite you to an interview.
You will be contacted via email either way.
If you are invited to an interview, you will be asked to follow a link to confirm that you would like to attend - this will be sent via email. You will then chose a date and time that has been supplied by the hiring manager. Sometimes, there will be limited interview slots. If you’re not able to make any of the available dates or times, please contact the recruitment team to discuss alternatives: cwp.
Once you have booked your interview
Requesting reasonable adjustments
You are able to request reasonable adjustments for your interview. Reasonable adjustments can include (but not limited to):
- A quiet room to wait in before your interview
- A copy of the interview questions in advance
- A different coloured paper if you are being asked to complete an assessment
- Extra interview time
- Changes to lighting and noise
The interview can take at least 20 minutes. You can ask in your interview how long it might take to complete the interview.
Request a reasonable adjusment
To request a reasonable adjustment, you can do this by contacting the recruitment team:
Email: cwp.
Phone: 01244 39310
Following your interview
What happens next?
Once you have been interviewed, you will be invited to ask questions. If you do not have any, that’s fine. However, you can use this time to ask questions about when you should expect to find out the outcome, what the next steps might be, or to ask questions about the role itself, etc. Indeed has some helpful guidance around asking questions in an interview.
You will be contacted via phone with the outcome of your interview. This will be via the phone number you listed on your application.
If you have been successful in your interview, please refer back to our Application Guide for what happens during your pre-employment checks (pages 9 and 10).
