Guidance for applicants
Thank you for your interest in a role at Bridgend College.
We want you to complete an application which best reflects your abilities for the role, so please read the following guidance before submitting your application.
In order to apply online, you will need to create an online account. If you are an existing user, please log in using your current username and password. This will allow you to save applications which are in progress and view submitted applications.
Preparing your application
We want you to complete an application that best reflects your abilities. To help the process go smoothly, please have the following information ready before you begin:
- Your work History
- Employer Details: The name and location of each previous company.
- Your Title: Your specific job title for each role.
- Dates: The month and year you started and ended each position.
- Your Qualifications
- Essential Training: Details of qualifications required for the role or highly relevant to it.
- Education History (Optional): The name of the institution and the date you completed your studies.
- Evidence for the Role
- The Job Pack: Read the Advert and Job Information Pack carefully to understand the role requirements.
- Essential Skills: Identify the “essential skills” in the person specification.
- Real Examples: Prepare specific evidence or examples that show how you meet these skills.
The advert and Job Information Pack
Please read these carefully, so that you fully understand what the role entails and what is required. We can only consider you for an interview if you show you have met the essential skills listed in the person specification. Be sure to provide evidence of these skills in your application.
Use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI tools can be a helpful way to prepare your application, structure your thoughts, or improve your writing. To help us find the best person for the role, please keep the following in mind:
- Be Authentic: All answers should be honest and based on your own real-life work experience.
- Avoid “Copy-Paste”: Please do not copy and paste generic responses from AI or use it to invent skills you do not have.
- Accuracy Matters: If an application is found to be misleading, it may be removed from the recruitment process.
Application Form
This is the first stage of our recruitment process where we look at your qualifications and experience to see if you are a good fit for the role. It is very important that all sections of the application form are completed as clearly and fully as possible, as it’s the only information we’ll use at this stage to see if you meet the job requirements.
There will be guidance notes on each section of the online application form:
Once all pages have been completed fully, the summary page will look like this:
You should then be able to press the âApplyâ button, when you will be asked the following question:
If you are happy, please click on the confirm button.
The declaration
By completing and submitting the application form you are accepting the terms of the declaration. Any false statement or omission of information could result in your application being withdrawn or your appointment being terminated.
Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS)
Here at Bridgend College we operate Guaranteed Interview Schemes (GIS)
As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to interviewing disabled applicants (as the Equality Act 2010 defines) meeting the essential criteria.
The Equality Act defines a disabled person as someone “who has or has had in the past a physical or mental impairment with substantial long term adverse effects on their ability to do normal day-to-day activities”. This includes neurodivergent conditions such as Autism (ASD), ADHD, and Dyslexia.
We want to ensure our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to everyone. If you require any reasonable adjustments at any stage of the processâfrom the initial application to the interviewâplease let us know as early as possible. We are happy to discuss how we can best support you.
For more information on our commitment to inclusion, please visit our Accessibility and Neurodiversity page.
This scheme does not guarantee a job for disabled applicants. Selection procedures will ensure the best candidate for the job is chosen based on the job packâs criteria.
If you are eligible and want to apply under this scheme, please state your eligibility in the relevant section of your application form. Only eligible applicants will be considered under these schemes.
As an employer we recognise that we have a role to play in helping those leaving the Armed Forces (veterans) fulfil their potential in civilian life. We acknowledge that making this transition can be extremely challenging, and in particular finding and securing lasting employment.
A guaranteed interview will be offered to people meeting the roleâs essential criteria as the job specification outlines and:
- who are currently serving in the armed forces and within 12 weeks of the discharge date
- or their last long-term substantive employer was the armed forces, and no more than three years has passed since the discharge date
This scheme does not guarantee a job for veterans. Selection procedures will ensure the best candidate for the job is chosen based on the job packâs criteria.
If you are eligible and want to apply under these schemes, please state your eligibility in the relevant section of your application form. Only eligible applicants will be considered under these schemes.
Equal Opportunities and Welsh Language Abilities
Bridgend College values, based on our mission statement, Be All That You Can Be, are founded in positively promoting diversity and equal opportunity, supporting all learners and employees to be the very best they can be, and as such, we welcome applications from all candidates and we select staff solely on merit.
Join us at Bridgend College, where we believe in the power of an inclusive culture that allows everyone to bring their full and authentic selves to work. We are committed to equality and are actively seeking to improve our staff diversity to better represent, and therefore better serve, our communities.
As a part of this commitment, we are dedicated to recruiting Welsh speakers, disabled people, people who identify as LGBTQ+, and those from minority ethnic backgrounds. We encourage all who share our values to apply.
Please be assured that the equal opportunities questions are used solely for monitoring purposes to help us track our progress. This information is not used in the selection process and will not be shared with the recruiting manager.
We encourage and welcome applications from Welsh speakers. The person specification will clearly state if this is an essential requirement.
All roles are subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service DBS check and you are required to disclose details of any convictions that will not be filtered from the Police National Computer by the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Read the DBS filtering guide to find out more.
Further guidance on unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings is also available.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Bridgend College will process your application and hold your personal data in accordance with our Data Management and GDPR policy, and in line with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The amount of time your data is held is detailed below
| Document/Information | Retention timeline |
| Application Forms – Successful | Duration of employment plus 1 year |
| Application Forms – Unsuccessful | 6 months following application/interview |
Top tips for success
How to write your personal statement
This is your chance to show us how your skills and experience meet the job requirements. We recommend using clear, real-life examples to prove you have the “Essential Skills” listed in the job pack.
A good way to structure your examples is to follow these four steps:
- Situation: Briefly describe the setting.
- Task: What did you need to achieve?
- Action: What specific steps did you take?
- Result: What was the positive outcome?
- Situation: In my role as a retail associate, a customer was frustrated because an online order arrived damaged.
- Task: My goal was to resolve the issue quickly and ensure the customer left happy.
- Action: I apologised, found the exact item in stock for an immediate exchange, and provided a 15% discount for the inconvenience.
- Result: The customer was thrilled and later wrote a positive online review about the service.
- Situation: As an Administrative Assistant, I was responsible for preparing complex client contracts.
- Task: I needed to ensure 100% accuracy in every document.
- Action: I created a two-step process: first, checking all data against our database, and second, performing a final proofread for formatting and grammar.
- Result: No contracts were returned for correction over two years, which sped up the client onboarding process.
Quick Tips for the Personal Statement
- Be Specific: Use “I” rather than “we” to show your personal contribution.
- Be Honest: Base your answers on your own real-life work experience.
- Stay Relevant: Focus on the skills listed in the person specification.
General advice
Be Yourself: We use your application to see if you are a good fit for the role. Please ensure all your answers are honest and based on your own real-life work.
Using AI: You can use AI tools to help you write or structure your application. However, please do not copy and paste generic responses or invent skills you do not have.
Reasonable Adjustments: If you need any support or adjustmentsâsuch as materials in a different format or extra timeâplease let us know as early as possible by reaching out to jobs@bridgend.ac.uk or telephone the HR team on 01656 302302 ext 600. We are here to support you.
