The Civil Service has confirmed that Success Profiles are going to be scrapped and replaced with a new recruitment model focused more heavily on skills and expertise.
That sounds like a major change, but if you are applying for a Civil Service job now, the most important point is this: Success Profiles are still in use.
Current Civil Service guidance still tells candidates to prepare against Success Profiles, including Behaviours, Strengths, Ability, Experience and Technical requirements. So if your vacancy uses the current framework, you still need to understand how to write strong Civil Service behaviour examples and how to prepare properly for Behaviour and Strength interview questions.
Applying now? Follow the assessment criteria in your vacancy. If it asks for Behaviours or Strengths, prepare for the current Success Profiles framework as normal.
What Should I Do If I Am Applying Now?
Check your job advert first.
If it says you will be assessed against Civil Service Behaviours, Strengths or another Success Profiles element, that is still what your application or interview will be scored against.
The replacement system has been announced, but it has not yet replaced Success Profiles. So do not weaken a current application by trying to prepare for rules that have not been published yet.
Choose your grade below for our current application and interview preparation guides.
If your current vacancy uses Success Profiles, prepare for Success Profiles. The future replacement matters when the Civil Service actually starts using it, not before.
So What Is Changing?
The Cabinet Office's Future Civil Service programme has confirmed that it intends to scrap Success Profiles and introduce a new recruitment model that places more emphasis on skills and expertise.
The official announcement says the Civil Service wants recruitment to be simpler and that the current rules can make hiring too difficult.
What we have so far is the direction of the reform. We do not yet have the detailed replacement framework.
🏛️ Read the official Future Civil Service recruitment announcement
What Is Replacing Civil Service Success Profiles?
The phrase being used by the Cabinet Office is skills and expertise.
That sounds straightforward, but it leaves some very important questions unanswered. We still do not know exactly how candidates will be expected to demonstrate those skills and expertise at application, sift or interview.
❓ Will Civil Service Behaviours disappear completely?
❓ Will Strengths interviews remain?
❓ Will candidates still write 250-word behaviour examples?
❓ Will CVs and personal statements become more important?
❓ Will professional or technical skills be assessed more heavily?
❓ Will the current scoring system change?
❓ Will the process vary more between professions?
❓ Will all departments move to the new model at the same time?
Until the Civil Service publishes the detailed framework, there is no reliable way to answer those questions.
Are Civil Service Behaviours Being Scrapped?
This is probably the biggest question for anyone used to the current Civil Service recruitment process.
We know that Success Profiles themselves are going to be scrapped. We do not yet know whether the nine Civil Service Behaviours will disappear completely.
Behaviours are currently only one part of the wider Success Profiles framework.
🧭 Behaviours look at the actions and activities associated with effective performance.
💡 Strengths look at things you regularly do well and that motivate you.
📊 Ability looks at aptitude or potential.
💼 Experience looks at knowledge or mastery gained through previous activity.
🛠️ Technical looks at specific professional skills, knowledge or qualifications.
The new framework could remove Behaviours completely, keep some of the same ideas under different names or use them differently. Until the new guidance is published, anything more definite would be speculation.
If your current vacancy asks for Leadership, Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing or another Civil Service Behaviour, that is still what you need to prepare for.
Are Civil Service Strengths Being Scrapped?
We do not know yet.
Strengths are currently a separate element of Success Profiles and are commonly assessed through short interview questions designed to explore what you naturally enjoy, how you tend to work and what motivates you.
The announcement about the replacement framework does not say whether Strengths will remain, disappear or be absorbed into another part of the new model.
For anyone with a current interview, the answer is again simple: if your vacancy says Strengths will be assessed, prepare for Strength questions.
When Will Civil Service Success Profiles Be Scrapped?
There is currently no confirmed switchover date.
The Cabinet Office says further recruitment changes will happen over the coming months, but it has not published a date on which Success Profiles will stop being used.
Meanwhile, the current GOV.UK Success Profiles guidance still states that Success Profiles are the recruitment framework used within the Civil Service.
There may also be a transition period. A vacancy advertised under Success Profiles could potentially continue through sift and interview under the same rules while newer recruitment campaigns begin using the replacement framework.
We will need the formal implementation guidance before we know exactly how that will work.
Why Is the Civil Service Replacing Success Profiles?
The change is part of the wider Future Civil Service programme.
The Cabinet Office says recruitment needs to become simpler and that existing rules can make recruitment too difficult. The new model is intended to put greater emphasis on hiring and promoting people with the right skills and expertise.
How different that feels for applicants will depend on what the final model actually contains.
If professional knowledge, role-specific capability and previous experience become more important, the application process could look quite different from the behaviour-heavy recruitment many candidates are familiar with today.
Should I Still Prepare for Success Profiles?
Yes, if your vacancy uses them.
✅ Asked for a behaviour statement? Write the strongest grade-appropriate behaviour example you can.
✅ Behaviour interview coming up? Prepare examples that clearly show your own actions, decisions, judgement and results.
✅ Strengths being assessed? Prepare for Strength questions and understand how they differ from Behaviour questions.
✅ Experience, Ability or Technical assessment included? Follow the requirements in the advert and candidate pack.
A future change does not alter the assessment criteria for the vacancy you are applying for now.
What Happens When the New Civil Service Recruitment Framework Is Released?
Once the detailed replacement framework is published, this page will be updated to explain exactly what candidates need to do differently.
We will look at:
📝 The new Civil Service application process
🗣️ The new Civil Service interview format
🎯 What candidates will actually be assessed against
📊 How the new scoring system works
🏢 Whether expectations differ by grade or profession
🔄 How existing Success Profiles recruitment campaigns will be handled
Interview Detectives will also produce new application and interview guides based on the replacement framework once the official rules are available.
Success Profiles Are Going, But They Are Still Here Today
The position for current applicants is straightforward.
Success Profiles are going to be replaced by a model focused more heavily on skills and expertise.
But Success Profiles are still the live recruitment framework today.
If your vacancy uses Behaviours, Strengths or another Success Profiles element, prepare for those requirements properly. When the new framework becomes the system candidates are actually being assessed against, we will cover that instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have Civil Service Success Profiles already been scrapped?
No. The Civil Service has announced that Success Profiles will be scrapped, but the current GOV.UK guidance still identifies them as the recruitment framework used within the Civil Service.
What will replace Civil Service Success Profiles?
The Cabinet Office says the new model will emphasise skills and expertise. The detailed assessment framework has not yet been published.
When will Success Profiles end?
No confirmed end date has been published yet.
Are Civil Service Behaviours being scrapped?
That has not yet been confirmed. Success Profiles as a framework are being scrapped, but the Civil Service has not yet published enough detail to say whether Behaviours will disappear completely or appear in another form.
Are Civil Service Strengths still being used?
Yes, Strengths remain part of the current Success Profiles framework. If your vacancy says Strengths will be assessed, you should prepare for Strength questions.
Should I still buy a Success Profiles guide?
If the vacancy you are applying for uses Success Profiles, yes. Your current application or interview is assessed against the rules in that recruitment campaign, not a future framework that has not yet been introduced.
Will Interview Detectives cover the new framework?
Yes. Once the Civil Service publishes the full replacement framework, we will create guidance based on the actual new application and interview rules.
