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Online recruitment portal: job application guidance

Introduction

Thank you for your interest in working at St Mary’s University. These guidance notes have been developed in order for you to have the best possible user experience in applying for the right job at St Mary’s University. Please take the time to read these notes before completing your application. If you have any further questions or require further assistance, please email hrhelpdesk@stmarys.ac.uk.

Please note that our online recruitment portal works best with the most up to date internet browsers including:

  • Internet explorer (version 8 and above)
  • Firefox (version 26 and above)
  • Chrome (version 32 and above)
  • Safari (version 6 and above)
  • Microsoft Edge

If you experience difficulty using our online recruitment portal then please try upgrading your browser in the first instance.

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Information required

The job application will require the following information from you:

    • UK National insurance number
    • Qualifications – please make sure you enter the dates, grades and place of learning for all of your relevant qualifications.
    • Employment history – please make sure that you give us a full chronology of your employment history including the places, dates and job titles.
    • Referees – we require the name and contact email details for 2 referees. Please note that we will not contact your referees unless you are successful in gaining employment.

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Logging into St Mary’s online recruitment portal

To login to the recruitment portal you will need to search for a vacancy and click on ‘Apply online’, you will then be taken to the login screen.

New users

If you are a new user (not a current St Mary’s employee) you will need to:

  • Register and create a user account with us before applying for a job by clicking ‘New user registration’ to create your account
  • Do not use any symbols in the Forename and Surname fields (other than a hyphen for double barrelled names).
  • Your password must be a minimum length of eight characters and must include alpha, numerical, upper-case and lower-case characters.
  • Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email containing your details and confirming your registration.
  • Do make sure you make a note of your username and password to enable you to return to an incomplete application.
  • Use these credentials each time you apply for a job. Your application history will be accessible under one account.

Existing users

If you are an existing user (not a current St Mary’s employee):

  • You can login to the recruitment portal using your existing Username and Password. You can find this in the registration email confirmation sent to your email address when you previously registered/applied.
  • Alternatively, you can access the login screen at any time by clicking on ‘Existing user login’

Current St Mary's University employees

If you are a current St Mary’s University employee:

  • You do not need to register. To login please access our recruitment portal via your PeopleNet account. This is important to do otherwise you’ll be processed as an external candidate.
  • If you do not have access to PeopleNet you will need to request one via HRsystems@stmarys.ac.uk
  • Alternatively, you can use your St Mary’s PeopleNet login details to login as an existing user on the recruitment portal by clicking on ‘Existing user login’:
    • PeopleNet username: this is your seven-digit payroll number
    • PeopleNet password: if you have forgotten your password please click on the forgotten password link on the PeopleNet homepage to reset your password.
  • Please note that if you incorrectly enter your password 3 times you will be locked out of your account and you will need to contact the system administrator (HRsystems@stmarys.ac.uk) to unlock your account.

If you are accessing the recruitment portal via PeopleNet or as a current employee, please note that if your application is successful and you are appointed for the role then any changes made to your personal details, education and qualification details and equal opportunities monitoring information on your application form will automatically update your current staff record on our HR system.

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Forgotten password

If you have forgotten your user name or password, you should click on ‘Forgotten your password?’ and complete the required information.

You will be sent an email within 15 minutes containing a link that will enable you to reset your password.

  • External candidates: your username will be your registered email address
  • Internal candidates: your username is your seven-digit payroll number

If your account has been deactivated, please contact us on HRsystems@stmarys.ac.uk to request that it is reactivated.

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Internal Vacancies

Some vacancies are only open to St Mary’s University employees. When you click on the ‘apply online’ button these vacancies will ask if you are a St Mary’s employee. If you are not an employee you should tick ‘no’. If you are an external applicant you will be unable to apply for the vacancy.

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Application form

Once you have selected a job and passed the screening question(s) you will be presented with your job ‘Application Summary’ page.

    • The application form has various sections and is split into sections called ‘Application pages’. Each incomplete section will be marked with an exclamation mark icon.
    • When the mandatory fields on each Application page have been completed, the icon will be displayed against that page, showing that the page has been completed. Please note that you can complete or edit the application pages in any order.
    • You will only be able to submit your application once all the pages have been marked as completed.
    • Mandatory fields are identified by a blue dot and must be completed before you can save the page.
    • Applications must be submitted by midnight on the closing date.
    • Some fields will have additional information, you can view this additional information by clicking on the icon next to the field.
    • Depending on the job requirement, the online application form may differ depending on the category of the post. Most jobs will fall into the following formats
      • Personal information

        • Please give as much information as possible. Some details will already be complete from your registration or past application details. Please ensure that you provide your email address as this is our preferred method of contact.
      • Education and qualification

        • Please enter any qualifications that are relevant or necessary for the post that you are applying for.
      • Employment history

        • Please ensure that you list all past employment history
      • CV

      • Cover letter/supporting statement

        • The supporting statement is your opportunity to really explain why you would suit the role which you are applying for. Please make sure that you read the skills and knowledge required for the role in the ‘Job Description’ attached. We suggest you write your statement in a word processing application, such as Word, where it will be easier for you to read your statement and edit it for any mistakes. When you are happy with it you can copy and paste it into the statement box and save it.
      • References

        • v. Please make sure that you give details for valid referees otherwise there may be a delay in confirming your appointment. Please ensure that you provide the full details for two people who can comment on your suitability for the post. These people should be your present employer (or if you are not currently employed your last employer) and your former employer. If you have not been employed before you may use, if they consent, some other person of a profession who can comment on your suitability for the role. You cannot use a family member or a friend as a referee.
      • Confidential disclosure of criminal convictions

      • Equal opportunities

        • vi. St Mary’s is committed to equality and aims to ensure that everyone who words for us is treated fairly and is not subjected to unlawful discrimination on grounds of their sex, age, race, ethnic or national origins, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, family responsibility, disability or political beliefs. Using the drop-down boxes please complete the Equal Opportunities section in full. This section of the form is confidential and for monitoring purposes only. It will not be used as part of the selection process or disclosed to the recruitment panel.
      • Declaration

        • vii. You must complete this section to confirm that the information you have provided is, to the best of your knowledge and belief, true and complete and also so that we can process your application in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

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Speculative applications

You may wish to submit a speculative application to St Mary’s. Please ensure that you submit a cover letter/supporting statement and a CV and explaining what kind of role you are looking for and what experience you have in that field. A member of the Recruitment Team will contact you if there is a suitable role.

To submit a speculative application, you must first complete a job search. The speculative application form can be found at the bottom of the job search results page.

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Retained information

Any ‘structured information’ entered will be retained for use in future applications. This includes qualifications, employment history, personal details, other information, etc.

Unstructured information entered within the ‘free text’ areas is not retained, so please save those details outside the site for future reference.

If you are accessing the recruitment portal via PeopleNet OR as a current employee, the please note that if your application is successful and you are appointed for the role then any changes made to your personal details, education and qualification details and equal opportunities monitoring information on your application form will automatically update your current staff record on our HR system.

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Navigating through the application form

Use the ‘Save & View Previous Page’, ‘Save & View Summary’ and ‘Save & View Next Page’ buttons at the bottom of each page to navigate through your application.

Please note:if you use the ‘back’ or ‘forward’ button on your browser, you will lose any information already entered.

The application form will time-out if you have not saved any data for a 60-minute period. We strongly advise that you save your application regularly by clicking on the ‘Save and View Summary’ button.

You can choose to save an incomplete application and log out of your account, you will be able to re-access your saved application form upon next login and before midnight on the advert closing date.

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Submitting your application

You will need to complete all mandatory fields within the application pages section before you can submit your application. Once all pages are marked with the icon, the ‘Apply’ button will unlock.

Take time to review your application before submitting. It’s a good idea to print it out and read it again. Use the ‘print preview’ option to open your form as one continuous document. Once you’re happy with your application, click the ‘Apply’ button and confirm you wish to proceed with your application submission. Once you have clicked Submit you will not be able to modify your application except for your personal details. Alternatively, you can return to the ‘Application Summary’ page if you’re not ready.

Once you have applied we will send you an email acknowledging your application submission. Some time after this you will then be notified via email if you’ve been shortlisted for interview.

You can request for a PDF copy of your application form to be emailed to your registered email address by going into the ‘My Applications’ tab on the online recruitment portal.

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Job alerts

Once you've registered with St Mary’s University, you can sign up to 'job alerts' to receive auto-generated emails about vacancies which may be of interest to you.

    1. Choose your search criteria as shown below- select specific types of jobs or a keyword (e.g. Academic, Law lecturer, Technology etc), then click 'Search'.
    2. Click on 'Save this search as a job alert' at the top of the results page to save and review your job alert(s)
    3. Any job alerts you've set up will be visible in your profile. You'll be able to review existing alerts or set up new ones at any time.

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Recruitment privacy notice

We recommend that you check ourRecruitment Privacy Noticeeach time you visit the site. This can be found on the recruitment portal homepage.

We collect and store personal information you submit to us via the recruitment portal.

Our privacy notice is subject to change, and we'll notify you of any changes we make to it in future on this page. By continuing to use ourrecruitment portal, you are thereby agreeing to such changes.

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