Which Civil Service jobs don't need a degree?

Every advert on Civil Service Jobs has the same parts. Near the bottom of the job description there is often a box headed Qualifications. That is where a required degree is listed.

If the Qualifications box is missing or empty, no qualification is listed there. Most entry-level adverts look like this, but check the essential criteria too.

Also read the essential criteria in the person specification (the list of what they want from you). Now and then a degree is mentioned there instead of in the Qualifications box. Essential means you must have it to be considered.

A quick way to check on a phone: open the advert, use Find in page and search for the words degree and graduate. If neither appears, the job doesn't ask for a degree.

If a line says degree with no alternative, believe it. The panel can't score an application that misses an essential qualification, so don't spend an evening on it. Move to the next job.

Some adverts mention a degree and then add or equivalent experience. That means you can apply without the degree.

The panel wants proof that you can do what the degree would have taught you. Your experience counts if it shows the same skills, such as handling data, writing clearly or knowing a subject well.

Say so plainly in your application. Name the experience, how long you did it and what you did, then give one specific example. Don't apologise for not having the degree.

Some adverts say or an equivalent qualification instead, such as an HND, a diploma or a professional qualification. That is a different route: it needs the other qualification, not just experience.

If you can't tell which kind of equivalent the advert means, email the contact named in the advert and ask. That is what the contact is there for.

AA and AO are the first two grades. The work is often admin, customer service, casework or processing, and training is usually given once you start.

AA and AO adverts are often big campaigns that take on lots of people at once. The advert says how many posts there are, so check that number: more posts usually means more chances.

EO is the next grade up. EO jobs carry more responsibility, sometimes managing a small team, and they usually have fewer posts per advert. Apply for EO too if it fits, but don't skip AA and AO.

Many people start at AA or AO and move up from inside. Once you are in, you can apply for jobs advertised only to civil servants.

The two lists below are live. Each card shows the pay, the closing date and the behaviours the advert scores. Tap a card to open the job in Plum.

These lists show every live AA, AO and EO job. They can't hide the few that require a degree, so a small number of the cards are jobs you can't apply for without one.

They tend to be specialist roles, such as paralegal, research or internship posts. Before you start any application, open the advert and check the Qualifications box and the essential criteria, as above.

If the degree is listed with no alternative, skip it. If it says or equivalent experience, you can apply.

Most entry-level jobs are scored on behaviours: things like Working Together or Managing a Quality Service. For each one, the advert asks for a short example of a time you did it.

That example doesn't have to come from paid work or from university. The Civil Service's own guidance, called Success Profiles, says your example:

So helping run a club, caring for a relative, sorting out a problem for a customer in a shop or organising a community event can all be good examples. What matters is what you did and what changed because of it.

Write “I”, not “we”. The panel scores your own actions, so spend most of your words on what you did and finish with the result.

Keep to the word limit in the advert. Anything past it may not be read.

Tonight, scroll the AA and AO list and pick two or three jobs near you that you would actually want. Open each advert and check the Qualifications box, the closing date and time, and the behaviours.

This week, write one example for each behaviour those adverts ask for. Use something from work, volunteering, a hobby or home life where you can say exactly what you did.

You apply on Civil Service Jobs itself: make an account there and press Apply on the advert. Plum finds you live jobs, shows what each one tests, and helps you write and practise your examples. You can save a search to hear when new ones land.