Help to apply

Your skills. Your experiences. Your voice.

At the City of Edinburgh Council, we recognise that technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are changing the way people work, learn and apply for jobs. We welcome the responsible use of AI and recognise that these tools can help candidates explore opportunities, prepare applications and feel more confident throughout the recruitment process.

We want our recruitment process to be accessible, inclusive and focused on what really matters: your skills, your experiences, your potential, and what you can bring to our organisation and the communities we serve.

AI can be a useful tool to support your application, but it should support your voice, not replace it. You don't need to use AI to apply for a job with us - it’s entirely your choice - and applications will be assessed against the relevant criteria for the role.

Be yourself, your experience matters

AI can generate polished answers, but it cannot replace your personal experiences, your judgement or your understanding of the situations you’ve faced.

If you use AI to help prepare an application or interview answer, make sure the final response genuinely reflects you and who you are. Use your own words, draw on your own experiences and ensure that everything you tell us is accurate.

Remember, if you get an interview, you'll have to talk to the interview panel and answer their questions, your answers should reflect and match the experience detailed in your application form. So, we encourage you not to copy and paste AI-generated answers exactly. Answers that sound generic or do not reflect your actual experience may make it harder for us to understand your skills, achievements and potential.

Instead, use AI to help you think through your examples, organise your ideas and express yourself clearly. Then personalise your answers so that they reflect what you have genuinely done, what you've learned and what you would bring to the role. You don’t need to sound like ‘the’ perfect candidate. We want to understand the real person behind the application.

What you should keep in mind if you choose to use AI

1. Be honest. Make sure your application accurately represents your skills, qualifications, achievements and experience.
2. Be authentic. Use your own words and examples, rather than relying on generic or copied answers.
3. Check the detail. AI can make mistakes, misunderstand questions and often produce information that is inaccurate or misleading.
4. Protect your privacy and data. Avoid entering personal, sensitive or confidential information about yourself or others into public AI tools.
5. Follow the assessment instructions. Some recruitment exercises may have specific rules about the use of AI. Where these apply, we will explain what is and is not permitted.

Interviews and assessments

We use selection methods designed to assess the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed for each role. Depending on the job that we’re recruiting for, these may include a presentation, written exercise or practical assessment. If any of these are required at the interview, we’ll provide you with information in advance.

Where an assessment requires you to demonstrate your own knowledge, judgement or skills independently, you must follow the instructions provided and only use AI where it's expressly permitted.

Our commitment to you

We’re committed to using recruitment technology responsibly, fairly and transparently. Technology should help us improve the recruitment experience, not create unnecessary barriers or replace the human judgement needed to make fair and informed decisions.

We will continue to review how AI is used in recruitment, taking account of fairness, accessibility, privacy and the candidate experience.

Our message is simple...
Use technology to help you prepare but let us hear from you. Your experiences, your perspective and your potential are what make you unique. We want to give you the opportunity to show us what you can bring to the City of Edinburgh Council.