Public service recruitment often runs in stages: a screening test, then an oral or practical interview. In the period the 2026/27 budget speech reports, PSRS ran six screening rounds for 845,042 applicants and 9,836 people sat practical tests. Those are figures from one speech and they don't make a success rate, but they show why it pays to practise before the oral stage. We wrote these questions ourselves. They are not from the PSRS question bank.
How to practise
- Say your answer aloud. Reading it in your head doesn't show you where you get stuck.
- Stop at about two minutes.
- Mark what your answer really covered, not what you meant to say.
- Do it again the next day with a friend asking the questions, in the language of the interview.
What panels look for
In most interviews the same things get asked in different words: do you understand this job, can you show that you've done something like it, and can you be trusted. Learn the job description, and have three true stories ready that show each of those.
On the day
Take the documents your call letter lists, and arrive early. Check the list of those called against the official source first, and read the shortlist guide before you travel. Nobody can charge you for a place at an interview.
Questions people ask
Are these the real questions?
No. They are common kinds of question, written by us. PSRS holds its own question bank, and nobody outside it can honestly sell you the answers.
Should I answer in Swahili or English?
Use the language the panel uses and the advert uses. If you're unsure, ask at the start. Practise in both if the post could use both.
Is anything recorded?
No. The page doesn't use your microphone or save your answers.
Sources
Checked 2 November 2026.