The length of a selection exercise is determined by:
- the seniority of the role (the more senior roles tend to attract applicants who are already judges so we use evidence from their judicial career and examples of their work to assess them, for more junior roles where applicants are often not yet judges we ask candidates to act as a judge in a role play)
- the number of selection tools used (each exercise uses different tools such as online tests, paper sifts, role plays and interviews etc)
- the number of candidates likely to apply
- the number of roles being recruited to
- conflicts with formal judicial holidays and public holidays
- which professional checks we need to conduct with other regulatory bodies
- which senior judges we need to consult
Large exercises for more than 50 vacancies may take up to a year, small exercises for one or two roles might take about four months.