How we respond to the use of AI in our recruitment process for Pathways to Planning.
Why authenticity matters more than ‘perfect’ answers.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is now part of everyday life; the modern workplace is no exception. We recognise that tools like ChatGPT and Copilot can be helpful when learning, researching or practising.
However, when it comes to our recruitment process, our priority is simple: We want to get to know you.
Our assessments are designed with that purpose in mind. They are not about producing flawless or polished answers. Instead, they are targeted at demonstrating how you approach challenges, working with others and reflecting on your experiences of real-world situations. We are assessing your personal expression of our key skills and behaviours - not the output of an AI tool.
What this means for you
Using AI during our assessments might feel like it gives you an advantage – but in reality, it often does the opposite.
AI-generated responses tend to:
- sound polished but generic
- closely mirror competency frameworks without real-world examples
- lack personal reflection on what you actually did, thought or learnt.
We are not looking for flawless answers. We are looking for authentic potential. AI cannot replicate:
- your lived experiences
- your personal motivation for working in local government
- your reasonings, learnings and values.
How we enforce this
Our professional assessors are looking for authenticity, depth and lived experiences. Where we have reasonable grounds to believe AI has been used during an assessment, we may:
- ask you to repeat the exercise or a similar substitute under supervised conditions
- withdraw your application from the process.