PhD Interns
The application form
The Bank’s application form for PhD Interns has been developed to allow us to collect the information we need from you quickly and efficiently. There are six stages for you to complete before you can submit an application.
Register
The first page you will come to when you apply for a role is the “register” page. On this page we require you to provide basic information which allows us to contact you to let you know the outcome of your application. It is not possible to apply for more than one role using your login details.
Equal Opportunities Monitoring
There is also an Equal Opportunities form which we would like you to complete to enable us to properly monitor our performance in recruitment as recommended by the Commission of Racial Equality. Any information you provide on this form is stored separately to your application and plays no part in producing any shortlist. We recognise that not everyone wants to disclose this information so under each heading you will have the option to “decline”.
Education
You will be required to provide information on your education, including the universities you have attended and the qualifications you have received/been predicted.
If your academic qualifications were studied for, and awarded outside of the UK, please state the actual qualification and awarded grade/score rather than providing an equivalence to UK qualifications.
Scheme Specific Questions
This section of the application form explores why you are interested in an internship at the Bank and how you feel your PhD thesis is likely to be of interest to economic policymakers. In addition, you will be required to answer questions relating to your PhD research and how an internship would be of benefit to you. We recommend that you first complete these answers in a word processing package which will enable you to check the spelling and grammar before submitting.
Work Experience
If you have undertaken any relevant work experience, record it in this section. Work experience can include voluntary placements and part time paid work, as well as formal placements you may have had.
Referees
You are required to submit a supporting reference from your supervising professor using the upload facility on the application form.
Submitting
Finally, do proofread your application and consider your communication style. Writing is a very important skill at the Bank, so we need to see that you can express yourself clearly, concisely and accurately on your application form. If in doubt it is always best to write in a more formal style than to use any colloquialisms or informal terms.
Once you have completed these stages you must submit your application in order for us to view it. As a security measure, you will be asked to re-enter your password before you can do so.
We have a fixed deadline for applications for PhD Internships. Applications are not assessed until this date has passed. As a result, candidates who apply when the recruitment window first opens may experience longer waiting periods. We will acknowledge receipt of your application and provide you with timescales for letting you know your progress. This commitment continues through the further stages.
The telephone interview
Selection is based on the application and a telephone interview, which will typically take place during February.
The telephone interview is primarily technical in nature and is designed to find out more about: (i) the specific skills an applicant has to offer; and (ii) their motivation for applying to the Bank of England. Applicants should therefore expect questions ranging from their personal career objectives to technical aspects of their thesis and to topical policy-relevant issues.
The telephone interview will take between 45 minutes and one hour so please make sure that we contact you in a place where you can talk comfortably for this time and are not distracted by any background noise. We often find that a fixed land line gives a clearer connection than a mobile line, particularly for overseas calls. You will have two interviewers, taken from a panel of interviewers within Financial Stability or Monetary Analysis. The interviewers will either hold a PhD themselves or will have been engaged in policy and research related work for a considerable time.
Once all interviews have taken place, a selection panels in both areas will convene to discuss the feedback and to make the hiring decisions.