Virtual Assessment Centre

Our Virtual Assessment Centre is an online interview where we’ll get to e-meet you. The interview will last for 45 minutes. We’ll explore your work history and the qualities you will bring as a colleague at Heathrow. You’ll also be able to ask us any questions you have about the job, responsibilities, shift patterns, and the working environment.

What we’re looking for

At Heathrow, teamwork is everything: building great relationships with both colleagues and our passengers is essential to your success as a Security Officer. We’ll want to see that you’re a people person who enjoys responsibility, can take charge of situations, and make decisions quickly.

Receiving your invite: Once we’ve processed your application form and you’ve started your References and Vetting process, we can send you an invitation to the virtual assessment centre. You’ll receive your invitation by email so keep an eye on your inbox.

You’ll need ID: Before you start the virtual assessment, we’ll ask you to upload a valid photo ID – this could be a copy of your passport, driving licence, National ID card, or biometric residence permit card. If you don’t have any of these documents, please let us know when you receive your invitation and we’ll be happy to help.

Help with the process: Our recruitment process is straightforward, but we appreciate there’s a lot of information to take in. That’s why we’ll invite you to join a webinar before the virtual assessment takes place. The webinar explains the process in depth from start to finish and gives you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have.

Don’t miss your chance: Once we’ve agreed a date and a time for your virtual assessment, please set a reminder on your phone, pop a note on the fridge or mark your calendar – however you choose to remind yourself. We don’t want you to miss the opportunity by mistake.

The tech you’ll need

A desktop, laptop, tablet or phone with a camera is essential – we’ll be having a face to face chat with you. You’ll also need to download the free video conferencing app Zoom to take part in the interview.

If you’re using a laptop, it’s ideal to wear a headset with a microphone and use an external mouse but if you don’t have them, don’t worry too much – you can still partcipate so long as we can see and hear you. With that in mind, it’s also best to choose a location that has good lighting so your face is visible during the call.

Most web browsers will work fine for the call (with the exception of Internet Explorer and Opera). We recommend Edge, Firefox, Chrome or Safari. If you find any of this confusing, don’t worry – we have a dedicated helpline that can respond to any queries you have.

Getting ready

We’ll email you the Zoom link to your virtual assessment interview – just click the link to join and follow the instructions on screen. We ask that you join about 10 minutes before the scheduled time if possible. You might be held in a virtual waiting room for a little while at this point but don’t worry, you’re in the right place and a member of our team will let you in at the scheduled time.

In terms of dress code, we simply ask that you wear what you would normally wear for a job interview as you would if you were attending an interview in person.

What’s next?

If your virtual assessment centre interview is successful, then there’s just one more step to take. We’ll invite you to a short, in-person Security Interview and a basic Medical Review. Both of these will be conducted on site at Heathrow Airport to ensure you’re able to fulfill your role as a Security Officer. Together, they’ll both take about an hour and there is parking on-site which is free. Please take a ticket at the barrier and collect an exit ticket from the ID Centre after your Security Interview and basic Medical Review. If you pass both your virtual assessment centre interview and the Security and Medical Review, then we’ll call you to make a job offer!

Important reminder

You will need to request your 5-year employment history directly from HMRC during this process.

If you’ve not already done so, we would advise that you request this immediately.

If your application is successful, this document will be needed as part of the referencing process post offer and will also assist you in completing the online Referencing form..

Instructions of how to download the HMRC 5 Year History letter:

Click on the link – Personal tax account: sign in or set up. This link is at the bottom of the page under the “More on GOV.UK”- GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/log-in-register-hmrc-online-services) – and either sign in/create an account for Government Gateway. For this, you will need your National Insurance number.
Upon completing the necessary steps and verification, your name should appear in the “Account home” box, if so click Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
Next click on PAYE Income Tax History and you will then be able to save the page as a PDF by selecting “Print” and then change the printer name to “Save as PDF”.

Once you’ve saved this you will be able to print the copy and bring this along to your Security Interview.

This form will need to be seen by the Security team and also by the Reference and Vetting team so you may be asked to email a copy to the referencing team at a later date.

We’re aware that for some candidates will not be able to download their 5 year history. If this is the case, please email us at [email protected] to make us aware