Applicant

User Guide

Oriel is the UK wide portal for recruitment to postgraduate medical, dental, public health, healthcare
science and pre-registration pharmacy training. Applicants will use Oriel for all stages of the
recruitment process.

October 2023 / Document Version 5

Applicant User Guide

Table of Contents
1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 4
2 The landing page.......................................................................................................................... 5
3 The Oriel home page.................................................................................................................... 6
3.1 The main menu – pre-login ................................................................................................... 6
4 Creating an Oriel account ............................................................................................................ 8
4.1 Changing your staff group ..................................................................................................... 9
5 Logging in to Oriel ...................................................................................................................... 11
5.1 Forgotten your password? .................................................................................................. 11
5.2 Accessing useful information after login ............................................................................. 12
6 Understanding your dashboard .................................................................................................. 14
7 Updating your account ............................................................................................................... 16
8 Searching for a vacancy ............................................................................................................. 17
9 Applying for a vacancy ............................................................................................................... 19
9.1 Saving your application form ............................................................................................... 19
9.2 Returning to an in-progress application form ...................................................................... 20
9.3 Reviewing your preference rankings (within an application form) ...................................... 20
9.4 Submitting your application ................................................................................................. 21
9.5 Printing your application ...................................................................................................... 23
9.6 Copying a previously submitted application ........................................................................ 23
10 Uploading documents................................................................................................................. 24
10.1 Uploading documents via your dashboard ......................................................................... 24
10.1.1 Uploaded a document in error? ....................................................................................... 26
10.2 Attaching documents to, and uploading a document within, an application ....................... 26
10.3 Attaching additional documents to a submitted application (if requested) ......................... 27
10.4 Attaching a CREST document (if relevant) ......................................................................... 29
11 Managing your applications ....................................................................................................... 31
12 Updating your programme preferences or sub-preferences ...................................................... 32
13 Messages ................................................................................................................................... 34
14 Interviews ................................................................................................................................... 35
14.1 Booking an interview ........................................................................................................... 36
14.2 Cancelling an interview booking ......................................................................................... 37
15 Offers .......................................................................................................................................... 38
15.1 Making a decision on your offer .......................................................................................... 38
15.2 What happens to your other applications? ......................................................................... 38
15.3 Opting in/out of upgrades and amending preferences........................................................ 39
15.3.1 Opting in and out of programmes .................................................................................... 39
15.3.2 Re-ranking upgrade preferences..................................................................................... 40

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16 Post offer-allocations .................................................................................................................. 41

17 References ................................................................................................................................. 42
17.1 Nominating references ........................................................................................................ 42
17.2 Changing your nominated referee ...................................................................................... 42
18 Troubleshooting .......................................................................................................................... 43
19 Who to contact for assistance .................................................................................................... 44

If you require assistance, either technical or in relation to an application you have

made, then please contact the recruitment lead for that vacancy. Contact details can be
found on the appropriate profile within the ‘Recruitment lead’ section of the system
(accessed from the main menu).

If you have locked your account, you will need to contact the Recruitment Lead for the
vacancy you are (or will be) applying to. Contact details can be found within the
‘Recruitment lead’ section of the system (accessed from the main menu).

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 Applicant User Guide

1 Introduction
The objective of Oriel is to improve the journey of applicants who apply for medical and dental training
by introducing a single portal where they can register, view vacancies, apply, book interviews and
assessment centres and, ultimately, receive Offers.

The name 'Oriel' represents a window of opportunity and the progression of trainees throughout their
training.

Fig 1.1 Welcome to Oriel

If you require assistance, either technical or in relation to an application you have

made, then please contact the recruitment lead for that vacancy. Contact details can be
found on the appropriate profile within the ‘Recruitment lead’ section of the system
(accessed from the main menu).

If you have locked your account, you will need to contact the Recruitment Lead for the
vacancy you are (or will be) applying to. Contact details can be found within the
‘Recruitment lead’ section of the system (accessed from the main menu).

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 Applicant User Guide

2 The landing page

The Oriel Landing page is the starting point of your application journey. From here you can:

- Click the ‘Login’ button to login, if you’ve already registered on the system.
- Choose your staff group from the ‘Applicant’ options. Selecting a staff group will ensure that
all other areas of Oriel are filtered to show you only information related to what you’re
applying for.

Fig 2.1 Landing page

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 Applicant User Guide

3 The Oriel home page

When you’ve clicked on a box from the ‘Applicant’ options on the landing page, you’ll be taken to the
homepage related to the option that you’ve selected. The homepage will display Welcome text based
on the staff group that you have selected.

Fig 3.1 Oriel home page

From the homepage, you can navigate to other useful information as described below. In addition,
you can use the options on the right-hand side of the navigation bar to register or login.

Prior to logging in, you will also see a small blue banner in the bottom right-hand corner
of the screen. This shows you the staff group you selected on the landing page.
Clicking on this banner will return you to the landing page, where you can select a
different option.

3.1 The main menu – pre-login

The Main Menu is displayed along the top of the screen throughout Oriel.

Fig 3.2 Oriel main menu bar

Once you have selected a staff group,

The following options are available on your main menu.

1. Login
o Login to an existing account and make your application(s), track the progress of
submitted applications, view messages from the recruitment leads, view and book
interviews and track offers.
2. Vacancies
o Search and apply for vacancies that have been advertised through Oriel. See Section
3.1 for more information on applying to a vacancy.

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3. Recruitment Leads
o View the profiles of the recruitment organisations within Oriel.
o You will be able to find out more about each organisation, such as contact details,
organisation description, social media links/feeds, news, Fitness to Practise
policy/contact details and current active vacancies.
4. Resource Bank
o Like News items, the Resource Bank is administered by NHSE and is a repository for
information that will support you in the process of making an application.
o You can access a wide range of content such as person specifications, guides and
FAQs.
o You can search the resource bank by keywords, to find the required information.
5. News
o Administered by NHSE and Recruitment Leads, this section of the Oriel system
allows you to view and search the latest news items.
o Each news item can be opened to view further detail and any links/files that may have
been attached.
6. FAQ
o Administered by NHSE, this section of the Oriel system allows you to view and
search frequently asked questions.

You will also see the current date and time displayed at the top of the screen throughout the Oriel
system, both before you’ve logged in and once you’re logged in.

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 Applicant User Guide

4 Creating an Oriel account

Before you can begin making applications on Oriel, you will need an Oriel Account. To create your
Oriel account, click on the ‘Register’ option from the main menu.

Depending on whether you’ve clicked on the Register option from the Oriel landing page, and
depending on your staff group selection, you may see multiple options. Make sure you click the option
that best relates to your purpose for registering on Oriel. You’ll see that more information is displayed
about each option when you click on one.

Fig 4.1 Selecting a registration option

When you’ve selected an option from the list, if the registration window is currently open you will see a
‘continue’ button at the bottom of the page.

You will be asked to provide a small amount of personal information, including your login details, and
to confirm that you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of the Oriel recruitment
system. Links to read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy are available on the right-hand side
of this screen.

Mandatory fields are marked with a * symbol. You must complete these fields as a minimum in order
to proceed.

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Fig 4.2 Oriel account registration

Upon successful creation of an account, you will receive an email confirming your details.

Most organisations will communicate with you via email. Please ensure that you register with a secure
and individual email address which you check regularly. You will only need to register once on Oriel
to make applications across multiple organisations and recruitment years.

When specifying a password, ensure that it meets the account and password policy, which will be
displayed to you as you enter your new password.

4.1 Changing your staff group

When you register, your account will be assigned one or more staff group depending on the
registration option you have selected. This determines the information you’ll see throughout the
system once logged in, including the vacancies that are available to you. If you realise you have used
the wrong registration option and can’t see the information you’re after, you can change your staff
group at any time by amending your profile here:

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Fig 4.3 Updating your staff group selection

Once in your profile, click on the ‘Security’ option on the left-hand side, and then click ‘Edit profile
information’. You’ll be asked to enter your password again, and then can amend your ‘staff group’
details.

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 Applicant User Guide

5 Logging in to Oriel
Login to Oriel is completed using the email address and password entered during registration. The
‘Login’ button is available in the main menu throughout the site, prior to login. When you click this
button, a login box will appear on the screen as shown below.

Fig 5.1 Oriel login box

Enter your Email address and Password, and click Submit.

If you enter your password incorrectly 5 times, your account will be locked. If you have
locked your account, you will need to contact the Recruitment Lead for the vacancy you
are (or will be) applying to. Contact details can be found within the Recruitment Leads
option on the main menu header.

5.1 Forgotten your password?

If you have forgotten your password, click on the ‘Trouble logging in?’ link that is displayed below
the Submit button.

Enter your email address and click ‘Send email’. You may encounter an additional re-captcha
challenge while resetting your password – this is to prevent fraudulent use of the system.

If the address entered has been registered on the system, an email will be sent containing a URL that
allows you to specify a new password. This URL is only valid for 24 hours.

In addition, if you initiate a new password reset, then any previous password reset links will be
invalidated – that is, if you click reset password a second time you will need to use the second URL
that you are sent. If you fail to enter a valid new password 3 times in succession, the link will be
invalidated, and you will be required to initiate a new password reset.

When specifying a new password, ensure that it meets the account and password policy, which will
be displayed to you as you enter your new password.

If you have not received the email within 60 minutes, please check your spam/junk folders. If there is
still no sign of the email then please contact the Recruitment Lead for the vacancy you are (or will be)

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 Applicant User Guide

applying to. Contact details can be found within the Recruitment Leads option on the main menu
header.

If your account is locked due to too many failed login attempts, you will be unable to reset your
password until your account has been unlocked. If you have locked your account, you will need to
contact the Recruitment Lead for the vacancy you are (or will be) applying to. Contact details can be
found within the Recruitment Leads option on the main menu header.

5.2 Accessing useful information after login

Once you have signed in, the main menu is no longer displayed along the top of the screen – it’s now
displayed on the left-hand side if the screen.

In addition, some additional options are available to you now that you’re logged in.

Fig 5.2 Oriel after login

In the header (at the top of the screen) you’ll see 4 icons. These are described below.

Icon Description
Clicking on this icon will show you any alerts you have. Initially, you will see the icon with no
numbers alongside it. However, when you have received an alert, such if you have been invited to
book an interview or if a recruiter has requested an additional document, you will see a number
displayed in a yellow circle alongside this icon.

Your unread messages are available to view by clicking on this icon. If you can see a number
displayed in a yellow circle alongside this icon, you have at least 1 unread message.
Clicking this icon will allow you to see your recently accessed records. Click on a record in this
popup to be taken directly to it.

This is the ‘Profile’ icon. Click here to find the options to log off. You’ll also find an option in this
menu to access your ‘My profile’ area, from which you can manage your basic information.

On the left-hand side you’ll find the following:

1. Dashboard
o Access your Oriel dashboard, from which you can find your way to your applications
list as well as other important functionality related to the progress of your application.
See section 0 for more information on your dashboard.

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2. Vacancies
o Search and apply for vacancies that have been advertised through Oriel. See section
3.1 for more information on applying to a vacancy.
3. Recruitment Leads
o View the profiles of the recruitment organisations within Oriel.
o You will be able to find out more about each organisation, such as contact details,
organisation description, social media links/feeds, news, Fitness to Practise
policy/contact details and current active vacancies.
4. Resource Bank
o Like News items, the Resource Bank is administered by NHSE and is a repository for
information that will support you in the process of making an application.
o You can access a wide range of content such as person specifications, guides and
FAQs.
o You can search the resource bank by keywords, to find the required information.
5. News
o Administered by NHSE and Recruitment Leads, this section of the Oriel system
allows you to view and search the latest news items.
o Each news item can be opened to view further detail and any links/files that may have
been attached.
6. FAQ
o Administered by NHSE, this section of the Oriel system allows you to view and
search frequently asked questions.

Finally, at the bottom of your screen you’ll see a blue tab containing a question mark.

Clicking on this will open the Oriel Information Centre, which gives you access to the useful
information areas.

Figure 5.1 Oriel information centre.

In addition to FAQs, Resource bank, News, Recruitment leads and a quick link to your profile, an
option in the information centre is ‘User guidance’. Click on this option to access articles describing
how to use Oriel.

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 Applicant User Guide

6 Understanding your dashboard

After login you will be taken to your applicant Dashboard. The main menu will remain available so that
you can access the vacancies, recruitment leads, news, resource bank and help desk sections, or log
out. You can return to the Dashboard at any point (provided you are signed in), by clicking the
‘Dashboard’ option in the main menu, which is available once you are logged in.

Fig 6.1 Oriel dashboard

From the Dashboard, you will find the following tab options:

1. My dashboard
The first tab on your dashboard is the default screen you’ll see when you login to Oriel, or if
you click on the Oriel logo while logged in. Here you’ll find some useful information and quick
links to access other areas of the system. The boxes on the screen show you the following
• Profile information
o Here you’ll see the name that you registered with on Oriel, your Oriel PIN and
your Oriel Exam ID.
o Your Oriel PIN will be useful when asking for assistance with your
applications, as it is unique to you.
o The Exam ID is different to your Oriel PIN, listed above. The Exam ID is only
relevant if you are required to sit an online examination as part of the
assessment process e.g. SJT, MSRA.
• Quick access shortcuts
o Click on ‘Take a tour’ for a tour of your dashboard. You’ll see other ‘Take a
tour’ buttons throughout the system – clicking on these will always show you
an on screen tour describing the areas of the page you’re currently viewing.
o The other shortcuts will take you to the screens described on the buttons.
• Useful information
o Recruitment leads will use this area to communicate important information to
you. The details you see here will depend on the staff groups associated with
your account.
• Unread messages
o Here you’ll see any messages that have been sent to you via Oriel, that you
have not yet read.
• My applications
o This gives you quick access to your current applications. If you’ve started but
not submitted an application, the application window closing date and time

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will appear against the application. If the date/time turns red the window is
closing soon!
o Click on the ‘Application summary’ box to be taken to the full details of your
application in the ‘Applications’ tab of your dashboard. See section 11 for
more information on this tab
2. Documents
• During the application process you may be asked to upload documentation to support
your application (most likely on the Competences page).
• This tab allows you to upload and maintain the list of documents that can be
associated with your applications.
• See section 10 for more information
3. Applications
• The My Applications tab will display all the applications you have in-progress or
submitted. The list of applications will display summary information about each
(status, scores, rank etc.), with more detailed information available via each
application link.
• See section 11 for more information on this tab
4. Messages
• Throughout the course of the application process, you are likely to receive
communications from the recruitment organisations to which you have applied.
• The Messages tab will list the messages and/or emails that you receive.
• When you receive a new message, a count of the number of new messages will
display within the ‘Messages’ tab header, and you will receive an alert on the
‘Registration’ tab. Once you have opened the new messages, the count and alert will
be removed.
• See section 13 for more information on this tab
5. Interviews
• If you are successfully longlisted (and shortlisted where relevant), you may be invited
to interview through Oriel.
• Interview invites and booking information will all be listed within the Interviews tab.
Follow the links to make a booking or view the full booking details. You may also
have the option to cancel an interview slot.
• See section 14 for more information on this tab
6. Offers
• If you are successful in one or more of your applications, any offers will appear within
your Offers section of Oriel.
• To assist with tracking the progress of your offers, you will find the latest status
reflected within the Oriel system.
• See section 15 for more information on this tab
7. References
• After you have accepted an offer or accepted an offer with upgrades, if references are
being collected online through the Oriel system, as soon as they have been
requested, you will be able to track the progress of the references via the references
tab in your applicant portal.
• See section 17 for more information on this tab

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7 Updating your account

If you wish to change your account information (email address or password) at any point, click on the
profile icon in the top right-hand side.

Fig 7.1 Accessing your profile area

The details you update within your profile will, where relevant, filter down into any of your in-progress
or submitted applications as well as any new applications you start.

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8 Searching for a vacancy

You can search for vacancies both before you’re logged in and afterwards.

If you’re not yet logged in, instead of a button to apply to open vacancies, you’ll see an option to login
to apply:

However, once you’re logged in, you’ll see an apply button:

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When searching for a vacancy you have a few options:

1. Use the free text search filter

2. Use the ‘Advanced search filters’ – you will need to click on the on/off toggle to hide/show this
area.

By default, the system will not show vacancies that have already closed. These can be displayed if
the ‘Include closed vacancies’ switch is set to on.

In addition to filtering the list, you can also select the order in which the vacancies are displayed. To
do this, select an alternative option from the ‘Sort by’ drop down.

When you click on an option in the list, the details will be displayed on the right-hand side. If you’re
using a smaller screen, such as a tablet or a smart phone, you may see the details appear below the
vacancy you’ve selected rather than on the right-hand side.

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9 Applying for a vacancy

Once you have found the vacancy to which you wish to apply, click on it to view the full details. From
here, if the vacancy is open you can click on ‘Apply’ if you’re already logged in.

If you’re not yet logged in click on ‘Login to apply’ and enter your Oriel login details. Once you’ve
successfully logged in you’ll be returned to the vacancy list screen where you can find the vacancy
you’re interested in and click ‘Apply’.

You will see an application screen, with a header similar to the image below.

Fig 9.1 Application window

This allows you to track your progress through the application form, as well as showing the vacancy
details for the application you are currently completing.

Use the ‘Next’ and ‘Previous’ buttons, displayed at the bottom of your browser window, to navigate
from page to page of the application form.

Each time you successfully complete a page of the application form and move on to the next page, a
green confirmation message box is displayed at the top of the screen to inform you that your progress
has been saved.

Fig 9.2 Confirmation message

Mandatory fields are marked with a * symbol. You must complete these fields as a minimum in order
to proceed.

You can also skip to a different section of the application form by clicking on the section name (in the
image above, the current selection is ‘Personal’).

9.1 Saving your application form

At any time during the completion of an application form, you can save your progress by clicking on
the Save button, which is displayed at the top of the application form.

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Fig 9.3 Save and exit buttons within application

Note, the ‘Save’ button will be initially greyed out, and will become active only when you have
changes to save. Clicking on the downward pointing arrow alongside the save button will give you
additional options:

When you have saved your progress, a green confirmation message box is displayed at the top of the
screen to inform you that your changes have been successfully saved.

Fig 9.4 Confirmation of saved changes

If you wish to exit your application, click on the ‘Exit without saving’ button, which is also displayed at
the top of the screen.

Remember, you should avoid using the browser back button to return to the rest of the Oriel system.

9.2 Returning to an in-progress application form

If you have saved an application form that you have not yet submitted, you can return to it to continue
completing the form at any time, until the vacancy closing date has passed.

There are two ways to access your application form:

1. From the ‘Applications’ tab on your Dashboard. Click on an application that is in-progress to
access the application summary details. At the top of the Application details page, you’ll find a
green button with the text ‘Continue application’. Click here to continue completing your
application.
2. From the ‘Vacancies’ menu item. If you have an in-progress application for a vacancy, instead
of an ‘Apply’ button you’ll see an option to ‘Go to application summary’ or ‘Continue’. Click the
‘Continue’ button to continue completing your application.

9.3 Reviewing your preference rankings (within an

application form)
For some vacancies, you may be required to rank preference as part of the application form. If this is
the case, you will see preferences to rank in the ‘Preferences’ page of the application form.

To understand the options available to you when ranking preference, refer to section 12 of this
document or guidance provided by the organisation to which you are applying.

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Fig 9.5 Reviewing preferences

You may find it helpful to review the ranks to which you have assigned each preference, or to review
the available preferences, in the form of a spreadsheet. To do this, click on the ‘Clear here’ link,
shown outlined in red in image Fig 9.5 above.

In addition to this, in order to submit your application, you will need to have ticked the box alongside
the text ‘I confirm that I have reviewed my preference rankings’. Once you have ticked this box, if you
make any changes to your preference rankings, or download the preference export, the box will
become unticked and a validation message will be displayed, forcing you to re-tick the box.

You will not be able to submit your application if the ‘I confirm that I have
reviewed my preference rankings’ box has not been ticked.

When you have updated your preference rankings, remember to click the ‘Save’
button at the top of your application form before moving on to the next page.

Some vacancies might not require you to rank preferences as part of the application. If this is the
case, you will not see the ‘Preferences’ page of the application form:

9.4 Submitting your application

When you have completed all the pages of your application form, and have uploaded the relevant
documents throughout your application, you can submit your application form.

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Your application form will become read only once it has been submitted. You will
not be able to edit the majority of the information provided in your application
form once it has been submitted. The following will remain editable:

1. References – if the recruitment office for the vacancy you’ve applied to has
allowed the collection of references online via Oriel, you will be able to amend
the referee details that you’ve provided until the referee has submitted your
references (or the reference submission window has closed). For information
on how to do this, refer to section 17.2.
2. Preference ranks – if the vacancy you’ve applied to allows it, you may be
able to amend your preference rankings following application submission. If
you’re unsure whether this is possible for the vacancy you’re applying to you
should contact the recruitment office (contact details can be found on the
recruitment leads page within Oriel). For information on ranking preferences
after submitting your application (if enabled) refer to section 12 of this guide.

On the final page of the Application form, the ‘Confirm & Submit’ page, a ‘Submit Application button is
displayed. This button will be greyed out until you have read the confirmation statements and clicked
the ‘I confirm’ button. Once you have done this, click ‘Submit Application’ to submit your application
form.

Once you have successfully submitted your application, a confirmation page will be displayed to you,
and you will receive an email confirming that you have submitted.

You will only be able to submit your application if all mandatory fields on all the pages of the
application have been completed. If not, the system displayed a list of all pages that you have not yet
completed when you try to submit.

Before you submit your application, ensure that you have uploaded any requested
documents against your application.

Remember that you will need to have completed all mandatory fields on all the pages
of the application form.

Additionally, remember that if you have been required to rank preferences as

part of the application form, you must have ticked the ‘I confirm that I have
reviewed my preference rankings’ box before you are able to submit your
application. If there are no preferences available to rank on the ‘Preferences’
page of the application form, you are not required to tick this box.

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9.5 Printing your application

On the final page of the Application form, the ‘Confirm & Submit’ page, you will be able to generate a
PDF copy of your application form. In the top-right corner of the page there will be a “Print” button.
Clicking this will allow you to select which pages of the application form you wish to print. Select your
desired pages, and click “Print” to create the PDF, which you can then Save or Print as desired.

Depending on the device and browser you are using, the formatting in the printed PDF
can vary slightly. For best results, ensure you are printing your application on a desktop
computer as opposed to a mobile device.

9.6 Copying a previously submitted application

Once you have submitted one application, when you started a new application you may see the
option to copy your application form content from your previously application:

Fig 9.6 Copying from a submitted application

The drop down will give you the option to copy where the previous application has been submitted
and where “Part 1” section of the application form is the same. This will copy the majority of the
content in the Part 1 form. If the “Part 2” section of the application form on both vacancies is also the
same, this will also copy the majority of the content of the Part 2 as well.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have checked the content of all pages of your form before
submitting.

To copy application responses, select a submitted application from the drop down and click ‘Copy
form data’.

If you want to start a new application without copying previous application data, click ‘Continue
without copying’.

Once your application is in progress, you cannot copy responses from another application. The only
exception to this is your basic personal information, which is filtered into all applications from your
profile area (see section 7 of this document).

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10 Uploading documents
During the application process you may be asked to upload documentation to support your
application, for example:

Fig 10.1 Application competences page

The Oriel system provides you with a central repository to upload and store your supporting
documentation that can be used across all the applications you make. There is also an option to
upload a new document to your application.

10.1 Uploading documents via your dashboard

From your Dashboard, click on the Documents tab to access all your current documents and to
upload new documents.

Fig 10.2 Document upload screen

To upload a new document, click the ‘Add’ button and you will be presented with the following screen:

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Fig 10.3 Uploading a document

Enter a ‘File name’ to help you identify this document later, select the appropriate ‘Document type’
and use the ‘Select option’ to browse your local machine and locate the file you wish to upload. Leave
the status on the default of ‘current’. Click ‘Save and exit’ to complete your upload.

You must select the correct file ‘Document type’ otherwise your documentation may not
be available to the recruitment organisations you have applied to.

A successful upload will be indicated by the addition of your document within the file list.

Fig 10.4 Document displayed in file list

The system will allow you to add more recent versions of a document type that has been previously
uploaded. At the point you submit your application; you have the option to select which document to
submit (see section 10.2 of this document for details)

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10.1.1 Uploaded a document in error?

If you find you upload a document in error, or you find yourself attaching several versions of a
particular document type over time, you can change the status of the old/incorrect documents to
‘archive’ to prevent them being visible to administrators in subsequent applications.

Select the file to be archived by double clicking anywhere along the row for that file in the Document
Upload section of your Dashboard.

Fig 10.5 Selecting a document from the file list

Change the status to ‘archive’ and save.

Fig 10.6 Marking a file as archived

10.2 Attaching documents to, and uploading a document

within, an application
When you reach a question in your application that requires a document to be attached, you will have
either one or two options:

1. Upload a new document:

a. Click this button to open a ‘File upload’ window, within which you can select a
document from your computer and attach it to your application form.
b. When you click ‘Select files’ a window will open to allow you select a file from your
computer.
c. Once you have selected a file, click ‘Upload & close’.

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Fig 10.7 File upload window

2. Select document from repository:

a. If available, this allows you to select a document from those you have already
uploaded to your dashboard.
b. Initially, the list will be filtered based on the document type you are required to
provide. However, you can change the ‘Show all document(s)’ toggle to ‘On’ to show
all the documents in your repository.
c. Select the document you wish to attach to your form using the checkboxes on the
right-hand side, and click ‘Attach selected document(s).

Fig 10.8 Select from repository window

10.3 Attaching additional documents to a submitted

application (if requested)
After you have submitted your application, an administrator may request that you attach additional
documentation to support your application.

If this is the case, you will receive an alert on your Dashboard. Click on the alert and find the relevant
application from your My Applications list.

A yellow triangle alert symbol is displayed alongside an application that requires additional
documents, with the text ‘Document update required’. Click on the application.

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Fig 10.9 Application summary screen with update documents link

Within the Application/Summary screen, click on the link that is displayed at the top of the page with
the text ‘Update Documents’.

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Fig 10.10 Attach additional documents to an application

Any document types for which the administrator has requested more documents be uploaded are
displayed on this screen, with a link that reads ‘Add new file’. When you click on this link, you are
taken to the document upload screen, where you can browse for your file to upload, described in
section 10.1 above.

If you upload a document in error, you can remove the document using the red bin icon displayed on
the right-hand side alongside the document.

Any documents you add in this way are added solely to the selected application. They
are NOT added to you Dashboard document upload section, nor will they be attached
to any other application that you have started or start in future.

10.4 Attaching a CREST document (if relevant)

Some vacancies, but not all, may have a separate area for you to provide your CREST document. For
some vacancies, your CREST document will be attached using only the functionality described in
section 10.2 or section 10.3 of this document.

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If the separate CREST area is available for your application, you will see an additional tab on your
application summary called ‘CREST documents’. If you are required to provide a document to this
area, you will also see a message on the left-hand side of the summary and a ‘Submit CREST
document’ button.

Fig 10.11 CREST document options

When you click ‘Submit CREST document’ you will be presented with a pop-up window from which
you can either:

1. Select ‘Use document repository’ to choose a file that you’ve already attached to your
application. When you tick the box alongside this label, a drop down will be available for you
to select a file you’ve added in your document repository
2. Click ‘Select’ to choose a file from your computer.

Fig 10.12 Submit a CREST document

When you’ve chosen a document to attach, make sure you tick the confirmation box and click
‘Confirm’. It will not be possible for you to change this document once you have confirmed it.

The document will then be sent to the recruitment office for review. When they have made a decision,
you will be able to see this in your ‘CREST documents’ tab. If the document is deemed unsatisfactory
you may be required to provide an additional document – if this is the case you will receive a
message from your recruitment office with an explanation as to why the previous document was
deemed unsatisfactory,

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11 Managing your applications

The ‘Applications’ area of the applicant dashboard displays all application activity associated with your
account.

Options are provided to filter your list of applications.

Fig 11.1 Applications list in the dashboard

The results list provides summary information about each of your applications, including:

• Closing date of the vacancy.

• Your unique application ID.
• The recruitment lead for the vacancy you have applied to.
• The latest application status.
• Whether the application has been submitted or is in progress.
• The preference order (please note that if the vacancy does not require you to preference then
this will always display ‘1’).
• Your shortlist score for the application – only available if the lead recruitment organisation has
chosen to publish this information.
• Your interview score for the application – only available if the lead recruitment organisation
has chosen to publish this information.
• Your overall rank for the application – only available if the lead recruitment organisation has
chosen to publish this information.

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12 Updating your programme preferences or

sub-preferences
Updating Programme Preferences involves marking each option as being in one of up to three
different states, depending on how the vacancy has been set up.

1. Preference - If an option is marked as a ‘Preference’ it means you wish to be considered for

posts within this programme. You must rank these options to specify an order of preference. If
you come to be made an offer you will be offered your highest ranked preference where posts
remain available.
2. No-Preference - If an option is marked as ‘No-Preference’ it means you wish to be
considered for posts within this programme if there are no posts available in your preferenced
programme(s). If you come to be made an offer and there are no posts available in your
‘Preference’ options you will be offered any one of the ‘No Preference’ options as they are
considered to have equal preference ranking.
3. Not Wanted – If an option is marked as ‘Not Wanted’ it means you are not willing to accept
an offer for this programme under any circumstances and therefore do not wish to be
considered for these posts.

The recruitment office responsible for your offers will determine which columns are
available to you.

To update your preferences, find the relevant application in your My applications list, and click on it.
You will see an option at the top of the Application/Summary screen that reads ‘Update Preferences’ if
the preferencing window is currently open. Click on this option to access the preferencing screen.

Fig 12.1 Update preferences screen

To order your preferences you can click on an option you want to move then drag and drop it into
another column.

If you want to save the changes you have made click the ‘Save’ button. If you wish to cancel the
changes click ‘Cancel’ and your preferences will revert back to the last time you saved.

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You can continue to amend and re-save your programme preferences until the end of the preference
window, which may be listed in the programme preference opening email you receive and on the
preferencing screen as per the screenshot below.

If you do not click the Save button then any changes you have made will not be recorded.

Whatever order you have saved your programme preferences in when the window is closed is the
order that will be used when matching applicants to available posts. It is advisable to review your
saved programme preferences prior to the deadline as they cannot be amended once the window is
closed.

You may find it helpful to review the ranks to which you have assigned each preference, or to review
the available preferences, in the form of a spreadsheet. To do this, click on the ‘Clear here’ link,
shown outlined in red in image Fig 12.1 above.

The use of mobile browsers is not supported for this page. Applicants should use a PC
browser for this function.

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13 Messages
Throughout the course of the application process, you are likely to receive communications from the
recruitment organisations to which you have applied.

The Messages tab will list the messages and emails that you receive. Please note SMS messages
will not be logged here.

When you receive a new message, a count of the number of new messages will display within the
‘Messages’ tab header, and you will receive an alert on the against the message icon in the main
menu bar (outlined in red in the image below). Once you have opened the new messages, the count
and alert will be removed.

Fig 13.1 Message tab in the dashboard

You can filter your messages by recruitment lead, training programme and whether the message has
been read or not. New messages are indicated by a closed envelope icon in blue.

Fig 13.2 Viewing a new message

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14 Interviews
If you are successfully shortlisted, you may be invited to interview through the Oriel system.

Any interview invites or pre-allocated bookings will be notified via the ‘Alert list’, with a count for alerts
displayed against the bell icon in the main menu bar. You may also receive an email from the
respective recruitment organisation.

Fig 14.1 Alert list on the main menu bar

To view your invites and bookings, click on the ‘Interviews’ tab.

Fig 14.2 Interviews tab of the dashboard

There will be a button alongside each interview that may be one of the following:

• View – if there is more than one interview day for this vacancy a ‘View’ button will be
displayed. When you click on this button, a pop up will be displayed showing each of the
available interview days. Each day will have one of the remaining buttons displayed alongside
it, allowing you to book a day.
• Book Slot – click on this button to be taken to the interview booking screen where you can
select a time slot.
• Booked – this indicates that you have booked onto this interview day.
• Full – this indicates that there are no more slots available to be booked on this interview day.
• Closed (red) – this indicates that the booking deadline has passed so you will not be able to
book on this interview day.

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14.1 Booking an interview

From the Interview tab on your Dashboard, click the ‘Book’ button alongside an interview day to make
a booking.

Fig 14.3 Booking an interview day

Either click Book Slot against the start time you would like to attend, after which you will need to
confirm your selection and enter any special arrangements you require. Finally, a confirmation screen
will be displayed, confirming your interview booking.

Alternatively, click Decline Interview to decline the interview.

If you choose to decline the interview, you will be taken to a confirmation screen, where
you must confirm that you wish to decline the interview.

Once you have declined an interview, your application is withdrawn from that
application, and you will not progress any further. You will not be able to re-apply for
a vacancy once you have declined the interview.

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14.2 Cancelling an interview booking

You can cancel an Interview booking, provided the Booking Deadline date for the Interview day has
not passed.

Having clicked on a Booked interview, click on the ‘Your Slot’ link. From here you can update your
comments against the booking, and can also click the ‘Cancel Interview Slot’ link to cancel your
current booking. You will then be able to re-book on another available booking slot.

In some cases, if you cancel a booking that was made for you by the recruitment office,
you will be unable to re-book yourself through the system after having cancelled a slot.
In this situation, you will be presented with a message that explains this to you, and will
be required to contact the recruitment office in order to re-book an interview slot

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15 Offers
If you are successful in one or more of your applications, any offers will appear within your ‘Offers’
section of Oriel. To assist with tracking the progress of your offers, you will find the latest status
reflected within the Oriel system.

Offers that have been made are displayed within the Offers tab of your Dashboard.

To respond/update/view your offer, click on the vacancy name to find out more about your offer.

15.1 Making a decision on your offer

To Accept, Decline or Hold an offer, click on the appropriate button from the Offer/Actions section of
the offer summary. You will be taken to a confirmation screen.

You must ensure that you tick the confirmation check box before you click the confirm button
in order to confirm your response.

A green confirmation message box is displayed at the top of the screen when you have successfully
submitted your response.

Note, depending on the rules stipulated by the recruitment office the options available may vary.

IMPORTANT NOTE

If you have not accepted, declined or held your offer, it will expire 48 hours after the
offer was made. Once your offer has expired, you will not receive another offer from
this vacancy. In addition, if you have held an offer during this 48 hour window, it will
expire after the hold deadline has passed. Again, once expired, you will not receive
another offer from this vacancy.

15.2 What happens to your other applications?

When you accept or hold an offer in Oriel, all other applications that you’ve made within the same
offer round are displayed under the ‘Active Applications + Offers in the Same Round’ heading.
Alongside each application, you’ll see details of what will happen to the application when you either
accept or hold this offer.

The information you’ll see will be one of the following:

Action on other active application What does this mean?

Withdrawn if above offer is You have not yet received an offer to this application and
ACCEPTED. No improvement on this the application is not for a post that is hierarchically higher
offer is available. than the current offer. This application will be withdrawn
and set to a status of ‘Application withdrawn – accepted
another post’.
Declined if the above offer is HELD This offer will be automatically declined. You will only see
this where the offer for the application in question has been
held and you are attempting to hold a second offer.

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Action on other active application What does this mean?

Declined if the above offer is This offer will be automatically declined.
ACCEPTED
Declined if the above offer is This offer will be automatically declined. You will only see
ACCEPTED OR HELD this where the offer for the application in question has been
held.
No action. Potential improvement on You have not yet received an offer to this application.
this offer is available. However, because it is hierarchically higher, this
application will not be withdrawn and you may still receive
an offer if a place becomes available.

15.3 Opting in/out of upgrades and amending preferences

If you have accepted or held your offer, you have the option to opt in to upgrades. If you opt in to
upgrades, and an upgrade becomes available, you do not have an option to decline the upgrade.
Upgrades automatically replace your initial offer.

If you have opted in to upgrades, you can amend the programme preferences for which you wish to
receive upgrade. You will see a link with the text ‘Upgrade preferences’ within the ‘Actions’ section of
your offer.

Once you click on this link, you’ll be presented with a screen displaying the programme preferences
you’ve either accepted or held an offer for, along with all other programme preferences that you have
ranked more highly than the one you’ve received the offer for.

Depending on the vacancy set up, this screen may allow you to either opt in and out of these higher
ranked programme (see section 15.3.1) or to re-rank your preferences (see section 15.3.2). There are
screenshots in the subsequent sections – if you aren’t sure which option applies to you then please
compare the screenshots with the functionality you are seeing on screen.

When the vacancy owner is in the process of making new offers/upgrades you will be
unable to amend your upgrade preference options.

15.3.1 Opting in and out of programmes

From within the Offer details, click on the ‘Upgrade Preferences’ option that is displayed on the right-
hand side.

The programme preference you have received as an offer is displayed at the bottom of this screen.
Above this are all other programme preferences that you have ranked more highly than your offered
programme preference.

Initially, you will see a tick in the ‘Opt In’ column for every available programme preference – this
column is displayed on the right-hand side of the screen. By clicking this box you can remove the tick,
thereby opting out of receiving upgrades to that programme preference.

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15.3.2 Re-ranking upgrade preferences

In some cases, after clicking on the ‘Upgrade Preferences’ option that is displayed on the right-hand
side of the offer details, you will see a blue button with the label ‘Update Preferences’ instead of
having tick boxes to opt in and out of specific programmes.

Clicking on this blue button will take you to the ‘Preference Update’ screen.

You will see that the programme preference for which you have received on offer has the text
‘OFFER’ displayed alongside it. You cannot place this programme preference in the ‘Not Wanted’
column. You can, however, drag and drop all other programme preferences between the available
columns, just as you did when you initially ranked programme preferences earlier in the process.
Remember to click ‘Save’ to store your new order if you make any changes.

You may find it helpful to review the ranks to which you have assigned each preference, or to review
the available preferences, in the form of a spreadsheet. To do this, click on the ‘Clear here’ link
displayed above the preference ranking columns.

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16 Post offer-allocations
In some cases, you may receive allocations after you have accepted a job offer. This is to provide you
with additional information regarding the placements that you will be undertaking.

If allocations are made for any of your offers, you will receive an alert on your dashboard alert list,
labelled ‘Allocation acknowledgment pending’. Allocations are linked to an accepted offer, and
therefore you must access your Offers tab to view and acknowledge this information.

Within the Offers tab, an offer for which there is a pending allocation is displayed with a yellow
Allocation pending banner.

Click on the offer to view the information, and then Click ‘Acknowledge allocation’ to confirm that you
have read this information.

Note, acknowledging your allocation allows the administrator to see that you have viewed this
information. As you have already been offered, and accepted a job offer, failure to acknowledge the
allocations has NO IMPACT on your job offer.

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17 References
17.1 Nominating references
When you complete your application, you must provide references. In some cases, you may be able
to amend your references after you have submitted your application. To do so, go to the My
Applications tab within your dashboard, click on View application for the application you wish to
update, and then click on the References tab. If these fields are editable, you are able to amend your
references.

17.2 Changing your nominated referee

Provided that this is permitted for the vacancy you are applying to, and your references have not yet
been submitted, you are able to update the details of or change your nominated referees.

To do this, click on Update References from you Application Summary page.

Fig 17.1 Update references button

For any references that have not yet been submitted, you are able to change the referee details.
However, if a referee has already submitted your reference, you will not be able to make any changes
to their details. If you change the email address against a referee, a new Reference Request will be
sent to the newly provided email address, and the original request will be withdrawn.

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18 Troubleshooting
If you encounter any problems, check for guidance below before seeking assistance.

Summary Description Guidance

Unable to delete Once a document has been When completing your
documents uploaded in uploaded a document to the application, you may be required
error. document upload page in your to provide documents. When you
dashboard, it is not possible to do so, you can either select from
delete it. your document repository or
attached a document from your
computer.

If you choose to select a

document from your repository,
but you have uploaded
documents to your repository in
error, ensure that you only select
the correct documents to link to
your application.

You can also change the status of

the document uploaded in error to
‘archive’. This will prevent it from
being when selecting documents
to submit with your application.

System has detected This message can also be When completing their
the use of multiple displayed if you have used the application, applicants should use
browsers/tabs, yet I only browser’s back button to navigate the ‘home’ button to exit the
have one browser and away from the application form. application form.
browser tab open
Exiting the application If you encounter this problem, you
using browser back must log off, close the browser
button causes an error completely, then re-open it and
message. log back in.

I have not received an The system queues emails from the Wait for a few minutes and check
email sent to me system and sends them in batches. your messages again.
As a result, there can be a slight
delay between the administrator
sending a communication from the
system and the applicant receiving
it.

NOTE: The system is designed to

be able to send up to 200 emails
every 5 minutes. Therefore, at
times of peak activity it can take
some time for all emails for very
large batch communications to be
sent.

I am unable to rank Although the rank preference page The use of mobile browsers is not
preferences from my is displayed correctly, it is not supported for this page.
mobile device possible to select an individual Applicants should use a PC
preference to drag and drop into browser for this function.
the correct place for ranking.

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19 Who to contact for assistance

If you require assistance, either technical or in relation to an application you have made, then please
contact the recruitment lead for that vacancy. Contact details can be found on the appropriate profile
within the ‘Recruitment lead’ section of the system (accessed from the main menu).

If you have locked your account, you will need to contact the Recruitment Lead for the vacancy you
are (or will be) applying to. Contact details can be found within the ‘Recruitment lead’ section of the
system (accessed from the main menu).

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