Application Guidance

When completing your application form, it is important that you refer to the relevant Civil Service Competence Framework for the Grade to which the job applies. The grade will be indicated in the job details section of the job advert. The job advert form highlights the key competencies of the role which you are applying for and that you will be assessed against during the selection process.

You should also refer to the Specialist Skills, Knowledge and Expertise stated in the Job Advert. You should read the descriptions of the indicated competences and provide examples on your application form that best demonstrate how your skills and abilities match these requirements. The information you provide will be assessed during the short listing (sift) stage and if you are invited to attend an interview, the indicated competence areas will be discussed further. Please note that only fully completed application forms will be considered in our selection process. Unless specifically requested in the job advert, CVs will not be accepted.

Writing Supporting Statements and Competency Examples

It is possible that you will have to complete a Supporting statement and Competency examples. The following sections give some guidance on how to do this.

Supporting Statements

Statements need to be short and snappy. As there is a limit on the number of words it is essential that you use the space as effectively as possible. The word count may seem small but drafting statements that are comprehensive yet succinct is part of the skill being assessed. To prepare good strong statements to include in your application, you need to:

  • Base your examples on a previous experience which has broad enough scope to enable you to demonstrate you have completed the actions that make up the competency

  • Tell the truth - don’t make things up. You may well be asked about the examples at the interview so will get tripped up if you have written about something that you are not familiar with

  • Do a first draft then refine, refine, refine

  • Check everything is there that is needed

  • Use the word count facility on your computer – don’t exceed the word count

  • Think about presentation – would bullet points work as opposed to paragraphs of text

  • Be succinct – make sure you cover the key points

  • Draft in clear language that is grammatically correct, including the spelling

  • Do not use jargon, abbreviations or specialist terms

  • Use your own words, preferably those that enhance the impact of your application

Competency Examples


Top Tips for getting started

  • Write down all the things that you have done well in your job over the past 2 years

  • Your previous performance reports may help here

  • For each of these things note down how you achieved what you did, what skills and behaviours did you use

  • For each bit of work, note which competencies it might cover

  • It is a good idea to familiarise yourself with your own competencies and indicators before you start.

  • Gather your evidence together and analyse it before you start writing examples – you probably have more evidence than you think.

  • Use evidence from work if you can.

  • Talk through your evidence and examples with your line manager or a colleague – a second or third pair of eyes is always useful.

  • Practise - you will not get it right first time.

  • Take time – writing good examples takes days or weeks - not hours.

Which Competencies

During the Selection process, you may be asked to provide a number of competency examples.
Many people find this to be the most difficult part. It is essential that you get this part right. Failure to provide good evidence will not get you through a sift or an interview. The vacancy holder has 3 options to consider when they choose competencies for an exercise;

  • Generic competencies only

  • A blend of generic and professional competencies

  • Generic competencies with additional professional or technical requirements such as qualifications specified in the vacancy

Usually you will be asked to provide evidence against the required competencies with a word count of 200- 250 words per competency. Any evidence over the stated word count will be discounted.
Competencies describe particular knowledge, skills and behaviours that you need to demonstrate to the vacancy holder.

They should be written in a way that helps managers assess your suitability for a vacancy or promotion exercise.

How to choose your examples

They should be tailored to the behavioural indicators that you feel are most relevant to the advertised post. When deciding which examples to use, keep referring back to the Key Tasks and Person Requirements that are described in the advert, and in the effective behavioural indicators within the competency.

Underline any key words and phrases in the job advert to include in your examples.

The STAR Approach

The STAR approach may also help you to present your evidence more successfully, providing structure and focus to your answers to questions about what you have done in the period the review covers.

Situation – briefly describe the context and your role. Task – the specific challenge, task or job that you faced.

Action – what you did, how and why you did it.
Result – what you achieved through your actions.

Keep the situation and task parts brief. Concentrate on the action and the result. If the result was not entirely successful describe what you learned from this and what you would do differently next time. STAR may help you to cover all the points you need to make. It may help you approach drafting your application in a positive way and ensure that you cover what you personally have done. Make sure you focus on your strengths.

One example per competency would be best practice to use the full STAR explanation within the required word count. Some departments may already have guidance on the number of competency examples and word limits so the applicant should check with the advertising department.

Hints and tips

  • Allow yourself plenty of time for writing your examples – avoid leaving them until the last minute.

  • Writing it down is the safest way to ensure all your examples are fully considered.

  • Don’t assume the sift panel has any knowledge of the situation. They may not know everything you have done.

  • It’s all down to you. The sift panel cannot infer what is not included in the example and can only assess what you have actually written.

  • Make sure you include how you overcome problems / obstacles.

  • Keep looking back at the competency bullet points and cover the key points.

  • Describe your thoughts, actions and feelings rather than just describing what happened.

  • Don’t get caught up telling a story in your example. Just give enough to show -

  • How you went about the task

  • Why you did it the way you did and

  • Describe any obstacles you encountered.

  • Don’t forget to include results and show why your actions were effective and/or how you could have improved on what you did.

  • Use ‘I’ not ‘we’. This is about your role in the task and how you affected the outcome.

  • Use short statements that show the value you added.

  • Use your own words. Consider using active verbs to create greater impact.

  • Choose your most powerful examples – demanding/challenging situations that have lots of substance.

  • Consider completing a Competency Example Prompt using information about the business challenge, ministerial importance and strategic risks. What value did you add and what was the outcome and impact on the business? Complete one for each competence you are asked to provide evidence for. You can use this form to help shape evidence for the application and for the interview.