Application tips
Evidence your suitability for the role
The job advert contains important information which will help you to evidence your suitability for a role. Pay close attention to the ‘Success Profile’ section as this will tell you the specific behaviours, experience and any technical expertise needed for the position.
You should use your CV and Supporting Statement to provide the evidence of how you meet the success profile criteria by including information and examples of your achievements.
Top tips for applications
- Pay close attention to the Success Profile criteria in the job advert
- Think about relevant examples you can provide
- Think about where to evidence specific criteria (your CV or your supporting statement)
Your CV
Your CV is a document that allows you to summarise your education, work history, technical skills and your experience.
Tips for writing a CV:
• Be concise
• Tailor your CV to the role
• Include qualifications where relevant
• Include key skills and knowledge
• List your previous roles
• Be specific and avoid general statements
• Give context and detail with examples provided
• Link your achievements to roles
Find out more about how to create your CV in our Success Profile Guide.
Your supporting statement
Your supporting statement allows you to provide details of relevant achievements to demonstrate how you meet the criteria for the role.
Tips for writing a supporting statement:
• Keep to the word limit specified
• Be clear and avoid using jargon
• Tailor the examples provided to the role requirements
• Include details of key skills and knowledge
• Provide evidence to back up statements
• Proof read your statement before submitting
• Consider using the STARR format
Find out more about how to write an effective supporting statement in our Success Profile Guide.
Using the STARR approach
There are a few formats you can use to structure your answers. One that you may want to consider using is the STARR format. This can be a useful tool to provide a guide on how to structure examples and provide evidence in your supporting statement. Using the STARR format is not essential, but it can be a useful way for you to check you have included enough evidence for the criteria.
STARR:
- Situation
- Task
- Actions
- Results
- Reflection
1. Situation
What was the problem, project or background to the example you are providing?
2. Task
What was the expected outcome or objective? Who was involved and what was the deadline and budget?
3. Actions
Explain the specific actions and activities you undertook, and how they contributed to success of the project.
4. Results
What did your actions achieve? How did you know it was a success?
5. Reflection
What did you learn during the delivery of this task? Is there anything you would do differently in future?
You might find using the STARR approach helpful in providing evidence in your online application and at interview/assessment.
Success Profiles
Find out more about our assessment framework, Success Profiles.
Recruitment process
Find out more about the different stages of our recruitment process.