Civil Service Written Application Process
Landing a role in the Civil Service can be challenging. Applicants often grapple with a range of barriers – but a lack of understanding about how to formally apply is one of the most common. Additional hurdles once you’ve made it through the minefield of the first stage arise at a later date (assessments, fireside chats, competency-based interviews, etc) but the initial step is getting through the multi-staged, and sometimes complex written application process.
CVs are one thing – but the supporting statement for an application into the civil service is arguably the most important. I was working on a campaign for Defra a few years back and was speaking to a candidate about his statement which needed some work. His words: “I have never had to do anything this extensive for a job application in my life, usually I just send my CV and get the role. Don’t you know who I am?”
Okay, I made that bit up about him asking me if I knew who he was, like he was some celebrity, but I do remember the conversation because he was right – it is extensive and it does take time and energy. I like to think there are two main reasons for this:
The written application stage should be viewed like an interview. If you successfully make it through, you generally will only have one face-to-face interview with the department and hiring managers after this. Sometimes in the private sector you can come in for interviews up to four or five times. Passing the initial written application stage automatically gets you to the final stage, so you may as well spend some time, energy and investment on it – just as you would if you were going to an interview.
It’s an easy way for the department to filter out candidates – which sounds harsh, but it's true. Advertised government roles receive an incredible number of applications and due to the Civil Service Fair and Open Principles, each complete application must be viewed by the hiring manager/HR/recruiter. If your statement does not address the key requirements and is not written in the right format (which would have been instructed in the job description), the reviewer has an easy reason to not progress your application.
Whether the department is using Success Profiles (recruitment framework principles) or simple competencies/criteria, your statement generally must be written and formatted using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method, which is outlined below.
| Situation | Describe the specific context within which you performed a task or faced a challenge |
| Task | Describe your role in that specific event or situation. Avoid using generalised description of what you or the team have done in the past. |
| Action | Describe how the task was completed, including any challenges. Focus on you personal contribution in achieving this goal. |
| Result | Explain the outcomes or results generated by the action taken. You might emphasis what you accomplished or lessons learned. |
STEPS TO WRITING A BRILLIANT SUPPORTING STATEMENT:
Identify the key criteria or competencies listed in the job description and break them down.Competencies are the demonstrable ability to apply knowledge, skills and behaviours to perform atask effectively and they should encompass the "how" of performing a job, not just the "what". Let'ssay one of the criteria’s is Leadership (it could look something like this): “Inclusive leadership skills –comfortable operating in a complex operational environment, with a demonstrable commitment tolead, develop and nurture a high performing, diverse and talented workforce.” Break down eachcriteria into single word competencies, ie: Leadership, Stakeholder Management, Collaboration, andbegin to think of ideas where you’ve demonstrated these skills in previous roles.
I would always suggest you start your statement with a brief overview of yourself, but please do notrecreate your CV – we already have that. The statement is two very precious pages where you canadd content not on your CV – use them wisely! A brief first paragraph outlining your current role, a bitabout your experience and then your motivation for applying – why this role and why now (we alwayswant to know!). Obviously be as honest as you can here, but please nothing about how much youhate Gary in IT who uses all the milk which is why you need a new job ASAP.
Your second paragraph should launch straight into the STAR-style responses for the criteria’s. ForLeadership, for example, you will need to write a detailed and informative response whichencompasses the STAR method and outlines a time you demonstrated exceptional leadership. Once acandidate gave me a good description of leadership, but it was like the dictionary definition – whichwould have been great for a school essay, but it gave me absolutely no detail about their personalleadership skills. We need to read about a time you showcased exemplary leadership, and using theSTAR method to set out your example is the best way to get all your points across. I also like to thinkof it as a little story, with a beginning, middle, and end.
An example of a (very simplistic!) response would be:
Situation: In July 2024, I was working as a Head of Finance for a well-known charity about to go throughan internal restructure and transformation project. Task: In this role I was responsible for a team of 8 finance professionals, whilst also presenting weekly tothe SLT and working alongside the strategic finance team. With the restructure and movement of internalcolleagues in place, it was up to me to make sure my team felt secure in their roles, something that wasimportant with fear of redundancies and uncertainty within the organisation.
Action: As I had oversight of the strategic structure, I created a weekly meeting with my team to informthem of any changes, new hires, movement within the business and to answer any questions they mayhave. I took the time to listen to their concerns and made sure they felt seen, as well as give appropriatecommunication. I then fed any increased concerns to the SLT to avoid mixed messages or lack offeedback – making sure my team felt they had someone on-side to raise issues with management. I alsocreated an anonymous survey which helped some staff voice concerns without directly having to speakwith me.
Result: Whilst the internal restructure took longer than anticipated, my team and the wider organisationfelt supported, heard and secure. Making myself readily available, giving options for providing feedbackand having the responses and answers to provide staff meant that turnover was low, morale was highand the project was a success.
You do not need to literally spell out S.T.A.R. I’ve just done it here for reference
Continue with your STAR-examples for each criteria – one paragraph for each is long enough.
Always finish your statement with a brief conclusion – your enthusiasm for the role anddepartment and motivation to progress to the next stage.
I cannot stress enough the importance of providing these clear examples in your answers andbreaking them down into the 4 stages of STAR. The panel will score your answers in this fashion and to score highly you must follow this structure. The candidates with the highest score will be invited to interview.
Why is there so much emphasis on supporting statements:
The Civil Service operate a merit-based recruitment selection through a fair and open competition.Competency-based assessments focus on evidence of behaviour and skills, not personalbackground, contacts or charisma. This helps reduce bias and gives everyone a level playing field,regardless of education or experience outside government.
Imagine you have two CVs and they are incredibly similar except one has five years more experiencethan the other. A lot of the time in the private sector the candidate with more experience will becalled in for the interview, but in the civil service they recognise this can be viewed as unfair or notinclusive. There could be a myriad of reasons why the candidate has less experience - childcare orcaring responsibilities, a disability, education, etc. The benefit of adding a supporting statement toyour application gives the hiring managers the chance to see additional evidence of your skillset notlisted on your CV, and real-life examples of how you behave and work in a role. Despite five yearsless experience, that candidate could give an incredible example of leadership or stakeholdermanagement, or any of the competencies. This gives a fair and open reason for the department tobring that candidate in for an interview – and gives the candidate an opportunity they perhapsotherwise wouldn’t have received.
For any questions or additional support on your statement and application, please do get in touch.
And finally – please see my other blog post about the use of AI in written applications!
