To make an application please register with this Cabinet Office website and upload:
- CV (maximum two sides of A4) detailing your qualifications, employment history and any appointments or offices you hold or have held. Please also provide your preferred contact number and email address.
- A personal statement (maximum two sides of A4) providing evidence against the role criteria and your suitability for the post. Please consider the role and criteria carefully in preparing your statements. Information from Advisory Assessment Panels indicates that applications which offer specific and tailored examples against the criteria, making clear the candidate’s role in achieving an outcome are often the strongest. Structuring the statement around the criteria using relevant headings also aids clarity.
The guidance below gives some helpful tips on how best to present yourself to the panel who will be reviewing your application. There is no official or ‘correct way’ to write your CV or supporting statement, this is simply a guide that you may wish to refer to or use as a template.
1. CV
Here are a few pointers to keep in mind whilst writing or updating your CV:
o Please write your name at the top;
o Do not write more than 2 pages. We appreciate this may be a challenge and your achievements could spread across several pages. However, please appreciate that the panel may have a large number of applications to assess so brevity would be appreciated.
o Avoid spelling and grammatical errors;
o Tailor it to the position you’re applying for. Make sure to draw attention to how you have met the essential and desirable criteria throughout your achievements in life. An opening paragraph at the top of the front page would be beneficial;
o Use an updated CV. Explain what you are currently doing or what you most recently have done that fits to the role you are applying for, including dates of the positions you have held;
o Avoid big blocks of solid text. Using bullet points will help those reading the CV;
o Always explain what abbreviations stand for;
o Only include key information. The panel do not need to know about your hobbies unless they specifically match the criteria of the role you are applying for. Personal details including name, address, phone number & email address should be included. There is no legal requirement for you to put your age, or any other protected characteristic (under the Equality Act 2010) on your CV.
2. Supporting Statement
Your supporting statement is an opportunity to prove to the panel your reasons for applying for the role as well as highlighting your skills and attributes.
o Do not write more than 2 pages.
o Use models to help structure your paragraphs. There are two models that you may find useful when writing your supporting statements:
o The WHO Model – What was your personal role? How you did it? And what was the Outcome? placing emphasis on the successful outcome.
o The STAR approach – 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 and Result: what you achieved through your actions.
o Use the essential criteria as headings. The essential criteria for roles can be found on the advert on the Cabinet Office website and within the Candidate Information Pack. It is useful to the panel when assessing your application. For example;
Demonstrate intellectual capacity with the ability to make evidence-based decisions
You would write a paragraph using evidence from your current role or from recent examples of how you have demonstrated the ability to make evidence-based decisions whilst achieving goals. You would then link this work to the public body you are applying for and how your work directly benefits the ALB and how you can be a part of the it’s future with your skill-set.