How to write a supporting statement for a job application

To write a supporting statement for a job application, take the criteria from the person specification and give one example from your own experience for each, in the order the specification uses. UK employers' own guidance says the same, and the quotes below are from four employers and the National Careers Service. This guide covers job applications; it does not cover statements for benefit claims such as PIP.

Before you write: find the person specification

North Bristol NHS Trust says the section called "Person specification" at the bottom of every advert gives "a good indication of the criteria that Recruiting Managers will be scoring against when shortlisting candidates". The University of Huddersfield says its recruitment pack holds a job description, which lists the duties and responsibilities of the post, and a person specification, "which lists the essential qualities and qualifications required of the successful candidate". HSC Northern Ireland says "It is essential that you read the Job Description and Personnel Specification carefully". If the term is new to you, read what a person specification is.

The method, step by step

1. List the criteria and mark which are essential. North Bristol says the person specification is "split into Essential criteria and Desirable criteria", and that you need to tailor your application to them. Huddersfield says "you need to focus on the essential criteria". The guide to essential and desirable criteria explains the difference.
2. Find one example for each criterion. HSC Northern Ireland says "The panel cannot make assumptions and will expect you to evidence how you meet the criteria by providing specific examples". The National Careers Service says that, as long as the example shows the skill being asked for, it can come from "work, hobbies, social activities or volunteering".
3. Use the criteria as headings, in the order of the specification. North Bristol suggests using the criteria as headings. Huddersfield says to structure the statement "with each competency heading in the order they appear in the person specification", and that headings "can make the text clearer to read for the shortlisting panel". Its headings are the groups of its example specification, such as Experience, with the criteria listed under each.
4. Write each example as situation, task, action and result. North Bristol, Huddersfield and Coventry City Council spell out the STAR method in those words, and the National Careers Service names it too.
5. Leave out what answers no criterion. Coventry says anything that "doesn't respond to requirements listed in the advert / person specification" should be "left out of the application or only be mentioned briefly towards the end".
6. Check that every essential criterion has an answer. HSC Northern Ireland says that if your answers in the "Job Specific Questions" section of its form do not show how you meet the essential shortlisting criteria, you will not be shortlisted for an interview. Give every essential criterion its example before you add detail to the desirable ones.
7. Write the answer on the form. Coventry says "We will not be able to shortlist against answers which are too short in response e.g. 'please see CV'."

How long

Huddersfield gives none: "There is no word limit, however it is important to ensure that your statement is concise and that the content is relevant to the role". Where your form or advert does set a limit, keep to it. The guide on how long a supporting statement should be lists the limits that employers publish, form by form. The guide to how shortlisting is scored shows how the marks are given.

The shape of one answer

The criterion below comes from the example person specification in Huddersfield's guidance. The short lines after "Made up" are invented to show how much each line holds. Use things that really happened to you.

Criterion: "Substantial experience of working in a busy office environment, dealing with customers and handling a range of queries."

• When and where: the job and the dates. Made up: the sales office of a builders' merchant, 2021 to 2025.
• What you did: one task you handled yourself, with a number. Made up: handled calls and emails from about 40 trade customers a day and logged each order for next-day delivery.
• What happened: what changed because of it. Made up: orders went out the next day without a second call to check the details.

Guides for your form and role

Your question, form or role	What the guide covers
Essential and desirable criteria	What each means for shortlisting
How long a statement should be	The limits employers publish
How shortlisting is scored	NHS ticks, scoring grids, Civil Service scale
What a person specification is	Two real NHS examples and their assessed-by codes
Statement or cover letter	When employers ask for each
NHS Jobs boxes	The criteria boxes on NHS Jobs
NHS limits	Word and character limits on NHS forms
Trac	The Trac form and its limits
Civil Service	The personal statement or statement of suitability
Healthcare assistant	Healthcare assistant person specifications on NHS Jobs
Band 3 roles	Clinical support and admin at Band 3
NHS admin and clerical	Admin person specifications
Teaching assistant	What schools score
Teaching assistant, no experience	Where your evidence can come from
SEN teaching assistant	SEND terms and person specifications
Midday supervisor	Person specifications and safeguarding checks
School admin	School office person specifications
Teaching jobs	The Teaching Vacancies form and the Teachers' Standards
Support worker	One council's pack and the care checks
Care assistant	Care documents and the checks they name
Social work	Social workers and assistants
Council jobs	What councils tell applicants
University jobs	Four universities' application guidance

Before you submit

• Every essential criterion has a heading and an example.
• Each example says what you did (the essential and desirable criteria guide quotes what employers count as evidence).
• You have read the draft against the person specification once more. Huddersfield suggests asking whether you have "covered all the requirements".
• You have checked the spelling and grammar, as the National Careers Service and North Bristol both say, and kept a copy of your answers for an interview.

You can also check your draft against the person specification.