Application Form

Review the job description

First things first. Take time to fully understand the job description, especially the person specification section. This is where we list the experience, skills, and knowledge required to do the role successfully. That’s what we’re looking for in you. 

Think of specific examples

Prepare some real-life examples to share with us. The best way to do this is to reflect on your work experience, education or any volunteering you may have done. It’s important to focus on your personal contribution, whatever the context. 

If you’re a student or graduate, and you’re applying for your first job, you can use examples that will demonstrate skills you’ve learnt along the way. For example, if you participated in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, you could highlight areas where you learnt about teamwork or leadership. Alternatively, you may have worked on a group project in class, and you could tell us about your role within that group.

Understand the question

It’s important to really understand what’s being asked, and ensure your answers relate to the specific competencies in question. This is when you can share your real-life examples to demonstrate the competencies we’re asking about.

Structure your answers

To help structure your answer, try using the STAR method:

• Situation: describe the situation you were faced with.
• Task: describe the task you had to complete.
• Action: describe the actions you took to complete the task and why you approached it in the way you did.
• Result: describe the outcome, and try to include some of your learnings or observations.