Commercial and Procurement CV and Previous Skills Examples

Employment History and Relevant Skills and Experience examples for HEO, SEO and Grade 7

Civil Service application forms often separate Employment History from Previous Skills and Experience. Employment History is usually the factual timeline. Previous Skills and Experience is where you make the commercial evidence easy to match to the vacancy.

The live advert controls the format. Some campaigns ask for short duties, qualifications or specific commercial experience, while others provide very little guidance.

Return to the Commercial and Procurement Applications hub for role guidance and links to personal statement, behaviour and interview examples.

Read the vacancy instructions first

Civil Service CV instructions vary across departments and campaigns. Read the advert, person specification and attachments before writing. Follow any stated word limit, requested headings or professional accreditation requirement first.

The method used here keeps Employment History factual and uses Relevant Skills and Experience as the main criteria-matching section where the form allows.

What the Employment History box is for

Use Employment History to give a clean timeline: employer, job title and dates. Add short role detail only where the campaign asks for it or where a brief description is needed to make the commercial context understandable.

Keep long STAR examples for Previous Skills and Experience, the personal statement or behaviour sections. Employment History should remain a clear timeline unless the campaign asks for more detail.

What Previous Skills and Experience is for

Treat this section as an evidence map. Pull out the important criteria from the advert and create one slot for each point. Commercial vacancies may ask for procurement, contract management, supplier management, negotiation, commercial strategy, risk, value for money or stakeholder influence.

Use the advert wording where helpful. Give enough evidence to show what you personally owned and the scale involved. Put the strongest essential criteria first.

How evidence changes by grade

HEO

Show independent delivery of defined commercial outputs, such as a lower-risk procurement, contract performance activity, market research or a negotiation within clear parameters.

SEO

Show end-to-end ownership across an area, medium-complexity contracts or procurements, stronger advice, negotiation and risk management. Evidence of mentoring or guiding junior staff can strengthen the level where it is genuine.

Grade 7

Show strategic commercial leadership, significant contracts or sourcing decisions, senior influence and leadership through other commercial professionals. Make trade-offs and organisational impact visible.

Common CV mistakes

• Using Employment History as a second personal statement.
• Listing systems and tender documents while leaving responsibility or outcome unclear.
• Writing “supplier management” when the evidence only shows routine contact with a supplier.
• Giving contract values while leaving the complexity or responsibility unclear.
• Using the same generic skills section for every vacancy.
• Claiming procurement authority that belonged to a Commercial Lead, board or delegated approver.

Members can unlock the full Commercial and Procurement CV method, including criteria mapping and four complete worked examples covering HEO procurement, SEO contract management, Grade 7 commercial leadership and a transferable private-sector background.