The advert asks for behaviours and a personal statement. What goes in each one?
Separating Civil Service Behaviour Statements From the Personal Statement
Hello,
I am completing an EO application that asks for two 250-word behaviour statements and a 500-word personal statement.
The behaviours are Delivering at Pace and Working Together. The personal statement asks me to show customer service experience, organisation and the ability to deal with difficult situations.
My best examples overlap. A busy complaints period could answer Delivering at Pace and customer service, while a team rota problem could answer Working Together and organisation.
Should I avoid repeating any example across the application? What should the personal statement contain that the behaviour boxes do not?
Quick Answer
Use the behaviour boxes to answer the official behaviour criteria through focused examples. Use the personal statement to answer the experience and skills named in the advert, even where some of the same work provides the evidence.
Read our EO Personal Statement Help for the full guidance.
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How I Would Divide the Evidence Between Behaviours and the Personal Statement
Continue reading to see how I would map the three boxes, manage overlapping examples and avoid submitting the same answer twice.
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