Complete AO and EO examples for four behaviours commonly used in Business Support Officer recruitment
Business Support Officer behaviour statements work best when the example is ordinary enough to be believable and detailed enough to show judgement. A shared inbox, meeting pack, customer query or deadline can produce strong evidence when the applicant explains what they personally did and why.
Recent Business Support Officer recruitment has used Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together and Managing a Quality Service. Your vacancy may use a different combination, so check the advert before choosing examples.
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Return to the Civil Service Business Support Officer Applications hub for the role overview and links to the other application guides.
What strong Business Support Officer behaviour evidence looks like
At AO, the example should show reliable personal delivery, accurate use of procedures, clear communication and appropriate escalation. At EO, the panel should see more independent prioritisation, ownership of a wider piece of work and the confidence to coordinate or challenge other people when delivery is at risk.
Avoid using impressive senior titles as a substitute for evidence. Supporting a Director can be routine administration. A smaller example can be stronger if it clearly shows the behaviour being assessed.
Common reasons behaviour statements score poorly
- The applicant describes the team process and leaves their own actions unclear.
- The answer says work was busy without explaining how priorities were decided.
- The result is simply that the task was completed, with no useful indication of quality, service or improvement.
- The candidate says they communicated regularly but gives no evidence of listening, adapting the message or handling disagreement.
- An EO example is mostly routine administration and does not show enough ownership or judgement.
- An AO example claims authority over decisions that should have been escalated.
Continue for eight complete behaviour statements, with one AO and one EO example for each selected behaviour.
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