This article is written by Laura Besford, Lead Recruiter, HMRC.

For some people, landing their dream job can feel like an obstacle course. One of the biggest hurdles is writing a good CV that showcases your skills. The truth is that most hiring managers look for a few specific elements, and if your application can tick those boxes, you’re much more likely to get the job.

I am a Lead Recruiter in the HMRC Specialist Resourcing Team, and I’ve been with the Civil Service since 2017. I am currently the Resourcing Account Manager for the Chief Digital Information Office (CDIO) which is at the heart of HMRC’s transformation. We run the biggest digital operation in government, providing digital services for 45 million individuals and 4.9 million business customers, so it’s quite busy!

The HMRC Specialist Resourcing team was set up in 2016 and was one of the first direct sourcing functions in government, actively looking for candidates and encouraging them to apply. Our main role is to identify, source and engage candidates to fill specialist positions within HMRC, including niche vacancies which require specialist skills sets or experience.

What makes us different, and where we add most value, is that we take more of a ‘headhunting’ approach, helping the business advertise roles in a way that’s going to be most attractive to the right people, but also helping to guide along candidates who may not be familiar with Civil Service processes, or even have considered a career with us before.

Tips for success with job applications

The Civil Service recently introduced something called the Success Profile Framework. We are moving away from the stereotypical competency-based framework and introducing instead a more flexible way to assess candidates against a range of elements using a variety of selection methods. The competency-based framework is a more rigid approach, whereas the success profile framework is more flexible, allowing the hiring manager to target particular sets of skills. This will give the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, which in turns makes us a more performant and effective organisation. It also makes us more diverse and inclusive as we are adjusting our selection methods to suit the vacancy, looking beyond a generic set of competencies. Understanding how this framework is used can also help increase your chances of landing your dream job.

Even if you’re not applying for a job in the UK Civil Service, my experience tells me that most employers use some of the same elements to weigh candidates.

There are five elements to the framework:

  • Experience: A strength-based approach mostly used for vacancies that require previous skills and experience, which is assessed by reviewing the CV and Statement of Suitability.
  • Ability: The aptitude or potential to perform to the required standard.
  • Technical: The demonstration of specific professional skills, knowledge or qualifications.
  • Strengths: Questions on points of strength that we do well and that motivate us.
  • Behaviours: The actions and activities that people do which result in effective performance in a job.

Because it’s a more flexible framework, the application process will be different depending on the role, the department and the team. For example, vacancies that require specialist skills may use a strength-based approach within the ‘Experience’ success profile and ask for a CV detailing your previous professional experience along with a statement of suitability up to 1,250 words.

When applying for a role where the hiring manager is using this approach, I suggest making notes about the key themes from the job specification and paying attention to the essential criteria. You should then foreground occasions where you’ve exhibited those qualities in your CV and statement of suitability so that they come across clearly.

How to write a good CV

All vacancies within the Civil Service are advertised on the Civil Service Jobs website, where you can also manage your applications. We use an anonymous application process to make sure the process remains open, fair and inclusive, so you will need to remove any details that may identify you at the application stage. There is further guidance as to what this means on the site.

First of all, look at the specification/advert and check your CV to ensure the skills and experience they are looking for is demonstrated within your work history, if you have it.

We need you to enter your information into text boxes; the easiest way to do this is to have an electronic copy of your CV and then copy and paste the relevant parts into your application, but make sure to format it and include spaces so it’s easy to read for the hiring manager. Such as:

Organisation: Month/Year – Month/Year
Job title
Context about your role

Daily duties

Your skills and experience will be scored against the essential criteria in the job advert, so make sure your information is clear and easy to understand so you have more chances to get an interview.

When reviewing the submission, ask yourself “Is this relevant to the role? Will this information support my application for this particular vacancy?” as it’s very easy to go off on a tangent.

Avoid talking about yourself in the third person, jargon, acronyms and anything that you wouldn’t want to be quizzed on at interview.

Statement of suitability

This is an important part of the application as it is your chance to sell yourself and tell the hiring manager why you are the best person for the job.

Read the job description carefully and make a note of the essential and desirable criteria. Use those key themes to draft your statement, explaining clearly how you meet those.

There is a word limit (ranging from 250 words up to 1,250 words); please try to use the full allowance as this information will determine if you get an interview.

Be honest! You may be asked about anything you put on your statement in the interview.

The STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result) is a great way to demonstrate your ability and ensure the information is detailed and meaningful. You can find more info about this online if you’re not familiar with it.

It’s very easy to get caught up when becoming passionate about applying for a new job and wanting to cram as much information in there as possible. However, remember the hiring manager will only be looking for information relevant to the criteria they are looking for, so stick to the drafted structure and build upon each statement from there, using examples where suitable to demonstrate experience.

Before submitting your application, review the content and make sure it has enough information to get you to the interview stage. Maybe get a friend or family member to read it too to make sure it makes sense and answers all the criteria. Once you submit your application, you cannot change it, so better read it too many times than not enough!

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