Writing your supporting statement
Read the job description and key responsibilities carefully. The essential criteria are the skills and experience you need to do the job. The desirable criteria are ‘nice-to-have’. If you do not meet all the desirable criteria, you can still apply for the post. In your statement you should explain why you are interested in the post and indicate how your skills, knowledge and experience make you suitable for the role.
Structure your supporting statement clearly. For example, you may want to list each of the criteria in turn and explain briefly how your skills and experience match these requirements.
Give evidence that you have the skills, knowledge and experience we want for the role. It is not sufficient just to say that you can do something – provide examples of things you have done which demonstrate your competency. By describing what you did, how you did it, why you did it and the impact this had you demonstrate to the shortlisting panel that you understand what is required and that you are capable of doing it.
Be honest. If you don’t have the exact experience asked for, explain how you think your other skills are relevant or how you would address the gap.
Feel free to use examples from unpaid work such as voluntary work or social activities, if relevant. This may be particularly useful if you are just starting out on your career and have limited work experience.
Use positive language and write your evidence in the first person (using ‘I’ rather than ‘we’). For example, ‘I developed a system to….’, ‘I suggested that we….’, ‘I presented the ideas to my manager’.
The STAR technique can be a useful way to structure the evidence in your supporting statement:
- Situation - set the context of for your story
- Task – describe what was required of you
- Activity – describe what you actually did
- Result – what was the result of your actions.
Explain any gaps in your employment history. We recognise that people have varied career patterns. For example, tell us if you took a career break for caring reasons or took a period of voluntary work.
You’ll receive an email confirming that we have received your application. We’ll also let you know whether or not you’ve been shortlisted for interview. Please make sure that your contact details are up to date, particularly your email account, as we are likely to contact you via email.
Thank you for your interest in working at King’s. We wish you good luck with your application.