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Behaviours

Behaviours

The Civil Service Behaviours are one element of the Success Profile. These are the things that people do that result in effective performance.  An example of a Civil Service behaviour is ‘Making Effective Decisions’.

For some jobs, you will be asked to consider the specific behaviours that are important for the job (these will be detailed in the job advert). Behaviours can be assessed in a number of ways and at various stages of the recruitment process.  At the application stage, you may be asked to give examples of how you have demonstrated a particular behaviour. This might be at work or somewhere else such as work experience, volunteering or in connection with a hobby.

Image of a circle reading 'Success profiles' enclosed within a multicolored ring of the separate success profile titles.

How to provide evidence of a behaviour

Please take your time to read and understand the Civil Service Behaviours.  This will provide you with an overview of the behaviours and give you a greater understanding of what we are looking for in the job. 

Think about everything you have done and achieved which relates to the specific behaviours you are being asked for. The more recent your examples the better, but you don’t necessarily have to make all your examples work-related. You can also include achievements from outside work, for example in a voluntary capacity. You must choose examples that enable you to describe specific things you did, not what your team did or what your work area did. Think of examples that: 

  • clearly demonstrate the behaviour and the details that underpin it
  • will allow you to explain in some detail what you personally did
  • had positive results, although less successful examples can be used if you can demonstrate the lessons learned and how errors would be avoided in future

Using the STAR model (Situation, Task, Action, Result) may help you present your evidence.

How we recruit

We assess a combination of behaviours, strengths, experience, ability and technical skills. Find out more about how this helps us to find the right person for each role.

How to write your CV

For some jobs, you will be asked to provide a CV (curriculum vitae) as part of your application. Here you can find information on how to write the best CV.

A woman being interviewed via video call. The woman is a wheelchair user and has a journal beside her.

How to write your personal statement

For some jobs you’ll be asked to provide a personal statement or statement of suitability. Find out how to stand out.

Assessments and interviews

Read about the different kinds of assessments you might be asked to do, after you’ve submitted an application form.

Civil Service Success Profiles

GOV.UK hosts a huge amount of detailed guidance on the different elements of Success Profiles.