How to write an NHS supporting statement

The supporting statement is the free-text part of an NHS application, and it is usually what decides whether you are shortlisted. Shortlisters score it against the essential and desirable criteria in the person specification. It works best when it follows that list closely and gives a concrete example for each point.

What shortlisters do with it

Most NHS applications on NHS Jobs have a form for your work history and a large box for the supporting statement. The person reading it often has a scoring sheet with the criteria down one side. They look for evidence of each criterion, tick it off, and add up the result. Anything that does not map to a criterion earns nothing, however well written it is.

So read the person specification before the job description. If you need help separating the two documents, how to read a job description and person specification covers it. Essential criteria are the ones you must meet to stay in the running. Desirable criteria separate candidates who all meet the essentials, so address them, but second.

Mapping your statement to the person specification

Copy the criteria into a blank document and write an answer under each one. If the advert has a long list, group related criteria, but leave no essential criterion without a sentence of evidence. Typical headings in a band 5 or band 6 specification include qualifications, experience, communication, teamwork, and knowledge of a regulatory framework such as the NMC Code or CQC standards.

For each criterion, say what you did, where, and what happened as a result. “I am an excellent communicator” scores close to nothing. Describing how you explained a discharge plan to an anxious family and checked they understood it scores much better, because the skill is visible. The STAR method gives a simple frame: situation, task, action, result.

Qualifications and registration need no story. State your degree or diploma, your registration body and, if relevant, when you expect to register. If a criterion asks for experience in a particular setting, say how long you have worked in it and what you did there.

Examples can come from outside paid work. Volunteering, caring for a relative, placements, study and community roles all count if they show what is being asked for. Say where each example came from so the shortlister does not have to guess.

Showing NHS values

NHS employers use values-based recruitment, so candidates are assessed against the values in the NHS Constitution as well as on skills. The person specification often lists these as criteria such as “demonstrates compassion” or “commitment to quality of care”. Trusts also publish their own values, which usually sit alongside the NHS ones. Check the trust’s website and quote their wording once, if it fits naturally.

Values show up in examples. Saying you value respect and dignity gives a shortlister nothing to score. Describing how you made sure a patient with dementia was spoken to directly and given time to answer lets them see the value in action. The same examples can be reused if you reach interview, where values-based questions draw on the same material.

Length and layout

NHS Jobs sets no single length for every vacancy, and some trusts add a character limit in the form itself. Where a limit is shown, stay under it, because text can be cut off silently. Where there is none, aim for a statement that covers every criterion without repeating itself. Long, dense paragraphs are hard to score. Short paragraphs with a clear opening sentence (“Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team”) make it easy for the shortlister to find what they want.

Some people draft in a word processor and paste the text in. Check how it looks afterwards, since bullet points and special characters can change. Save as you go and keep a copy of the final text. Adverts close, and the text is handy at interview, since the panel will have read it.

Checking before you submit

Read the statement once against the person specification and mark each criterion where you have given evidence. Anything unmarked needs a sentence. Then read the advert once more for details specific to the trust: some ask for particular documents, a named contact for informal visits, or a specific answer to a question in the form.

Spelling and grammar matter, because a statement full of errors suggests the same carelessness in patient records. Ask someone who has not read the job to read it. If they cannot tell what you did in a given example, the shortlister will not be able to either.

If you are applying for many posts, you can keep a bank of examples and adapt it to each person specification. Rewrite the opening and the order each time. Shortlisters can spot a generic statement, and one written for a different band or ward will miss criteria this advert cares about.

Contact details for informal enquiries are often on the advert. A short conversation with the ward manager can tell you which criteria matter most in that team, and it is fine to mention that you spoke to them.