Supporting Statement

leftbehind

Mrs is applying for a new job and been in her current job for a number of years so never come across a supporting statement. OK i know what it is but never done one.

Any of you guys done one ?

If so would you be able to whisper me it so we can geta idea and maybe adapt one to hers so she can see what is expected so not to under do it or go OTT

Cheers

LenGlover

Henry knows about that sort of thing if he's about....

RedZed333

What job is she in for and what's her previous experience...?

C.Walsh'sLoveChild

what on earth is a supporting statement?

Leroy Ambrose

[cite]Posted By: C.Walsh'sLoveChild[/cite]what on earth is a supporting statement?

A new wheeze dreamed up by HR pricks to replace a covering letter. Because, apparently, sending your CV out 800 times and tailoring a covering letter for each role isn't onerous enough - they now want you to write a detailed reason for why you should get the job - instead of just looking at your qualifications, experience and overall suitability based on past roles. Of course, the mere fact that there are people employed who have the time to go through all that shit tells you all you need to know about HR departments. At the time of the biggest ecconomic and employment crisis this country has seen for fifty years, there are still hundreds of thousands of people in HR departments all over the country that have somehow escaped the cuts whilst other departments get budgets slashed and end up with half the staff they had before, doing twice as much work.

kigelia

The advice I would give for this is look at each item in the job description.

The supporting statement should cover each of this points with a sentence or two on how your work/life experience shows you meet that requirement.

If you approach it this way it is not as daunting to complete.

Oh yes and make sure it is all spelt correctly.

Jints

Supporting statements aren't new - I was doing them when first looking for a job 20 years ago.

Kigelia's advice is sound. Read the job description ans person specification carefuly and try to meet all of the points on it by showing experience. Do at least two drafts.

Cordoban Addick

[cite]Posted By: Leroy Ambrose[/cite]

[cite]Posted By: C.Walsh'sLoveChild[/cite]what on earth is a supporting statement?

A new wheeze dreamed up by HR pricks to replace a covering letter. Because, apparently, sending your CV out 800 times and tailoring a covering letter for each role isn't onerous enough - they now want you to write a detailed reason for why you should get the job - instead of just looking at your qualifications, experience and overall suitability based on past roles. Of course, the mere fact that there are people employed who have the time to go through all that shit tells you all you need to know about HR departments. At the time of the biggest ecconomic and employment crisis this country has seen for fifty years, there are still hundreds of thousands of people in HR departments all over the country that have somehow escaped the cuts whilst other departments get budgets slashed and end up with half the staff they had before, doing twice as much work.

You want to try working in the public sector Leroy, every effing time you apply for soemthing you have to write a small novel. Basically you have to cover everything that is in the job description and person spec (that is generally 30+ different things), that is a little bit of prose showing experiences, examples and successes. After that you have to tell them why you want to work for them more than anybody else and then what personal qualities you have that fits in with their ethos/staff/reason for exsistence. It honestly takes days to do one properly, and I'm quite good at them. I long to apply for jobs where you just bung in a CV.

ken from bexley

Just repeat back to them the job specification and requirements..... seems that nowadays, having the qualification (s), having experience, being a team player, prepared to make the tea, keen but not a threat, adaptable, but not a crawler, have no facial hair, smart, but do not wear a suit ( in the media anyway), and for god sake DO NOT mention money!....... the perfect excuse not to hire someone, ask for too little, not experienced enough!, ask for too much and you are too old or too experienced..... £500 either way and you have more chance of winning X facor! simple really!..... of course I am such an expert...... I have not even had an interview in 6 months!, obviously the world does not like a smart arse!.........

BrentfordAddick

Have just done a bit of recruiting where I work. It's surprising how many applicants don't really seem to know what it is that the people they are applying to actually do - or at least that's how it appears. Spend a few minutes looking at the website, do a Google search for both Web and News, and write three paras with the theme on how you as an applicant can help the company work together. Be positive ("When I am in your team I will...) and relevant.

And be absolutely certain about spelling, punctuation and meaning. Don't just rely on spellcheck. Paragraph breaks are helpful. If you are doing some fancy formatting send a pdf as otherwise there is no guarantee about how it will come out. Have you followed all the instructions properly (cv in the body of the email? attachments allowed? about 20% of all the things sent to me were chucked away for this reason alone).

And damn good luck because sometimes it's just about being in the right place at the right time.

RedZed333

You need to accentuate the positives, highlight knowledge of the job, good time management, ability to work with others, flexibility etc., employers want to hear examples of how you’ve achieved these experiences so give them brief examples...

Look at some comparisons between each job and show how you can bring learned experiences to the new post...

Explain a little about why you’re looking for a change after so long at the other job...

In the end you’ll have a brief story type statement that the prospective employer will find interesting and easy to read, just keep it simple...

If that don’t work, lie...!

SaoPauloAddick

Worked in recruitment for a number of years and I'd say that most recruiters are way too busy to spend a lot of time looking at supporting statements or cover letters.

My advice to your missus would be to keep it fairly short and functional - tell them why she's interested in the job and why she wants to work for the company, briefly highlight how her CV shows she's the right person for the job, let them know her notice period and the best way to contact her and end on a positive note e.g. "I hope you find my application of interest, if you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me by telephone on...."

As other people have said, make sure it's professionally set out and thoroughly checked for spelling and grammar.

Also, the sooner she applies the better as most recruiters will shortlist and interview as soon as they've got enough decent CVs - it's only the public sector where they'll wait until a closing date before shortlisting.

Stig

Look at the pages on their website and particularly any documents there to get an idea of their house writing style and the general look and feel. Give your document a similar feel without obviously mimicking them.

If they have a traditional style and use a serif font then type the statement in Times New Roman. If they are trying to project a more modern image and use a sans serif font, go for Arial. Unless it is a creative job, never stray very far from these two, certainly never use those awful jokey fonts.

When it's all drafted and you think you're ready to send it, don't. Leave it for at least an hour, better still a day or two and read it through again with fresh eyes.