A worked example, a weak-versus-strong comparison, links to all nine behaviours and guidance on what changes between grades
The most useful Civil Service behaviour examples show how the evidence works. They give enough context to understand the challenge, then spend most of the space on the candidate’s own decisions and actions.
Use examples to learn the level and structure. Do not copy the wording and swap a few nouns. The panel is assessing your evidence, so the final statement needs to be based on something you actually did.
For the writing method first, see How to Write a Civil Service 250 Word Behaviour Statement. For the full behaviour framework, use Civil Service Behaviours: Complete Guide.
What makes a strong Civil Service behaviour example?
☐ One specific situation rather than a list of general responsibilities.
☐ A challenge that gives the candidate meaningful decisions to explain.
☐ Clear ownership of the actions using “I”.
☐ Reasoning: why the candidate chose that approach.
☐ Enough grade-level scope to match the vacancy.
☐ A specific result or impact that follows from the actions.
Worked example: Making Effective Decisions at EO level
This is a fictional example written to show structure and level. It should not be copied into an application.
In my role as an operations officer, I was responsible for reviewing payment cases that had been held because two internal systems showed conflicting customer information. A growing backlog meant customers were waiting longer for decisions, but releasing cases without checking the discrepancy created a risk of incorrect payments.I reviewed a sample of held cases and found that most differences came from a delay in one system updating after a verified change. Rather than treating every case as equally high risk, I grouped the cases by the type of mismatch and checked the relevant guidance for each category. I then compared the error history for the categories and spoke to a technical colleague to confirm when the delayed updates normally completed.Based on that evidence, I proposed a simple decision route. Low-risk cases with a verified source record could proceed after a second check, while cases involving identity or bank-detail differences remained on hold for manual investigation. I documented the reasoning and asked my manager to review the approach before I used it across the backlog.The approach reduced the held caseload by 42% over two weeks without an increase in payment errors. It also gave the team a consistent way to distinguish routine system delays from cases that genuinely needed investigation.
Why this example works
It gives the candidate a genuine decision to make. The answer shows evidence gathering, categorisation, risk assessment, consultation and a proportionate decision route. The result is connected directly to the decision. It also stays at a believable EO level: the candidate owns a practical operational decision and recommendation without pretending to set national policy.
Weak versus stronger evidence
| WEAK | STRONGER |
|---|---|
| “I always deliver at pace and make sure deadlines are met. I prioritise my work, keep my manager updated and help the team when needed.” | “When an urgent regulatory return was brought forward by five days, I re-prioritised the team plan, separated mandatory checks from work that could safely move, agreed owners and daily checkpoints, and escalated one data dependency early. We submitted on time with all validation checks complete.” |
| “I am a good communicator and can influence stakeholders.” | “A supplier disputed a service failure. I used the contract data to separate the agreed measure from the disputed interpretation, changed the discussion from blame to evidence and secured agreement to a recovery plan with weekly reporting.” |
The stronger versions are not better because they sound more impressive. They are better because the assessor can see the problem, the candidate’s actions and what changed.
Want more examples at your grade?
Examples for all nine Civil Service Behaviours
The pages below go into each behaviour separately. Use the behaviour named in your vacancy rather than browsing examples at random.
Seeing the Big Picture
Look for evidence that you connected your work to wider objectives, external factors, users or longer-term priorities.
See the Seeing the Big Picture 250-word statement example.
Changing and Improving
Look for a clear improvement, why it was needed, how you involved people and what changed after implementation.
See the Changing and Improving 250-word statement example.
Making Effective Decisions
Look for information gathering, options, risk, reasoning and a decision or recommendation you can defend.
See the Making Effective Decisions 250-word statement example.
Leadership
Look for direction, inclusion, motivation, difficult decisions and how your leadership changed team or organisational performance.
See the Leadership 250-word statement example.
Communicating and Influencing
Look for a real audience problem, resistance or disagreement, an adapted communication approach and a changed outcome.
See the Communicating and Influencing 250-word statement example.
Working Together
Look for collaboration across a genuine boundary, differing needs or views, and something achieved because you built the relationship properly.
See the Working Together 250-word statement example.
Developing Self and Others
Look for a development need, action taken, feedback or coaching and a visible improvement in capability.
See the Developing Self and Others 250-word statement example.
Managing a Quality Service
Look for user needs, standards, quality controls, efficiency, service problems and improvement rather than routine completion of tasks.
See the Managing a Quality Service 250-word statement example.
Delivering at Pace
Look for competing work, deadlines, reprioritisation, pressure, dependencies and how you protected quality while keeping delivery moving.
See the Delivering at Pace 250-word statement example.
How examples should change by grade
Do not pick an example because the job title in the example matches yours. Look at the responsibility behind it. Grade is about the level at which the candidate operated.
| GRADE | A SUITABLE EXAMPLE MIGHT INVOLVE |
|---|---|
| AA / AO | Resolving a customer issue, improving an administrative process, checking information carefully, supporting a colleague, adapting to a change or meeting a demanding workload. |
| EO | Owning a piece of operational work, coordinating colleagues, influencing a practical decision, analysing an issue, improving a process or dealing with a more complex stakeholder problem. |
| HEO / SEO | Leading a team or workstream, balancing competing priorities, managing wider stakeholders, making recommendations, improving a service, managing risk or leading change through others. |
| Grade 6 / 7 | Setting direction, influencing senior leaders, managing complex cross-organisational work, making high-impact decisions, allocating resources, handling significant risk or leading strategic change. |
Do not copy an example and change the nouns
A copied example often falls apart as soon as the panel asks a follow-up question. More importantly, it can push you towards evidence that does not actually match your experience. Use examples to understand the shape of a strong answer: how quickly it gets to the challenge, how much space is given to action, and how the result is linked back to what the candidate did.
A better approach is to take the structure and ask what your own equivalent evidence is. If the example shows a candidate comparing options before a decision, identify a decision you actually made and the evidence you used. If it shows stakeholder resistance, think of a real person or group whose view you had to change.
Can the same situation be used for more than one behaviour?
Yes, real work rarely fits neatly into one behaviour. A difficult project may involve leadership, communication, decision-making and delivery. The important point is that each assessed statement needs to focus on the behaviour being scored.
For example, the same project could support Making Effective Decisions by focusing on evidence, options and risk, while a Communicating and Influencing version would focus on the audience, resistance and how you changed the conversation. Do not submit the same wording under two headings.
Examples, personal statements and interview answers
A written behaviour statement is usually one focused example. A personal statement normally covers essential criteria and can require several pieces of evidence. At interview, the panel can ask follow-up questions and may phrase the behaviour question differently from your application.
If you are dealing with essential criteria rather than a named behaviour, use Civil Service Personal Statement: Complete Guide.
Where to find more examples
If you only need one behaviour, use the dedicated pages above. If you are applying regularly or want to compare the level across several behaviours, the grade packs contain 50 examples each across all nine behaviours.
AA/AO: 50 Civil Service Behaviour Statements for AA/AO. EO: 50 Civil Service Behaviour Statements for EO.
HEO/SEO: 50 Civil Service Behaviour Statements for HEO/SEO. Grade 6/7: 50 Civil Service Behaviour Statements for Grade 6/7.
Civil Service Behaviour Examples FAQ
Can I use these examples in my application?
Use them to understand structure and level, then write from your own evidence. Do not claim a fictional or borrowed example as your own.
What if my example is not exactly 250 words?
Follow the word limit in the vacancy. If 250 is the maximum, a strong statement can be slightly shorter. The concern is whether you have used enough space to provide convincing evidence.
Which behaviour should I prepare first?
Start with the behaviours named in the vacancy, especially any lead behaviour or criterion the advert says will be considered first at sift.
How many examples should I prepare for interview?
Have enough evidence that you are not dependent on one memorised story. A small set of strong, flexible examples is usually more useful than a large set you barely remember.
Are competencies and behaviours the same thing?
The current Civil Service Success Profiles framework uses the term Behaviours. Older material and applicants may still use “competencies”, so you will see both terms online.
