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Create ResumeA person specification tells you what the employer is actually assessing before they decide who gets shortlisted. In the UK job market, it usually sets out the essential and desirable criteria for the role, such as qualifications, experience, skills, knowledge, behaviours, and sometimes values. The mistake many candidates make is reading it like a polite wish list. It is not. It is often the shortlisting framework.
When I read a person specification as a recruiter, I am not looking for someone who has copied the wording back to me. I am looking for proof. If the specification says “excellent stakeholder management skills”, I want to see who those stakeholders were, what made the relationship complex, what you had to influence, and what changed because of your work. That is the difference between claiming suitability and demonstrating it.
A person specification is the employer’s list of the qualities, experience, skills, knowledge, qualifications, and behaviours they believe someone needs to perform a job well.
In plain English, the job description tells you what the job involves. The person specification tells you what kind of candidate they are trying to hire.
In UK recruitment, person specifications are especially common in:
NHS applications
Local authority roles
Civil Service applications
Universities and education roles
Charities and public sector organisations
Structured graduate schemes
Here is a realistic person specification example for a UK administrative assistant role.
| Criteria | Essential or Desirable | How It May Be Assessed |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| GCSE English and Maths or equivalent | Essential | Application form |
| Previous administrative experience in an office environment | Essential | Application and interview |
| Strong organisational skills and ability to manage competing deadlines | Essential | Application and interview |
| Confident using Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, and Excel | Essential | Application and practical task |
| Good written and verbal communication skills | Essential | Application and interview |
| Ability to handle confidential information appropriately | Essential | Application and interview |
| Experience working in a public sector or education setting | Desirable | Application and interview |
| Experience using a CRM, database, or case management system | Desirable | Application and interview |
| Calm, professional, and helpful approach when dealing with colleagues and external contacts | Essential | Interview |
This is a simple example, but it shows something important. The employer is not just hiring “someone organised”. They are trying to reduce risk.
Larger employers with formal recruitment processes
Private sector employers may not always call it a “person specification”. They may use phrases such as:
About you
What we are looking for
Skills and experience
Requirements
Candidate profile
Selection criteria
Essential skills
Desirable skills
Different label, same game.
The person specification matters because it often shapes the shortlisting scorecard. That means your application may be reviewed against each criterion, not judged as one general impression. Candidates often underestimate this. They write a decent CV or supporting statement, but they do not make it easy for the recruiter or hiring manager to tick the evidence against the criteria.
That is where applications quietly die. Not because the candidate was bad, but because the evidence was buried, vague, or missing.
They want someone who can handle admin without constant chasing, communicate properly, use systems, protect confidential information, and keep things moving when several people want everything done immediately. Anyone who has worked in an office knows that “just admin” often means being the person who stops the whole process from becoming a small circus.
Weak Example
I have strong organisational skills and good communication skills. I am confident using Microsoft Office and have experience working in a busy office. I am reliable, professional, and able to work well under pressure.
The problem is not that this is wrong. The problem is that it is unsupported. Many candidates write like this because they think repeating the criteria is enough. It is not.
A recruiter cannot score “I am organised” very highly unless there is proof behind it.
Good Example
In my current administrative role, I support a team of eight managers by coordinating meetings, preparing documents, updating Excel trackers, and managing shared inbox queries. I regularly handle competing deadlines, especially during monthly reporting periods, where I prioritise urgent requests, check information for accuracy, and ensure documents are submitted on time. I also work with confidential employee and client information, so I follow data protection procedures carefully and avoid sharing sensitive details outside the correct channels.
This works better because it gives the recruiter evidence. It shows the setting, the tasks, the pressure, the tools, and the judgement involved.
That is what person specification evidence should do.
Here is a realistic person specification for a customer service advisor role in the UK.
| Criteria | Essential or Desirable | How It May Be Assessed |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| Previous experience in a customer facing role | Essential | Application and interview |
| Ability to handle difficult conversations calmly and professionally | Essential | Interview |
| Strong verbal communication skills | Essential | Application and interview |
| Accurate record keeping and attention to detail | Essential | Application and assessment |
| Ability to follow policies, procedures, and escalation routes | Essential | Interview |
| Comfortable using computer systems to update customer records | Essential | Application and practical task |
| Experience working in a contact centre | Desirable | Application |
| Knowledge of complaints handling processes | Desirable | Interview |
| Ability to work to service level agreements or performance targets | Desirable | Application and interview |
This kind of person specification is often misunderstood. Candidates think the employer wants someone “friendly”. Of course they do, but friendliness is not enough.
In customer service hiring, employers are usually assessing whether you can stay useful when the customer is frustrated, confused, impatient, or convinced that the policy should not apply to them. Lovely customers are easy. The test is what you do when the conversation becomes awkward.
When the person specification says ability to handle difficult conversations, it usually means:
Can you remain calm without sounding robotic?
Can you explain rules without blaming “the system”?
Can you listen properly before jumping to a script?
Can you spot when something needs escalating?
Can you document the conversation accurately afterwards?
That last point matters more than candidates realise. In many customer service roles, the note you leave on the system affects the next person who deals with the customer. A messy note creates future problems. A clear note protects the customer, the team, and sometimes the organisation.
Good Example
In my previous retail customer service role, I regularly dealt with complaints about delayed orders, refunds, and product availability. I listened first to understand the issue, checked the order details on the system, explained the available options clearly, and escalated cases when they fell outside store policy. I also updated customer records after each interaction so colleagues could see what had already been agreed.
This example is strong because it shows process, judgement, and follow through. It does not just say “I am good with people”. It proves the candidate knows what good service looks like when there are rules involved.
A project manager person specification is usually more complex because employers are testing delivery ability, stakeholder control, commercial awareness, and risk management.
| Criteria | Essential or Desirable | How It May Be Assessed |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- | ------------------------- |
| Experience managing projects from initiation to completion | Essential | Application and interview |
| Strong planning, organisation, and prioritisation skills | Essential | Application and interview |
| Ability to manage budgets, timelines, risks, and dependencies | Essential | Application and interview |
| Experience working with senior stakeholders | Essential | Interview |
| Strong written and verbal communication skills | Essential | Application and interview |
| Experience producing project documentation, reports, and updates | Essential | Application |
| Knowledge of project management methodologies such as Agile, Prince2, or Waterfall | Desirable | Application and interview |
| Experience managing cross functional teams | Desirable | Interview |
| Relevant project management qualification | Desirable | Application |
This is where many candidates make a positioning mistake. They describe projects as if they were simply involved, not accountable.
There is a big difference between:
“I worked on a system implementation project”
“I managed the system implementation project, including timeline, risks, supplier coordination, stakeholder updates, and delivery reporting”
Recruiters notice that difference immediately.
For project manager roles, hiring managers usually want to know:
Did you actually manage the project or just attend the meetings?
What size and complexity were the projects?
Were there competing priorities, difficult stakeholders, or delivery risks?
Did you own the plan, budget, timeline, or reporting?
What happened when the project did not go neatly to plan?
Most project work does not fail because nobody made a Gantt chart. It fails because people avoid difficult conversations, risks are softened until they become emergencies, and stakeholders pretend to agree in meetings before quietly doing something else afterwards. A strong project manager application should show that you can deal with reality, not just methodology.
Good Example
I managed a six month process improvement project across operations, finance, and customer service teams. I created the project plan, tracked risks and dependencies, chaired weekly stakeholder meetings, and produced monthly progress reports for senior leaders. When supplier delays affected the original timeline, I revised the delivery plan, agreed priority actions with department leads, and kept the project on track for phased implementation.
This kind of answer gives the hiring manager confidence. It shows ownership, complexity, stakeholder management, risk handling, and practical delivery.
Team leader person specifications often look simple, but they are rarely simple in practice.
| Criteria | Essential or Desirable | How It May Be Assessed |
| --------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- | ------------------------- |
| Experience supervising or supporting a team | Essential | Application and interview |
| Ability to motivate others and support performance | Essential | Interview |
| Strong communication and interpersonal skills | Essential | Application and interview |
| Ability to manage workload allocation and priorities | Essential | Interview |
| Experience dealing with performance, absence, or conduct issues | Desirable | Interview |
| Ability to provide coaching, feedback, and guidance | Essential | Interview |
| Understanding of relevant policies and procedures | Essential | Interview |
| Experience reporting team performance data | Desirable | Application and interview |
The trap here is that candidates often describe themselves as “approachable” and “supportive”. Good. But team leadership is not just being the nice person people come to when everything is on fire.
A hiring manager wants to know whether you can balance people and standards. Can you support someone without letting poor performance drift? Can you be fair without being vague? Can you keep the team moving when workload pressure rises?
That is the leadership bit.
Weak Example
I am a natural leader and enjoy motivating people. I am supportive, approachable, and able to help team members achieve their goals.
This is pleasant, but too soft. It sounds like a personality statement, not leadership evidence.
Good Example
As a senior advisor, I supported a team of five newer colleagues by helping with workload prioritisation, checking complex cases, and providing informal coaching on system processes. During busy periods, I helped the manager allocate urgent work, monitor outstanding queries, and identify where team members needed support. I also gave constructive feedback when errors appeared repeatedly, focusing on the process issue rather than criticising the person.
This is stronger because it shows how the candidate leads in practice. It gives examples of support, prioritisation, coaching, quality control, and feedback.
NHS and public sector person specifications are often more formal because they need to support fair, structured shortlisting. This is why candidates applying for UK public sector roles should take the criteria seriously.
| Criteria | Essential or Desirable | How It May Be Assessed |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------- | ------------------------- |
| Educated to degree level or equivalent experience | Essential | Application |
| Experience working in a busy administrative, clinical, operational, or service environment | Essential | Application and interview |
| Understanding of confidentiality, safeguarding, equality, diversity, and inclusion | Essential | Application and interview |
| Excellent communication skills with a range of internal and external stakeholders | Essential | Interview |
| Ability to prioritise workload and meet deadlines | Essential | Application and interview |
| Experience using electronic records, databases, or reporting systems | Essential | Application |
| Knowledge of NHS systems, public sector processes, or regulated environments | Desirable | Application and interview |
| Ability to work with sensitivity, professionalism, and discretion | Essential | Interview |
| Commitment to service improvement and patient or user focused outcomes | Essential | Interview |
Public sector applications are where I see candidates lose marks for being too general. They write a warm, enthusiastic supporting statement, but they do not address the person specification clearly enough.
Warmth is nice. Evidence gets shortlisted.
Essential criteria are not decorative. They are often used directly in shortlisting. If you do not show evidence against them, the reviewer may not be able to give you the score, even if they personally think you probably have the experience.
This is one of the most frustrating realities for candidates. You may be capable, but if the application does not show it, the panel cannot responsibly assume it.
The line I wish more candidates understood is this:
Do not make the recruiter hunt for your evidence. Put it where the criteria are.
Good Example
In my current role, I handle confidential service user information daily and follow GDPR, safeguarding, and internal information governance procedures. I work with colleagues across operations, clinical teams, and external partner organisations, so I adapt my communication depending on the audience and sensitivity of the issue. I also support service improvement by tracking recurring query themes and sharing process issues with managers so they can identify where guidance or workflow changes are needed.
This response works because it links directly to confidentiality, stakeholder communication, regulated environments, and service improvement.
It also avoids a common mistake: saying “I understand confidentiality” without proving how that understanding is used.
Before you write anything, read the person specification like a recruiter would.
Most candidates read it once and then start writing. That is too quick. The better approach is to break it down into evidence.
Ask yourself:
Which criteria are essential?
Which criteria are desirable?
Which criteria are technical requirements?
Which criteria are behaviours or judgement based?
Which criteria can I prove through achievements?
Which criteria need a short example rather than a claim?
Which criteria are repeated in different wording across the advert?
That final point matters. If the same theme appears in the job description, person specification, and interview criteria, it is probably important.
For example, if the advert repeatedly mentions stakeholder management, collaboration, communication, and partnership working, the employer is likely worried about whether the person can work across teams. That is not just a soft skill. It may be central to the role.
I would separate the criteria into four groups:
Non negotiable requirements: qualifications, right to work, professional registration, licences, essential technical experience
Core delivery evidence: the tasks and outcomes you must prove you can handle
Behavioural evidence: communication, judgement, resilience, leadership, collaboration
Preference criteria: desirable experience that may help you stand out but may not be essential
This stops you treating every line equally. Some criteria are genuine deal breakers. Some are scoring advantages. Some are clues about the problems the role needs to solve.
That is the real value of a person specification. It tells you what the employer is nervous about.
Essential criteria should be addressed clearly. Desirable criteria should be used to strengthen your application where you genuinely have them.
A common mistake is writing heavily about desirable criteria while barely proving the essentials. That is like decorating the roof when the foundations are wobbling. Nice effort, wrong priority.
For each essential criterion, give evidence that shows:
Where you used the skill or gained the experience
What responsibility you had
What level of complexity was involved
What action you took
What outcome or impact followed
You do not need a dramatic achievement for every criterion. Sometimes a clear, relevant example is enough. But you do need evidence.
Desirable criteria can help separate strong candidates from similar candidates. They are especially useful when the employer receives a high volume of applications.
For example, if a role says NHS experience is desirable, and two candidates both meet the essential admin criteria, the candidate with NHS systems knowledge may have an advantage because they need less context and onboarding.
But desirable does not always mean required. Candidates often rule themselves out too quickly because they lack one desirable item. That is usually unnecessary.
If you meet the essential criteria strongly and can show transferable evidence for the rest, you may still be competitive.
Do not write:
Weak Example
I meet all the essential criteria and many of the desirable criteria.
That tells the recruiter nothing.
Write:
Good Example
I meet the essential criteria through my experience coordinating complex administrative processes, managing confidential information, using Microsoft Office and CRM systems daily, and communicating with senior colleagues, external partners, and service users. I also bring desirable experience from working in a regulated environment where accuracy, data protection, and timely reporting were essential.
This is still concise, but it gives substance.
Person specifications often use vague wording. Candidates then respond with vague wording. That is how applications become painfully beige.
Here are common phrases and what they usually mean in hiring reality.
| Person Specification Phrase | What the Employer Usually Means | Better Evidence to Give |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Strong communication skills | Can you explain things clearly to different people without creating confusion? | Give examples of reports, presentations, customer conversations, stakeholder updates, or sensitive communication |
| Ability to work under pressure | Can you prioritise without panicking or dropping quality? | Show workload volume, deadlines, competing demands, and how you managed them |
| Stakeholder management | Can you influence people who do not report to you? | Name the types of stakeholders, competing needs, and outcomes |
| Attention to detail | Can you produce accurate work without constant correction? | Mention checking processes, compliance, data accuracy, reports, or quality control |
| Team player | Can you work well with others without being difficult, passive, or unreliable? | Show collaboration, shared goals, support, and accountability |
| Proactive approach | Do you spot issues and act before being chased? | Give examples of improvements, problem solving, or taking ownership |
| Flexible attitude | Can you adapt when priorities change without turning every change into a drama? | Show changing deadlines, shifting workloads, or supporting different tasks |
| Leadership skills | Can you guide people, make decisions, and maintain standards? | Show coaching, delegation, feedback, conflict handling, or performance support |
The phrase “excellent communication skills” is one of the most overused lines in recruitment. It can mean almost anything unless you translate it into job specific evidence.
For a receptionist, communication may mean calm front desk handling. For a project manager, it may mean stakeholder updates and escalation. For a senior analyst, it may mean explaining complex data to non technical decision makers. Same phrase, different proof.
That is why copying the phrase back is weak. Translating it into role relevant evidence is strong.
The best way to respond to a person specification is to match your evidence to the criteria without sounding like you are mechanically ticking boxes.
You want the reviewer to think:
This person understands the role, has done similar work, and can prove it.
A useful structure is:
Criterion: Identify what the employer is asking for
Context: Explain where you gained the experience
Action: Show what you personally did
Complexity: Mention pressure, volume, risk, stakeholders, or constraints
Result: Explain what improved, moved forward, or was protected
You do not need to label these in the application. Use them as a thinking structure.
Criterion:
Ability to prioritise workload and meet deadlines in a busy environment
Weak Example
I am good at prioritising tasks and can work well under pressure.
Good Example
In my current role, I manage a shared inbox receiving around 80 queries per day while also preparing weekly reports and supporting meeting coordination. I prioritise urgent queries first, group similar tasks together to work efficiently, and update colleagues early if deadlines may be affected. This helps the team avoid missed actions and keeps managers informed of any pressure points.
The stronger example gives volume, responsibilities, method, and impact. It feels real because it is specific.
Criterion:
Experience supporting staff performance and development
Weak Example
I enjoy supporting people and helping them develop.
Good Example
As a team leader, I hold regular check ins with team members to review workload, discuss difficult cases, and identify where additional support is needed. When I noticed repeated errors in case notes, I created a short guidance checklist and coached colleagues through the process. This improved consistency and reduced the amount of rework needed from managers.
This shows leadership as behaviour, not personality.
Most weak applications do not fail because the candidate has nothing to offer. They fail because the candidate does not understand how the evidence will be judged.
This is the biggest mistake.
Candidates read the person specification, then write a general application about their career. The result may sound professional, but it does not answer the criteria directly.
In structured UK recruitment, especially public sector recruitment, that is risky. The reviewer may be scoring each criterion. If your evidence is not clear, it may not count.
Writing “I have excellent organisational skills” is not evidence. It is a claim.
Evidence sounds like:
What you organised
Who was involved
What deadlines existed
What tools or systems you used
What happened because you organised it well
Recruiters are not allergic to confidence. We are allergic to unsupported confidence.
One strong example can sometimes cover several criteria, but do not force one story to do all the work.
If your example about managing a project covers planning, stakeholder communication, reporting, and risk management, good. But if it does not show leadership, do not pretend it does. Add another example.
You do not need to meet every desirable criterion, but if you do meet one, use it.
Desirable criteria often help candidates stand out when the shortlist is competitive. If you have experience with the employer’s systems, sector, customer group, regulations, or working environment, say so clearly.
Do not hide useful evidence because you assume the recruiter will work it out. They may not have time. They may not be allowed to infer too much. And frankly, they should not have to perform detective work before lunch.
A person specification asks for specific suitability. A broad application weakens your positioning.
Instead of writing:
Weak Example
I have worked in several busy roles and gained many transferable skills.
Write:
Good Example
My experience in reception, scheduling, and customer service has given me strong transferable skills for this administrative coordinator role, particularly in diary management, confidential record handling, inbox management, and communicating with internal teams and external contacts.
That is still transferable, but now it is targeted.
Recruiters and hiring managers are not always looking at your application in the same way.
A recruiter may first check whether you meet the minimum criteria and whether your evidence is clear enough to progress. A hiring manager may look more closely at the depth, relevance, and credibility of your examples.
The strongest applications satisfy both.
Recruiters often ask:
Does this person meet the essential criteria?
Is the evidence easy to find?
Does the application match the role, or is it generic?
Are there any obvious gaps or risks?
Has the candidate explained transferable experience properly?
Recruiters are usually screening under time pressure. That does not mean they do not care. It means clarity matters.
Hiring managers often ask:
Has this person handled similar work before?
Will they need heavy support?
Do they understand the environment?
Can they handle the difficult parts of the role, not just the nice parts?
Are their examples credible for the level of the job?
This is why examples need the right level of detail. A senior role needs evidence of judgement, ownership, complexity, and impact. A junior role may focus more on reliability, learning ability, accuracy, and attitude.
The hidden question is:
Can we trust this person to do the job well in our environment?
That is what your evidence should answer.
Not “am I impressive in general?”
Not “have I listed enough buzzwords?”
Not “does my application sound enthusiastic?”
The real question is whether your background reduces the employer’s hiring risk.
Person specification examples are useful, but they should not be copied blindly. Employers can usually tell when an application has been stitched together from generic examples.
Use examples to understand structure, wording, and level of detail. Then build your own evidence.
Start by creating a simple table for yourself.
| Person Specification Criterion | My Evidence | Strongest Example |
| --------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| Experience managing competing deadlines | Monthly reporting, inbox management, urgent requests | Coordinated reports while handling daily queries |
| Strong communication skills | Customers, managers, external suppliers | Explained policy changes to customers and updated managers |
| Accurate record keeping | CRM updates, Excel trackers, confidential records | Maintained case notes and corrected data errors |
| Stakeholder management | Finance, operations, suppliers | Managed delays and agreed revised actions |
Once you complete this, writing the application becomes much easier. You are no longer staring at a blank screen wondering how to sound employable. You are building evidence.
Specific enough that the reader can picture the work.
Not this:
Weak Example
I have used many systems and worked with different teams.
Better:
Good Example
I used Salesforce to update customer records, track open cases, and record follow up actions. I also worked with finance and operations teams to resolve billing queries, making sure customer notes were accurate before cases were closed.
Specific does not mean long. It means clear.
Here is a practical template for understanding and responding to a person specification.
| Section | What to Include | Recruiter Tip |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Qualifications | Required education, training, registration, licences, or equivalent experience | If the advert allows equivalent experience, explain the equivalent clearly |
| Experience | Relevant roles, responsibilities, environments, sectors, or tasks | Match the level and complexity of the role |
| Skills | Practical abilities such as communication, organisation, analysis, systems, leadership, or customer handling | Give proof, not personality claims |
| Knowledge | Sector knowledge, legislation, processes, systems, products, or regulations | Show how you have used the knowledge, not just that you know it |
| Behaviours | Teamwork, resilience, judgement, inclusion, adaptability, integrity | Use real workplace examples |
| Desirable criteria | Extra experience that would help but may not be mandatory | Include it where you have it, but do not prioritise it over essentials |
| Assessment method | Application, interview, test, presentation, assessment centre | Prepare evidence based on how it will be tested |
This template is especially useful for UK job applications where the supporting statement is scored against criteria.
You can use this paragraph structure:
I meet this criterion through my experience in specific setting or role, where I was responsible for relevant responsibility. This involved specific tasks, tools, people, or processes. I had to manage complexity, pressure, risk, or competing priorities. As a result, outcome, improvement, accuracy, efficiency, customer result, or service impact.
Here is that structure in action:
Good Example
I meet this criterion through my experience as an operations coordinator, where I was responsible for managing supplier queries, updating delivery trackers, and coordinating actions between warehouse, finance, and customer service teams. This involved using Excel and internal systems to monitor order progress, identify delays, and escalate urgent issues. I often had to manage competing priorities during peak periods, ensuring customer impacting issues were dealt with first. As a result, managers had clearer visibility of outstanding actions and customers received more accurate updates.
This example is strong because it feels grounded in actual work. It also links experience to value.
This is one of the most common questions candidates have: should you apply if you do not meet every part of the person specification?
The honest answer is: it depends which criteria you are missing.
If you do not meet an essential legal, professional, qualification, registration, or licence requirement, the role may be a poor fit unless the advert clearly says equivalent experience is accepted.
If you miss one desirable criterion but meet the essentials strongly, you may still be a good candidate.
If you meet most essentials but one is slightly weaker, you need to decide whether you can show transferable evidence. For example, you may not have worked in the NHS, but you may have worked in another regulated environment with confidential records, service users, compliance requirements, and high volume admin. That could still be relevant.
Do not pretend you have experience you do not have. Hiring processes have a way of exposing that, usually at the most uncomfortable moment.
Instead, position the closest evidence.
Good Example
Although I have not worked directly in a local authority setting, I have worked in a regulated customer service environment where I handled confidential records, followed strict procedures, and communicated with vulnerable customers. This has given me a strong understanding of accuracy, discretion, and professional communication, which I would bring into this role.
This is honest and strategic. It does not apologise for the gap. It explains the transfer.
It may not be worth applying if:
You do not meet several essential criteria
The role requires a mandatory qualification you do not have
The required experience is highly technical and you have no close equivalent
The salary, level, or responsibilities are clearly misaligned
You would need the employer to overlook too many gaps
That is not negativity. That is sensible job search strategy. Applying for unsuitable roles burns time and confidence. Apply where your evidence can compete.
A person specification is not only for the application stage. It can follow you through the whole hiring process.
Employers may use it to:
Write the job advert
Create the shortlisting criteria
Score applications
Design interview questions
Build assessment tasks
Compare candidates after interview
Justify hiring decisions
This is why the same themes often appear again at interview. If the person specification says stakeholder management is essential, do not be surprised when the interview asks about influencing, conflict, communication, or managing expectations.
The smart move is to prepare examples against the person specification before interview, not just before applying.
Take each essential criterion and prepare one strong example.
For each example, know:
What the situation was
What your responsibility was
What action you took
Why your action was appropriate
What changed as a result
What you learned or improved
Hiring managers are not only listening for the outcome. They are listening for judgement. They want to know how you think.
For example, if you say you handled a difficult stakeholder, they may ask:
Why were they difficult?
What did they want?
What did you do first?
How did you manage disagreement?
What would you do differently next time?
A vague prepared answer will collapse under follow up questions. A real example will hold.
Written by Simar Malhi, a recruiter and headhunter with international recruitment experience. I write about CVs, job applications, hiring decisions, and the reality behind recruitment processes. My goal is to help candidates understand more honestly how employers, recruiters, and hiring managers actually select candidates.
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