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Civil Service sift scores and feedback on your application
The sift is the review of your application evidence before the next recruitment stage. A score tells you how that evidence was assessed for that vacancy. It is not a permanent rating of your ability or a guarantee of what another application will receive.
By Sift Assist · Reviewed
What can be assessed at sift?
Check the selection-process section. The recruiter may assess behaviours, a CV, a personal statement, experience or technical evidence. Some campaigns use an initial sift on a named lead behaviour or criterion before reviewing everything else.
Do not assume that every submitted section received a score if your application stopped at an earlier sift. If the feedback is unclear, ask which element was assessed. The advert may explain the approach without publishing the eventual competitive threshold.
Understanding the common 1–7 scale
The Civil Service Jobs candidate guidance describes a seven-point scale. In broad terms, scores 1–3 indicate insufficient evidence at that level; 4 is an acceptable demonstration, 5 good, 6 strong and 7 outstanding. Check the scale used in your own feedback: not every assessment uses the same method.
A 4 is commonly the minimum standard for progression, but meeting a minimum does not guarantee an interview. Competition, a raised threshold or the campaign’s stated selection method can affect who progresses. An AI-generated score cannot establish the panel’s decision.
What to inspect in an unsuccessful answer
Your previous job title is not the same as your evidence. Inspect the contribution described instead of assuming that a lower-paid or non-office role cannot contain relevant experience.
- Fit: did the example demonstrate the requested behaviour or criterion, rather than a related skill?
- Ownership: can the reader distinguish your actions from the team’s?
- Reasoning: did you explain why you chose your approach?
- Level: does the actual responsibility match the vacancy’s expectations?
- Outcome: did you explain what happened and the basis for any figures?
- Coverage: did you miss an essential or lead criterion, or lose evidence when pasting into the form?
Improve the evidence, not the adjectives
Write your answers to those prompts before rewriting the paragraph. That gives you material to work with. It does not guarantee a higher mark, but it makes the example easier to assess.
Use feedback without starting from nothing
Save the vacancy instructions, the version you submitted and the feedback together. Mark which parts of your answer already contain useful evidence. Keep those and improve the missing link; do not automatically replace a genuine event with a more dramatic story.
If you want clarification, ask a focused question: ‘Was the personal statement assessed against all essential criteria, or only the lead criterion?’ Recruitment teams may have limited feedback available. Follow the campaign’s enquiry or complaints route if you believe there was a process error.
Before the next submission
Ask someone unfamiliar with your work to explain back what you did. If their summary is only ‘the team improved things’, make your part clearer. Then compare the revised answer with the new vacancy rather than submitting it unchanged.
Do not rely on a claim that a particular phrase, percentage or STAR split earns a 6 or 7. Clear, relevant evidence is the aim; no wording formula can promise the panel’s score.
Official sources and how to use this guide
This is independent Sift Assist guidance. Our writing exercises and examples are teaching suggestions, not official assessment questions or guaranteed answers. Follow the vacancy and assessment instructions where they differ.
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