If we only did what was comfortable, we would never make any progressions. Challenge is part of growth but if you are your first obstacle, then you will never even try. No matter how ludicrous, never say no to yourself once you remove that impediment then you can start working out what you need to do, if you have the experience or skills, then getting down to complete the application or if you don't have the skills then what can you do to either acquire them or demonstrate you can pick that skill up quickly in the new role. Finally, make sure you read the application and provide them with the information they need to make it easy to appoint you or invite you for interview. The number of applications I see without any reference to the role they are applying for is really disappointing, so make sure what your application says is appropriate.

Something that has helped me to move up in my career at HMRC is taking on new tasks from working on additional projects for the HO's in Customs to training new starters to the business. I actually wrote and delivered a training package for new starters when I was AO in Customs, I felt this not only increased my skillset but it also helped me to make sure that anyone starting in the same role as me learnt the job from the perspective of an AO. I have also taken on projects where I have led a group of people, for example, clearing an email inbox where we had a large number of emails. I delegated colleagues to cover particular time slots, making sure that the emails that had been waiting the longest for a response were dealt with first.