So I thought I’d write this post about Selection Criteria Examples and of course provide you with some, the below examples are taken from the University of New South Wales website and full credit is given to them..

Sample selection Criteria

• Counselling/Psychology Position
• Information Assistant
• Private Sector Position
• Public Sector Position
• University Position
• Local Council Engineering Position

Please do not plagiarise these examples, they are simply here as a guide to assist with better understanding your application process. Imagine if everyone copied these same examples…… wouldn’t fare to well with your potential employer would it?

So sticking to the same theme I also found a fantastic paper on the Southbank institute of Technology’s website.

Selection Criteria – Examples

I have also found several other Selection Criteria Examples that have landed people successful employment and will be adding these to the page as soon as I have the time to remove the personal details for the applications.

I hope you enjoyed the content and if you ahve any questions please leave us a comment and well do our best to help you out.

wishing you ultimate success.

• Shapes (or Supports) Strategic Thinking
• Achieves Results
• Cultivates (or Supports) Productive Working Relationships
• Exemplifies (Displays) Personal Drive and Integrity
• Communicates with Influence

You can find out more about these capabilities at government web sites, which describe at each public sector level what is expected for each of the five capabilities.

The techniques for applying for jobs using these five capabilities are the same as ‘addressing selection criteria’.  You still need to present examples against each of these capabilities and show that you have what it takes to do the advertised role.  For example, for the capability ‘Displays Personal Drive and Integrity’, selection committees will be looking at your application to see evidence of such things as:

Have you:

• Enthusiastically attended or organised training in relation to Values, Code of Conduct, and Ethics, Respectful (harassment-free and non-discriminatory) Workplaces, Fraud or Conflict of Interest?
• Taken on roles to show your commitment to quality workplaces (e.g. harassment contact officer)?
• Identified something that needed to be improved in your team and then went and did something about it?
• Been given a difficult job (lack of staff, tight deadlines, technology problems…..), but stuck at it and achieved a good result?

Many of the examples that you previously used for ‘team work’ and ‘client service’ are likely to show your capability to ‘Support Productive Working Relationships’.

You are not the only ones, trust me! Every day more and more Australians are moving into the state government public sector to gain a more secure career. In light of the recent economic downturn, (I have saying that) we find ourselves struggling to understand what real job security is.

Is it staying with a large company for years? or starting your own business? well personally I think taking the time to at least try to start your own business will see you fail several times but at least you will learn valuable life lessons.

The reality is if your a classic 9-5er like a lot of us, then you will soon come to the conclusion that working for your state government can and will most likely be the safest option.  [disclaimer - I'm not a professional career advisor and recommend you seek proper advice before making any decisions regarding your employment] sorry have to make that clear.

So if you do decide to apply for a state government position, you will find yourself in a position were have to answer to key selection criteria. Now for most of us we’ve never even heard of a selection criteria’ however it is a skill you are going to have to learn in order to get anywhere in the state government selection process that we call “selection criteria”.

We have put together this site in the hope that it may ease your pain a little by providing some great reference to information that may and quite possibly will help you when applying to your state government selection criteria.

Please If you do one thing……. you need to be honest with yourself and ask one thing.

“Am I right for the position?“

Trust me when I tell you that the selection criteria at state government level is a tested and proven system which is put in place to make sure the right person for the job, get the job.

There’s no point putting in the time to answer the state government selection criteria only top find out your not suited for the position. Do your research, and if you find that you are confident in the position then go for it!

If you need help when answering your state government selection criteria then come here read the whole site and if you want to fast track your learning I recommend you try the selection criteria writer which has been developed for people in your shoes. If you cant find a link around here somewhere I’ll be very surprised, actually I’ll put a link in there for you.

Good luck to you!

Wishing you ultimate success

Dustin

A larger number of clients make contact with me once they have had a look at the position description provided when considering applying for a government position.

I have noticed also, since the media onslaught of “mass sackings” and “lack of job security” that there has been a marked move from the private to public sector.  It seems candidates believe that in today’s employment market here in Australia (and across the globe for that matter) a move to the government sector is a safe bet.

But this proposed job security comes at a price.  That price is preparing selection criteria.  These can send a large percentage of the population into a panic.  This panic seems to stem from two sources:

• The complex language, jargon and sheer length of the position description;
• Lack of experience and expertise in addressing selection criteria.

After reading various online forums in this regard, it seems there a number of people out there who consider that having a professional writer prepare your selection criteria is not possible.  Even more startling to me is the lack of information out there in regards to the government selection process.  I’m unsure as to where their expertise is based, but I can only surmise that these comments are based on most people’s reaction; in the absence of information, a vacuum is formed, and into that vacuum go people’s own invention.

Just to clarify the matter here are some points in regard to selection criteria.  These are the most frequently asked questions put to me by clients, and potential clients, and the associated answers.  Please note that my answers and advice are based on 11 years of experience in writing selection criteria, as well as government tenders and contract.  In fact, in the last month alone I have written two tenders for two business clients, both of whom were awarded contacts.  One client was offered four contracts with a value of an extra $150,000!  This information is provided not to “blow my own trumpet” rather to establish the fact that I do know what I am talking about based on results.  I have lost count of the number of clients that I have secured job interviews for government based interviews based on my writing efforts.  Those that excelled in the job interview process ultimately secured the role.

Here are the questions and my answers:

1.     Do I really have to provide situational examples for each criterion?  How old should these examples be?

Answer: Yes, Yes, and Yes.  If you do your research on the web, including a good one created by the Australian Public Service Commission, you will see that these are a necessity rather than a luxury.  You need to talk about a situation or challenge, and the result of your actions.  More particularly, if the criterion is asking you to meet a criterion about your prioritisation and organisational abilities, you might for example, talk about a time when you were experiencing heavy demands on your time at work, the context of the actual situation, what you did specifically to resolve the situation, and then the result.  In this way you make it easy for the selection criteria to assess your application.  Assuming that the selection criteria panel will glean this information from your resume is a one way ticket to the waste paper basket, and often means your application will not be considered as highly as others that do address the criterion with evidence based answers.  I usually recommend describing situations from no longer than say three years ago, to keep them relevant.  One client asked me to write an application for him, and his examples were twenty years old!  Needless to say, I recommended he wait until a more suitable position present itself.

2.     Do the situations that I use as evidence within my criterion need to be from a position I held which is closely related to the position advertised?

Not necessarily.  For example one of my clients was the manager of a child care centre, and was applying for a position with the National Archives.  However, she still met the criterion, including having worked with voluminous amounts of confidential records.  Basically, as long as you can address the criterion all is well.  Keep in mind however that other applicants may have a background more relevant to the advertised position, and if they submit a well written selection criteria application this may mean they are considered more highly.

3.      How long should my answers be?

A contentious issue.  I usually recommend half a page to a page in length.  However, often the government department will stipulate the length with a word limit listed within the position description document itself.  However, if in doubt it is always safer to establish contact with the relevant contact person listed within the position description itself.

Apply these tips and recommendations to your application and you should be well on the way to preparing a well written selection criteria document.

All the best in your job search journey!

Andrea Drew formed Impressive Resumes in 1998 and the business has grown steadily over the last 10 years. It is an enjoyment of the English language, and a lifetime passion for writing, which she brings to the company, in the preparation and writing of resumes. In her spare time (between midnight and 7am) she has started writing her latest book/how to guide – “So, you think you can write?” stay tuned for further details With a background in Human Resources and Recruitment, Andrea has worked in helping people with jobs since 1992. Her roles included: culling CV’s, arranging interviews, assessing resumes; writing marketing material; writing tenders; editing, proofreading and rewriting large documents. Andrea delivers resume workshops at Victorian Eastern Regional libraries and is a member of Career Directors International and the Association of Online Resume and Career Professionals. For more information go to http://www.impressiveresumes.com.au

Applying for a job involving selection criteria is something of an art.

CareerOne Editor Kate Southam advises that there are specialist books on the subject that you can buy or ask your local library to get in for you.

The Selection Criteria Toolkit by Dawn Richards and published by Woodslane is a good example. A CareerOne contributor, Dawn’s latest book is Get that Government Job.

Amanda McCarthy of AJM Solutions is another CareerOne contributor. A few years back Amanda kindly wrote a detailed article on selection criteria that you will find below. It is very long but still relevant so take a look.

Background

In the private sector the resume is commonly used to cull and shortlist candidates for jobs. In the public sector, the most important thing is how well a candidate addresses the selection criteria.

If your written responses don’t address the requirements you may not get an interview even if you have the most dazzling resume.

It’s generally a requirement for public sector panels to use at least one “screening” and one “selection” tool to assess candidates against the selection criteria. The most common selection tools used in the public sector include the written application and the interview.

Selection criteria are standards that measure a candidate’s “abilities”, “skills” and “knowledge”. They are generally contained within the job description or may appear in the online advertisement. Both the selection criteria and job duties outline the minimum requirements necessary to do the job.

There are two types of selection criteria “essential” and “desirable”

Read the full article @ CareerOne