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Contents Back to Basics: Why selection criteria? Application Tip Reader Questions: What is the report that is written after an interview and am I able to see it? Feature Article: 10 steps to the summit of your career Product Spotlight Coming Next Newsletter How to Subscribe Back to Basics Why Selection Criteria?
A
large
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.
In Australia, these are called writing "selection criteria" whilst in the US and Canada they are known as "KSAs" and in the UK, "competency based statements." As I am an Australian based resume writer, please bear with me if I refer to "selection criteria." However, the principles remains the same across various locations around the globe. 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 inventions. 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 contractors. 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 have secured job 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 site 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 discuss your prioritization and organizational 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 CV 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 presented 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 criteria 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 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 established Impressive Resumes in 1998. Since then she has gained more clients, as well as maintaining current knowledge through membership to several industry associations including Career Directors International and Association of Online Resume and Career Professionals. She is currently preparing to gain accreditation/certification as a Professional Advanced Resume Writer (CARW) and volunteers her time at the local library to provide advice to job seekers. |
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Application Tip Your mind maps and lists can be taken into the interview and referred to quite easily. The different colours and shapes are able to provide an easy reference point for examples and issues to discuss. They may job your memory under the pressure of an interview, hopefully avoiding potential mental blocks that may occur. Read more about compiling your mind maps and lists in the ebook Get That Job (see below). |
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Q. What is the report that is written after an interview and am I able to see it? A. At the conclusion of the selection process (that is, after all information has been gathered about suitable applicants) the selection advisory committee, or selection panel, write a report about the selection process and make recommendations to the recruitment delegate about who should get the job. The recruitment delegate (who may or may not be on the panel) is the one who makes the decision about who gets the job based on this report. The report includes information such as who applied, who was interviewed and why, what different applicants' claims were against the selection criteria and how the selection panel assessed these claims, what happened during the interviews, what referees had to say about the applicants, and any final recommendations about the best applicant for the job. Some reports also include an 'order of merit', which is a list of applicants from best to worst, so that the delegate can go to the next person on the list if the preferred applicant declines the job offer. Any applicant has the right to see what is written about them in the selection report under freedom of information and natural justice principles. If you want to see your selection report, be aware that this report will have all information regarding the other applicants and their applications deleted, and only the information regarding you and your application will be included. In some cases, particularly if you were not shortlisted for an interview, the selection report may not contain any information regarding your application. |
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Feature Article
10 Steps to the Summit of Your Career from www.recruiterdaily.com.au According
to
adventurer Peter Hillary, climbing Mount Everest comes down to the same
basics as any other undertaking. He says there are 10 steps to reaching
your own summit.
Hillary, who has climbed Everest twice, including with his father Edmund, told the RCSA conference in Christchurch that these basic building blocks are: "Do we have the right skills and enthusiasm, the teamwork; are we in the position of being in the right place at the right time? [Are we] reading the weather, the marketplace - reading those signs of how people and this environment are going to work so that we can be successful?" Hillary's 10 steps to "the summit of the world" are: 1. Nothing ventured; nothing gained. "If you don't give it a go, you will never know what you can accomplish," Hillary says. He says he learned from Steve Fossett, "we don't always succeed. In fact, most of us won't succeed the first time or second or third… the important thing is that you try and you try again, and you learn from that experience." 2. Challenge = Uncertainty = Excitement."Every great goal is a challenge, and the outcome is always uncertain, but that is what makes life exciting." "If [success] was totally assured, if it was a hundred per cent water-tight guarantee… I don't know that I'd want to go there. It is that uncertainty factor - the excitement that it is up to you, what you can actually make successful." You've got to take on challenges and push yourself, Hillary says, "but you've got to be well prepared." 3. Fear makes you focus. "Fear makes you thorough. A little bit of fear is good." Hillary acknowledges that a lot of people find his life of living on the edge "disturbing" but, "there's something about it… you're really living when you're on the edge; you feel so alive. "The fear that we feel doing these sorts of things really makes you perform better. It makes you more aware of what's going on around you. That's the best thing about it, you feel totally tuned into your environment. "We all need to be tuned into our environment." 4. Passion gives you the confidence and the dedication to accomplish your goal, he says. "Never sit back on your laurels. Past success shows what you've been able to do in the past, but it also shows what your capacity can be, out there in the future. At the end of the day it's your motivation, your energy, your capacity to manage risk, and… your capacity to work as a community of players, to become a real citizen, but most importantly it is your passion that is going to get you to the summit of your mountain climb." 5. Fun makes for a great team. "Having fun together helps cement a team, and makes the goal more achievable." Hillary says a great team is an essential factor for success and points out a time when he crossed Antarctica with a group that "didn't get on". "The only thing that really got us through was that we were focused on where we wanted to go. "There were mistakes made - there was too much ego and personal involvement, as opposed to seeing the people as attributes in the team and being able to respect each other for the different attributes we brought to the group. "When you are a team, you've got to have that happen, because if there isn't some sort of synergy going on, it's going to be destructive. We really did not succeed on that expedition in that particular respect." 6. Make sure you have lots to live for. "Your survival is enhanced and your life enriched by the other dimensions in your life - the people you love and the other ambitions you have. If there is only one thing that matters to you in your life, you run the risk of having nothing else to live for if you lose it." 7. Resist the flock factor. "There is safety in numbers, and strengths too, but only when everyone is thinking for themselves and contributing to the operation." 8. You are all you have. "You must learn to be self-reliant." Hillary defers to his father's words: "It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." "All adventures are an opportunity to learn about yourself, how you function, so you can function better in the future. "It is all up to us. Seek, and you will find something. It won't always be what you want to find, but you'll find something and then it's up to you to do with it whatever it might be in your particular field." 9. Powerful experiences are what memories are made of, but you must be prepared to risk defeat. Hillary refers to a "low" moment when members of a team that included businessman Dick Smith began to question their likelihood of success and why they were there. "It was Dick Smith who said: 'Why do we do anything? Why do we push the envelope sometimes? We push ourselves out into all sors of discomfort and anxiety because those end up being the best experiences.' "Look back onto your life, at some of the best things you've done. You have been anxious about them and you've had to work a bit harder and they end up the great memories, they stand out like a beacon." 10. A view from the summit. "When you reach a goal, you fulfil a dream. It's time then for new goals and dreams," Hillary says. "You get down to the bottom and you feel elated, [but] you feel a little deflated too, because the challenge is over, you've reached the top, the adventure is over, the team is going to break up and go their separate ways. "There's really only one solution to this: new challenges." Reproduced
with permission from www.recruiterdaily.com.au
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Interview Tip
Do conduct more background research, or review the research you have already completed. If your original discussion with the contact officer did not provide you with all the information you feel you need to be prepared for the interview then call them back and ask for more clarification. By the time you attend the interview you should be reasonably well acquainted with the organisation and the type of work they do, as well as the details of the position. |
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Product
Spotlight
 Get That Job! The Best Guide to Applying for a Government Job was first released at the beginning of 2006 and since then has helped thousands of applicants land the government job of their dreams. Get That Job is now considered the 'bible' for government job applications and selection criteria and is even used by many government departments to train their own staff. $19.95 for the rest of February only - that's 50% off!! ·
Written
by a government recruiter who gives you the inside story on what
selection
panels really want ·
Cover
letter examples and template This offer is for credit card payments only and please note that this publication is an ebook (for download only, you will not receive a hard copy by mail)
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Coming
Next Newsletter
The different ways you might be assessed if you apply for a government job, top advice from a professional selection criteria writer, What to do if you think of a better answer after your interview. |
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