How to Apply for a Government Job

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How to Apply for a Government Job

Once you have identified a job that you want to apply for comes the daunting task of preparing your application.

Government applications will generally require:

An application form
A cover letter
Statements addressing the selection criteria (these will need to be comprehensive and one or two short paragraphs are generally not sufficient).
A resume
Details of at least two professional referees
Additional evidence as requested such as evidence of qualifications or licenses.

These requirements will be outlined in the selection documentation, so the first step in your government application process is to phone or email the contact offer and review the selection documentation.

After submitting your application will come the interview, reference checks and an offer of employment. While private organisations often conduct second interviews with the preferred applicant/s, this is very rare in government recruitment.

The two key differences when applying for a government job are:

1. Timeframes - the application process will most likely be long and drawn out, with recruitment exercises taking 3 months on average.
2. The requirement to address selection criteria - approximately 95% of positions advertised will require applicants to provide comprehensive responses to a set of selection criteria. These statements need to be detailed and specific and demonstrate strong claims in order for you to be considered for an interview. The best applications will provide at least half to three quarters of a page of written evidence per selection criterion. Writing short or inadequate responses to the selection criteria will generally guarantee that you don't get an interview, even if you are the most qualified and experienced person for the job.

More information about applying for a government job is available in the highly recommended guide Get That Job! The Best Guide to Applying for a Government Job.

Information specific to selection criteria is available from the website www.selection-criteria.com.au and in the guide The Selection Criteria Coach.

Get That Job!

Get That Job! The Best Guide to Applying for a Government Job is our best selling e-book, with over 290 pages of powerful information to ensure your next application is a winner.

The author is a government recruitment panel member who has assessed countless applications and conducted thousands of interviews. She knows what works and what doesn't work, and has turned the results of her work into a powerful resource.

It covers:
1. The government and how recruitment processes work
2. Finding vacancies
3. Cover letters, resumes and referees
4. Addressing selection criteria
5. Government interviews
and includes checklists, examples, comprehensive lists of things for you to cover in your responses to selection criteria and insider tips to create an impressive written application.

More about this book....

Useful Links

www.selection-criteria.com.au
Free selection criteria examples
Government interviews
Government resume basics
Help addressing selection criteria
Tools for recruitment selection advisary committees

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