Writing Selection Criteria

Applying For Positions Requiring Selection Criteria

                               Applying for a position requiring selection criteria

                         Guide to writing selection criteria

                         Selection Criteria evaluation

                         What are selection criteria

                         Purpose of using selection criteria for recruitment

                         Recruitment process using selection criteria.

If you apply for a job within the Australian State or Federal Public Service, Local Government, Statutory Authority or any funded Government programme or agency, you will be required to submit a job application that requires you to "address the selection criteria." 

I bet you have spent days on your application answering the selection criteria.  You are probably too close to it and need a second opinion.

Maybe you have given up and are looking for someone who can write it for you, and that is why you arrived at this  web page.

or

You may be new to selection criteria writing and you are not sure if you have answered the questions correctly.

There is a specific process involved in writing selection criteria. It isn't easy - even for experience people and can be very time consuming. If you do not understand what is required for addressing the selection criteria you really do need assistance.

Unless you address the selection criterion correctly, your application will not be assessed. You may have all the qualifications and attributes for the job and may be  a "perfect match". However, if you don't understand how to write an application answering the selection criterion effectively you will not be get an interview. You also need to know why selection criteria is used in recruitment. See  Purpose of using selection criteria for recruitment

Writing responses or answers to the selection criteria is not easy. So, have you come to this site hoping we can write your selection criteria for you?

Sorry we can't do it for you. 

Why? 

Because we do not want to set you up to fail.

But hang on a minute, help is on hand. 

You can purchase the most comprehensive guide to selection criteria writing on the market  from his site. The author, Lloyd White, is an acclaimed expert in writing applications for jobs within the Government / Public Service.

How to apply for a government / public service job: a guide to selection criteria writing.

Write a Winning Job Application : A Guide to Selection Criteria, contains everything you need to know about how to address the selection criteria.   It contains samples and explains how to analyse common key selection criteria questions.

Lloyd's Guide is now in its fourth edition, released in August 2007. His first three books had been the "bible" for people who want to win a Government job - either Federal or State Public Service as well as not for profit organisations, Local Government and Statutory Authorities. The 4th Edition is bigger and more comprehensive. There are 202 pages pack with up to date information.

The contents of this edition cover everything you need to write a winning job application.  It contains:-

• 18 full written examples to common criteria

• 31 criteria that are explained with a model to follow when you write your response

• 257 possible interview questions based on 65 of the most common selection criteria
• 41 selection criteria are broken down into skills and a vocabulary you can use. These are the action words the panel is looking for.

This book is a must have.  Order here if you want to win you next Government job. It is a Hard cover book and only available in Australia.

By the way, did you know you get a tax deduction if your application is for a promotion within your company?

So,  back to what I was saying?

  Why cant you get someone else to write your selection criteria?

If we do it will be very costly with no guarantee of an interview, albeit we have been very successful in the past in writing selection criteria applications that got to interview stage.  It is my belief that people who get someone else to write their selection criteria often fail at the interview.  A consultant's style is not yours. Consequently many people just can't live up to their claims or express them effectively.

Selection Criteria Critique

Pro-Active Human Resource Management  offers a selection criteria critique service - providing a written or verbal report suggesting ways to improve or strengthen your document, or comment on any other aspects of the selection criteria that may need clarification or backing up. This way it is your document and you are just seeking clarification.

E-mail us your resume, selection criteria, job description and your selection criteria application. At least 48 hours notice needs to be to get it back to you, so please ensure you advise us of the application closing date.

Cost.

When we receive your documents we will provide you with a quote. The cost will depend on the level of the job and the complexity of the selection criteria and assistance required to make it a winning application or even an expectable one.  Please note: The cost will also take into account the number of pages in the report. For example, if you have 10 criteria, and your answers are a half a page each, there may be at least a quarter of a page per criteria in the evaluation report.  Take into account that the minimum cost for a typist to type one page will be at least $10 -$15. This needs to be acknowledged when quoting. So ensure your document is the final copy and it is the best you can do. The evaluation will be as concise as possible.  Of course, if your selection criteria is ok as it is, there will be no need to write more than one sentence or just one word -"ok".  On the other hand, if your application requires a lot of assistance the report will be longer, and so will the time spent on the overall evaluation of the document.

If you don't have all the criteria required, you must consider if it is worth the cost of an evaluation?

If you have the time please consider purchasing Lloyd's book "Winning Applications" before you attempt to write your answers to the selection criteria - especially if you are a novice.

Prepayment is required if we agree to accept the assignment. So please leave plenty of time, and email first to ask if we are available to meet your deadline.

Lets have a look at selection criteria, why and how it is used in the Public Service, Local Government and not for profit organisations. (these are agencies that receive most of their funding from the State or Federal governments. )

 What are Selection Criteria

The selection criteria is a recruitment method designed to find the right person to fill the job.

Selection criterion are based on the job description for designed for a particular position.  They consist of the qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience you need to fulfil the role. Personal qualities are also considered to be part of the criteria.

What is the Purpose of Using Selection Criteria

The Public Service (both State or Federal Government Departments), Local Government, Statutory Authorities and Government funded agencies use selection criteria to fulfil Equal Employment Opportunity principles, and it is supposed to get rid of nepotism and favouritism.  Each permanent job must be advertised, in-house, or in the paper.

Applicants are short-listed based on their ability to convince the selection criteria assessment team that they have the capabilities required to perform the role as set out in a selection criteria, written specifically for that position.

You would have sent for a package containing a job description and conditions of employment as well as a list of required selection criteria necessary to do the job.  These can be personal qualities, skills, abilities, knowledge and qualifications.

You may have been sent a example of how to actually write your "responses to the selection criteria",  "how to address the selection criteria  or "statement of claims against the selection criteria".  They all mean the same thing, but you must use the terms or language that has been used in your package. If not stipulated any of these headings are acceptable.

How selection criteria can actually benefit some applicants. Why.

• Selection criteria provide applicants the opportunity to address the requirements outlined in the position's job description.

• Everyone is given equal opportunity to demonstrate that they can meet the job requirements.

If you do not respond to each selection criteria you will not be considered for the position.

The selection assessment team, or even an employment agency representative, will evaluate each application against the selection criteria in order to select candidates who will be short listed to receive an interview.

You must answer all criterion or the application will be discarded. You cannot put “see above”.

The selection criteria contains "essential" and "desirable criteria". These are drawn up from the duty statement and the mission statement or values of the organisation.

People make the mistake of applying for positions where they do not meet the desirable criteria, thinking it is not important. This is basically a way to test the market.  If the employer receives a dozen applicants who meet the entire essential and all or some of the desirable criteria they will be looked at first.

What is the Process of Recruiting via Selection Criteria

The process of selection criteria assessment can vary.  It may be that each question is given a weighing, say 1-5.  If the applicant can demonstrate that he/she fulfils all the requirements they will be given an overall rating.  Another method will be to weigh each criterion by importance.  Whatever method used, you must address each selection criterion to demonstrate that you are extremely competent in that skill/knowledge area. 

if you know what the weighing is, and you can sometimes see this in the duty statement, then you give the higher weighing criteria more attention.  You should structure a very good answer and devote more time and energy into addressing the higher weighed selection criterion.

Until 2001 in Western Australia, the selection criteria was the only document that was looked at.  It could have had 10 -16 criterion to answer.

In 2002 the rules were changed and the agencies need only ask for 3 mandatory selection criterion, generally based on EEO, OH&S and values of the Department/Organisation. The employer can take into account the cover letter  resume and selection criteria to weigh the applicants against each other. This is primarily because the process was so time consuming that some departments were not attracting quality applicants.   At the time of writing, few dept/agencies are taking this approach.  Finance and IT are the main areas using the new method.

The agencies that  use the new recruitment method will find it difficult to come up with fair and equitable questions and you will not be able to prepare as well as you could under the old method. It is much harder to justify recruitment decisions should there be an appeal..

Most government departments or agencies now provide a package for you to look at which explains the process of submitting your application.

However, Lloyd White's guide Write a Winning Job Application : A Guide to Selection Criteria, contains everything you need to know in order to apply for a government job.

If you do get an interview  that has provided a full set of criterion, you can be assured that all applicants will be asked the same questions that are directly related to each of the criterion.  This makes preparing for the interview much easier. You can prepare your answers by expanding on what you have already written in your "Statement Addressing The Selection Criteria".

There are strict conditions, for example, the recruitment office must receive the application by the stated time or the application may not be looked at. If it doesn't you application will not be considered.  In some cases an “expression of interest” can be sufficient to give you extra time.  However, you must discuss this with the human resources department.

You should check to see why there is a vacancy and ask if anyone is acting in the job and for how long.  In some cases the Agency/Dept is looking for new blood or it may just be a formality and the person who has been acting may have a better chance of getting the job. 

In 2006 The Australian Federal Government in began to look at outcome based resumes. This is quite a departure from the competency based approach.  So you can see that they are looking for high performers. Your resume and selection criteria should be outcome based if possible.

Pro-Active Human Resource Management has written many outcome based resumes to be used in Government jobs and all clients have succeeded in getting an interview.