| There are two options in relation to addressing Selection Criteria. Write the document yourself, or have a professional write a polished document for maximum impact. However, should you choose to write the Selection Criteria yourself please keep the following in mind: The key is examples, examples, examples, situational examples. The better the examples provided, the better your application. It may seem that I am repeating myself, however it really is the truth. No matter whether you write the Selection Criteria yourself, or have a professional write it for you, there will still be a need for these examples. The more specific the better. Some clients tell me “surely the reader doesn’t want to know about all of this stuff?” But the selection criteria panel needs to read evidence based examples. They need to read a statement which is backed up by time, place, form (the way in which things are arranged) and event. I have included an example here of part of a selection criteria I wrote for a client, with the personal details removed. This client gained an interview after submitting this application. Notice the specifics in relation to the situation: Applicants will be assessed against the core criteria for Australia Public service employees with particular emphasis on Leadership, Strategic thinking, Communication skills, Personal drive and integrity, and interpersonal skills I believe the examples listed below demonstrate my qualities and characteristics in this area: One of my clients as Senior Project Manager for ABC Corp was for XYZ Corp (client) for an NGN (Next Generation Networks) 3G wireless roll out in Western Australia. XYZ Corp was subcontracting to Acme Pty Ltd who in turn subcontracted to ABC Corp. I was caught in a situation whereby XyZ Corp was approaching me directly as senior project manager and bypassing Acme. XyZ Corp was the major client, however, I worked for Acme rather than XyZ Corp. I was caught in a situation whereby I had an obligation to report to Acme what was happening in relation to the site, but did not want to upset either Acme, XyZ Corp or the Project board of ABC Corp. Similarly XyZ Corp and Acme had differing procedures, project management processes and documentation, confusing the issue further. The situation had occurred due to our Project Director in Perth having previously worked for XyZ Corp. However, I was conscious of the fact that I had an obligation to report to Acme on the project’s progress, and justify my case to them. I called a meeting of all the parties involved, and managed to get everyone together in one room. I explained to them that there was a problem, as XyZ Corp have standard guidelines, but if they deliver these to ABC Corp directly, there would be a problem as Acme and XyZ Corp have different documentation and guidelines. I explained the issues involved with running a project with two different versions of all documentation, and created a scenario of what could occur if the project was closed with two different versions of documentations. I also put forward a solution to this problem, and the current situation. Namely, that documents issued and written confirmation needed to be forwarded to my senior manager who would forward these on to me. I also was keenly aware that unless I resolved this situation I would be left in a difficult situation. The outcome at the end of this successful meeting was that standard documentation procedures and protocols for this project were put in place. The previous issues were resolved and all relevant stakeholders (including me!) were happy. I joined ABC Corp in September 2005 as Senior Project Manager. In January 2006 three months after I began in this role, the Regional Manager that hired me resigned. Suddenly I was the only senior manager left within the company for that region, so in the interim I became the Regional Manager until a replacement was found. I adapted quickly to this sudden change, being responsible for business development, acting as General Manager, supervision and motivation of a large team of project managers, support staff, riggers and technicians throughout Melbourne. This was a lot of responsibility and duty for me to manage in a short term period, but I seemed to manage this well. I reported to the Head General Manager in Perth, whom asked me to “look after things” until a replacement Regional Manager could be found (which took six months) I managed this sudden change and responsibility by consulting with senior management in Perth, as well as making most decisions alone, and managing the methodology of the company to solve problems and put some structure there. As I am a fairly down to earth person with good communication abilities, I attracted lots of new clients by taking on smaller projects. In the past these had not always been taken up by senior management who tended to select the larger projects. My strategy and thinking was that the smaller projects involved low risk, and by taking these on I could minimise risk and maximise profit margins. For example for a $10,000 project, the cost was only $2,000, so although a smaller job, more profit could be made with lower risk. At this point I gained a pay rise as the General Manager in Perth was very happy with my performance. Once the new Regional Manager was appointed, I handed the position back to him, and trained him in the position as I had operated it over the previous six months. I showed him what my previously successfully actions were, resulting in greater profitability for ABC Corp in my region, and happy staff and management.” Realise that you are not alone in having trouble with Selection Criteria. 100% of those I speak to are daunted by either the position description, or its jargon and the way it is worded, and have trouble making sense of the document. All of those that I have spoken to have trouble coming up with examples. This can be difficult as throughout our working life we often realise that situations, days, weeks months and years blur together after a while. The better the examples, the better your application, so once you have come up with excellent relevant examples, the work can begin. We can also guide you as to additional data needed, and whether the example is a relevant one. It is not only unethical but completely nonsensical for a writer to “make up” examples for you, or “write whatever” Yet over the years I have been surprised at how many times I have been asked to do this. In all honesty submitting an application without examples is not only a waste of time, but a waste of your money if hiring a professional to write the document for you. Word Limits. Occasionally a Selection Criteria will specify a word limit. The tighter or more restrictive the word limit, the more difficult the task in writing the Selection Criteria. For example, if there are 7 bullet points to be addressed or answered, yet there is a 700 word limit for the entire document, it could be tough to give detailed examples for each question. The Selection Criteria in this case would need to be seriously cut back. However, this is the exception rather than the rule. Most Selection Criteria can be addressed very well by adhering to the principles of STAR (Situation Task Approach and Result) and excellent relevant, evidence based situational examples. Refer to our Selection Criteria page for further information. |
