Statement addressing the Selection Criteria
Why is your application important?
The Selection panel will determine whether you will be selected for an interview by assessing your written application against the selection criteria.
As there may be many other people applying for the position, your application needs to demonstrate that you meet all the essential selection criteria and stand out from other applicants.
What are the selection criteria?
The selection criteria are the skills, qualifications and experience that the selection panel consider are needed to successfully do the work of the advertised position. Selection criteria are divided into two types, those skills and experience that are essential for doing the work and those that are desirable. Essential criteria are those that you absolutely need to have to do the work while having the desirable criteria would greatly help you do the work. Interview questions are aligned to the selection criteria.
Do I need to address the selection criteria in a separate document?
Different advertisements may ask for selection criteria to be addressed in different ways such as:
· Addressed in a separate document. You may choose to address each criteria separately using headings, or use examples that talk about multiple criteria at once.
· A letter that details your suitability for the position.
· As part of your resume.
Some advertisements may ask you to only address some of the of the selection criteria, with the rest to be assessed during the interview.
It is important for you to provide sufficient and relevant information on each of the criteria for the panel to make an assessment.
How do you address the selection criteria?
Let's look at this example for the position of Customer Services Officer.
Essential Criteria
· Demonstrate commitment to the provision of a quality service to all customers.
· A demonstrated ability to successfully interact with people from a wide variety of backgrounds.
· Good written communication skills particularly in the area of letter and report writing.
· Demonstrated commitment to the provision of a quality service to all customers.
Desirable criteria
· Experience in balancing receipts.
Step 1:
Consider how you can best describe your experiences and knowledge for each of the selection criteria listed.
Step 2:
In your brief statement make sure that you use specific examples to show the extent of your experience and knowledge. Give examples of the type of the tasks you have undertaken to prove your case.
EXAMPLE:
Selection Criteria 2
A demonstrated ability to successfully interact with people from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Compare the two brief sample responses to this criterion.
Example 1:
As I possess good communication skills I can successfully interact with people from all backgrounds. When communicating with people I am careful not to make assumptions about their situation and my polite demeanour always puts people at ease.
Example 2:
As President of my Faculty Student Association I have had the opportunity to develop my ability to interact with people from a wide variety of backgrounds. As President, my duties require me to communicate with a diverse range of people on a regular basis, such as:
· Senior Members of staff in my role as student representative on the Faculty committee;
· Year 12 students when presenting at university open days; and
· Prominent Western Australians when approaching them to speak at student functions.
By communicating confidently and ensuring I fully understood the needs of the audience, I have been successful in having four of the five student submissions I presented to the Faculty committee accepted. I was also able to secure a high profile Chief Executive Officer of a publicly listed company to present at the student seminar.
I have also interacted with a variety of people while working in my part-time work both in the hospitality industry as a Bar Supervisor and working in McDonalds Family Restaurant as a Assistant Manager. In both positions I have had responsibility for servicing clients and also managing staff. Most recently I had to resolve a conflict between two junior staff members which had become a serious problem. In the absence of my Manager I acted as a mediator in the dispute and resolved the issue after consulting with both of them. The Manager was very pleased with the outcome on his return to work.
The differences between the two answers are easy to see. Example one does not provide any evidence that the applicant can put the skills they claim they possess into practice. Example two demonstrates that the applicant has an understanding of the criterion, provides examples of when they have had to use these skills and states the outcome.