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The main season for graduate recruitment in Australia is here. I know this because I am starting to get requests for assistance with filling in graduate application forms. Between March and April, many of the large graduate employers are open for graduate applications. Click here to find the closing dates for a number of significant 2011 graduate programs. For example, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade closes on 22nd March, Centrelink on 27th April, and Commonwealth Bank on 7th April. If you want more details about the major graduate employers in Australia, visit Career Fairs or Grad Connection.
To give you some idea of what you will need to address in an application, the following questions are asked in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade graduate application form.
Question 1: Qualifications and knowledge Why are you applying for the Graduate Trainee program in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade? What skills and attributes would you be able to contribute to DFAT’s goals and work? You should give examples based on your academic achievements, work experience and/or extracurricular activities.
Question 2: Written and oral communication skills Provide examples of where your written and oral communication and negotiation skills have been most effective in the workplace or elsewhere. What outcomes were achieved?
Question 3: Conceptual and analytical skills Describe a situation in which you have had to identify and analyse a problem or issue and then recommend a solution. How did you go about the task? What was the outcome? What constraints did you face in developing the solution?
Question 4: Effective working relations What makes you an effective team member? How do you respond to problems or conflict within a team? Give an example of how you have contributed to a team’s achievements.
Question 5: Flexibility, adaptability and initiative Give an example of where you have taken on an unfamiliar task or faced a challenge, whether in the workplace, your studies or extra-curricular activities. Describe how you prepared for and took on that task or challenge. What did you find most difficult about the experience?
If you are applying for a graduate role in the Commonwealth Bank, be prepared to answer the following:
• Select up to two business unit program preferences. Please tell us why we should consider you for your first preference.
• Please tell us why we should consider you for your second preference.
• Please tell us about the extracurricular activities you have been involved in.
• Why have you chosen the Commonwealth Bank group as a potential future employer?
• Why do you think the Commonwealth Bank graduate program aligns with your career goals?
• What does good customer service mean to you?
• Did you attend a Career Fair? Please specify at which Careers Fair you spoke with a Commonwealth Bank representative
• Did you attend a Commonwealth Bank campus presentation? Which campus presentation did you attend?
• Are you a member of a university or industrial society? • What was the main factor that influenced you to apply for the, Commonwealth Bank graduate program?
Some Tips for completing a Graduate Application Form:
• remember that in these programs employers are not just offering a job. They hope you will grow into one of their future leaders.
• while employers understand that graduates will apply for a number of organisations, they will be expecting that you are genuinely motivated to work for them. Therefore, you need to research the company or government agency and to make sure you match your achievements, interests and skills to how you can add most value to that employer.
• it will take time to write good responses for the application form. So set aside quality time, draft your responses in Word, and get someone to proof read your answers before you transfer them across to the online application form.
• start by brainstorming all of your experience, knowledge and achievements – in your studies (individual and group assignments), work, voluntary and community activities. Try to use a different example to highlight your claims for each question.
• talk to people that you respect and get their ideas on what they see as your achievements and strengths. I find that most people overlook significant achievements.
• it is okay to seek professional help with the writing of responses for your application form, you will not be the only person who does this. However you need to feel that the end result truly represents and matches how you will present to an assessment committee.
• be honest, as the application form is just the start of the selection process. If you overstate your claims you will need to live up to this in the interviews and other assessment processes.
• if you are stuck for the right words to use to fully present your case, you can access free online information, borrow books on selection criteria from the University or Council libraries, or purchase books written about addressing selection criteria. Just make sure that you access contemporary information.
The good news is that new research by Graduate Careers Australia (GCA) shows 21 per cent of employers will increase the scale of their graduate programs in 2010.
Good luck with your application.
For more tips on answering graduate questions – please subscribe to this blog (top left corner).
For expert assistance with preparing your application you can contact me at brisbanejobcoach@gmail.com or ph 0403766812
If a candidate gets to the ‘Interview’ stage for a government job, they should expect to be interviewed by a panel (committee) of two or three people. Usually each of the panel members will ask questions and take notes during the interview. Sometimes there will be an extra person in the room who has the role of scribe/selection support. The scribe will take detailed notes throughout the interview. When the candidate has left the interview, the selection panel will discuss responses to the questions and decide how well the candidate meets the selection criteria. The panel may use the notes that the scribe has taken to assist them to recall the candidate’s responses. The scribe will note the panel’s findings and at the end of all of the interviews will draft a Selection Report. The Selection Report details each candidate’s performance against the criteria, and may include a comparison of the most highly ranked candidates.
In some interviews, the scribe has solely a recoding role, and the committee fully details exactly what the scribe is to write. In most cases, the scribe will be a person with considerable HR/recruitment experience, and may provide significant advice and support to the selection committee (especially an inexperienced selection panel).
As the scribe is not directly involved in the interview process, candidates do not need to maintain the same level of eye contact with them as with the selection panel. However, it is important that candidates show appropriate interpersonal skills by greeting and farwelling the scribe politely.
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Employers – Please contact me if you need information about how to engage a selection scribe.
ph 0403766812 or brisbanejobcoach@gmail.com
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I am often asked about how a person can apply for short-term employment with Australian Government Agencies.
Most Agencies have a ‘Non-Ongoing Employment Register’. The details of how to register is published on each Agency’s recruitment website. A person interested in several Agencies will need to submit a different application for each Agency. Some examples of these are, Department of Defence, Australian Bureau of Statistics , Medicare Australia, Attorney-General’s Department, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Commonwealth Ombudsman and National Native Title Tribunal.
A list of all Australian Government Agencies can be found at the Government On-Line Directory. This site also gives links to State Government Directories.
For Ex-Employees
Ready Now is a temporary employment register specifically for former employees of the Australian Public Service or similar Commonwealth bodies. Only one registration is necessary to cover all Agencies.
Employment policy and advice
Employment policy and advice about non-ongoing employment is outlined in Australian Public Service Commission publications.
Permanent Vacancies
Some non-ongoing vacancies are advertised along with permanent opportunities on APS Jobs, which has an Email me Jobs service.
For expert job application or interview coaching, please contact me at brisbanejobcoach@gmail.com or 0403766812
If you are having difficulty with the ‘addressing selection criteria’ process, it might help to know you are not alone. I did a search on Twitter last night using the term ‘selection criteria’. Here is what job candidates were saying:
- damn selection criteria. maybe writing job apps is easier without the wine
- Selection Criteria….yuck!
- Aren’t selection criteria’s fun!?
- I hate selection criteria. 25 min to write 3 lines. 1 question down, 12 to go
- job applications are hard! selection criteria wtf?
- Damm selection criteria
- Ignoring the last few of those pesky selection criteria. Maybe later this evening. Trying to ignore the nausea.
- ‘essential’ and ‘desirable’ selection criteria – it somehow sounds very erotic… if you changed essential to sensual
- Attacking those darned Selection Criteria. First one: High level of reception & communication skills. Can’t I just say “yes” & move on?
- Responding to the World’s Largest Selection Criteria with my equally lengthy and wordy supporting statement.
- SELECTION CRITERIA HELL ONCE MORE!
- Selection criteria suck I hate writing them
- just did her second selection criteria for one day… aghh!!
- Frell me. I HATE Selection Criteria. “Knowlege of public sector financial & administrative legislation.” YUCK. Don’t know what to write.
- TEN selection criteria? Are you kidding me? Moreton Bay Council; you’re no ASIO.
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For job seekers, the words ‘Selection Criteria’ can often be found in the same sentence as hell, nausea, darned, hate, yuk and you have got to be kidding. Nevertheless, they are here to stay, particularly for publically funded roles. There are many good reasons for employers to use specific criteria, and to assess against these requirements to find the best person for a job.
It is not the principle of selection criteria that brings bile to the throat – the problem is the way that some employers use them to make writing a job application into a very onerous task.
In the pre-November employee shortage, a growing number of public sector employers decided that a tailored resume and brief statement (or answers to questions) were sufficient to screen applicants who should move to the next stage of the selection process. Unfortunately, other employers have persisted in using too many, often repetitive selection criteria; and asking candidates to ‘address selection criteria’ without giving any guidance on the length, depth or format required.
The latter approach may lack courtesy and be an inefficient way to run a competitive selection process. However, it is the current reality for some jobs. Applicants need to learn to effectively tackle the addressing of selection criteria – in whatever format – if they wish to secure what can be a rewarding public sector career. Candidates can get help through books and web guidance, employ a job coach (like me) or hire someone to write their applications.
Share your ideas on what has helped you to ‘address selection criteria’.
Looking for an expert to coach you to write your job application or prepare for the job interview - contact me at brisbanejobcoach@gmail.com or 0403766812
If you are applying for a job in the Queensland Government, the selection criteria may look like the five below:
- Supports strategic direction or Shapes strategic thinking
- Achieves results
- Supports productive working relationships or Cultivates productive working relationships
- Displays personal drive and integrity or Exemplifies personal drive and integrity
- Communicates with influence
The Queensland Government has adopted a Capability and Leadership Framework (CLF) which is similar to the Australian Public Service Integrated Leadership System (ILS). This framework outlines the core capabilities and associated behaviours required of public servants at each classification and functional level within the Queensland Public Service.
The Individual Profiles which describe the capabilities and behavioural indicators required at the different levels are likely to be the most useful part of the CLF, if you are using it to apply for a job.
If you read the whole CLF document, you will find useful tools to support you in assessing your development needs for a public service career. IPAA Queensland has mapped all of its courses to the five capabilities of the CLF.
Queensland Government jobs and careers are advertised at SmartJobs.
Looking for an expert to coach you to write your job application or prepare for the job interview - contact me at brisbanejobcoach@gmail.com or 0403766812
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Posts on selection criteria Shapes Strategic Thinking
Statement of Claims against the Selection Criteria
In today’s competitive job market, aspiring employees must have well-tailored, well-written job applications.
While many public sector Agencies in Australia are reducing the amount of writing required for job applications – most still require candidates to do some analysis of their skills/capabilities/experience and to write about these according to prescribed selection criteria (i.e. to write a ‘statement of claims’ against the selection criteria). Thus, writing a public sector job application can feel like doing an assignment. Unlike school or University assignments where students must sign that the work is their own, employers rarely require any such acknowledgement with job applications. This opens the door for people with expert knowledge of government selections to become professional job application writers.
Job applicants can spend many hours attending training and reading about how to address selection criteria, and then edit and re-edit to get the content and layout just right. For most candidates, this means well over 10 hours per application. Alternatively, they may consider it a good investment to hire a professional to write their application.
The Job Application Process – More than Just a Resume
One of my clients recently paid about $300 for a ‘resume writer’ (found through an internet search) to prepare her statement of claims for a government position. She told me that she got an interview through this application, but froze during the interview. She felt she did not understand the selection criteria and what the selection committee expected. I had a look at the papers (resume and selection criteria statement) that had been written for her. The writer had done an excellent job in capturing my client’s experience and making an argument as to why she was a very suitable candidate for the role. My client will be able to cut and paste from this document and use this for future applications. With a better understanding of what selection panels look for with common selection criteria and some interview coaching, I am sure she will soon secure a job.
Another client came to me for job interview coaching. She was particularly stressed because she had been advised that a written test would be conducted just prior to the interview. I had a look at her application. She had excellent qualifications and experience, and her resume and statement of claims were well-written. Based on this, with a few tips on how to manage written job tests, she should have had no trouble with a written test. She admitted that she had received considerable assistance with her written application, and that she did not really have the level of writing skills required for the role.
The message from these two stories – the written application is only one part of the selection process. No amount of professional assistance with writing claims against selection criteria will help if a candidate is not able to complete other job assessment tasks at the required level.
Resume Writer Fees
If a candidate decides to hire a professional to prepare their application, they can expect to pay over $300. I did a search today to find current fees in Australia. Usually the client can choose different packages to suit their needs. For example, one company says that they will prepare ‘ready to lodge applications from just $285 (incl. selection criteria, cover letter & resume tidy)’. Another consultant lists the costs for an experienced job seeker (ie with over 2 years work experience) as follows:
‘Professional Resume via Phone/Email: $295
Professional Resume with Face-to-Face Consultation: $395
Customised Cover Letter: $95
Selection Criteria Responses: $70 per criteria’
A third provider lists their charges as, ‘Selection criteria response: typically from $250. New résumés from about $150’.
Most writers will ask many questions so they can understand the client’s skills and experience. They won’t make up things (hopefully), but should use their expertise to match what a candidate has to offer to the advertised role.
Is it Fair/Ethical to Use a Resume Writer to Prepare a Ready to Lodge Job Application?
In the ideal world, all candidates would have equality of opportunity to present their claims. The reality is that candidates have different levels of familiarity and knowledge of the selection criteria process. Candidates also have different access to expertise to assist them to prepare applications, and different levels of comfort about ‘blowing-their-own-trumpet’.
It could be argued that professional job application writers level the playing field for those external (non-public sector) applicants who have had no prior experience with analysing selection criteria.
Where employers use open selection processes that favour candidates who know how to address selection criteria, the professional job application writer will thrive.
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Are you struggling to write the application? Need some ideas on how to address selection criteria? Do you feel you let yourself down at job interviews?
Do you want coaching from an experienced human resource professional? Do you need someone who understands the Intergrated Leadership System (Australian Government) or Capability Leadership Framework (Queensland Government)?
Contact me at brisbanejobcoach@gmail.com or 0403766812
Send me your draft resume, and details of any job/s that you are interested in. Tell me if you need to work on your application (covering letter, resume or selection criteria) or if you need interview practice. I can provide a no obligation free quote.
My specialty is coaching people for job interviews. I enjoy assisting people to win jobs – and would love to hear from you.
Cheryl
If you are a human resource professional and applying for a public sector job that has the five Leadership Capabilities i.e. Shapes Strategic Thinking, Achieves Results, Cultivates Productive Working Relationships, Exemplifies Personal Drive and Integrity and Communicates with Influence, you may find the following document very useful.
Medicare Australia – A Capability Profile for Human Resources
(Sorry – have just realised that this link now goes to home page of Medicare. Pity – it was a good document.)
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Do you want coaching from an expert who understands the Intergrated Leadership System (Australian Government) or Capability Leadership Framework (Queensland Government)?
Contact me at brisbanejobcoach@gmail.com or 0403766812. I will provide a no obligation free quote.
My specialty is coaching people for job interviews. I enjoy assisting people to win jobs – and would love to hear from you.
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More posts on Shapes Strategic Thinking
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What do you think – True or False?
1. Spending a lot of time preparing for a job interview will make me seem desperate.
2. While preparing for a job interview, put yourself in the interviewer’s shoes to see things from their perspective.
3. Role playing to prepare for typical interview questions is really important.
4. If you have reservations about your abilities or skills for the position you should tell the whole truth.
5. A job interview is a one-direction conversation, like on a talk show.
6. Interviewers are like dogs; they can smell my fear.
7. The “real me” will shine through whether I’m dressed in pajamas or a suit.
8. Sending a thank you note is an important way of standing out.
9. Making demands for your ideal salary and vacation in the initial interview is a risky proposition.
10. It doesn’t matter if I’m 5 minutes late. Everyone runs late to interviews.
C.J. Liu (professional coach) has provided some comments on these statements in a Payscale blog post. While this is an American blog – from my experience the observations made in this blog post are also relevant for the Australian job-seeking environment. It is worth noting that where an organisation recruits on merit (eg public sector roles), sending a thank you note is unlikely to have an effect on your chances of winning a role.
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Are you struggling to write the application? Need some ideas on how to address selection criteria?
Do you feel you let yourself down at job interviews?
Do you want coaching from an experienced human resource professional?
Do you need someone who understands the Intergrated Leadership System (Australian Government) or Capability Leadership Framework (Queensland Government)?
Contact me at brisbanejobcoach@gmail.com or 0403766812
Send me your draft resume, and details of any job/s that you are interested in. Tell me if you need to work on your application (covering letter, resume or selection criteria) or if you need interview practice. I can provide a no obligation free quote.
My specialty is coaching people for job interviews. I enjoy assisting people to win jobs – and would love to hear from you.
Cheryl
