Karalyn Brown, owner of InterviewIQ, has over 10 years experience in public and private sector recruitment. Call her crazy but she actually enjoys writing selection criteria.

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Quick clicks

Q  Do I need to address
    the criteria?
Q  Do I need to answer
    all the selection
    criteria?
Q  What does  
    demonstrate mean?
Q  How long should the
    selection criteria be?
Q  Is it worth the bother?
Q  Should I do it myself?
Q  What can I expect
    once I submit my
    application?
Q  Should I chase up my
    application?
Q  Final word on feedback
Q  Who runs Interview IQ

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Mastering Selection Criteria

A public service career can be an attractive option offering security and a set of solid working conditions. The days of needing to know someone to get a look through the door are long gone. All levels of government now use a recruitment system called "merit selection", where, all things being fair, the best qualified candidate gets the job.

Merit selection centres around selection criteria which is a list of essential and desirable skills you'll need to perform the role. You'll be asked to address the selection criteria in your "claim for the position." A panel of (usually) three people will assess your application against the criteria and decide whether to invite you in to interview.

Sounds easy on paper, but you may find this daunting, particularly if you are a first timer to the public service. Not only do you need to get your head around the essential and desirable selection criteria, but there's a whole foreign language of EEO, EAPS and OHS, listed in the criteria, that you'll need to address.

If you are serious about the role, then there is no way around it, you'll need to tackle the criteria. It takes time and you'll need to spend the time if you are to convince three different panelists with three different opinions that you meet the acceptable standard.

With criteria numbering well into the multiples, there's lots of traps for all applicants, no matter how experienced they are. So here's a few free pointers to get you started.

Do I need to address the criteria?

The answer to this is absolutely. The reason for this is simple. If it's not obvious from your resume how you meet the criteria, you're an easy elimination. Although you may get a look in if you only supply your resume, this depends on how kind the panel is feeling, the quality of other applicants and the number of other applicants. All variables outside your control. Even if you have the most comprehensive resume in the world, you'll probably not have anything about EEO and EAPS, which means that if that one panel member decides to include you for interview, they'll need to justify why you're in there to the other panel members.

Do I need to answer all the selection criteria?

Yes. For pretty much the same reasons in point one.

What does demonstrate mean?

Selection criteria often say "demonstrate" your skills or "demonstrated experience".  However, even the most seasoned public service applicants struggle to do this effectively. When the selection criteria says "demonstrate" you shouldn't just say "refer to my resume". You'll need to pull examples out of your experience to show you have used those skills. Like an answer in a behavioural interview, you can give a specific example of what the situation was, how you handled it and the outcome you achieved. You could also list some environments and situations where you've worked where those skills were required or highlight achievements where you needed to draw upon these skills.

How long should the selection criteria be?

This really depends on the seniority of your position and the extent of your experience. Having waded through hundreds of claims, I would lean towards brevity.

It's worthwhile keeping in mind that recruitment in the public sector is often not centralised to an area of internal expertise. With three people on the panel, there's usually only one person who is recruiting directly for their area. They will be the person with the most interest in filling the position and they may spend longer squinting over your application.

Why am I telling you this? It's a pretty safe bet that at least two out of three panel members will appreciate it if you are not long winded. And all panel members will love you if you can explain your skills concisely and clearly. You won't impress by volume. You will impress by the way you communicate your experience.

Is it worth the bother?

At this point you may well be asking with so much work involved in answering selection criteria is it really worth the effort? The answer is an obvious yes if you are interested in the job and yes if you revisit the purpose of criteria. You can use the criteria to assess if you are truly suitable for the role. If you are struggling on more than one or two criteria, have a long and hard think about whether it's the right job for you.

Having said this all the above assumes that the criteria is well written. Quite often there can be many hands in the process of putting them together, which means they can be confusing and repetitive. If you don't understand one criteria, always clarify with a panel member. Even if you think you're OK on the criteria, it's a good idea to check the exact meaning.

Should I do it myself?

Some people are comfortable responding to the selection criteria themselves, but as your responses will be detailed it's easy to make mistakes, so you do this you might want to ask a good friend to read through it. Find a friend with a lot patience and a good eye for detail .

An alternative to doing your criteria yourself is to get it done professionally. There are definite advantages here. If your written communication skills let you down, a professional can help make understanding you easy. This is particularly important if English is not your first language. A professional is also skilled at drawing out your unique strengths and will tell you about where you sit in the market in comparison to other applicants.

What can I expect once I've submitted my application?

A wait. For a couple of weeks at least, possibly longer. With three panel members to coordinate and for a whole host of other reasons, including rules around panels, public sector recruitment is unavoidably slow.

Should I chase up my application?

You can chase it up, but not hurry it up. You'd need to get all three people moving faster. The point to remember about merit selection is the government is mindful of fairness to all applicants. The panelists also may not understand the type of skills market they are dealing in. If recruitment is not something they do every day, a call from you to say you have another job offer may elicit empathy, but no action.

The bottom line about this point is that no news can be good news. Expect to wait a lot longer than in the private sector. 

Final word on feedback

So what can you do if despite your best efforts you’re not successful? Always ask for feedback. The government is required to document their processes so as a general rule anyone who’s been short listed for interview may have a paragraph or two written about them.  You may not get feedback, the government is only required to deliver this to applicants already in the public sector. However if you ask for it couched in terms of improving your performance, you may be surprised at what you find out.

Who runs Interview IQ
                                                                     
Karalyn Interview IQ is owned and run by Karalyn Brown.

Karalyn has over 10 years experience as a recruitment consultant and HR professional, which means she knows exactly what both parties are looking for.

She's coached at all levels within the public and private sector. Her clients include Accountants, Nurses, Marketers, Train Drivers, Ophthalmologists, Dermatologists,  Public Affairs Managers, Graduates, Project Managers, IT Specialists, Teachers, Lawyers, Journalists, Salespeople, Builders,  Aborists, PAs and EAs. 

Karalyn has used all the recruitment tools including behavioural interviews, assessment centres, role plays, aptitude testing, psychometric profiling and reference checking. If your interviewer is serious about hiring the best staff, you’ll be facing at least one of these in your search for a new role.

Karalyn regularly appears on abc radio on Tony Delroy's nightlife. She has been quoted as interview expert in CareerOne and written extensively on the recruitment industry for Recruitment Extra. She's been commissioned to write on a variety people topics for The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, Human Resources Magazine and Management Today. Karalyn's also offered career advice as "Ask Kate" on CareerOne and her job searching tips feature on the employment website www.byron.com.au. You can also join her resume group on Facebook: Last night my CV saved my life

Karalyn keeps her interview skills sharp by regularly sitting on interview panels for the public sector and recruiting staff for her own clients.

But by far the most important thing to know about Karalyn, is that she's been a candidate as well. So she’s well aware of what you’re going through right now.