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?
No, it is not essential to address each criteria separately. If you prefer to address the criteria
this way, it is acceptable and may assist the panel measure your claims against the criteria.
However, if you elect not to address individually, then this also is acceptable. Either way, it is
recommended that your curriculum vitae provides 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
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Demonstrate commitment to the provision of a
quality service to all customers.
Ability to deal effectively with the public.
Well-developed verbal and communication skills with
the ability to converse with people at all levels.
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
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Experience in balancing receipts.
Step 1:
Consider how you can best describe your experiences and knowledge for each of the selection
criteria listed. Employees usually do this by taking each criterion separately and writing brief
statement (say ½ to 1 page) on each one.
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.
STAR System
Many employees use the STAR system to support their case. The STAR system stands for
Situation, Task, Action, and Result.
For example, compare the two responses to these criteria.
Good written communication skills particularly in the area of letter and report writing.
Example 1:
I have good writing skills and have extensive experience in preparing letters. I also enjoy the
process of writing reports. In the past I have received good feedback about my writing style
and feel confident that I have the necessary skills to do the work.
Example 2: Using the STAR system
I have honed my written communication skills over the past 3 years in my current role as
Secretary to the Director. In this position I am personally responsible for composing letters
on a daily basis, to suppliers, members of the public and the Government Departments. Only
on rare occasions does the Director need to make amendments.
I am the author of a recent report to the Managing Director on 'Office Administration
Procedures' which was accepted and implemented throughout the office. Currently I am
preparing reports and assignments for my external unit on business studies at University. I
have received a distinction for my first assignment.
The difference between the above examples is that by using the STAR approach the reader
gets more evidence about how often the work was carried out and how it was received.
Helpful hints:
When addressing selection criteria
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Write a separate statement about each criterion.
Be clear and concise in your statements, providing
as much evidence as possible to support your claims
(STAR approach).
Keep your statements brief (say ½ to 1 page for
each criteria).
Use the words or phrases in the criteria.