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Addressing key selection criteria

Selection criteria are the skills, attributes, experience and education that the employer has defined as being essential or desirable for satisfying the requirements of the job. Some employers, particularly government and community sector organisations may ask you to specifically address the selection criteria.

Watch a presentation on addressing key selection criteria

Summary: How to address key selection criteria

Here is what you need to do to respond effectively to Key Selection Criteria:

Create a new document

Start the document with your name, the job title and position number and a heading such as ‘Statement of Claims Against the Selection Criteria’ or “Summary Addressing Selection Criteria”.

Read the criteria carefully

One criterion may ask for ‘experience in’ while another may specify ‘knowledge of’. Make sure that you understand and address these subtle differences.

Address each criterion individually

Use each of the criteria as a separate heading in the document and summarise in the space below how your skills, qualifications, experience and personal attributes are relevant for that particular criterion.

Break the criterion into key points

The criterion may be written in such a way that more than one quality is being assessed. For example a criterion such as ‘Ability to communicate orally and in writing with people from a variety of backgrounds’ could be broken up into the factors of ‘oral communication’, ‘written communication’ and ‘people from a variety of backgrounds’. How often did you communicate? What was your level of responsibility? What sort of communication was required? How often? With whom? How well did you communicate? How do you know?

Support your claims with evidence

You must provide concrete examples that demonstrate your skills and abilities and illustrate the complexity and demands of the task used as an illustration. It will be easier to do this if you use the STAR approach:

• Describe the Situation or the Task/problem that needed to be performed/solved
• Explain the Action you took and what skills you used
• Specify the Results

All aspects of your life can be used to illustrate that you fulfil the criteria.

Further information

Anne Villiers (2005) How to write and talk to selection criteria : improving your chances of winning a job. Canberra: Mental Nutrition.