Careers Service Assistant Claire, walks us through 'What the #@*&! Is a Selection Criteria?'

If you have ever looked at a job advertisement and felt your confidence melt away upon reading the dreaded words, ‘Selection Criteria’, you are not alone. In fact, during my time at the Careers Service I’ve come to realise that for many students, writing Selection Criteria documents is one of the most confusing and tedious steps of their job search. So, let’s take a step back – why are Selection Criteria so hard?

Hey Google – define ‘Selection Criteria’

Many job seekers simply do not know where to start because they don’t really know what Selection Criteria are. So, let’s start there.

In a nutshell, Selection Criteria are a set of requirements for a role. In other words – a set of criteria which are used for the selection of a job candidate. The Selection Criteria are usually listed in bullet points in job advertisements, and they can relate to all sort of things, such as qualifications, technical skills, soft skills and personal attributes.

Sometimes they are called ‘Essential Criteria’, ‘Requirements’, ‘Qualifications’ or ‘About You’, but these are all just other ways of referring to Selection Criteria. Even if the job advertisement does not ask for a document outlining the Selection Criteria, you should always try to write about related skills and experience you have within your resume and cover letter.

Demystifying the Selection Criteria document

You may have come across job advertisements which have asked you to address the Selection Criteria in a separate document. They might call this document a ‘Response to the Selection Criteria’ or a ‘Statement addressing the Selection Criteria’. To make sure you have a clear idea of what you are trying to achieve by writing a Selection Criteria, it’s useful to think about the unique purpose of each kind of job application document.

Cover Letter: introduce yourself to the employer and show why you deserve to obtain an interview by describing your interest in the role/company, your most relevant skills and experience.

Resume: concisely highlight all of your relevant skills and experiences in an easy-to read, structured document.

Selection Criteria document: provide evidence of how you meet the requirements of the role by describing how you have acted during past experiences.

So how exactly do you provide evidence of your ability to meet the role requirements (i.e., the Selection Criteria)?You need to write about what you have done – not what you want to do, what you can do, or what others have done. By describing, in detail, how you have handled a situation, completed a task or contributed to a project, you are able to show the employer exactly how well you might be prepared for the role. This is a lot more powerful than just briefly describing all your experience!

How do I write my Selection Criteria document?

Actually writing your Selection Criteria is the most daunting part – but there is no need to worry! Your Selection Criteria responses can be easy to write if you use something called the STAR method. For the first step, write a subheading for each Selection Criterion listed in the job advertisement. Then use the STAR method (described below) to write at least one full paragraph about a past event or situation in which you demonstrated the skills and experience that is being asked for.

The STAR Method

(S)ituation – Introduce the situation to set the scene and provide context for your story. For example, what was your role and who were you working for at the time?

(T)ask– Describe the task. What needed to be done and why?

(A)ction – Explain the action/s you took to achieve to task, focusing on actions relevant to the Selection Criterion. This should be the largest part of your response.

(R)esult – Describe the positive result or outcome.

Because you are only describing one situation for each criterion, you might feel like you are ‘leaving out’ relevant information about other roles. Don’t be concerned about this – after all, you have plenty of room to talk about your other experience in your resume and cover letter (and hopefully, during an interview!).

Remember to pay close attention to the job advertisement instructions, as the hiring manager might ask for your Selection Criteria to be a certain length. Unless stated otherwise, always respond to all of the Selection Criteria! For very simple criteria (e.g. completion of the HSC), you may only need to respond in one or two sentences. However, for most criteria, you should use the STAR method.

Okay, I’ve written my responses. How do I know if they are good enough?

If you have finished writing your Selection Criteria and are not sure how to proceed, this is where the Careers Service can help. We have a range of useful resources for each step of your job application, including our Selection Criteria Information Sheet.

We are always happy to review Selection Criteria (and other documents) and get back to you with feedback about how to make them even better. Book in for a Zoom Appointment with one of our Careers Service Assistants, submit your documents through CareerHub Ask A Question for virtual feedback, or drop into the Careers Service at Callaghan, Ourimbah or NUSpace campuses for a chat.