Selection criteria

What are selection criteria?

Selection criteria are used to enable a selection panel to assess each applicant’s qualifications, skills, abilities, experience and knowledge in relation to the position advertised, and to help selectors distinguish between candidates.

Selectors will typically identify essential and desirable selection criteria according to the duties and requirements of the position.
Selection criteria are an opportunity for applicants to demonstrate their competence to perform those duties and requirements and explain their suitability for the position.
Each applicant is rated on how closely he or she meets each of the criteria before short-listing for interviews takes place.

Regardless of the particular position you may be applying for, the basic principles in addressing selection criteria remain the same.

You may also discover that there are some criteria that apply to many different positions, especially in relation to graduate vacancies.

Some of these are:

Problem solving skills
Well developed teamwork skills
High level communication and interpersonal skills
Willingness to be flexible and adapt to change
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks
Proven ability to show initiative and leadership

How to address selection criteria?

When addressing selection criteria you should:

respond to each criterion by providing evidence and examples of skills, knowledge, experience and achievements.
supporting statements should be separate from those you made in your resume and in addition to your letter of application (covering letter).
refer to the duty statement or position description and key accountabilities or key tasks, if you have them.

These various statements outline the duties and responsibilities that the position will involve and your application should give examples to show that you are able to perform these or similar duties, from your past experiences or skills learned.

Often there are two categories of selection criteria.

Essential criteria:: those particular attributes, qualifications and experience that are of critical importance to the position.
Desirable criteria:: skills or experience that would be valued by an employer in addition to the essential criteria. It is not necessary to have these, but your chances of being short-listed would be greatly enhanced if you do.

The key to successfully responding to selection criteria is to support your claims by presenting relevant examples of how you meet the requirements.

Actual concrete examples of your experience are far more impressive than general statements such as "I have excellent interpersonal skills". It is more effective if you refer to situations where you obtained or successfully used the knowledge, skills or attributes.
If you do not have relevant work experience and cannot think of workplace examples, consider experiences from other settings like university, volunteering, community activities, clubs or societies that you have had involvement with.
You can refer to different kinds of settings to show an employer that, although you have acquired the relevant skills in a different setting, you still have the experience and potential to use them effectively in the position for which you are applying.

Content and layout

Your document addressing the selection criteria needs to demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the position. It is also important to remember that your document should be well laid out and easy for the selectors to read.

It can be very frustrating for the selection panel if they cannot locate the information they require in a fast and logical manner, and the last thing you want to do is to frustrate a selection panel!

The information you present can be in paragraph form, in bullet point form or in a combination of both; there are no hard and fast rules. It is a matter of personal choice.

Follow the suggestions below and make your selection criteria statement relevant, effective and easy to read.

Read all the documentation you have about the position, the employer, the selection criteria, and the job description.
Make the document a separate attachment from your resumé and covering letter.
Give the document a heading and include the following details:
- Title, e.g. ‘Statement Addressing Selection Criteria’.
- Title of the position.
- Position reference number ( if available ).

Address each criterion separately:
- Give each a title, using, if possible, the same wording as appears in the selection criteria, e.g. ‘High Level of Interpersonal and Communication Skills’
- List each criterion in the same order as it appears in the position description.
- Indicate whether the criterion is essential or desirable.
- Under each heading brainstorm and write down in bullet form all examples that show how you meet that particular criterion.
- Include all the skills and abilities connected with all your work and non-work activities.
- Prioritise your examples, citing the most important ones first.
- When you are satisfied you have addressed each of the criteria, write a final draft in your preferred format (sentences, paragraphs or bullet points).
- Proofread it, then have someone else read it to check for spelling and grammar.
- Do not be too worried about any overlap of examples you use for the criteria. It is acceptable to use an example of the same situation to demonstrate a range of different skills and qualities but do try to provide a shift in emphasis in each case.

You may come across a selection criterion that you cannot satisfy.

Do not ignore it; your failure to attempt to address the criterion will greatly hinder your application.
It is very important that you are prepared to write something about your understanding of the criterion. You could state your theoretical understanding of what you have learnt, a relevant transferable skill you have acquired or perhaps the steps you would take to meet the requirement if offered the position.
If you cannot meet the required level of competence at the time of application you need to convince the employer that you possess the potential to satisfy it at a later date.

Addressing selection criteria for the first time can be very time consuming so don’t try to rush through it. Take your time until you are satisfied with all your examples.

If you do a good job of it the first time you will find that you can use the same statements for other job applications with a little editing. The more practice you have the better you will become and the quicker you will be able to do it.