How to Write and Talk to

Selection Criteria
______________________________________________

Improving your chances of winning a job

Dr Ann Villiers, Mental Nutritionist®

Sixth Edition
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© Dr Ann Villiers, 2015

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

First published 1994

Second edition 1996
Third edition 2000
Fourth edition 2005
Fifth edition 2011

Other books by Ann Villiers

Gorgeous Daring Dames, How to grow in confidence, clarity & commitment

Published by Mental Nutrition®

PO Box 4293 Hawker ACT 2614 Australia

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Creator: Villiers, Ann D., author.

Title: How to write and talk to selection criteria : improving your
chances of winning a job / Dr Ann Villiers.
Edition: Sixth edition.
ISBN: 9780975756157 (ebook)
Notes: Includes index.
Subjects: Job hunting--Australia.
Applications for positions.
Résumés (Employment)--Australia.
Dewey Number: 650.14

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
All copyright inquiries should be addressed to the publisher.

Mental Nutrition®
Thinking flexibly. Speaking confidently.
www.mentalnutrition.com

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Contents
Preface 8

PART 1: CAREER MANAGEMENT FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Chapter 1: A public sector career 13

Outlines 21st century public sector skills, the range of roles, career paths and routes
into the public sector and how to judge what level to pitch for.

Chapter 2: Job seeker as career manager and sense maker 18

Explains the importance of managing a career, adopting an employability mindset and

building sense making skills.

Chapter 3: Know what you offer 25

Illustrates five tools to support your career and reduce the stress of job applications.

Chapter 4: Fifty ideas for managing your career 37

Shows how to be a career activist and take an active role in managing your career.
Explains the role of social media in career management.

PART 2: HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS 48

Chapter 5: Understanding merit-based selection processes 49

Outlines key stages in public sector staff selection processes and the types of
application processes in use.

Chapter 6: How to read an online job advertisement 59

Explains 20 details to notice in an online job advertisement.

Chapter 7: Making sense of capability frameworks 63

Explains what capability frameworks are and how to read them. Lists state, territory,
and profession-specific capability frameworks. Offers definitions of 61 terms used in
capability frameworks and sets of questions to identify response material for core
capabilities.

Chapter 8: Interpreting the job context 84

Suggests eight questions to ask in order to fully understand the job. Offers five ways
to further research a job, including questions to ask contact officers.

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PART 3: THE APPLICATION 92

Chapter 9: Writing to selection criteria 93

Explains and illustrates a three-step process for writing strong, evidence-based

responses to selection criteria.

Chapter 10: How to write concise, precise responses 117

Explains the importance of sentence propositions, vocabulary and syntax choices, and
offers 13 ways to minimise word usage.

Chapter 11: Crafting an expression of interest or statement of suitability 126

Offers five steps to writing these documents, and an illustrated, three-part structure.

Chapter 12: Responding to challenging criteria 137

Offers ideas on tackling criteria about strategic thinking, policy, leadership,

management, and conflict.

Chapter 13: Values-based management 165

Outlines what is meant by values and ethics criteria, and criteria about diversity, equal
employment opportunity, participative work practices, workplace health and safety,
and customer service. Explores ethical issues, engaging with risk, and social media
behaviours.

Chapter 14: Preparing your résumé 188

Identifies 10 mistakes in résumés and how to avoid them. Shows what to include in a
résumé and how to write a results-based work history.

Chapter 15: Helping your referees 205

Explains what makes a useful referee report and offers 10 tips for managing referees.

Chapter 16: A case study: Lee Koudbee climbs high 212

Illustrates the suggestions in Part 3 for writing responses to job-specific and

capability-based selection criteria, and an expression of interest/suitability statement.

PART 4: THE INTERVIEW

Chapter 17: How to prepare for a public sector interview 243

Lists 10 ways to undersell yourself at interview. Provides key steps that form an
effective interview strategy.

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Chapter 18: What to expect 246

Challenges faulty thinking about job interviews, outlines what could happen at a job
interview and offers suggestions for making a positive impression. Tips are provided
on telephone, video and Skype interviews.

Chapter 19: Interview language practices 255

Explains the importance of linguistic style. Offers 11 language practices to use during
a job interview.

Chapter 20: Thirteen ideas for managing nerves 259

Explains 13 ideas for mental preparation prior to a job interview.

Chapter 21: The art of self-promotion 266

Shows how to prepare for seven commonly used self-promotion opportunities.

Explains the importance of showing your value to the panel.

Chapter 22: Types of interview questions 281

Explains the types of questions used by interviewers and shows how to prepare
responses.

Chapter 23: Challenging questions 289

Outlines ideas on preparing for questions about weaknesses, mistakes, ethics and
values, difficult people, leadership, strategic thinking. Offers options for responding
to questions about experience you do not have.

Chapter 24: Case study: How to anticipate interview questions 298

Explains how to anticipate possible interview questions.

Chapter 25: After the interview 302

Explains the need to keep records and obtain feedback and how this information feeds
into further career management.

Further reading 308

Index 309

Notes 310

List of tables

Table 1 Your portfolio stocktake 26

Table 2 120 informal roles 27

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Table 3 Criterion-based log of a problem-solving incident 31

Table 4 Situation-based log of a problem-solving incident 32
Table 5 Key stages in filling an advertised job 49
Table 6 Comparison of capabilities across the APS 65
Table 7 550 action verbs 110

List of diagrams

Diagram 1 The career management cycle 18

Diagram 2 Relationships map 34
Diagram 3 Relationships map for an executive assistant 35
Diagram 4 Relationships map for a senior manager 35
Diagram 5 Three-step approach to writing to selection criteria 94
Diagram 6 Vocabulary and syntax choices 119
Diagram 7 Features versus value 268

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About the Author

Dr Ann Villiers is Australia’s only Mental Nutritionist®, specialising in helping
people to think more flexibly and speak more confidently by mastering mind and
language sense making practices.

Ann is a speaker, author and career coach. She has studied sense making for more
than twenty years, drawing on careers as a senior public service manager, educator
and business woman. Ann regards applying for a job as a sense making exercise that
involves expressing a written and spoken job-matched version of one’s history. She
has interviewed hundreds of applicants and has coached innumerable others in the art
of application writing and interview speaking.

Ann has served on the National Executive Committee of the Career Development
Association of Australia and as President of the ACT Division.

Dr Villiers lives in Australia’s national capital, enjoying all the sense making that
Canberra has to offer.

Her websites are:

www.mentalnutrition.com

www.selectioncriteria.com.au

Acknowledgement
I wish to thank all those people who have entrusted me with their life stories in order
to find ways to better express what they offer selection panels. This edition owes
much to their commitment.

Material in this book about The Integrated Leadership System has been compiled with
the permission of the Australian Public Service Commission.

To the reader
The ideas provided in this book, based on material current at the time of writing, are
designed to improve the quality of job applications and interviews where selection
criteria are used, with particular emphasis on how they are used in Australian public
services. The ideas are not prescriptive and must be used with judgement, based on
context. While an improved application and interview performance may increase your
chances of winning a job, there is no guarantee that by using the ideas in this book,
success is assured.

The ideas in this book are used by choice. Neither Ann Villiers, Mental Nutrition®,
nor any associates imply, guarantee or take responsibility for the interpretations made,
or the consequences of any decisions or actions taken by readers.

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PREFACE
Selection criteria are widely used in Australia. You will find they are central to jobs in
the Commonwealth, state, territory and local governments. They are also used by the
community sector, professional associations and universities. For the uninitiated, they
can be mysterious creatures that make job applications a serious challenge.

Applying for a job where selection criteria are used is an adventure in sense making.
To perform well, you need to know how the process works and what you have to
offer, plus have refined skills in self-promotion. This adventure can be fraught with
potential pitfalls lurking in the unknown details and the beliefs that sabotage even the
most capable applicant.

How to Write and Talk to Selection Criteria (6th edn) alerts you to these pitfalls and
provides you with knowledge and language to survive and surmount them.

Who is this book for?

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) defines the public sector as referring to
enterprises controlled by the Commonwealth Government, State/Territory and local
governments.i The sector includes departments and agencies, statutory authorities,
boards, independent offices, schools, higher and tertiary education institutions, police
forces, hospitals and medical facilities, emergency services, parliamentary and court
staff.

This book is directly useful for people applying for jobs in Australia’s public sectors
at the lower to middle ranks through to senior managers. The book is not designed for
people who wish to apply for senior executive positions although they may gain
useful ideas from it.

The book is also useful for people applying for jobs in Australia’s community sector
where selection criteria are used.

People who will find value in this book include:

 those in the public sector applying for another job

 those outside the public sector trying to fathom how the system works
 career development practitioners
 recruitment agencies
 HR professionals.

Why a sixth edition?

The political and economic environment has significantly changed since the fifth
edition. At the time of writing the Australian Public Service (APS) is being
significantly reduced. As state governments changed, public services in other
jurisdictions have faced serious reductions. This means that competition for jobs has

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increased. It also means that applicants need to understand the direction of the public
sector as they respond to changes.

When the fifth edition was published capability frameworks had just hit the market.
Not only have they now spread across jurisdictions, they have been revised, extended
and adapted to specific contexts.

This edition updates information about these capability frameworks and provides
guidance on tackling some of the more challenging criteria stemming from these
frameworks.

Application requirements have continued to evolve. Most notable is the increased use
of expressions of interest and statements of suitability for both ongoing, permanent
jobs and non-ongoing, short-term appointments. These documents need a different
approach to the standard selection criteria responses. This edition provides guidance
on how to prepare your response.

Recruitment in Australia has shifted to online advertising such as job boards, job
board aggregators, or direct employer careers or vacancies webites.ii Applicants need
to be skilled readers of these advertisements and understand the role of social media
in career management. This edition provides guidance on these topics.

People interested in working in the public sector can potentially fall into many traps.
This book provides know-how on how to avoid twenty of these traps:

 Not managing one’s career.

 Not understanding public sector selection processes.
 Not appreciating the significance of writing to selection criteria.
 Not researching and analysing the job description.
 Not knowing what you have to offer.
 Not keeping records.
 Not knowing how to read a capability framework.
 Not knowing how to read an online job advertisement.
 Inability to write concisely and precisely.
 Not writing an expression of interest that makes a case for a job.
 Not demonstrating the value offered.
 Not focusing on results.
 Inability to respond to criteria about strategic thinking, policy, leadership and
management.
 Not taking public sector values seriously.
 Not tailoring a résumé to the job.
 Not strategically preparing for an interview.
 Not mentally preparing for an interview.
 Avoiding self-promotion opportunities.
 Not mastering interview language practices.
 Not learning from the application process.

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Three key points to grasp

In focusing primarily on the written application and interview there are three critical
points to gain from this book. First, preparation at all stages is essential. Second, your
application must focus on the selection criteria in the context of the job. The primary
function of the application is to provide sufficient relevant information about yourself
to allow a selection panel to decide whether you should be given further consideration
in a selection process.

Third, you must grasp that the onus is on you to demonstrate your value at each stage
of the selection process. Failure to understand these essential points will mean you
will continue to miss out on job interviews and offers.

Job applications are exercises in managing meaning

This book is underpinned by a sense making framework called Mental Nutrition®.
Each of us creates a map of the world and how we think it works. Your map of the
world provides guidance and direction just like a real map. A section of your map
relates to job applications. Your application process map, like a real map, is selective
and may be based on inaccurate beliefs.

For example, beliefs that sabotage your ability to sell yourself will make your
application journey more difficult. Selling yourself simply means showing someone
else how you will help them to fill a need (a job vacancy) and solve a problem (the
work to be done). In order to sell yourself you need to believe in your own value. This
means firstly knowing what you have to offer. This book provides ways to find this
out.

Language practices are critical. Applying for a job using selection criteria means you
must write in a certain style to maximise your chances of being short-listed. At
interview you also need mind and language practices that enable you to present a
strong case. This book shows you how to do this.

Your mindset or map will affect your performance. How you define the process can
serve you well or undermine your confidence. How you think about applying for a
job, your achievements, and the results you obtain, all have an impact on how well
you perform.

Applying for a job is, therefore, an exercise in managing meaning. You need to
manage the meaning of what you offer, not only for yourself but also for the people
on the selection panel. You have a history to express. You need to be skilled at
modifying this history to suit the job you are applying for.

This book takes you through the steps that enable you to present a convincing,
coherent, confident case when applying for a job where selection criteria are used.

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Conventions used in this book

To assist your reading experience I have used three conventions:

 selection criteria are written in italics

 responses, whether to selection criteria or interview questions, are indented
 chapters are cross-referenced to show the inter-relationships of material.

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PART 1
______________________________________________________________

CAREER MANAGEMENT FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR

In this part …

 Skills demanded of 21st century public servants

 The range of roles, work and career paths available in the public sector
 Why you need to manage your career and be a sense maker with an
employability mindset
 Five tools to support your career management and job applications
 Fifty ideas to help you be a career activist
 How to use social media as part of career management

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Chapter 1: A PUBLIC SECTOR CAREER

All Australians are touched by government every day through services, laws and
regulations, decisions and actions. Some government work is mostly invisible to the
general public, such as intelligence operations, assessing nominations for honours
lists, international diplomacy and regulatory work in such areas as aviation safety,
customs and quarantine, drug control and industry competition. Some services and
obligations are very familiar, such as garbage collection, Medicare offices, tax
returns, rate notices, public schools and hospitals.

It is easy to make fun of people who work for government. Television programs like
Yes Minister, The Hollowmen and Utopia provide amusement while revealing
something about how government works. The stereotype of the cardigan-clad, rule-
driven, humour-challenged public servant bears little resemblance to the diverse range
of people populating public services across the country. The reality is that the public
sector offers diverse job opportunities to make a difference locally, nationally and
internationally.

In broad terms public servants are responsible for assisting a government to carry out
its functions, by preparing policy advice to ministers, implementing policy decisions,
drafting legislation and managing contracts to ensure the delivery of government
programs.

Working in the public sector is different from working in the private sector. Public
servants exercise authority and spend money on behalf of the government and
parliament (or council in local government) that has been elected by the Australian
people. They are accountable to the government, the parliament and the public for the
way in which they deliver services, implement laws and regulations, spend taxes and
behave in terms of professional obligations and responsibilities.

The 21st century public servant

Reports exploring challenges faced by the public sector mention the following:

 accelerated pace of change

 rising public expectations and growth of assertive citizens
 globalisation
 proliferation of technology
 increasing contracting out of service delivery
 growth in the contestability of policy advice
 cuts to budgets
 the ‘Asian Century’
 the changing nature of work
 rethinking government’s role and scope
 increased quantity and speed of information
 complex challenges with no easy solutions.iii

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Given these challenges, skill areas in demand include:

 workforce planning and development

 leadership, including horizon scanning
 policy development
 stakeholder management
 technical and financial literacy
 sense making, particularly contextual analysis
 transition management
 quantitative analysis
 innovative thinking.

People considering a public sector career need to be aware of these challenges and the
shifts in skills and capabilities demanded of staff. Contextual analysis is now the basis
of a strong application, with particular attention to four work characteristics:

 volatility: characterised by quick and unexpected changes; easily affected by

circumstances; not steady or predictable, transitory
 uncertainty: doubtful; unknown; lacking conviction; unsure that something is
true, real or right
 complexity: having many varied, interrelated parts, details, patterns or
elements and consequently hard to understand fully
 ambiguity: characterised by two or more meanings, being understood in more
than one way, referring to one or more things at the same time; uncertainty of
meaning or significance.

Chapter 3 lists factors that add complexity to relationships. Chapter 9 discusses

judging seniority level and understanding complexity. Chapter 12 discusses
contextual sensitivity and complexity in relation to leadership.

Career opportunities in the public sector

People may think that most public servants working for the Australian Government
are there for life, and are based in Canberra. Neither of these beliefs is true. At June
2013 there were 1.8 million public sector employees in Australia. Of these 1.4 million
worked in state government.iv

At the same date there were approximately 167,000 Commonwealth public servants,
61 per cent of whom worked outside Canberra, mainly in NSW, Victoria and
Queensland.v

Length of service varies greatly, with some locations having many staff with less than
two years’ experience and other locations and agencies having large numbers of staff
with more than 20 years’ service.vi

People tend to think of a career as comprising a series of steps up a ladder,

progressing to more senior and better paid jobs. Certainly this ‘ladder’ perspective can
apply in the public sector. Positions are based on classification structures which

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determine salary entitlements. At the bottom of the structure are entry level positions,
including graduate programs, cadetships and traineeships. The levels move through
general to more senior administrative, technical and service roles. On top of these are
senior and executive management levels.

Moving through this classification structure via promotions is one perspective on a

career path. The focus of this perspective is on looking for a job at the next level and
working out how to get there.

A career does not necessarily mean always following this promotional pattern. For
many people, having a life, of which work is one element, is far more important than
devoting their life to work. Any career can include a range of experiences in a variety
of contexts, some of which will involve sideways or temporary moves rather than
upwards and permanent moves.

If you are considering a career in the public sector here are five other career
perspectives to consider.

 Professional perspective: If I am an accountant, for example, what might be

the range of jobs where I could work as an accountant?

 Organisational perspective: What is the range of areas where I could gain

experience within my organisation—corporate, policy, program delivery,
client service?

 Jurisdiction perspective: With an increasing need for whole-of-government

approaches to issues, what other jurisdictions would offer opportunities either
in the short- or long-term?

 Sector perspective: Given the increasing complexity of issues facing

governments and the need for collaboration with external stakeholders, in
what other sectors would it be useful to gain experience?

 International perspective: Would working in another country enhance my

career?

The public sector offers a diverse range of work and roles. Public sector work can be
broadly grouped into eight categories:

 delivering services and advice to the public either directly or indirectly

through service providers (e.g. garbage collection, nurses, ambulance workers,
medical benefits)
 regulatory decision-making, investigation and enforcement activities (e.g.
police, customs, security, courts, tribunals)
 program design and policy advice (e.g. advising ministers, reviewing and
evaluating programs)
 corporate support (e.g. human resources, information technology, financial
services, records management)
 ministerial and parliamentary processes

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 technical and professional roles (e.g. town planners, plumbers, curators,

engineers, scientists)
 administrative support roles such as executive assistants
 senior leadership roles.

In recent years effort has been devoted to defining job families both in Australia and
internationally. Job families are groupings of jobs with similar characteristics and may
represent distinct occupational or functional groupings.

Job families tend to focus on hierarchy rather than horizontal integration or

movement. While they are useful for showing upward progression possibilities, they
don’t show possibilities for moving across functions or changing occupational
streams. Nor do they show the inter-relationships between occupations and functions.

In late 2011 the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) released an APS Job
Family Model.vii The main purpose of the model is to help agencies with workforce
planning. The Model groups functionally similar positions that have related skills,
tasks and knowledge blocks and is hierarchically arranged with four tiers. These tiers
are:

 Job Family: a broad grouping of similar jobs. The model identifies 16 families.
For example, Information and Knowledge Management.

 Job function: a subgroup of jobs that requires similar skills, capabilities,

knowledge and training. The Information and Knowledge Management family
identifies two functions: Librarians and Records and Knowledge.

 Job role: allows for further refining and grouping of required skills,
capabilities, knowledge and training. The complexity within the role is defined
by work level standards. The Information and Knowledge Management family
identifies eight roles including Librarian, Archivist and Curator.

 Job title: Job titles are agency specific and may indicate the classification
level.

While not developed with a career management goal in mind, the model does have
value for people wanting to work in the APS. The model:

 shows the main occupational groupings available

 identifies related occupations that could point to career paths
 aids job searches (the APS job site applies the job families to advertised
vacancies)
 provides information about main tasks performed.

Other parts of the public sector have developed career maps or job families to help
with identifying career opportunities. Examples are local government, the University
of Queensland, and the Queensland Government has prepared a map of Information
and Communications Technology (ICT) career streams.viii

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Two other useful resources are:

 Government Skills Australia’s annual Environmental Scan which outlines

current and emerging trends, and skill shortages in the public sector.ix
 A new website dedicated to helping people decide about a career in the APS
includes career tools and an alphabetical listing of possible job opportunities.x

Routes into the public sector

There are several routes you can take to gain work in the public sector. These routes
include entering via:

 a publicly advertised, permanent (ongoing) job

 a publicly advertised, temporary, or contract (non-ongoing) job
 a graduate, cadetship, traineeship or apprenticeship program
 a recruitment company
 an agency’s or department’s temporary register.

The strategies and techniques covered in this book apply to all of these situations,
with an emphasis on applying for specific, ongoing jobs.

How does an outsider judge what level to apply for?

There may not be a direct comparison between the work you have been doing in
another sector and a public sector job that interests you. While salary may be an
indicator, it is not always an accurate comparison. Lower level jobs in other sectors
tend to be paid less than in the public service, and more senior roles can be paid less
in the public sector compared to equivalent corporate sector roles.

Another factor to consider is that there will be some learning involved when you join
the public sector, so there may well be an expectation on the part of a selection panel
that you enter at a lower level than your current salary and level of responsibility.

Some other factors to consider are covered by these questions.

 How transferable are your skills? Are they directly relevant to the role or will
they need some adaptation?
 Is there a comparable role outside the public sector? If the role is unique to the
public sector then there will be more to learn.
 Have you been in a private sector role that has little direct relevance to the
public sector, such as a sales representative? How will you transition to the
public sector?

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Chapter 2: JOB SEEKER AS CAREER MANAGER AND

SENSE MAKER
PAR
Two frameworks underpin this book: the Career Management Cycle and Mental
Nutrition®. The first places any job application within a continuous process of career
management. The second places emphasis on the job seeker as sense maker,
interpreting an opportunity so as to ensure a good fit between what is offered and
what is available, and to build a resourceful mindset that is essential to winning a job.

The Career Management Cycle

Diagram 1 shows the cycle of actions a person takes to manage their career. The first
three stages—employability mindset, career planning and preparation and research—
are ongoing processes. A specific job opportunity then involves a series of stages that
feed into the cycle.

Diagram 1: The Career Management Cycle

Ongoing Employability
learning mindset

Career
planning

Other
selection
methods
Career
Management
Cycle Preparation
and
Interview research

Application

Preparation

Adopting an employability mindset

Adopting an employability mindset means approaching your career management with
a particular set of beliefs, one that is appropriate to the current job market and which
is likely to serve you well in achieving the best results for your efforts. This mindset
flows through all stages of the application cycle.

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Employers are looking for people who have a set of personal attributes and skills that
make them employable now and able to learn in the future so they can progress within
an organisation and be employable throughout life.

Employability means being able to flourish in a dynamic labour market with

flexibility, adaptability and resourcefulness. In contrast, looking to ‘be employed’ is a
more static idea that conveys a sense of working within the current labour market with
little sense of future development.xi

In a job market characterised by mobility, multiple careers and continuous learning,

you cannot afford to think of being employed in only one type of job or even career.
Flexibility is needed in terms of what you do, what you learn, and your willingness to
respond to opportunities.

Personal qualities (i.e. non skill-based behaviours and attitudes) that are part of being
employable include adaptability, reliability, loyalty, commitment, enthusiasm, ability
to deal with pressure, motivation and balanced attitude to work and home life.

Being employable means that you cannot sit back and wait to be directed. Nor can
you be dependent on someone else for constant guidance. You are responsible for
yourself, how you manage your time, your motivation, your energy, your learning and
professional development, your goals and direction.

Career planning
Managing your career includes giving some attention to how you plan and shape the
progression of your learning, work and leisure, and handle transitions. This process
helps to give a sense of direction, meaning and purpose. Managing your career in an
intentional way also helps you to remain employable.

There are skills and competencies that enable people to be active and effective
managers of their careers. The Australian Blueprint for Career Development (ABCD)
identifies 11 career management competencies under three headings—personal
management, learning and work exploration, and career building.xii Chapter 4
provides you with 50 ideas for managing your career.

Preparation and research

In order to be ready for any opportunity and to build employability you need to be not
only following your career plan but also gathering information as you go. Without this
information the process of applying for a job will be more painful. Chapter 3 offers
five tools to help with this ongoing preparation. When a specific opportunity does
come along there is essential research to conduct. The nature of this research is
explored in Chapter 8.

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Sense making during the application cycle

Sense making is part of your employability mindset. Applicants need to understand
that they are engaging in a sense making process when they apply for a job. Each of
us has our own ‘map’ in our heads of how we think the world works. It is made up of
beliefs, values, assumptions, rules, expectations, memories, associations, and
definitions that affect how we feel about a given situation and how we behave.

When faced with applying for a job you are engaging in an exercise in sense making,
both for yourself and other people.

 You must make sense of the application process and the specific job you are
applying for. It is easy to allow your own assumptions, expectations and fears
to get in the way and prevent you from producing your best effort. Many
applications end up in the ‘No Bucket’ due to their failure to fully understand
processes and job descriptions. Read Chapters 5, 6 and 8.

 You must help the panel make sense of what you have to offer. Using specific
writing techniques gives you a strong chance of being short-listed for further
consideration. Regardless of how strong your case is, if panel members don’t
understand what you have to offer your application receives little interest.
Read Chapters 9 and 10.

 At the interview, you must verbally make sense of your experience for the
panel. Not mastering interview language practices can sabotage your case for a
job. Read Chapters 19, 21 and 22.

 After the selection process is completed, you must make sense of the result.
It’s easy to assume the worst in the absence of information. Read Chapter 25.

Mental Nutrition® provides a framework for understanding the sense making process
and building skills in managing meaning. The concept comprises three ingredients of
sense making:

 being aware of what is going on in your mind (your ‘mental pantry’) and
making choices
 becoming skilled at managing what things mean for yourself and others, both
in the way you write and talk
 feeding your mind regularly for more fruitful results by building new thinking
habits.

Let’s look at how these Mental Nutrition® ingredients can be useful to the job
applicant.

During a job application process, how you make sense of your experiences, of other
people, and of yourself, will have a huge impact on how well you handle it. Your
sense making practices will affect how you prepare your application, how you
respond to an interview panel, how you write and talk about what you have to offer.

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These sense making practices can both undermine your ability to do well and support
you to perform at your best.

What you need to keep in mind is that all other players in the recruitment and
selection process are also engaged in their own conscious and unconscious sense
making practices. What can dramatically help with navigating the process is to
consider how others are thinking, particularly those on the selection panel. This book
points out when it is critical to take account of panel members’ thinking.

Mental pantry awareness

When faced with applying for a job you process information from a job advertisement
and start work on interpreting what that information means to you. You draw on a
range of mental resources to aid this interpretive process. This process will be partly
conscious and much of it will go on subconsciously, drawing on assumptions,
expectations, beliefs that you are barely aware of.

I call the resources we use to make sense of what is happening our ‘mental pantry’. It
is a metaphor, building on the food metaphor of Mental Nutrition®. The mental
pantry refers to a range of filters that we use to determine meaning.

Imagine your mind as being like a pantry, stocked with ‘products’ that help you to
arrive at meanings. To help build your awareness of what is going on in your mental
pantry, consider the following elements. There is some overlap between them,
however think about each one in relation to work, your career and applying for jobs so
you can see how these might be affecting your approach to your application.

Beliefs—these are the ideas you hold about how the world works. You may mistake
some of these beliefs for ‘facts’, that is, beliefs you ‘know’ are ‘true’ even though
they are based on pretty slim evidence. Examples are: ‘There are so many better
qualified people than me.’ ‘Applying for jobs that have a person acting in the role is a
waste of time.’

Rules—these are the ‘musts’, ‘shoulds’ or ‘can’ts’ that you subscribe to. I have found
applicants hold a range of rules about applying for jobs, some of which have little
basis in reality. You may hold rules about how an application should be set out, how
long it should be, and what to include. These may be based on sound evidence or
advice. Then again, they may not be. When you become aware of operating according
to a rule, ask yourself: Who says? If you have made it up, check its validity.

Definitions—these are how you describe what certain things mean. How you define
what you offer will affect how you write. Some applicants confuse activity and
results. You need to be clear about the difference in meaning between what you do,
how you do it and what difference it makes having done it. (Read Chapters 9 and 14.)

How you define what an interview is will affect your performance. Some applicants
think interviews are an interrogation during which they must give the ‘right’ answer.
This is neither a useful nor an accurate definition. It is far more useful to think of an

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interview as a business meeting during which parties exchange information. (There is

no denying though, that some people have experienced an interrogation. Read
Chapter 18.)

Expectations—when confronted with something new you will have expectations

about the outcome and what will happen next. Your expectations about your next
application are linked to past memories, metaphors and definitions. Your expectations
will also drive your fears, since fears are essentially memories of the future. In other
words, you create a picture of what will happen, based on what has happened in the
past. (Read Chapter 20.)

Assumptions—based on past interpretations you make assumptions about what people

are like, how they work, and what will happen. You fill in knowledge gaps with what
seems like sterling logic. The results you obtain often demonstrate how inaccurate
your assumptions really are. If you assume that submitting an application is pointless
just because someone is acting in the position, then you could well deprive yourself of
an excellent opportunity. If you assume that panel members will behave in a certain
way, you may well be surprised when they behave differently. This surprise can be
enough to throw you off course at the interview.

Memories—the assumptions and expectations you have about applying for a job draw
on your memories of previous and related events, including friends’ experiences.
Memories of the times you were not short-listed can taint your approach to the next
application. One nasty interview can taint your view of future interviews. You can let
that experience dictate what you think will happen next time. Again, this is not a
useful response as these memories will affect your preparations.

Metaphors—these are comparative expressions that help you to understand a less

familiar subject in terms of another, more familiar one. Metaphors give you a tool for
understanding what is happening and can have an impact on how you behave.

For example, applying for a job can be described as a nightmare, hard labour, a pain.
None of these is a pleasant experience. While applying for a job is hard work, using a
pain-filled metaphor only increases the negative intensity of the experience. If you
become aware of the metaphors you use to refer to job applications, stop and ask
yourself if this is serving you well. If not, choose one with less negative intensity or
even better, one with positive connotations such as a challenge, adventure or journey.

As you process the information you receive about a job vacancy, questions and
concerns like these may form in your mind.

 Do I really want to work for this organisation?

 Perhaps I can’t apply for this, I don’t have much on criterion 4.
 I’m not good enough to get a job there.
 Have I really got the experience to support this?
 What will people think if I change jobs again?
 I bet there’s someone acting in the job who’s lined up for it.
 I’ve heard that agency is particularly strong on getting results.

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This inner voice affects how you feel about applying for the job—enthusiastic,
worried, depressed, excited, optimistic, fearful. The state you are in will then affect
your approach to applying. The enthusiastic, optimistic person will tackle the job with
gusto. The worried, pessimistic person will struggle to engage and find the process a
taxing burden.

Being skilled at managing meaning

What do you do to manage meaning? For the job applicant there is a group of people
for whom you must manage meaning well—the selection panel. These people are also
engaged in sense making. Their challenge is to make sense of what applicants are
offering and determine which one is the most suitable to fill the vacancy. So their
mental pantries will also be active. You, as an applicant, need to take this process into
account and make it as easy as possible for these people to decide in your favour.

The points in the selection process where you manage meaning are:

 any contact with the organisation, including the contact officer

 your application
 meeting with the selection panel (e.g. interview, work tests)
 post-selection process contact with the selection panel.

An error some people make is to use a one-size-fits-all approach when applying for a
job. It is worth reconsidering this belief in the light of meaning management. An
alternative view is to see yourself as your own personal historian or life curator. Each
job application involves rewriting your history based on what the job involves.

Your employment history is not just a fixed chronology of events. You have to
interpret these past experiences in the light of the current job opportunity. You must
see your past in terms of the needs of the present and the future. You then offer this
interpretation to the potential employer. This is a process of managing the meaning of
who you are and what you have to offer. This is one reason why preparation and
research are so important. You need this information in order to see how best to
interpret your past for present and future employment needs.

In the process of managing the meaning of your history be aware that your mental
activity, identified in the previous section, will influence how you interpret your past.
Based on what is in your mental pantry you may:

 discount parts of your experience

 undersell some of your skills
 overplay details no longer relevant
 express yourself in less useful ways.

Awareness of what is going on in your mental pantry helps you to manage meaning
more skilfully. The strategies set out in this book are designed to guide you to avoid
or reduce unhelpful thinking patterns and establish fruitful sense making habits. From
now on think of yourself as a meaning manager.

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Feeding your mind for fruitful results

Having taken the path to deliberately choose and direct your mental activities and
become skilled meaning managers, you also need to support your chosen mental
activity. When you join a gym your level of fitness is assessed and you start a
program to meet fitness, stamina, weight or strength goals. The aim is to improve
your physical wellbeing. The aim of Mental Nutrition® is to develop a program to
nourish your mental wellbeing, to support your chosen beliefs, rules and definitions so
you can achieve more fruitful results socially, physically and emotionally.

A person applying for a job needs a Mental Nutrition® program to fertilise their
mind, fuel their thinking and fire their action, all geared towards winning that
position. This program involves making choices about how you are feeding your
mind. Remember, the only person we can actually change is ourselves. If your
mindset is not serving you well when applying for a job, try restocking your mental
pantry starting with an employability mindset.

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Chapter 3: KNOW WHAT YOU OFFER

Writing an application for a public sector job can be stressful and time-consuming if
you do not have a comprehensive picture of all that you could offer an employer. If
you have not been keeping records up-to-date you will waste hours racking your brain
trying to recall what you have been doing. In addition to the stress this generates there
is a risk of underselling yourself because you rely on whatever information is top of
mind, thereby potentially overlooking better material.

One of the difficulties applicants typically experience is that they become so familiar
with their work that it becomes second nature. After learning what is needed to do a
job, the work becomes automatic and you forget that there is a whole range of
knowledge and skills that you are applying and using. For example, a person who has
a finance role can overlook all the policies, procedures and rules that they
automatically take into account in order to ensure compliance and accountability. Yet
this is the very detail that needs to become conscious when writing an application and
talking at an interview.

Part of your preparation is to know what you have to offer an employer so you can
make sense of yourself to the selection panel. This chapter provides you with five
tools for keeping your records up-to-date and knowing what you could offer.

Before using these tools I recommend reading Chapter 7 on capability frameworks.

Use this material to inform your exercises.

Conduct a portfolio stocktake

Imagine a sizeable warehouse. Inside this warehouse are rows of shelving reaching up
to the ceiling. The shelves are divided into four areas—roles, knowledge, skills and
personal qualities. On the shelves are large boxes, each labelled with information
about the contents. Your job is to conduct a stocktake of what is in your portfolio
warehouse.

You have a rough idea of some of your skills and capabilities, but you may not have a
comprehensive listing. Using Table 1, list all the items you can think of under each
heading, drawing from all areas of your life including unpaid work, community
contributions, caring responsibilities and study, as well as paid employment.

Some examples are included in each column to illustrate what to include. Do not
spend a lot of time trying to work out exactly where a given item fits. It may well fit
under several headings. For example, you may know how to prepare a budget, know
what legislation and policies need to be taken into account, have used consultation
processes to help with preparing a budget, and worked with certain procedures to
implement a budget. The idea of these distinctions is to make sure you capture all
your knowledge rather than agonise over definitions.

The stocktake may take a while to complete if you have to think back over many
years to capture all the skills and subject areas you have not used for a while. If you

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experience any difficulty with this exercise, seek help from family, friends,
colleagues, or a career development practitioner.

Table 1: Your portfolio stocktake

Roles Knowledge Skills Qualities

Formal roles Subjects People skills Reliability
Manager Budgeting Presentations Punctuality
Coordinator Web design Representation Friendliness
Little athletics Auditing Negotiation Adaptable
coach Waste management Management Resourceful
Fete coordinator Procurement Liaison Diplomatic
Mentor Team building Optimistic
Report coordinator Policies Mentoring Tenacious
Association Diversity Coaching
president Work Safety Customer service
Team leader Recruitment
Policy adviser Risk management Information skills
Research
Informal roles Procedures Analysis
Spokesperson Records Problem solving
Gatekeeper management Providing advice
Liaison point Invoice processing
Change agent Purchasing Technical skills
Reconciling a Databases
payment Software
Travel Hardware
Meetings Computer
languages
Processes Internet
Consultations Office technology
Grant applications Social media
Tender processes
Performance Self-management
management skills
Managing time and
Legislation priorities
Specific Acts and Meeting standards
regulations Building expertise

After completing the stocktake you need to make sure you continue to update it. Each
time you learn a new skill, acquire new knowledge, perform a new role, add it to your
chart. This information is invaluable when preparing a job application.

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Roles

Identifying the range of roles you have undertaken is useful for at least three reasons.
Roles:

 show the breadth of experience you have had

 extend your language when talking about specific incidents. When giving
examples to support selection criteria you need to be able to talk about the
roles you played as this is part of a situation’s context.
 are increasingly recognised as better descriptors than skills.xiii

While your role may be your official job title or position, think about the various
informal roles you play. Table 2 gives you a list of role possibilities. Some roles can
be both formal and informal. For example I could be formally nominated as a
spokesperson for a group or organisation, and I could informally fill that role when
attending a meeting and asked what my team’s position is.

Table 2: 120 informal roles

Achiever Cross-boundary Influencer Provocateur
Activist enabler Initiator Regenerator
Adviser Curator Innovator Regulator
Advocate Decision-maker Inspirer Representative
Adjudicator Delegate Integrator Researcher
Agent Designer Intermediary Resource finder
Ambassador Developer Inventor Risk taker
Analyst Disseminator Investigator Role model
Anchor Driver Judge Salesperson
Anticipator Educator Leader Sense maker
Auditor Enabler Liaison point Specialist
Boundary spanner Enforcer Linker Spokesperson
Broker Enquirer Meaning manager Stabiliser
Buffer Enthusiast Mediator Stakeholder
Business driver Entrepreneur Mentor Strategist
Campaigner Envoy Moderator Supporter
Carer Evaluator Monitor Synthesiser
Chairperson Expert Motivator System architect
Challenger Explainer Navigator Team builder
Champion Explorer Negotiator Thought leader
Change agent Facilitator Network broker Trail blazer
Change Filterer Networker Trainer
ambassador Fixer Observer Transformer
Conduit Gatekeeper Organiser Translater
Coordinator Goal setter Pathfinder Trend spotter
Connector Go-between Persuader Troubleshooter
Conservator Guide Pioneer Upholder
Consultant Horizon scanner Planner Visionary
Convenor Host Pragmatist Witness
Co-producer Implementer Problem solver
Creator Improviser Protector

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Knowledge

When considering subjects you know something about look for examples under five
headings:

 subjects
 policies
 procedures
 processes
 legislation and regulations.

One question that may spring to mind is: How much do I need to know in order for
the subject to qualify for inclusion on the list? The answer is a judgement call on your
part. You don’t need encyclopaedic quantities of knowledge. At the same time you
need more than having read an article in the local newspaper.

Skills

When considering your skills you may find it helpful to divide them into four groups:

 people skills, such as giving instructions, supervising and persuading people

 information skills, such as analysing, researching, calculating
 technical skills, such as using equipment, tools and information technology
 self-management skills, such as time management and being organised.

Qualities

In this column list qualities that you know apply to yourself. You will have gained
knowledge of these from friends’ comments, feedback, and self-awareness.

Perspectives

Another set of boxes in your portfolio warehouse relates to the types of perspectives
your experience has exposed you to. Types of perspectives are:

 whole-of-government: working on goals shared across organisational and

jurisdictional boundaries to achieve an integrated response to particular issues.
Examples of whole-of-government issues are climate change, Indigenous
issues, health-related issues like obesity
 levels of government: working across Commonwealth, state, territory, local
government jurisdictions
 national: considering the impact of what you do on the whole of Australia
 international: working in or with other countries, taking other countries’ views
into account, considering the impact of what you do on another country
 regional: considering the impact of what you do on a region within Australia
 multi organisation: working on an issue with several organisations within your
jurisdiction

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 industry or sector: working on issues that affect a particular industry (e.g.

manufacturing, aviation) or sector (e.g. tertiary education, small business,
community services)
 specific group: working on issues that affect specific groups in the community
such as veterans, people in nursing homes, pre-school children
 organisation-wide: working on issues that affect the whole of your
organisation such as human resources, finance and ICT.

Make a note of experience you have that relates to any of these perspectives.

‘But I don’t have any skills’

One of the beliefs that might surface in your mental pantry when you come to do
this stocktake is: ‘I don’t have any skills.’ ‘I’ve been a parent for 10 years.’ Or ‘I’ve
been studying for three years.’ Or ‘I’m just a …’

Recall the employability mindset discussed in Chapter 2. Part of that mindset is to

build transferable skills, that is, skills that transfer from one context to another.
Whatever you have been doing, there will be some transferable skills involved.

It may help to first draw up a list of all the roles, jobs, activities you have carried out,
regardless of whether they were in paid employment, in a voluntary capacity, while
studying or parenting. Then examine the list and ask yourself, What skills and
qualities did I need in order to carry out these tasks?

For example, voluntary work can give you a range of skills including:

 feeling comfortable with diversity

 hands-on experience with technology and office equipment
 working on projects
 conducting research
 working in a team
 presenting to groups.

Study/learning work develops skills in:

 teamwork
 project work
 research
 time management
 working with a variety of people
 presenting to groups.

Parenting and caring work develops skills in:

 time management
 setting priorities
 working under pressure
 setting and working to a budget

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 managing multiple projects

 interpersonal relations
 negotiating.

These are all skills that transfer from one context to another.

Keep a work diary

Keep a diary of what you do at work so it is easy to update your résumé and feed your
log of incidents (the next suggestion). This diary keeps track of details such as:

 achievements
 results
 positions held
 courses attended
 committees/meetings attended
 presentations made
 projects worked on
 changes experienced
 difficult situations handled
 key issues addressed.

Keep a log of key incidents

To reduce your reliance on memory and ensure that you pick the strongest examples
in responses to selection criteria, keep a log of incidents that you have experienced.
There are two ways to go about doing this.

Criterion-based log

The first is to use selection criteria and capabilities to identify skill areas you need to
include in your log. You can find these by reading job descriptions similar to ones you
would be interested in. You can also use the chapter on capabilities in this book
(Chapter 7) to identify other skills and qualities. Typical skill areas are:

 interpersonal skills
 customer service
 research skills
 problem solving.

Prepare your log based on the information you will need for your application. The
essential details to record are:

 the situation or context, including what task needed to be done, what your role
was, who else was involved, what difficulties and obstacles you faced
 the actions/approach you took, what you did and how you did it

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 what the results were, what impact your actions had

 what you learnt from the experience.

While you may not use the notes on what you learnt in your application, you could
find you are asked during an interview about what you learnt from a situation you
discuss. It is therefore useful to collect this information while it is fresh in your mind..

Let’s take an example of problem-solving. The notes you include in your log are
shown in Table 3.

Table 3: Criterion-based log of a problem-solving incident

Situation: Team member suddenly taken sick. Risk that executive brief
misses deadline.

Actions: Discussed idea with supervisor about gaining help from the
branch manager’s executive assistant. Re-arranged work. Shortened lunch
time. Sent apologies to a meeting. Worked back another hour.

Results: Completed brief with four hours to gain manager’s clearance.

Brief submitted by deadline with compliments from supervisor for
showing initiative and staying calm under pressure.

Learnings: Don’t wait for someone else to do something. If you can, solve
a problem yourself.

Situation-based log

While the criterion-based log makes it easy to identify situations that cover specific
skill areas, its limitation is that it focuses on one skill or quality. In reality, any
situation will demonstrate multiple skills. In the example above on problem-solving,
other skills and qualities are being used—initiative, time management, flexibility,
teamwork, staying calm under pressure, communication and interpersonal skills.

Another way of capturing examples to use for applications is to make similar notes
and then identify all the skills and qualities that are demonstrated. An advantage of
this approach is that in writing about the situation you will include all the relevant
skill-based language. It also reminds you that any one incident illustrates multiple
skills. Ethical or values issues can also be included in this format (read Chapter 13) as
can any knowledge you applied. Table 4 illustrates the application of the problem-
solving situation.

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Table 4: Situation-based log of a problem-solving incident

Situation: Team member suddenly taken Skills demonstrated:

sick. Risk that executive brief misses
deadline. Problem-solving
Initiative
Time management
Flexibility
Actions: Discussed idea with supervisor Teamwork
about gaining help from the branch Staying calm under pressure
manager’s executive assistant. Re-arranged Communication
work. Shortened lunch time. Sent Interpersonal skills
apologies to a meeting. Worked back
another hour.
Ethical or values issues:
Results: Completed brief with four hours
to gain manager’s clearance. Brief Responsiveness
submitted by deadline with compliments Accountability
from supervisor for showing initiative and
staying calm under pressure.
Knowledge applied:
Learnings: Don’t wait for someone else to
do something. If you can, solve a problem Format for an executive brief
yourself.

Log your key results and achievements

Public sector organisations are results-oriented. People on selection panels don’t only
want to know what you have done (roles, tasks). They also want to know what
difference you have made. You need to be able to talk the language of results in your
application, résumé and at interview.

Identifying achievements can be uncomfortable for some people due to the internal
critic that says: ‘Achievements? Me? Don’t think I have any of those.’

What meanings do you put around the words ‘results’, ‘achievements’ and
‘accomplishments’? What is in your mental pantry on this subject? Is it pointing out
that only elite sports people, celebrities, award-winners and high office holders have
achievements? Or that only when you become one of these individuals do you need to
concern yourself with what you achieve? Does your inner voice suggest, ‘I’m not
important enough to worry about results’? Do you associate talking about results with
bragging, big-noting yourself or boasting?

Do you see accomplishments as being about winning, competition, succeeding at the

expense of others? Do you associate achievement with being a tall poppy, just waiting
to be cut down? Do you see a results-oriented person as being ruthless, antagonistic,
letting the end justify the means?

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Or do you see accomplishment as responsibly using your talents for the best
purposes? As sharing and giving in order to serve others? Is it possible to manage
your success gracefully, modelling the wisdom that comes from fully exploring your
potential?

If you become aware that you place some meanings around results and achievements
that are stopping you from writing a quality application, stop and ask yourself how
you could shift your perspective in order to think more resourcefully about this
subject. For example, seeing yourself as making a difference in your work and
identifying what this difference is and for whom, starts you on the road to thinking in
terms of results.

In the above paragraphs three words are used: achievements, accomplishments, and
results. Are they the same or different? The literature often uses these terms
synonymously. My preference is to use achievements and accomplishments to refer to
personal matters, and results to refer to business and organisational matters. Personal
matters include:

 completing qualifications and training

 being selected for a leadership program
 being nominated for or receiving an award
 being chosen to represent a group, unit, organisation
 being given opportunities to work on special projects or at more senior levels
 publications and conference presentations.

It is worth logging these personal achievements as most will be work-related.

Results refer to what you delivered that contributes to team and organisational goals.
Some of these results might be called key results because of their significance.

In the chapter on résumés (Chapter 14) I will explore how to express results in greater
detail. Here I am focusing on identifying your key results. Of all the results you
produce, which ones are most impressive? In thinking about what makes any result
significant consider these factors:

 Time: did it take a long or short time?

 Quantity: did you have to deal with a large amount of resources or manage
with minimal resources?
 Complexity: was it simple or made up of many parts?
 Unexpected: were you unprepared but still able to obtain a result?
 New: did it involve unfamiliar subject matter or demand acquiring new skills?
 Development and/or design: did the result involve developing or designing
something from scratch?
 Additional workload: was the result achieved in addition to your normal
workload?

The reason for keeping a log of key results is that either as part of the application or
interview you may need to consider questions like these, particularly if you are
applying for more senior roles:

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 Provide an example of when you have achieved an outcome in challenging

circumstances. What did you achieve? What were the difficulties? How did
you deal with these and what have you learned from that experience?
 What do you regard as your most significant contribution during the last 12
months?
 What is an achievement you are particularly proud of?

To respond effectively you will need to have records of examples and be able to
explain to the panel what made the key result challenging or significant. How you do
this at an interview is explored in Chapter 21.

Map your relationships

In order to respond to selection criteria about interpersonal skills, stakeholder

management, customer service and teamwork, you need to have a strong grasp of
your workplace relationships. A two-step process achieves this knowledge.

Start by mapping your relationships, as illustrated in Diagram 2. Your aim is to map

all the people you have relationships with in your current job—managers, colleagues,
clients and stakeholders.

The distinction between these terms is not always clear nor used consistently. A
stakeholder generally refers to anyone who has an interest in, involvement with,
dependence on, or is affected by an organisation. Clients are people who use an
organisation’s programs or services. They could also be people subject to an agency’s
regulation. Both clients and stakeholders can be internal or external to an
organisation.

Diagram 2: Relationships map

My Relationships

People to include on your map are your supervisor or manager, your team colleagues,
and your manager’s manager. Depending on the job you do, your map could include
suppliers, contractors, industry associations, other organisations, agencies in other
jurisdictions, the media, unions, and members of the public.

To illustrate let’s take two examples. An executive assistant to a branch manager

might produce a map like the one in Diagram 3.

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Diagram 3: Relationships map for an executive assistant

Divisional manager
Minister’s office

Ministerial Branch manager

My Relationships
liaison unit

Other divisional managers

Branch staff Other executive Other branch managers

assistants

A senior manager (EL2 in the APS or equivalent) might start a map like the one in
Diagram 4. They would then add specifics, as shown for industry associations

The second step is to analyse your relationships by asking questions such as:

 How did you establish these relationships in the first place?

 How do you maintain and build these relationships?
 Do you have a strategic approach to these relationships?
 Which are the most complex relationships?
 Have there been any difficulties in these relationships and if so, how did you
handle them?

Answering these questions, particularly the last one, will give you incidents to use in
responding to selection criteria. These examples will become part of your log of
incidents.

Diagram 4: Relationships map for a senior manager

Manufacturing Business
Other APS agencies Council Council

HR unit
Industry associations
Minister’s office Executive

Branch manager
Contractors
My Relationships
Academics

Finance unit
Divisional manager

Team staff Suppliers

Managers of team

State/territory agencies

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Stakeholder relationships

Stakeholder management has increased in importance. A role may involve:

 identifying and analysing the relative importance of stakeholders and

assessing their level of influence
 understanding the range of relationships appropriate to different stakeholders
(e.g. partner, one-off engagement, long-term relationship.) and their capacity
to engage
 understanding the levels (e.g. consult, negotiate, collaborate) and methods
(e.g. surveys, focus groups, public meetings, advisory panels, joint projects) of
engagement and when and how to apply them
 implementing strategies and mitigating risks to manage stakeholder
relationships
 developing mechanisms to capture and manage stakeholder information and
intelligence
 conducting an evaluation of stakeholder management
 managing stakeholders through change, resolving conflict and managing
sensitivities
 explaining an organisation’s views to stakeholders.

You may find value in drawing a separate map of your stakeholder relationships. This
can then be compared with a map of relationships for a new role. (Read Chapter 8 on
analysing the job context.)

If you are applying for more senior jobs you will need to take a strategic approach to
managing relationships and be able to explain what makes relationships complex. To
take a strategic approach means that you have a plan with identified objectives, risks,
milestones and methods for evaluation. You will know which relationships are
significant, and what the concerns, needs, views and expectations are of individuals or
groups.

Factors that add complexity to relationships are:

 level of risk
 competing agendas and priorities
 high levels of emotion
 sensitive or contentious issues
 level of influence
 geographical distribution
 language and cultural differences
 uncertainty
 lack of clarity
 financial, legal, social, psychological issues
 rigid viewpoints
 access to resources (time, money, advice).

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Chapter 4: FIFTY IDEAS FOR MANAGING YOUR

CAREER
Employees are expected to manage their careers. While managers and supervisors
have a role to play in the development of their staff, you need to show a commitment
to learning and self-development. Your career can’t be left to chance. To win that next
move or promotion you need to seek out opportunities.

Barbara Moses suggests in her book, Career Intelligence, that people become career
activists as a strategy for managing their career.xiv A career activist crafts their own
future by:

 Writing their own script. They know what they have to offer, who they are,
what they are good at, what they love doing, and see themselves as capable,
marketable people.
 Being vigilant and entrepreneurial on their own behalf. They don’t wait for
someone else to do things for them. They seek out opportunities.
 Thinking of themselves as an independent agent. They operate independently
of their job title, organisation and what others think.

To be a career activist you need to:

 Think in terms of roles rather than job titles or duties. Roles refer to terms like
change agent, troubleshooter, expert, facilitator. Aim to experience as many
roles as possible.

 Play to your strengths. Become better at what you are already good at.

 Believe in yourself. Foster a sense of self as a person who is capable and

skilled, able to make a contribution.

 Think of everyone you work with as a client rather than a boss or colleague.

 Build broad networks. Cultivate relationships with a broad range of people and
stay in touch both in-person and electronically. Use social media for career
management and as part of your job search, and understand how recruiters use
social media.

 Keep learning. Can you describe what you learned in the last six months?
What you hope to learn in the next six months? Can you name the most recent
trends in your field and their implications?

 Think lattice rather than ladders. Track your career progress by the work you
do rather than level or title. Move sideways to gain depth of content.

In addition to these general steps, here are 50 specific ideas to help you manage your
career. They are pitched at people already in the public sector, who are keen to take
responsibility for their work career. As you read through them assess which are

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practical, relevant to your circumstances, and likely to support you in your life
journey.

1. Join networks. There are groups with special purposes that you could be
participating in as part of building your visibility, reputation and credibility. These
groups include networks for graduates, special interest groups, and specific roles such
as ethics officers. Add these networks to your résumé.

2. Join professional associations and become an active member. Take on an executive

role, participate in professional development activities, attend conferences. Include
your memberships and leadership roles on your résumé.

3. Take performance management seriously, even if you receive mixed messages

from your manager or organisation. Prepare for performance conversations. Use the
conversation to convey information about your achievements. Seek and act on
feedback.

4. Take your professional development plan seriously by identifying development

opportunities, fully engaging in those opportunities and seeking ways to apply and
share new skills and knowledge. This will give you evidence for job applications
about your commitment to self-development.

5. Complete further qualifications. You may need to upgrade your qualifications or

expand into other areas. Remember to add these to your résumé.

6. Find a mentor. Mentors are experienced advisers and supporters, and are often
more senior. They can be people within your organisation, in another organisation or
outside the public sector. Some professional associations provide mentoring
programs, as do some organisational leadership programs.

7. Expand your self-awareness. Being blind to your shortcomings and not noticing
your own habits can limit your potential by reducing your interpersonal skills, and
emotional and social intelligence. Training programs offer tools that increase self-
awareness, as do websites and books.

8. Keep fit and healthy. Your career can be derailed if you become seriously ill.
People who keep fit and healthy enjoy more in life, build resilience and are more
attractive employees.

9. Foster a positive working environment. Taking active steps to make coming to

work enjoyable for others will help build your reputation as a team player, manager or
leader. You will build a reputation as someone who is attractive to work for, harnesses
the talents of staff, and keeps staff motivated. You can contribute to staff engagement
by making sure people understand their role, allowing them to make decisions,
helping them maintain work-life balance, giving constructive feedback, recognising
effort, giving access to learning and development opportunities and helping staff to
plan their careers.

10. Build resilience. Resilience is the ability to bounce back after setbacks, to
maintain an optimistic outlook in the face of obstacles, and to actively build mental

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and emotional wellbeing. Research books, websites, courses and professionals who
specialise in this field. Identify the skills and knowledge you need to build this
important resource.

11. Know your strengths. It will be difficult to put a strong case in job applications if
you do not know what your strengths are. Take steps to understand the full range of
your strengths and use them as much as possible in your work.

12. Conduct a portfolio stocktake. You risk underselling yourself if you do not know
what you have to offer to your colleagues, managers and organisation. Complete the
stocktake in Chapter 3 to identify your full portfolio of skills, knowledge and personal
qualities.

13. Use a career development practitioner. Career development practitioners are

qualified people who provide career services for people entering the workforce,
managing their work and life roles, or changing careers. They have relevant
qualifications and should preferably hold Professional Member status of a career
development association. A practitioner can help you with developing a career plan,
managing career transitions, writing job applications and preparing for job
interviews.xv

14. Build your presentation skills. Even if you do not deliver formal presentations in
your current job, you may one day. Consider that every time you open your mouth in
public you are making a mini-presentation and certainly job interviews are a form of
presentation. Take steps to build your confidence and skills in delivering both formal
and informal presentations. Join a public speaking organisation such as Rostrum or
Toastmasters International and commit to mastering these skills.

15. Seek feedback from people you respect. Apart from your manager or supervisor,
these people could be colleagues, staff, friends, mentors, coaches or professional
peers. Listen to what they say. Assess its validity. Act on their advice.

16. Keep a diary of criteria-related incidents. You can undersell yourself if you pick
unsuitable examples. Ensure fast access to a range of incidents by keeping a log of
what happens in your life and note the capabilities reflected in the examples. Write
notes using the SAR structure (Situation, Action, Result) as set out in Chapter 3.

17. Foster relationships with referees, both past and present. Relying on your boss for
a reference can be risky. They can move on, you may not get along with them, or they
might not take a professional approach to reference writing. To safeguard yourself
against these risks, build relationships with a range of people who could potentially
speak favourably on your behalf. These people include your boss’ boss, managers in
other areas, clients and stakeholders. Keep in touch with past managers who thought
well of you as you may need to call on them again. Read Chapter 15 on how to help
referees.

18. Experience being on a selection panel. It will help you to understand what
selection panels do and how they think, thereby deepening your understanding of
what you need to do as an applicant.

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19. Be a mentor. If your organisation or professional association has a mentoring

program, volunteer as a mentor. This will expand your skills, extend your visibility
and build your reputation as a person who contributes to others’ development.

20. Volunteer for new projects. Don’t wait to be discovered. When new projects arise,
speak up and show an interest. Highlight your strengths. Look for opportunities to
build your skills and experience, build relationships with new people, and learn
something new about your organisation.

21. Contribute outside of work. You can build transferable and specialist skills by
volunteering and contributing to the community. You can demonstrate leadership in
non-work roles, as well as achievements and personal qualities.

22. Maintain a balanced life. Work is part of life. Make sure you have time for all that
is important to you, particularly relationships (friends, family, spouse, children),
leisure and recreation, and community contributions.

23. Read widely. Keep up-to-date by reading media clippings, professional journals,
corporate documents, policy announcements, and speeches. Resist dismissing
something as irrelevant just because it is not directly related to your job. Part of
building for the next job is knowing what is going on and who is saying what.

24. Manage your acting arrangements. One of the ways you can reduce your chances
of promotion is by not strategically managing your acting arrangements. Warming a
seat for a couple of weeks while your boss takes a holiday doesn’t necessarily mean
you know what working at a higher level entails nor that you gained much in the
process. To gain the maximum value from your acting arrangements take a strategic
approach by:

 Understanding what the expectations are for working at the higher level. Make
sure that your goals and work experience reflect the greater complexity of this
new level.

 Giving some thought to what the job or role is that you are moving into, how
long you will spend in that job, and what you can realistically gain from that
experience. Then set some goals identifying what you will gain.

 Discussing your goals with your supervisor/manager to make sure they

understand your goals and what support you will need to tackle the demands
of the new job.

 Keeping a record of your experience, what you did, how you did it, what you
learned. Also make sure that your performance appraisal makes reference to
your acting experience.

 Reminding your manager/referee of the acting experience so this evidence can

be included in your referee report.

25. Move around. If you are serious about your career then you want to gain a mixture
of experience. No matter how attractive your current role, a person who has

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experience across different organisations, roles and environments has more to offer
than a person with limited experience.

26. Apply for leadership programs. Many organisations offer leadership programs.
Don’t sit back waiting to be discovered. Discuss these programs with your manager
and find out how to gain a place.

27. Assess your executive potential. If winning a promotion to a senior executive

position is part of your career plan, investigate programs that assess your potential.

28. Read calendars of training programs. Agencies that oversee a public service offer
a range of training programs, as do universities, registered training organisations, the
Australian Institute of Management and professional associations. Look through these
calendars for programs that match your professional development needs.

29. Keep your résumé up-to-date. Reduce the stress of preparing a job application by
keeping your résumé current and in a form that can be readily adapted to new
opportunities. (Read Chapter 14.)

30. Learn how to market yourself into a higher level job. Investigate what training
programs are available that help you find out how to market yourself for promotion.

31. Look for short-term opportunities. Such opportunities can help with building
skills, expanding your network, giving you a taste of different work contexts, and
establishing a foundation for a more permanent move. Consider taking the jobs others
avoid. Often you learn the most from them.

32. Plan for the later stages of your career. While some people might want to plan for
a retirement out of the workforce, others may see later stages in their career as taking
a different form. Possibilities include moving to part-time employment, starting a
business, moving into consulting or contract work, engaging in a range of community
work, or a mixture of these. Given there could be another 30 years of life after
‘retirement’, it is worth giving it some thought before it is knocking at your door.

33. Assess your superannuation. While public servants have access to attractive
superannuation schemes, you still need to monitor and assess your superannuation,
particularly if you do not have a long period of service and/or have had interrupted
service. While retirement may not be on your radar right now, you do need to take an
active interest in your financial independence.

34. Give conference papers. Seek out opportunities to represent your organisation or
profession and give papers at conferences and seminars, both internal and external.
These can be added to your résumé.

35. Write material. Seek out opportunities to write material and build your visibility.
Opportunities include in-house newsletters, intranets, procedures, training manuals,
and speeches. These opportunities not only expand your writing skills, they can also
be used to demonstrate your initiative and how you contribute your expertise for the
benefit of others.

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36. Keep abreast of what is happening in your jurisdiction. Each jurisdiction has an
agency responsible for overseeing the public sector. Read their reports so you know
what the current issues are.

37. Keep abreast of what is happening in your industry or profession. Know what is
happening in your field by attending seminars and networking functions, reading
journals and researching the Internet.

38. Keep abreast of what is happening in your organisation. No matter how dry they
may seem, read your organisation’s policy documents, annual report, corporate plans.
Attend in-house seminars and contribute to strategic planning events. Be an active
participant, offering ideas, supporting others’ ideas and networking with colleagues.

39. Keep abreast of what is happening in your community. If your role has a direct
impact on your local community, take steps to stay informed about community events,
opinion leaders, issues and developments.

40. Build skills in finance. At some stage in your career, particularly if you aspire to
more senior levels, you will need to know something about finance. This doesn’t
necessarily mean you need to turn into an accountant or an economist, however it
does mean that you need to understand the basics of how the economy works, how
finances are managed and accounted for, how a budget is established and monitored,
and how projects are costed. It can also mean understanding procurement processes
and managing contracts. Having a sound grasp of these areas will increase your
attractiveness as a job applicant.

41. Build people skills. One skill area that is repeatedly mentioned in reports as being
inadequate is people skills. People skills covers a broad field including
communication and interpersonal skills, HR management, talent management, staff
engagement, mentoring, coaching, networking, professionalism and generally being a
decent and civil human being. Most of us like to think we have people skills. Most of
us have blind spots that are glaringly obvious to others. Use professional development
and feedback opportunities to learn about your blind spots and do something about
them.

42. Write quality referee reports for others. Find out how to write a quality report and
make the effort to do this for others regardless of what people do for you. It will
reflect well on you as a manager/supervisor in the eyes of both the panel and the
applicant.

43. Take on committee roles. Workplaces offer plenty of opportunities to take part in
committees, working groups, taskforces. While you do not want to be a professional
committee person, turning up but not contributing, you do need to consider whether
there are opportunities to enhance your career by taking on committee roles. Could
you chair a committee to build your leadership profile and your reputation as a
competent chairperson (since these people are pretty rare)? Are there opportunities to
start a committee or group that would serve a useful purpose? Are there opportunities
to join a committee or group where you could make a valuable contribution? Taking
on these roles could increase your exposure to key people and extend your network.

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44. Use a coach. Coaches are people who help their clients produce results in their
personal and professional lives, and improve their performance in specific areas.
Coaches believe their clients are resourceful and with guidance and support will
identify the most useful solutions and strategies to use. Some agencies have coaching
programs. Ask around for referrals. Check that the person is accredited, has relevant
experience, and can provide past clients to contact for comment.

45. Take your holidays. A few years ago Tourism Australia ran a campaign
encouraging Australians to take their annual leave because they’d stockpiled 123
million days.xvi If you have not taken at least one week of leave in the last two years it
is time to look after your wellbeing and take some time off work. Being tired affects
your productivity, motivation and decision-making. Taking leave can provide time out
to re-think your career as well as rejuvenate. You only live once.

46. Gain experience in a central agency. Each jurisdiction has agencies with public
service-wide responsibilities. For example, the APS currently has four central
agencies with particular APS-wide responsibilities for setting the legislative, financial
and employment frameworks within which each agency operates. Experience in these
agencies is a desirable addition to your résumé and gives you a broader perspective.

47. Fully understand public service capability frameworks such as The Integrated
Leadership System. Use Support Tools to self-assess against the capabilities.xvii Work
out your strengths and where the gaps are. One way to prepare for a promotion is to
focus on the gaps by building skills and gaining further experience. (Read Chapter 7
on capability frameworks.)

48. Work in a minister’s office. Such experience gives valuable insight into political
and parliamentary processes.

49. Be a skilled networker. Learn how to mix and mingle with ease. Attend formal
and informal functions and events and use them as an opportunity to build
connections, visibility, reputation and knowledge of opportunities. Use social media
professionally to build networks.

50. Develop a Career Action Plan. A Career Action Plan identifies your goals, target
dates, the benefits of achieving your goals, possible obstacles, others who can help,
and the steps you will take to move towards your goals. Writing these matters down
helps to clarify your thinking and commitment. Use the SMARTER goals technique
to set goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timed, evaluated, and
reviewed. Adapt your plan when something unexpected comes up.

Social media and their role in career management

The development and widespread use of social media means that these tools are now
part of many jobs and are increasingly part of how a person manages their career.

Social media is an umbrella term covering websites, technology, applications or tools

that enable participatory publishing and interaction between people over the Internet.

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Social media sites include social networking sites, video and photo sharing sites,
blogs, micro-blogs, forums and discussion boards, and online encyclopaedias.

There is a wealth of online information about policies and guidelines on using social
media in public sector contexts. An important distinction these documents make is
between three types of social media usage:

 Official use of social media is any use of an organisation-managed social

media account, profile or presence by an authorised user. Comments made
through official social media accounts are representative of the organisation
and made by those authorised to do so.
 Professional use of social media is based on an employee’s area of expertise
and association with other practitioners in that field. Employees are
commenting in a personal capacity but also in light of their expertise in a
given field. For example, a civil engineer working for a council who
comments on a civil engineering blog or discussion group.
 Personal use of social media is defined as individual or private use and not
attributable as an official or professional use. Such accounts are for non-work-
related use. This use does not fall under either of the above two categories.

These three categories seem to be clear-cut, but in reality the lines can blur.

Personal use of social media

Social media enthusiasts are likely to say that a social media presence is essential for
brand building, networking, and job searching. Before you embark on building a
social media presence, consider these points:

 How interested are you in the online world? You may need to temper your
social media involvement with how much energy you wish to devote to this
activity.
 How much time do you have to build and maintain your online presence?
Despite what enthusiasts say, keeping your profile current, feeding blogs,
monitoring links, all take time. They could potentially take over your life.
 Do you have the skills to use the social media tools?
 Do you have the money to invest in the technology? While most social media
are free, you do need equipment, you need to pay for internet services, and
accessing a wider range of functions on social media can incur monthly fees.
If you don’t have the skills or wish to spend time acquiring them, social media
specialists will charge for their services.
 Why do you wish to have an online presence? In a world that encourages
people to consider themselves as a brand, thinking strategically about your
social media presence is likely to be worth the effort in terms of making
prudent choices about how you use these tools.

One of the most important aspects to consider about social media is the blurred line
between private and public spheres. Social media activity is public activity despite the
availability of privacy functions. Your content can potentially be shared beyond your
intended audience. Plus your content can become the property of the site, and online
content is essentially permanent.

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Think carefully about your social media presence and about any single item of content
you upload. Your future job prospects could be at stake.

Understand how recruiters use social media

Recruiters can use social media to post jobs, source applicants, build employer
branding, engage top talent, headhunt ideal candidates, vet job applicants, confirm
applicant information, compare similar applicants, check for red flags that may
disqualify applicants, and evaluate applicant’s professional image, experience and
circle of influence.

While these uses apply globally, research indicates that using social media for vetting
and screening applicants is currently little used in Australia. Employers are using
social media for employee referrals, to promote opportunities and source candidates.
Currently LinkedIn is a highly valued recruitment tool in Australia.xviii

Australian employers recognise that using social media to make hiring decisions is
risky. There are potential legal ramifications for these practices, including breach of
privacy laws, contravention of professional codes of conduct and ethics, possibly
deceptive conduct in breach of consumer law, and the possibility of discrimination
complaints.

Using social media to build your personal brand

Social media are increasingly considered an essential part of building your personal
brand. Building your personal brand simply means establishing an online presence
that builds a desired reputation, grows your credibility, and prompts a favourable
response from recruiters.

Building a personal brand can be as simple or as complicated as you wish it to be.

You could choose to restrict your social media activity to a well-crafted LinkedIn
Profile. Or you could choose to complement this profile with a blog, tweets, YouTube
videos and contributions to discussion boards. There is plenty of advice and guidance
available online, in libraries, and from service providers, to help you develop these
options. Key points to bear in mind are:

 Google yourself. Enter your name into a search engine and see what happens.
Check what others, including your boss and online recruiters, can find out
about you.
 Keep current on privacy settings. You want to control your social media
presence by staying current on privacy settings so you manage who sees what.
 Stay active. The value of using social media lies in being an active participant.
Update your profile, post regularly, and contribute to discussions to build
credibility and visibility.
 Create and share quality content. Creating and sharing insightful, relevant,
useful information will showcase your knowledge, increase your credibility
and position you as a collaborative, competent colleague.

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Social media as part of your job search strategy

Few jobs are advertised in newspapers. Social media are increasingly used to post
jobs so there are some key points to now consider in your job search strategy.

 Networking sites like LinkedIn have functions for connecting with

organisations. Follow the profiles of organisations of interest.
 Join LinkedIn Groups related to your industry.
 Create a detailed profile that fits with the jobs you wish to attract and that
creates a favourable impression for any recruiter.
 Use a professional photograph, not a holiday snap or one that looks like a mug
shot.
 Stay connected: Learn how to find connections and stay connected. Some of
your contacts are potential ambassadors for you in your job search. Build your
network of connections with people you know and trust and who you can ask
about job opportunities.
 Keywords are king. Make sure your profile includes your résumé keywords
and skills.
 Obtain recommendations from people you have worked with.
 Use the job search section to find job listings.
 Include your résumé, but keep the format simple, avoid tables, fancy
formatting and graphics. Your résumé can be as long as you wish.

Chapter 13 examines managing use of social media when you work for government
and some aspects of applying for social media-related jobs.

Career management for potential leaders

As your career progresses you will face criteria that ask for leadership skills and
experience. Experiences that will help build leadership capabilities and position you
for a leadership role include:

 delivering a high visibility service

 developing a strategic plan for a specific purpose
 developing a strategy for improving an area of organisational performance
 being the lead advisor to a Minister
 having experience in a range of contexts (policy, corporate, service delivery,
regulatory)
 working with executives
 managing large, geographically dispersed teams or staff with different
functions/specialisations/skill levels
 developing a high performing team
 coaching and mentoring staff
 establishing a new project team of seconded or temporary staff to deliver a
significant government initiative
 leading a team through a significant organisational change
 resolving team and individual performance issues

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 taking opportunities to broaden experience by rotating responsibilities with

peers and managers
 building peer networks across sectors, jurisdictions and streams of expertise
 gaining experience in multiple organisations
 leading a project that has a high risk of failing and/or attracts high levels of
media interest
 managing an adverse relationship with a line manager
 providing advice in situations where the advice is potentially unwelcome.
 making decisions where significant trade-offs are needed or where no
precedents exist.xix

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Part 2
______________________________________________

How the system works

In this part …

 The key stages in merit-based staff selection processes

 How to read an online job advertisement
 How to interpret capability frameworks
 Eight questions to help you interpret a job description

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Chapter 5: UNDERSTANDING MERIT-BASED

SELECTION PROCESSES
People unfamiliar with how the public sector works may fall into the trap of treating
their application in the same way as for the private sector. This approach may well
result in you not even getting your foot in the door. So before writing your application
it is worth understanding something about how public sector selection processes
work. Such an understanding will increase your chances of being short-listed for
interview.

Table 5 provides a broad outline of the key stages in a recruitment and selection
process. The specifics may vary between organisations, between jurisdictions, and for
different types of recruiting (e.g. graduate and trainee programs, non-ongoing
positions). What is important to note is that there are procedures, policies and laws
that must be followed when recruiting staff for a public sector job. This chapter
summarises some of the key details you need to take into account when applying for
such a job.

Table 5: Key stages in filling an advertised job

 vacant job defined

 selection documentation prepared
 selection process designed
 selection panel formed
 vacancy advertised
 job information made available to applicants
 applications close
 short-listing
 interviews and other selection processes held
 referees’ reports obtained
 selection report prepared and submitted
 selection decision made
 outcome announced
 appeals process if applicable
 feedback available for applicants.

The selection process is merit-based

Engagement and promotion of staff across the public sector are based on merit rather
than factors like who you know, whether you are liked, or being in the right place at
the right time. A selection process based on merit means that it is:

 Ethical—the process is carried out with integrity, impartiality,

professionalism, confidentiality and clear accountabilities.
 Fair—the process is free from discrimination, provides the community with
access to the vacancies, and provides a clear audit trail. All eligible applicants
have a reasonable opportunity to put forward their claims.

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 Effective—the process enables the best person for the job to be selected,
supports the business needs of the organisation and gives value for money.
The assessment process is able to realistically match the work-related qualities
of applicants to the work-related qualities genuinely required for the job. The
process focuses on the relative capacity of the candidates to achieve outcomes
related to the duties.

The merit principle is defined in legislation and varies in detail depending on the
jurisdiction and organisation.

Recruitment and selection practices vary

While the merit principle applies to all recruitment and selection processes, selection
practices vary between organisations and jurisdictions. A university, a local council, a
federal department, will each conduct these processes according to applicable laws
and policies.

Organisations have the flexibility to choose what selection methods they use for any
given vacancy. These methods should be made clear in the information provided to
applicants. Face-to-face interviews are commonly used, as are direct testing exercises,
referee reports, assessment centres and psychometric tests. Agencies may rely only on
written applications and referee reports for some selection exercises.

When applying for positions you will need to pay careful attention to the details in the
advertisement regarding the recruitment process and the conditions of appointment.
Research the job and agency and when in doubt, ask. (Read Chapters 6 and 8.)

Online recruitment
Many organisations use an online application process, often with word limits. E-
recruitment systems may include a format for résumés or allow for a résumé to be
attached. Some agencies continue to allow emailed applications.

Public service gazettes

Government vacancies are gazetted on websites devoted to government jobs in each
jurisdiction. Vacancies are also listed on agencies’ websites. The public has access to
most positions advertised in gazettes.xx

Applicant information kit

Organisations provide applicants with information that includes details about the
organisation, selection processes and working conditions. A separate, role or job
description document provides information about the context of a job, duties and
selection criteria. Read both documents before applying.

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Parts of your application

C H A P T E R SEVEN
When applying for a public sector job you need to write a separate application for
each vacancy. Even if an advertisement refers to several different positions, you may
need to apply for each one separately. If in doubt check with the contact officer.

Organisations usually specify in their information kits and on websites what to submit
with an application. In general, there are four parts, although not all will apply to a
given vacancy, particularly if an online recruitment system is used:

 a cover sheet
 a covering letter
 a résumé
 a statement of claims against the selection criteria or a statement of suitability.

Cover sheet

Most organisations provide a form for applicants to fill out and submit with their
application. This form covers personal and vacancy details and may ask for work and
education information.

Covering letter

There is variation across the public sector about whether you can include a covering
letter. Unless advised not to, I suggest you consider including one as a covering letter
is an opportunity to express your interest in the job, arouse interest in the reader, and
sell your portfolio of skills, strengths and achievements. There is, however, no
guarantee that the letter will be read.

A minimalist approach to a covering letter is to include the basics:

 when and where the job was advertised (e.g. APSjobs, 10 December 2014)
 the title, classification (e.g. APS 6) and position number of the job.

Applicants who only include the above details produce a letter that looks something
like this:

‘I wish to apply for the APS 6 position advertised on APSJobs on 12 December 2014.

Please find enclosed a résumé and a statement in support of the selection criteria.’

To sell yourself in a covering letter you need to think more broadly. Here are some
questions to spark ideas.

 Are there parts of the duty statement which are not directly covered in the
selection criteria but about which you could comment because of some direct
experience?
 What are your reasons for wanting the job?

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 Are there particular contributions to the organisation you believe you can
make?
 Can you make a summary paragraph of your experience, qualifications and
skills which clearly indicates your suitability for the job?
 Can you comment about the significance of the organisation, program, work
of the section? This could show you have given the subject some thought and
are aware of its impact or importance.
 How can you highlight your key strengths and the value you offer?

In concluding your letter you may wish to signal:

 Your positive attitude and enthusiasm, by expressing interest in the next stage
of the selection process. For example, you could say, ‘I look forward to the
opportunity to expand on my application in person.’
 Your courtesy, by expressing your thanks for the time taken to consider your
application. For example, ‘Thank you for considering my application.’ These
messages subtly indicate to the reader what sort of person you are (namely,
positive, courteous, considerate) and can put the reader in a favourable frame
of mind to read the remainder of your application.

This is part of the subtle art of managing meaning for the selection panel.

In reviewing your covering letter, ask yourself these questions.

 How does it look? Is it clean, readable, professional?

 Is there any poor grammar, punctuation errors, or misspelled words?
 Is it focused rather than rambling?
 Does it focus on you or the employer?
 Is the text bland or attention-grabbing?
 Does it contain unsupported exaggeration?
 Is the tone pushy or polite?

If you do include a covering letter, keep it to about one page and focus on
summarising the contribution you can make to the job and the agency. The case study
in Chapter 16 gives examples of covering letters.

The résumé

The résumé is a statement of personal particulars and a chronology of your work

history. It is a separate document from the covering letter and the statement to
selection criteria. A résumé is a shorter, less detailed document than a curriculum
vitae (CV). Academics and researchers are more likely to produce CVs with lists of
publications and presentations.

Most organisations specify what the résumé is to include, namely:

 contact details
 education and qualifications
 employment or work history

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 professional memberships
 referee contact details.

Details of preparing your résumé are set out in Chapter 14.

Statement of claims to the selection criteria

The key part of the job description is the list of selection criteria. Selection criteria are
the skills, knowledge, qualities and experience needed to effectively undertake the
duties of a job. They are the factors against which applicants are assessed to
determine their relative merit for the job. They may be job-specific or expressed as a
set of capabilities.

Some organisations make a distinction between ‘essential’ and desirable’ criteria.

This means that you need to meet the essential ones and it will be a bonus if you have
the desirable ones as well. Unless otherwise stated, treat all selection criteria as being
of equal weight.

The selection criteria are central to the whole selection process. Short-listing,
assessment, referee comments and comparisons of the claims of applicants are all
made against the selection criteria. As an applicant, you must demonstrate your ability
to meet these requirements of the job. It is critical to grasp that the onus is on you to
demonstrate your value and clearly state how you meet the criteria.

Your statement to the selection criteria is the most important document in your
application. To prepare it well you need to understand the job context and the criteria,
and use specific techniques to write your statement. (Chapter 9 covers these
techniques.)

Statement of suitability or expression of interest

Increasingly public sector organisations are asking for a statement of suitability or

expression of interest rather than a statement against the selection criteria. Chapter 11
is devoted to explaining this approach and offering ideas on how to prepare a
response.

Types of application processes

A range of application processes is used by public sector organisations. Six variations
are currently in use.

Job-specific criteria

These are vacancies that require writing to a set of job-specific criteria, with or
without a word limit.
Examples of job-specific selection criteria are:

 Demonstrated oral and written communication and interpersonal skills of a high

order with the ability to liaise with officers at all levels.

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 Demonstrated ability in preparation of complex correspondence and participation

in management of projects.
 Match and deliver services to a diverse range of clients.
 Demonstrated ability to undertake a leadership role in a team environment, to set
priorities and to manage a budget.
 Ability to assist in the development of policy, planning and administrative
processes.

Capability frameworks

The public sector is increasingly using capability frameworks for recruiting and
selecting staff. Capability frameworks set out the core capabilities for all staff and the
skills and behaviours required at each classification level. Organisations ask
applicants to write to a set of broad capabilities, often with a word limit.

Chapter 7 gives a detailed coverage of capability frameworks.

Capability framework questions

Some organisations use a capability framework and specify the questions you are to
respond to, often with a word limit. An example of such a question for the capability
‘Achieves results’ is:

Give an example of a time when you had to generate a practical solution to a work
problem. In your answer, please address the following: What was the situation and
what was your role? What was the problem you were dealing with? How did you go
about generating a practical solution that fitted with the aims of your work area?
How successful were you in coming up with a solution to the problem?

Bulk recruitment

Bulk recruitment is a method of recruiting to a classification level. Rather than

advertising a specific job vacancy, an organisation seeks to recruit several staff at a
particular classification level for placement in various roles across the organisation, or
in a division or branch. More broadly expressed job-specific criteria may be used or
the process may draw on a capability framework.

Expressions of interest/Suitability statement

Organisations may invite an expression of interest or suitability statement which

broadly shows how your skills and experience meet the overall needs of the job,
usually within a page or specified word limit.

The expression of interest/suitability statement needs to consider the selection criteria

in the light of the duty statement, so context is important. (Read Chapter 8.) The
document should be succinct and concise, containing examples which highlight both
your skills and abilities, and your understanding of how your personal attributes can
add value to the position.

Chapter 11 gives a detailed coverage of how to prepare these statements.

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Short-listing or targeted questions

An approach to simplifying the application process is to ask for responses to short-

listing questions rather than to the full set of selection criteria. Short-listing questions
are based on selected criteria and invite a response, linked to the duties, usually with a
word limit.

The NSW public sector is moving to a targeted questions approach to applications.

Potential applicants are invited to respond with a one page covering letter, including a
short statement in response to no more than two targeted questions. These questions
are based on the level of capabilities required for the role. The aim of the questions is
‘to gather evidence of a candidate’s experience and capability at the required level in
key ‘focus’ capabilities … This is done by asking the candidate to describe actual
examples of when they used specific skills.’xxi

For example, an HR Officer Business Support role (Clerk Grade 4) invited applicants
to address these questions, each with a 300 word limit:

 ‘Think about a time that you successfully dealt with a customer who had received
incorrect or conflicting information about a matter. Please outline what action
you took to resolve the matter.
 Please give an example where you have been involved in developing or
implementing a business process improvement. Describe your role and what you
contributed to the process.’

The selection panel

For each recruitment and selection process a selection panel is formed, usually
comprising two or three people, although it can be more. These people combine skills
and experience related to the subject matter of the vacancy, and may bring experience
from another area of the same or a different organisation, as well as knowledge of
personnel practices.

The purpose of a selection panel is to assess the comparative merit of each applicant
and to recommend the candidate with the greatest merit to fill a vacancy.

The selection panel has a chairperson, usually the person most directly linked with the
vacancy (for example, the immediate supervisor). The panel decides who will be
short-listed, conducts interviews and/or other selection methods, seeks referees’
reports and prepares a report with a recommendation about filling the vacancy. Some
of this work may be outsourced to a recruitment company or a scribe may be used to
perform some of the administrative work such as note-taking during interviews and
writing the selection report.

The selection panel does not make the final decision about who will be appointed
unless the delegate is part of the panel. The panel’s role is to advise the organisation’s
head or their delegate on the relative merit of the applicants and recommend who
should be appointed.

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The delegate is the person who has the authority to approve the recommended
appointment. If the delegate is not satisfied that the selection panel’s report contains
the information necessary to make a decision about how to fill the vacancy, the panel
may be required to seek further information. The delegate can make a different
decision from the panel. They can also decide that there is no suitable applicant and
direct the panel to re-advertise. Generally, they approve the panel’s recommendation.

Short-listing
Short-listing should take place soon after applications close. Short-listing is a sorting
process and the first stage in assessing applicants. The purpose of short-listing is to
identify those applicants who warrant further investigation. The selection criteria are
used as a basis to determine who is short-listed.

A commonly used expression to refer to short-listing is ‘culling’. This means panel

members are looking for ways to shrink the list of applicants to a manageable few.
The focus is on elimination and the mindset is one of looking for reasons to remove
applicants from further consideration. This makes it all the more important to ensure
you understand the process and submit a quality application.

Three factors determine if applicants are not short-listed:

 Those who do not possess the skills and experience specified. An applicant
may be eliminated from further consideration on the basis of failure to
demonstrate claims against one or more of the criteria.
 Those ineligible for appointment because they do not meet specified
requirements such as citizenship requirements.
 Those whose qualifications and experience are substantially inferior to those
of other applicants. This generally applies where there is a large number of
applicants. Even if you appear suitable you may still not be short-listed if
others have stronger claims.

Interviews
The selection methods to be used for selecting people when a vacancy occurs are not
prescribed. Methods should be chosen for their ability to provide evidence of merit.

Interviews continue to be widely used, but are not always held. They are structured
around the selection criteria in order to establish applicants’ claims against them.
Interviews have broadly the same structure with each applicant being given the
opportunity to respond to similar areas of questioning. Panel members retain the
flexibility to ask applicants additional questions.

Structured behavioural interviews are increasingly the norm for public sector
interviews. This means that the areas of questioning are predetermined in line with the
selection criteria and the questions are designed to elicit examples of an applicant’s
previous behaviour. Such interviews are regarded as having greater predictive validity

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than unstructured interviews using questions that are not behaviourally based. (Read
Chapter 22.)

Other selection methods

Selection panels may use methods in addition to, or instead of, interviews. These
methods include assessment centres, psychometric testing, referee reports and
practical work exercises to assess required workplace skills. Bulk recruitment
processes, such as for graduate programs, usually use an assessment centre.

Making a decision
Evidence received from each selection method is rated by each selection panel
member using a rating scale. This rating scale may be available on an organisation’s
website. Typical standards on a rating scale are:

 meets the criterion to a superior level

 meets the criterion to a satisfactory level
 has some relevant experience, knowledge and understanding but does not
convincingly meet the criterion
 insufficient evidence to make an assessment.

After receiving all information about the applicants the selection panel then reaches a
decision about who should fill the vacancy. Comparative comments are made about
each person’s suitability. The applicant judged to most strongly meet the job
requirements is the one offered the job.

Applicants regarded as suitable for filling the job may then be placed in an order of
relative merit. This means that all applicants regarded by the selection panel as
capable of performing the job are either ranked from highest to lowest or simply listed
as suitable for appointment. This order of merit can then be used by other managers to
fill similar vacancies that occur during a specified period of time.

The offer
The offer of employment may be made first by phone or email and then confirmed in
writing. It is polite to respond quickly to the offer. Should you decide to decline the
offer the job may then be offered to the next applicant on the order of merit.

Appeals
The opportunity for public servants to appeal against the decision of a selection panel
varies across jurisdictions. Information about such rights can be found in the
legislation under which public servants are employed. As a general guide, public
servants up to a certain classification level may have the right to appeal a decision

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about a fellow public servant’s appointment based on deficiencies in the process or on

grounds of superior merit.

Checks
Before being appointed an applicant may undergo a number of checks, depending on
the position and the jurisdiction. These checks include:

 proof of identity and age

 proof of citizenship or permanent residency status
 a health assessment
 verification of qualifications
 police records check
 security check.

Feedback
Feedback to applicants is an important part of the selection process. You may be able
to obtain a copy of the relevant section of the selection panel’s report, depending on
the jurisdiction and organisation. You may also be able to seek verbal comments
about your interview performance and application standard from the chairperson of
the selection panel. Read Chapter 25.

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Chapter 6: HOW TO READ AN ONLINE JOB

ADVERTISEMENT
An accurate reading of an online job advertisement is essential for preparing your
application. This chapter alerts you to what information may be provided and what it
means. Chapter 8 explains how to analyse and interpret this information so you can
demonstrate a good fit for the job.

You are then given five ways to find out more information, including questions to ask
the contact person.

The amount of information about a job vacancy provided by jurisdictions varies. A

trap for applicants is to rely on the advertisement as a basis for making an application.
In doing so you can miss vital information about what the job entails and how to
prepare an application.

An online jobs site may have a short advertisement to attract attention, which links to
a longer advertisement. The longer advertisement is still not the full information you
need. There are other documents you must read before starting an application.

When considering an online job advertisement look for these documents or links:

 A detailed job or role description that provides full details of organisational

context, duties, selection criteria and instructions on how to apply.
 Information about applying for a role in the jurisdiction. This information
explains details such as the application process, capability frameworks,
working conditions.
 A link to the organisation’s website where the role is advertised. This site may
provide additional information about the application process.

There are at least 20 details to note when reading an advertisement and role
description. Any given advertisement may not include all 20 details.

1. Name of the organisation

This will alert you to the type of organisation you are dealing with (e.g. department,
statutory authority) and whether it is part of a portfolio or umbrella agency. If in doubt
you can check the website.

2. Sub-unit

Public sector organisations’ structures can be made up of divisions, branches, units,

sub-sections. Further information about this structure will be found in the information
kit and/or selection documentation. Many websites provide an organisational chart.

3. Location

This is the geographical location of the job.

C H A P T E R FOUR

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4. Job title

The title gives information about the nature of the job, such as a professional category
(e.g. lawyer) or a more general category (e.g. research officer).

5. Job type, Status or Work type

This identifies whether the role is ongoing/permanent or non-ongoing, and whether

the role is full-time, part-time or temporary.

6. Job category or Occupational group

This identifies the broad nature of the role, such as Administration or Office
management.

7. Classification

The classification identifies where a job fits in the organisation’s hierarchy.

Terminology varies across jurisdictions and organisations.

You can find out more about an agency’s classification structure from their Enterprise
Agreement or from talking to recruitment staff. Some agencies have Work Level
Standards and capability frameworks which describe what is expected for each level
in the organisation.

8. Salary

Salary is related to classification level. Each level has a salary range. People outside
the public service will be expected to start at the bottom of the salary range unless a
convincing case is made to enter at a higher level.

9. Position/Vacancy number or Job ad reference

Each vacancy has a number. You must quote this number on your application so it is
clear to recruitment staff which job you are applying for.

10. Organisation information

Advertisements may give you brief information about what the organisation does. For
more detailed information you must read the full job or role description. There may be
a link to the organisation’s website.

Chapter 8 gives you ideas on how to research an organisation so that you understand
its role. Interview panels continue to be amazed that applicants have not carried out
even basic research and cannot explain what an organisation does.

11. Duties/Accountabilities

The advertisement may summarise the main duties of the role or give a short
paragraph describing the scope of the role. To fully understand what a job involves

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you must read the full job or role description. This document may give further details
including role purpose, key accountabilities, challenges, relationships, decision-
making and reporting lines.

12. Selection criteria

While some do, online advertisements may not list selection criteria. This information
will be found in the full job or role description. This document should be read along
with any information explaining how to apply for a role in the particular jurisdiction.
These documents will explain whether a capability framework is used and provide a
link to this information.

13. How to apply

A trap for applicants is to assume that an application involves writing a statement to

selection criteria. While this may be the case, other methods may be required. For
example, an application for the NSW public service involves answering two pre-
screening questions. Many applications require a two page statement of suitability.

14. Eligibility

Commonwealth agencies usually state Australian citizenship as a requirement. Other

jurisdictions allow applications from permanent residents or may have no citizenship
requirements.

Advertisements may specify other requirements or checks (e.g. criminal history

check, working with children check, security clearance) that will be completed before
appointment. A probationary period is usually three months but may be as long as six
months.

15. Conditions of service

Conditions of service for an organisation’s staff are set out in an Enterprise

Agreement which is usually available on the organisation’s website. Details may also
be covered in the Information Package for applicants. Read this document before
making further inquiries about working conditions.

16. Position/inquiries contact

The contact person can answer questions about the job. They usually work in the area
where the position is located, may be the supervisor of the person in the job, and may
be the chairperson of the selection panel. They are a valuable point of contact. You
will find more information about talking to this person in Chapter 8.

17. Submitting an application

Most applications are submitted via an online system often with word limits. Look for
information about accepted document formats. If you are unable to submit online
contact recruitment services to identify an alternative.

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18. Closing date

Organisations may state that late applications will not be accepted. Some will allow
the selection panel to exercise discretion. If you find yourself short of time for good
reason, contact the contact person. You may be asked to submit an expression of
interest by the deadline and then submit your application by an agreed date. The
expression of interest is not an application. If you do not then supply an application by
the agreed deadline you will be deemed to have not submitted one.

19. Talent Pool/Merit list

An advertisement may mention that applications will remain current for 12 months,
that a Talent Pool may be created or a merit list. This means that should a similar job
become available in that organisation during the period applicants considered suitable
but not appointed could be considered for the new role.

20. Other assessment methods

Information Packs for applicants may mention a range of assessment methods that
could potentially be used. If no information is given, clarifying what methods will be
used is a question for the Contact Person. Read Chapter 8.

Paying attention to these details increases your chances of avoiding these traps:

 Preparing a generic application

 Not following instructions
 Using incorrect details
 Not understanding the job.

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Chapter 7: MAKING SENSE OF CAPABILITY

FRAMEWORKS
Applicants need to be aware of and understand a range of skill and capability
frameworks in order to:

 complete a portfolio stocktake (Read Chapter 3)

 guide work, training and study choices
 write informed, appropriately pitched, job applications.

Australia has a range of skill and capability frameworks, some applying nationally to
all employees, others applying to specific jurisdictions within the public sector, plus
some for specific roles, and professions.

The Core Skills for Work Framework

The Core Skills for Work Framework (CSfW) describes a set of non-technical skills,
knowledge and understandings that underpins successful participation in work,
including self-employment, volunteer work and training.xxii These skills are often
referred to as employability or generic skills.

The Framework describes the Core Skills in three Skill Clusters: Navigating the world
of work, Interacting with others, and Getting the work done. Within the three Skill
Clusters are ten Skill Areas, which are a combination of:

 Knowledge—what someone knows about in a theoretical or abstract sense.

 Understanding—when someone links knowledge to their personal experience.
 Skills—how someone puts their knowledge and understanding into practice in
work settings.

The Framework uses a developmental approach to describe these skills at five

different stages of performance: novice, advanced, capable, proficient, and expert.

The CSfW is not a set of standards nor an assessment tool. It provides an operational
definition of the employability skills employers want and helps with translating these
skills into educational settings.

This Framework is valuable for managing your early career, knowing what you have
to offer, assessing your level of performance, and understanding the behaviours
relevant to core skills, such as communicating, making decisions, managing conflict.

Workforce development strategies take into account the need to build core and
foundation skills. For example, the APS Leadership and Core Skills Strategy Refresh
2014-15 identifies gaps across four development areas: leadership practices,
management expertise, core skills and foundation skills.xxiii Core skills refer to public
sector-specific knowledge and skills, while foundation skills are essential workplace
skills regardless of sector.

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Capability frameworks
A capability framework is a list of the broad skills and attributes that an organisation
has identified as being needed by staff in order to do their work. For individuals,
capabilities are the personal qualities, knowledge and skills essential to performing a
role.

Such a framework can provide a common platform for a range of human resource
activities including recruitment, performance management, career development and
workforce planning. In the context of recruiting staff, capabilities can become
selection criteria. They are applied across all roles and are expressed in the context of
the role performed. This is why it is important to interpret the capabilities in the job
context. You can find out how to do this in Chapter 8.

A wide range of capability frameworks have been established. These frameworks can
loosely be grouped according to their scope:

 Public sector-wide capability frameworks that apply to all employees. The

primary framework is the APSC’s Integrated Leadership System (ILS),xxiv
which applies to the APS, and which forms the basis of some of the state
frameworks.
 Organisation-specific capability frameworks that apply to all employees of
that organisation. These frameworks include adaptations of the first group and
those tailored for the needs of specific workforces, such as the police.
 Profession-specific capability frameworks, such as for ICT, project
management and human resources.
 Specific role-related capability frameworks. Examples are policy and
leadership. Chapter 12 explores these in detail.

The Integrated Leadership System

The Integrated Leadership System (ILS) is based on the APS Senior Executive
Leadership Capability Framework.xxv This framework comprises five core criteria.
The ILS articulates how leadership attributes and capabilities develop and grow
through all classification levels.

The five core capabilities are:

 Shapes strategic thinking

 Achieves results
 Cultivates productive working relationships
 Exemplifies personal drive and integrity
 Communicates with influence.

These five capabilities and their components apply to Executive Level and Senior
Executive Service jobs in the APS.

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Another set of capabilities, based on this set, applies to all other positions in the APS.
While the core capabilities are the same, four words change. These words, highlighted
in Table 6, are significant. Notice that the words for more senior jobs are more
proactive, meaning people at these levels are expected to take actions that cause
changes. These word changes also apply in state capability frameworks that are based
on the ILS.

Table 6: Comparison of capabilities across the APS

SES and Executive Level APS 1 – 6

Shapes strategic thinking Supports strategic direction

Achieves results Achieves results

Cultivates productive working Supports productive working

relationships relationships

Exemplifies personal drive and integrity Displays personal drive and integrity

Communicates with influence. Communicates with influence.

How to read a capability framework

Capability frameworks are detailed documents which need to be accurately
interpreted by applicants. Failure to understand them when used as selection criteria
can result in applicants underselling themselves due to:

 misinterpreting what terms mean

 giving examples that are not of sufficient complexity to match the level of
responsibility
 writing responses that are off-target in terms of what the criterion is asking for
 not giving sufficient information about examples to fully reflect the scope of
the criterion.

At first sight capability frameworks seem very dense in detail, complicated and
suffused with incomprehensible language. Reading and interpreting these documents
to extract what is relevant and useful is helped by knowing a few key points.

 Public sector frameworks based on the ILS are made up of three elements: five
core capabilities, each with three to five components, each having a range of
behaviours that express what the component means in practice.

 These elements are identified for every classification level. There is a

progression from the lowest to the highest classification level, with new
behaviours added and changes in the degree of complexity of some
behaviours. These are indicated by bold type and italics.

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 There are two classification levels you need to consider when applying for a
job: the level you are at and the level you are applying for. When comparing
the two levels note what changes as indicated by the bold type and italics.

 The framework reflects a mix of technical, management and leadership skills.

 Behaviours are interrelated. While capabilities are listed separately, in reality

any given example demonstrates several capabilities. For example, most work
situations involve communication and interpersonal skills. When keeping a log
of incidents you need to consider all the capabilities that are reflected in it.
(Read Chapter 3.) While an example may seem to be primarily about
completing a project under ‘Achieving results’, it could also reflect
organisational, administrative, interpersonal, negotiation and liaison skills,
resource management, commercial acumen, flexibility, initiative, and ability to
work under pressure and meet deadlines, which are spread across the other
capabilities.

When considering your career (as distinct from a job), it is worth studying the
framework in more detail and across a wider range of levels. Use support tools
provided on websites to help identify areas of strength, areas for development, and to
understand the requirements for higher levels.xxvi

State and territory capability frameworks

The framework used by the APS—The Integrated Leadership System—has been used
by some states as a basis for their capability frameworks. Other states, such as NSW,
have developed their own capability framework.

Not all capability frameworks are used for recruiting and selecting staff. Some are
used for performance standards, learning and development, and career planning.

In brief, these are capability frameworks to consider:

Queensland: The Queensland Public Service Commission has developed a sector-

wide Capability and Leadership Framework based on the ILS.xxvii

New South Wales: The NSW Public Service Commission has developed its own
sector-wide Capability Framework.xxviii

Victoria: The Victorian Public Sector Commission has identified seven priority
capability areas: leadership and performing in a time of change; governing in a
complex environment; strategic financial management; commercial acumen; strategic
commissioning; digital literacy; engaging with Asia.xxix

South Australia: The Department of Premier and Cabinet publishes Competency

Frameworks for entry level, first line and middle managers. These frameworks are
linked to public sector qualifications, such as the Public Sector Training Package. The
SA Executive Service Competency Framework is similar to the ILS.xxx

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Western Australia: The WA Public Sector Commission has developed several

capability frameworks, including Leadership Capability Profiles for senior executive
and feeder groups. The profiles are based on the ILS.xxxi

Tasmania: The Tasmanian State Service Management Office has a Senior Executive
Leadership Development Framework based on the ILS. Tasmania has several role-
specific capabilities.xxxii

Australian Capital Territory: The ACT Public Service has a simplified set of
Executive Capabilities, similar to the ILS.xxxiii

Northern Territory: The Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment has
developed a Capabilities and Leadership Framework based on the ILS.xxxiv

Profession-specific capability frameworks

Some jurisdictions, such as Tasmania, NT and WA, have established capability
frameworks for the Human Resources profession. These capabilities are used for
career planning and professional development. The WA framework is based on the
AHRI Model of excellence for human resources practitioners, comprising:

 Strategic manager
 Workforce designer
 Credible activist
 Expert practitioner
 Culture and change agent.xxxv

If you are applying for ICT jobs it’s wise to be aware of ICT capability frameworks so
that you pitch your case to the level and type of role, consider further professional
development, and map your career path in this profession.
The primary ICT framework is the internationally recognised Skills Framework for
the Information Age (SFIA).xxxvi It is a high-level IT skills standard providing a model
for describing and managing competencies for ICT professionals and mapping skills
to categories and responsibility levels. The APS and the NSW and Queensland public
sectors base their ICT capability frameworks on SFIA material.xxxvii

The Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) is developing a range of

professional capability standards. The standards are intended to articulate seamlessly
with current and future public sector frameworks at the National, State, Territory and
Local government levels. Standards are being developed for these professions:
procurement, policy development, regulatory, service delivery, and program
management. The standards distinguish between operative, practitioner, and
professional.xxxviii

The Australasian Procurement and Construction Council (APCC) released the

Building Government Procurement Capabilities (Guide) which articulates
procurement roles and capability standards.xxxix

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Applicants seeking a career in these professions need to stay current on capability

framework developments as they signal views on critical skills and roles. For
example, HR professionals have long been criticised for not being strategic enough
and for focusing on operational, transactional work.

Capabilities relating to policy, management and leadership are explored in more detail
in Chapter 12.

Meanings of 61 capability terms

In this section I have listed the main skills and qualities that feature in capability
frameworks and selection criteria and given a description of what these headings
generally mean. These definitions are offered to give you a sense of what they cover
so you understand what they refer to and can identify relevant examples. This is not
an exhaustive list nor are the definitions exhaustive of all possible meanings.

These descriptions are generic and will vary in complexity according to the level of
seniority and the nature of the organisation. For example, project management will
mean different things to different people and organisations, depending on whether the
context is a long-term, multi-million dollar, complex project or a short-term, small-
budget project.

Skills and qualities that have similar terms or are linked to other terms within a
capability are listed as ‘related terms’.

Adaptability

Able to be effective in various environments, with different tasks and responsibilities,

with various types of people. Able to change ideas or behaviour in order to deal with a
new situation successfully.

Related terms: Achieves results. Flexibility.

Administrative skills

Able to operate computers, particularly to perform word processing and data entry,
and other basic office equipment. Able to compile information, design and maintain
filing and control systems, complete general office work, prepare business
correspondence, handle mail and travel arrangements.

Related terms: Computer literacy. Organisational skills.

Achieves results

Performs work to expected standards. Delivers outputs and outcomes. Completes

work as required. Monitors task progress against expectations and deadlines.
Reschedules and reorganises work to reflect changes in priorities. Contributes own
knowledge. Taps knowledge of others. Constructs task plans. Flexible. Shares

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information. Seeks feedback. Adheres to rules and procedures. Uses information

management systems. Completes projects. Makes improvements.

Related terms: Adaptability. Change management. Consultation. Flexibility. Project

management. Time management.

Analytical thinking

Able to provide a logical, in-depth analysis of a problem or situation. Able to:

interpret, relate, compare, synthesise data from different sources; identify issues,
relevant information and relationships within data; apply a range of tools to
understand data; draw specific conclusions from a set of general observations and
general conclusions from a set of specific facts; identify appropriate frameworks for
analysis and evaluation. Identifies flawed and sound arguments. Able to provide
precise and concise written and oral arguments.

Related terms: Conceptual thinking. Oral communication. Research skills. Written

communication.

Attention to detail

Thorough, conscientiously careful in the performance of a task. Ensures details are

correct, anticipates details others might overlook. Doesn’t leave things to chance.

Related terms: Analytical thinking. Planning.

Builds productive relationships

Able to establish and maintain relationships with diverse people at all levels and
across business areas, functions and organisations. Can handle disagreements
diplomatically. Has a network of people who can provide information, support
decisions and ideas, and contribute to projects. Able to break down silos. Develops
relationships to work across public, private and community sectors. Collaborates
across boundaries.

Related terms: Coaching. Collaboration. Cooperative. Consultation. Customer/client

service. Influencing skills. Interpersonal skills. Liaison. Listening skills. Management.
Mentoring. Networking. People skills. Teamwork.

Business acumen or business focus

Knows the business of the organisation. Knowledgeable about financial issues and
responsibilities. May have accounting or economics knowledge. Looks for more
efficient ways to use available resources. Understands the business community.

Related terms: Organisational awareness. Strategic thinking.

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Change management

Applies processes for implementing changes. Able to take advantage of opportunities

for improvement. Communicates the need for change. Gains commitment to change.
Considers the impacts of change. Aware of external trends. Knows how to overcome
resistance to change.

Related terms: Achieves results. Strategic thinking.

Coaching

Guides others to make the most of their skills. Sets an agenda to change skills and
behaviours. Recognises and encourages high performance. Recognises and analyses
performance problems. Identifies effective strategies for modifying behaviours and
attitudes. Able to plan and implement effective coaching processes and behaviours.
Able to provide constructive feedback.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Listening skills. Mentoring.

Collaboration

Works together with others to create something that is mutually beneficial. Builds
rapport and trust. Cooperates. Builds partnerships and alliances. Shares skills,
knowledge and technologies to solve problems.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Cooperative. Interpersonal skills.

Leadership. Liaison. Teamwork.

Communication skills

Communication covers four skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing. In

addition to exchanging messages, communicating is about constructing, sharing and
negotiating meaning. Includes formal and informal communication to individuals and
groups. Able to assess appropriate communication methods based on audience
analysis. Able to prepare and present information appropriate to others. Listens and
responds to others. Able to overcome barriers to effective communication. Seeks to
understand others’ views.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Confidence. Consultation. Influencing

skills. Interpersonal skills. Liaison. Listening skills. Negotiation. Oral communication.
Written communication.

Computer literacy

Able to use computer software and understands hardware and user-interfaces common
to PCs. Able to describe the basic concepts and components of a computer. Able to
use a range of desktop applications such as a word processor, spreadsheets, databases,
email. Able to complete common Internet search procedures.

Related terms: Administrative skills.

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Conceptual thinking

Able to understand a situation by putting the pieces together, identifying patterns and
key or underlying issues. Sees critical differences between current situation and what
has happened before. Applies and modifies complex concepts.

Related terms: Analytical thinking. Strategic thinking.

Confidence

Allows a person to maintain performance against daunting challenges, scepticism and

indifference. Feeling sure about one’s abilities, qualities or ideas. Self-reliance. Belief
in oneself. Courage, nerve, self-possession, sureness, boldness. Knowing you can do
something.

Related terms: Endurance. Flexibility. Initiative. Perseverance.

Conflict management

Conflict arises when individuals or groups are in disagreement, have opposing goals,
interests or perspectives. Able to identify conflict. Able to apply a range of conflict
resolution strategies. Able to listen actively and build rapport.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Interpersonal skills. Listening skills.

Management.

Consultation

A structured process to seek and respond to views about an issue from relevant
interest groups or individuals or the community generally. Asks for another’s opinion
or advice. Talks with others to exchange ideas and/or obtain opinions. Shares
information.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Interpersonal skills. Liaison.

Stakeholder management. Teamwork.

Cooperative

Shares information, accepts and applies standards, accommodates different points of

view, helps out, participates in and contributes to discussions. Culturally aware, treats
others with respect.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Cultural awareness. Teamwork.

Creativity

Able to find new ways of thinking about problems and challenges. Develops new
ideas.

Related terms: Innovative. Judgement and common sense. Problem-solving.

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Courage

Gives difficult advice where required, does the right thing even in the face of
adversity, reports and deals with suspected wrongdoing, acts in the public interest
above loyalty to colleagues or supervisors.

Related terms: Integrity/professionalism/ethics and values. Judgement and common

sense. Resilience. Self-awareness.

Cultural awareness

Able to communicate well with, relate to and see issues from, the perspective of
people from diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Customer/client service. Interpersonal

skills. Listening skills. People skills.

Customer/client service

The terms ‘customer’ and ‘client’ include both internal (e.g. staff in other sections,
management) and external parties (e.g. the public, community groups, industry
groups). Able to demonstrate a knowledge of internal and external client needs and
their expectations. Committed to anticipating and satisfying client needs. Provides
efficient, prompt, responsive, personalised, respectful service. Evaluates the
effectiveness of service delivery. Gives high priority to customer satisfaction. Able to
handle complaints and concerns in a sensitive manner.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Integrity/professionalism/ethics and

values. Interpersonal skills. Judgement and common sense. Teamwork.

Decision-making

Able to make effective decisions quickly based on a careful and balanced

consideration of available information. Able to distinguish core problems. Able to
support a view when challenged. Able to make decisions during crises. Able to
engage staff in decision-making and explain decisions. Supports decisions made by
others.

Related terms: Achieves results. Consultation. Management.

Drive and commitment

Enthusiastic, energetic, determined. Goes the extra mile. Sets high standards of
performance for self and others. Sticks with a task through to completion. Contributes
above and beyond what is expected.

Related terms: Achieves results. Endurance. Perseverance. Resilience. Risk

management.

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Endurance

Able to continue to effectively perform tasks for an extended period of time or when
physically or mentally fatigued.

Related terms: Perseverance. Resilience.

Flexibility

Able to work effectively by changing easily and adapting to different conditions and
circumstances with various individuals and groups. Receptive to new ideas and ways
of doing things. Able to understand and appreciate different and opposing
perspectives on an issue. Able to adapt an approach as the requirements of a situation
change. Able to accept changes in an organisation or job requirements. Willing to
receive feedback and criticism from others and adapt own behaviour as necessary.
Able to work effectively with people at all levels in an organisation. Willing to
change plans and direction to fit situations and changes without significant delay.

Related terms: Achieves results. Adaptability. Interpersonal skills.

Influencing skills

Able to shape the outcome of an interaction. Able to create consensus and gain
agreement to proposals and ideas or influence a decision. Skilful at negotiating. Able
to effectively manage the expectations of others. Able to use direct and indirect chains
of influence to get results. Able to overcome communication hurdles. Able to
anticipate the effect an action will have on others. Able to make and adapt a
presentation or discussion to appeal to the interests and knowledge level of others.
Operates as an effective spokesperson. Able to explain goals and actions in an
appropriate way. Effective in lobbying for change. Able to stand ground in the face of
opposition and handle confrontation.

Related terms: Collaboration. Interpersonal skills. Liaison. Negotiation. Oral

communication. Presentation skills. Teamwork. Written communication.

Integrity/professionalism/ethics and values

Has sound ethical principles and acts with integrity. Models values and codes of
conduct. Inspires trust by treating others fairly. Resists temptations of an unethical or
unlawful nature.

Related terms: Judgement and common sense. Resilience. Risk management. Self-
awareness.

Initiative

Attempts to influence events rather than passively accepting them. Self-starter,

commences an action using own resources. Proactive in taking action and taking on
tasks. Anticipates, prepares for and seizes opportunities and acts on them. Takes
action to improve processes or to avoid a future problem by looking ahead. Does

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more than is expected. Decisive. Refuses to give up when faced with obstacles or
rejection. Works independently with minimal supervision.

Related terms: Confidence. Innovative. Integrity/professionalism/ethics and values.

Innovative

The creation and implementation of new approaches to problems or situations that

offer a benefit that does not exist, or improves efficiency, effectiveness or quality of
outcomes. Significantly improves goods, services, processes, methods. Open to new
ideas and tests them. Assesses risks. Sees ways to make improvements. Adapts ideas
from a wide variety of sources. Keeps up-to-date with trends and issues. Generates
ideas with others. Resourceful. Makes connections among previously unrelated ideas.

Related terms: Creativity. Flexibility. Initiative. Risk management.

Interpersonal skills

Also known as people skills, social skills and social competence. Goal-directed
behaviours used in face-to-face interactions to increase the probability of achieving
desired outcomes. Able to relate to and interact with other people including
management, colleagues and clients. Flexible in verbal and non-verbal behaviour.
Able to sequence behaviour so as to steer interaction towards an objective. Flexible in
approach or style so that there is congruence with objectives and likely reactions.
Willing to listen to others’ viewpoints. Able to establish and maintain credibility.
Able to build partnerships. Able to manage business politics and work within formal
and informal boundaries.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Customer/client service. Influencing

skills. Liaison. Listening skills. Oral communication. Teamwork.

Job knowledge

Familiarity with and effective use of subject matter, laws, regulations, policies,
methods, procedures and techniques that relate to a given role.

Related terms: Achieves results. Self-management.

Judgement and common sense

Early identification of risks and uncertainties. Discretion. Appropriate independence.

Recognises links between issues. Solves problems. Explores possibilities.

Related terms: Analytical thinking. Decision-making. Innovative. Problem-solving.

Research skills. Strategic thinking.

Leadership

Provides people with a clear sense of direction and purpose for the mutual benefit of
the organisation, team and individual. Inspires and motivates people to succeed and

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achieve goals. Empowers others to act. Inspires trust and respect in others. Builds
effective teams. Involves others without coercing or cajoling. Able to facilitate and
manage group interactions. Able to gain cooperation from difficult people. Able to
delegate responsibilities. Provides ongoing feedback. Identifies the factors that
influence an individual’s performance potential. Acts as a role model. Sets clear and
precise team and individual goals. Keeps team informed of issues. Resolves conflicts.
Represents team positively at internal and external meetings. Ensures that group and
individual tasks are completed as planned. Recognises and rewards staff.

Related terms: Achieves results. Builds productive relationships. Integrity/

professionalism/ethics and values. Management. Self-awareness. Strategic thinking.

Liaison

Working together to keep each other informed about what is happening. Cooperating
and exchanging information between different organisations or between different
sections.

Related terms: Collaboration. Communication Skills. Consultation. Cooperative.

Interpersonal skills.

Listening skills

Builds rapport. Tries to see things from different perspectives. Makes time for people.
Seeks to understand the audience. Checks to ensure own and others’ views have been
understood. Checks own understanding of others’ comments. Deals with
misunderstandings. Asks clarifying questions. Reflects back. Keeps an open mind.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Collaboration. Communication skills.

Cooperative. Interpersonal skills. Management. Networking.

Management

Establishes a course of action to accomplish a specific goal. Plans and allocates

resources. Includes delegating, developing and recognising staff, mentoring, giving
feedback, managing performance, providing formal and on-the-job training and
guidance, motivating people to perform well, assigning tasks appropriately,
monitoring progress and assessing work quality. Key functions for managers are to
energise, empower, support and communicate with staff. May include talent,
knowledge, resource, contract, change and program management.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Business acumen. Coaching.

Mentoring. Teamwork.

Mentoring

Mentoring is a mutually beneficial, usually one-to-one relationship which involves a

more experienced person helping a less experienced person to achieve their goals. The
mentor helps the development of the mentoree by transferring their wisdom and
knowledge and supporting the personal and professional development of a person.

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Mentors are facilitators helping mentorees to gain self-awareness and discover

insights.

Related terms: Coaching.

Negotiation

Formal discussions between people with different aims or intentions, during which
they try to reach an agreement. Able to settle a dispute and reach an agreement.
Listens actively. Adapts a range of approaches to a negotiating situation. Develops
creative solutions to achieve a win/win situation. Able to identify the negotiating
strategies of others and their underlying rationale in order to understand others’
position and objectives.

Related terms: Communication skills. Influencing skills. Interpersonal skills.

Networking

The process of building professional relationships, fostering contacts and

disseminating information for mutual assistance and support. Identifies people with
whom a relationship is needed. Able to easily and professionally mix and mingle with
a range of people. Creates an environment of trust and respect. Initiates contact and
builds informal links with relevant people. Actively participates in organisational,
industry and association events and conferences. Shares information with contacts.
Safeguards sensitive and confidential information.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Cooperative. Interpersonal skills.

Optimistic

Looks forward to a promising future. Responds to pressure in a controlled manner.

Focuses on the positives in difficult situations.

Related terms: Perseverance. Resilience.

Oral communication

Able to present information and ideas clearly and concisely to individuals and groups,
with content and style appropriate for the audience. Able to think on one’s feet and
express ideas confidently and objectively. Able to listen for understanding, and use
clarifying questions. Able to adjust communication style and content for an audience.
Able to translate complex or technical information for a lay audience.

Related terms: Confidence. Influencing skills. Interpersonal skills. Written

communication.

Organisational awareness

Tracks organisational changes. Establishes links across the organisation. Takes

account of different functions when developing plans and activities. Understands

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power relationships, who the real decision-makers are and people who can influence
them. Can predict how new events or situations will affect the organisation and
recognises what is and is not possible.

Related terms: Business acumen. Judgement and common sense. Strategic thinking.

Organisational skills

Able to organise information, people or things in a systematic way. Able to break

down an activity into component tasks and coordinate resources, establish priorities,
meet deadlines. Understands inter-relationships between the parts of a whole.
Monitors progress.

Related terms: Attention to detail. Planning. Project management. Self-management.

Time management.

People skills

Able to interact well with a wide range of people. Able to react sensitively, be
empathetic, compassionate, sincere and communicate tactfully. Can give and receive
feedback in a constructive manner. ‘Hears’ what is said and implied, knows how to
interpret and use body language, recognises and values the uniqueness of individuals.
Uses listening and observation to predict and prepare for others’ reactions.
Understands the attitudes, interests, needs and perspectives of others. Emotional
intelligence.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Interpersonal skills. Listening skills.

Teamwork.

Perseverance

Able to stay with a position or plan of action until the desired objective is achieved or
is no longer reasonably attainable or relevant.

Related terms: Drive and commitment. Endurance. Resilience.

Planning

Able to plan projects, events and programs by laying out a step-by-step process for
achieving a goal including realistic schedules. Able to establish objectives and needs,
evaluate options and choose the best option. Able to look ahead and anticipate issues
and trends.

Related terms: Adaptability. Problem-solving. Project management.

Policy development

A workplace policy is a principle or rule that guides decisions and behaviour. It

contains the ‘what’ and ‘why’. Procedures and protocols contain details of ‘how’,
‘when’ and ‘where’. Public policy is a course of action or inaction taken by

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governments regarding an issue or issues. Strategic policy is about shaping

government’s role in addressing an issue. Policy analysis means breaking something
down into its parts, dissecting an issue and designing effective responses to the
underlying problem. Policy advising is about creating a coherent picture of the
situation based on the parts so that sound policy options can be designed and
recommendations developed. Tools used in policy analysis include stakeholder
analysis, interviewing, qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection,
analysis of competing views and project consequences while balancing existing policy
commitments. A range of models exist for developing policy that identify key phases:
identifying issues, policy analysis, policy instruments, i.e. determining the appropriate
tools and approaches to design a policy response, consultation, coordination, decision,
implementation.

Related terms: Analytical thinking. Consultation. Judgement and common sense.

Research skills. Stakeholder management. Strategic thinking.

Problem-solving

Able to seek relevant information and analyse it in order to clarify the nature of a
problem, evaluate alternatives, test assumptions, propose viable solutions and
determine the outcome of various options. Able to distinguish causes from symptoms.
Systematically examines a problem by dissecting it into smaller parts for
investigation.

Related terms: Analytical thinking. Judgement and common sense. Research skills.

Presentation skills

Able to verbally or graphically present ideas, information, proposals or findings to an

audience. Able to select and organise information to suit an audience. Able to create
speaker notes and audience handouts. Able to speak clearly and confidently.
Understands the boundaries of authority when speaking to a public audience.

Related terms: Flexibility. Influencing skills. Interpersonal skills. Oral

communication.

Project management

The process of creating and maintaining an environment that guides a project to

successful completion. Understands the key phases of a project. Consults and liaises
with key stakeholders, identifies and analyses environmental influences, scopes a
project, identifies and allocates resources, analyses risks, schedules activities to
ensure optimal use of time and resources, monitors performance against objectives,
produces detailed project plans, ensures that key project objectives are met, evaluates
outcomes, regularly communicates.

Related terms: Achieves results. Analytical thinking. Communication skills.

Consultation. Liaison. Risk management. Stakeholder management.

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Representation

Acts as an agent or spokesperson for an organisation. Stands in for someone. Attends

meetings to put forward a point of view on behalf of an organisation, unit or project.
Professional. Creates a positive impression.

Related terms: Influencing skills. Integrity/professionalism/ethics and values.

Interpersonal skills.

Research skills

Able to design research projects, define the scope of a topic, develop appropriate
methodologies, implement a research plan. Knows how to find, collect, compile and
interpret relevant data. Able to identify people who have information relevant to a
task.

Related terms: Analytical thinking. Problem-solving.

Resilience

Able to persevere to achieve goals even in the face of obstacles. Copes effectively
with disappointments, frustration and setbacks. Remains calm and in control under
pressure. Accepts constructive criticism in an objective manner without becoming
defensive.

Related terms: Endurance. Optimistic. Perseverance.

Risk management

Plans and implements measures that will avoid, overcome or compensate for elements
of risk. Identifies factors that could adversely affect achieving tasks and outcomes.
Ensures compliance with procedures, regulations, legislation and contractual
obligations. Monitors tasks and projects for risks and non-compliance.

Related terms: Decision-making. Judgement and common sense. Project management.

Strategic thinking.

Self-awareness

Able to understand and articulate feelings, values, motivations and actions. Aware of
how one’s own behaviour affects others and differs from others. Knows own strengths
and skill gaps. Aware of unhelpful behaviours and how to manage around them.
Seeks feedback and actively looks for ways to build own skills. Emotionally
intelligent, self-controlled, not easily provoked. Knows when to seek guidance and
direction. Reflects on past experience, including mistakes, and identifies and applies
lessons.

Related terms: Influencing skills. Integrity/professionalism/ethics and values.

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Self-management

Manages own learning, contributes to the learning community at work, uses a range
of mediums to learn, applies learning. Has enthusiasm for ongoing learning. Open to
new ideas and techniques. Prepared to invest time and effort in learning new skills.
Takes ownership of work. Assumes responsibility for the quality, timing and accuracy
of own work. Determines and manages daily work load. Monitors and evaluates own
performance. Can work under pressure and with minimum supervision.

Related terms: Attention to detail. Drive and commitment. Job knowledge.

Organisational skills. Time management.

Stakeholder management

A stakeholder is someone who has a vested interest in what you do, is directly
affected by your actions and would be upset if you didn’t consult with them about
decisions you make. Stakeholders are distinguished from clients, customers and
colleagues. Establishes, builds and maintains relationships; identifies, anticipates, and
meets their needs; identifies risks; selects appropriate consultation processes;
monitors and evaluates relationships.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Collaboration. Consultation.

Cooperative. Customer/client service. Interpersonal skills. Networking. Negotiation.
Risk management.

Strategic thinking

Understands corporate goals, directions, systems and processes. Can differentiate

between strategic vision and business mission. Understands the organisation’s
informal structures, key actors, decision-influencers. Understands the role of own
team and how it relates to other teams in achieving goals. Able to think at a ‘big
picture’ level and for the longer term. Contributes to the development of future plans,
goals, outcomes. Identifies the impact of external trends and changes and adapts goals
accordingly. Promotes a shared understanding of strategies, goals and vision. Able to
look outward to understand citizen and government needs. Focuses on long-term
policy and planning.

Related terms: Analytical thinking. Conceptual thinking. Innovative. Judgement and

common sense. Leadership. Organisational awareness. Policy development. Problem-
solving.

Teamwork

A team is a group of people who communicate with each other to solve a problem or
complete a project or work program. Teams can be called a task force, temporary
team, ongoing work group, or small department. Members share information, value
others’ input and expertise, are willing to learn from each other, act to promote a
friendly climate and good morale, protect and promote the group’s reputation, resolve
conflict, help each other. Members encourage others, publicly credit others who have
performed well, respect others’ contributions and capabilities, show an awareness and

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sensitivity to others’ needs, understand the impact of behaviour on others, participate

in setting team goals, assist others to meet goals.

Related terms: Builds productive relationships. Communication skills. Cooperative.

Interpersonal skills.

Time management

Applies a process that helps to bring about consistent control over time on a daily and
weekly basis. Prioritises, plans and schedules work. Allocates resources to meet
objectives by specified deadlines. Values own and others’ time. Adapts to changing
priorities. Applies processes to complete routine and repetitive tasks on time and to
incorporate non-routine tasks and projects. Uses tools (e.g. project management
software, electronic diary) to create and manage timelines.

Related terms: Adaptability. Attention to detail. Organisational skills. Self-

management.

Written communication

Able to write in a clear, fluent, accurate and concise manner. Able to produce material
appropriate to, and readily understood by, intended audience. Able to interpret,
organise and synthesise information in a logical sequence. Able to adjust style, tone,
format, structure and content to a particular audience. Researches subject matter. Edits
writing for correct grammar, sentence structure, spelling and vocabulary.

Related terms: Communication skills. Customer/client service. Oral communication.

Capability clusters
Skills and behaviours do not operate in isolation. Any situation will demand the
application of a range of skills, knowledge and qualities. When broad terms are used
in job descriptions, it is useful to have some appreciation of their scope so that you
consider all the behaviours that could be worth mentioning.

Here are four examples to illustrate this.

Contract management

Includes procurement processes; contract negotiation, monitoring, evaluation;

relationship management.

Interpersonal skills

Includes mentoring, coaching, teamwork, managing change, managing performance,

managing conflict, networking, exchanging feedback, relationship management.

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Communication

Includes facilitation, influencing, presentation skills, report writing, speech writing,

correspondence writing, preparing briefs and ministerials; negotiation.

Project management

Includes scope management, project planning, time management, risk management,

procurement processes, quality management, budgeting, communication.

Ten questions to ask yourself about core capabilities

To further help you identify material that you can use to support your case, I have
developed sets of questions for each of the five core capabilities. Rather than just
answering ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to these questions, go further to identify the details of what,
how and with what result.

Strategic thinking

1. Do you know what your unit does and why?

2. Have you explained to your staff why they do what they do?
3. Have you worked out the links between your unit and other units?
4. Can you explain how your unit fits into the organisation?
5. Do you identify trends that might affect what you do?
6. Do you contribute ideas to planning discussions?
7. Do you notice problems that could get in the way of doing your work?
8. Are you aware of issues that are relevant to your work?
9. Do you offer your ideas on what the team should be doing or how it gets the work
done?
10. Do you research and analyse information and draw conclusions to inform
decision-makers?

Achieves results

1. What steps do you take to monitor work progress to ensure deadlines are met and
to reschedule or reorganise when priorities change?
2. How do you evaluate work progress and performance and when have you
identified the need to change and taken action to achieve that change?
3. Have you identified opportunities to make improvements?
4. When have you had to identify who needs to be involved in work?
5. How have you built your knowledge of programs, products or services?
6. How do you go about planning and monitoring projects?
7. How have you been flexible when day-to-day work demands change?
8. How have you dealt with changes and helped others to cope?
9. What procedures do you follow, and what information management systems do
you use?
10. Do you seek feedback from your supervisor about your work?

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Productive working relationships

1. How have you gone about developing positive relationships with team members
and clients?
2. Have you noticed changes in client needs and responded to these changes?
3. How do you maintain a network of internal and external contacts?
4. How do you work collaboratively with colleagues?
5. How do people’s working styles, personalities, and motivations vary?
6. How do you adapt your behaviour to deal with these variations?
7. What steps do you take to understand others people’s viewpoints?
8. Do you actively identify learning opportunities for yourself and others?
9. How do you recognise others’ contributions and achievements?
10. When have you given others feedback and have you dealt with under
performance?

Personal drive and integrity

1. What elements of public sector values and behaviour codes are you aware of
applying in your job?
2. What legislation, policy or regulatory procedures do you apply or comply with?
3. How do you respond when your ideas are challenged or you make mistakes?
4. When have you shown initiative?
5. Has there been a time when you have persisted with getting work done in the face
of challenges, obstacles, difficult circumstances?
6. How do you deal with pressure?
7. How do you maintain a balanced approach to work?
8. How would you describe your own work style and how does this impact on
others?
9. How do you display an optimistic outlook, particularly in difficult circumstances?
10. Do you know your strengths and development needs?

Communicates with influence

1. Can you present your ideas and information confidently?

2. Is your communication concise and structured or waffling and rambling?
3. What complex information do you explain to others?
4. How do you adapt your message for different audiences?
5. When have you identified misunderstandings and how did you deal with them?
6. What is your communication style and how do you tailor it to cater for audience
needs?
7. Do you know who your key stakeholders are?
8. How do you identify other people’s expectations and concerns?
9. What negotiating situations have you dealt with?
10. How have you dealt with misunderstandings?

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Chapter 8: INTERPRETING THE JOB CONTEXT

Contextual analysis is one of the top skills needed to prepare a strong case for a job.

You have now spotted a public sector job of interest. After you have received and
read the information pack and role description your next task is to interpret this
information so that you understand the context of the job. In addition to this analysis,
you need to conduct research to complement this understanding. Your aim is to base
your application on accurate, detailed information. This research will be valuable for
both your written application and your interview. It can also help you decide that the
job is not really right for you, thus saving you the effort of applying at all.

Several documents may be provided to help you understand the job. They include:

 Job or position description: This document gives you information about the
job context, duties and selection criteria.
 Capability framework: Where one is used this gives you details about the
generic capabilities and the associated behaviours. (Read Chapter 7.)
 Information pack: This document gives you instructions about how to apply,
working conditions, details about the organisation.

Some job descriptions give more detail than others. A minimalist approach is to list
duties and selection criteria and not much else. A full job description gives you
information about: the organisation; the relevant division, branch, section; key
responsibilities and accountabilities; supervisory or management responsibilities; key
relationships, both internal and external; selection criteria; capability framework
details; instructions on how to apply.

Close study of these documents will enable you to interpret the job so that you:

 choose relevant examples

 demonstrate a good fit
 understand the strategic context of the job
 understand expected results
 avoid providing irrelevant information.

Some job descriptions will give advice about the need to interpret the job context. For
example:

‘In preparing comprehensive responses to the selection criteria consider the

job specific duties associated with each selection criterion, emphasise your
specific skills, strengths and strategies against each selection criterion which
highlight you as a strong candidate; and provide one or two examples to
support your claims under each selection criterion.’

Whenever advice like this is included, an applicant needs to undertake an analysis of

the job context. Even where not given, it is a wise step to take.

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Eight questions to analyse the job

One way to analyse context is to ask yourself eight questions.

1. What type of organisation is this?

This question covers four pieces of information:

 what jurisdiction is this organisation in—Commonwealth, state, territory or

local government?
 what sort of an organisation is it—department, parliamentary department,
government business, statutory authority?
 what is its primary role—central agency, regulatory, service delivery, policy?
 what are its values, purpose, role?

Answers to these questions will ensure you select relevant material and avoid using
inappropriate language. For example, if the organisation is a central agency in the
Commonwealth, then you would need to take into account its relationship with the
rest of the APS. This is a different context to a state education department or a
statutory authority.

In considering any values that are listed, think about whether you are comfortable
with these values and whether they fit with the way you wish to work. (Read Chapter
13.)

2. Where is the job located?

This question covers two location details:

 where is the job located geographically

 where is the job located within the organisation.

This second question gives clues to the likely culture of the work area, purpose of the
job and relationships involved. For example, an ICT job located in a central, corporate
ICT area is likely to be subtly different to an ICT job located in a business or program
area. Corporate roles cover the whole organisation and involve relationships with a
wide spectrum of people. A business or program area role is more specific and may
involve a narrower range of people.

3. Why does this work need to be done?

You need to understand the strategic purpose of why this work needs to be done,
particularly if you are applying for more senior roles and a capability about strategic
thinking is included in the selection criteria. Job descriptions may give you
information about the overall mission or purpose of the organisation and section
where the job is located. If this information is not provided or is unclear then further
research is needed.

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4. What results are expected?

You need to understand what results the person in this job is going to produce. This
can be deduced from information about the purpose of the work unit, the duties, and
possibly the selection criteria. Some jurisdictions include accountabilities. Knowing
expected results helps with choosing matching examples. This knowledge also helps
with responding to an ‘Achieves results’ capability.

5. Who is involved in this job?

Finding out about relationships helps with understanding the nature and demands of
the job. Will the job involve liaising with people across the organisation or will you
be confined to contact with colleagues within the section? Who will you report to?
Are clients and stakeholders mentioned? Are relationships internal or external?

Internal relationships include executive managers, your team, other staff, plus the
Minister’s office. External relationships include contractors, consultants, community
groups, organisations in other levels of government, potential tenderers, staff in other
departments, clients, members of the public. (Read Chapter 3 for details of how to
map your relationships.)

Some job descriptions give information about interpersonal relationships and even
what the purpose of contact is. For example, information provided about an
Administrative (Support) Officer role in the Victorian public service included
explaining that the position holder would be required to liaise with the Regional
Manager’s counterparts in other regions, service organisations, community group
representatives, clients and their families. The purpose of these contacts was to
coordinate meetings and other events, seek, receive or provide information and to
follow up on action items from meetings.

6. Who will I manage?

If the job carries supervisory, team leadership or management responsibilities you

need to know how many people you will be responsible for. It’s useful to know such
details as:

 their demographic and professional mix

 their level of competence
 whether they are operational staff or managers.

Note there is a difference between managing managers and managing operational

staff.

You also need to know what the circumstances of this group of people are as this will
affect both whether you wish to walk into this situation and whether you have the
skills to deal with it. You need to find out if the group of staff is:

 yet to be formed and your role is to find staff and form an effective team
 newly formed and your role is to shape the group into becoming fully effective
and productive

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 fully formed and productive and your role is to keep things ticking over
 fully formed but unproductive in some way and your role is to fix things
 fully formed but subject to major change, such as a restructure, and your role
is to shape the group in line with this new direction.

If this information is not clear then a chat with the contact officer is essential. Talking
to the contact officer is explained later in this chapter.

7. What does the person in this job do?

This information is found primarily in the list of duties and responsibilities. There
may be other information that also gives insight into what the person is going to do,
such as in the description of the work unit.

There may be information about challenges, problems and decision-making. This

information gives clues about the type of experience and examples to draw on when
responding to selection criteria. For example, an Administrative Assistant role in the
disability field faces challenges and constraints such as:

 Frequently being the sole person in the office and therefore needing to be
resourceful and exercise judgement in dealing with urgent situations.
 Keeping abreast of policy and procedural changes which affect administrative
processes.
 Handling sensitive telephone inquiries sometimes from emotional members of
the public.

Keep in mind that the job description may be a standard document that covers several
roles. This is likely to be the case with a bulk round, where the panel is recruiting to a
classification level rather than to a specific job. In these circumstances the duties will
be described in broad terms. Talking to the contact officer may elicit further
information about what the immediate needs of the job are.

8. How is this job done?

This information is found primarily in the selection criteria. The criteria identify what
skills, experience, knowledge and qualities are needed to perform well in the job.
There may be other information that also signals requirements for the job. For
example, some job descriptions include statements like these.

 Applicants should be flexible and able to apply their skills across a wide range
of tasks undertaken in the Grand Work Division. Applicants who have
experience working across all levels of government and with the private sector
are highly valued.
 The incumbent must be self motivated, well organised, willing to contribute to
team operations, prepared to show initiative and act in a professional manner.
The incumbent must be adept at prioritising work so that services are delivered
according to agreed time frames and quality standards.

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Both of these statements provide additional or complementary information that can

help with framing responses to selection criteria, particularly if these skills and
qualities are not specifically referred to in the criteria.

Are you a good fit for the job?

Informed by your answers to the above questions you can now work out if you are a
good fit for the job. This means thinking about these questions.

 Would you enjoy the type of work on offer?

 Would you feel comfortable with the location of this role within the
organisation?
 Would you feel comfortable working for this organisation and what it stands
for?
 Will you be able to readily demonstrate how you meet the job requirements?
 Have you got something of real value to offer this organisation?

What if there is a criterion that you think you don’t have much evidence for? Before
dismissing the opportunity, consider these points:

 If the criterion is described as ‘essential’ check with the contact officer if this
is really the case. It could be a proforma job description automates the
wording and comparable experience would be considered.
 It is unlikely any one person will have 100 per cent match to all requirements.
 What transferable skills and experience could you draw on?

Five ways to find out more about an organisation and job

While analysing the job you may discover that further research is needed so that you
are fully informed. Here are five sources of information to explore.

Organisation website

The organisation’s website gives access to:

 details of role, structure, mission, vision, values

 corporate documents such as business plans, annual reports, policy and
strategy documents
 background information such as media releases, speeches, newsletters
 links to social media.

Staff

Talk to staff, past and present. But exercise care; don’t believe everything you are
told.

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Related websites

Other relevant websites include:

 the relevant minister’s website

 stakeholder websites
 sites that expand your understanding of the public service, e.g. Australian
Public Service Commission and state/territory equivalents.

Wider reading

Before writing an application you may find your thinking is unclear about certain skill
areas. Your ability to draw on your experience to support a criterion could be
improved by wider reading about such areas as management, leadership, supervision,
negotiation, liaison, decision-making and communication.

Contact or inquiries officer

After reading all this material you are now ready to talk with the contact officer or
inquiries person. The role of the contact person named in the advertisement is to
provide applicants with information about duties and responsibilities, the workplace
environment and the organisation. It is in an organisation’s interest that potential
applicants be as fully informed as they can be about all aspects of the job.

The contact officer or inquiries person is a useful resource for applicants. Ideally, a
contact officer will:

 have knowledge about the job and the competencies required

 be the convenor or chair of the selection panel (although this is not essential)
 be receptive to answering queries from applicants
 be available to answer queries
 not be an applicant or currently acting in the position.

Do not be put off if you find that any of these don’t apply. Talk with the contact
officer after completing your research and before you write your application. Even if
you think you understand the job it is worth making contact for the subtle tips you
may pick up which can give an added boost to the quality of your application.

Your approach to the contact officer should be the same as if you are attending an
interview. You want to find out about the job and create a good impression. Even if,
on the basis of what you find out, you decide not to go ahead with your application,
you still want to leave a favourable impression.

If the position is an internal one within the organisation you currently work for, still
investigate the job. It is too easy to make assumptions that later prove wrong.

Based on your research prepare a list of questions to ask the contact officer. You may
wish to ask for more details about the duties of the job and the key qualities sought
under some of the selection criteria. With the increasing use of behavioural questions,

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the more you know about the demands of the job the better prepared you will be for
the interview.

Here are some questions to consider asking:

1. Why is the position vacant?

Has the vacancy resulted from a promotion, transfer, restructure, resignation,

extended leave or expansion? If it is due to expansion or restructure this is worth
exploring as it may signal important changes in the area.

The question most people want answered is: Is there someone acting in the job? What
this refers to is the process by which vacancies are temporarily filled with a person,
often of a lower classification, working in the job on a temporary basis. This gives the
person experience at a more senior level.

Where the acting process becomes flawed is when people are left to ‘act’ for long
periods of time, in some cases years. The person becomes accustomed to the role and
may feel they have a legitimate claim to it. When the job is advertised for filling they
may have an expectation that they will, or should, be promoted. For the external
applicant, the challenge is to sort out whether it is a ‘done deal’ or whether it is still
worth applying.

A merit-based process means that no one is going to say: ‘Yes, this person is going to
win this job.’ They may have a strong chance. At the same time, a manager may be
testing the field, interested in ‘new blood’, not dissatisfied with the person but equally
open to a new candidate. Based on whatever you find out you must decide whether
you are sufficiently interested in the job to still go ahead, knowing you are competing
with someone who has been acting in the job.

2. What are the most demanding aspects of the job?

You want to find out what is particularly frustrating, challenging, complex, or

difficult about this job. These may be the areas that selection panels like to explore
with applicants and which will make the difference between someone being able to
present well and someone who scrapes through the selection process.

3. What direction is the section/unit taking?

Find out whether there are changes underway or proposed, improvements that need to
be made, strategic directions that the section or organisation is taking.

4. What are the obstacles that the person in the job may face?

Knowing what problems already exist will give you clues as to what is really
happening in an area. This information will also help you to promote your strengths.
You need to find out not only how the area you are applying for works, but also what
the relationships are between different areas within the organisation. Inter-area
difficulties could signal other skills you may need to bring to the job.

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5. What are the key results you want from the person in this job?

Given the focus on delivering results, knowing this information will help you select
the most relevant examples to use in your application.

6. What are the priorities for this job or unit during the next six months?

The answer to this question will give you information about what skills, experience or
knowledge are going to be most immediately needed. It will also tell you whether the
section has an identified short-term direction.

7. Tell me about the team I will be managing.

If the job involves supervision of staff you want to find out how many staff are in the
team, their characteristics (such as professional background, diversity factors,
classification levels), the culture and work performance standard.

This is not an exhaustive list of questions. However, it does give you some idea about
the broad questions you may wish to ask the contact officer. In the process of talking
to this person you may also identify some questions that would be appropriate to raise
during the interview. (See Chapter 21.)

Note that queries about conditions of employment are usually answered by

recruitment staff rather than the contact officer.

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Part 3
______________________________________________

The application

In this part …

 A three-step process for writing strong evidence-based responses

 How to write concise, precise responses
 How to craft an EOI or statement of suitability
 Ideas for tackling challenging criteria
 How to understand and respond to values-based management criteria
 How to structure your résumé and write a results-based work history
 10 tips for managing your referees
 A case study illustrating the application of these ideas

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Chapter 9: WRITING TO SELECTION CRITERIA

Having analysed the job context and grasped capability frameworks you are now
ready to consider writing your statement to the selection criteria. The statement to
selection criteria is the most important part of your application for a public sector job.
A poorly written statement to the selection criteria may indicate lack of suitability and
can make it difficult for the selection panel to assess an applicant. There are several
reasons for this difficulty.

 The selection criteria are not addressed at all. This is often the case with
people outside the public sector who do not realise the importance of selection
criteria.
 The selection criteria are addressed only in part.
 The writer claims the criteria without providing evidence.
 The writer misinterprets the criteria.
 The response is long, unstructured and unclear.

Chances are high that such applicants will be eliminated from further consideration.
Remember, the onus is on you to convince the selection panel of your suitability. If
the panel is in cull-mode, they will be looking for reasons to eliminate you from the
selection process. You need to avoid giving them reasons.

This chapter sets out the techniques that produce a quality statement. The examples
provided illustrate options on how to construct a response. They could well be
improved. You will see ways to make your response even better. Plus, you will need
to exercise your own judgement about what is appropriate for any given application.
There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ for applications.

The key question to ask yourself is, Can I satisfy each of the criteria at a standard
appropriate to the level of the position? Some of the flaws I have seen in applications
are:

 writing responses to criteria that are off-target, about something other than
what the criterion is about.
 choosing strong examples to write about but not linking the example to the
context of the job.
 selecting too low-level evidence.
 not milking the example for the wealth of information contained in it.

In this chapter I will take you through a three-step process for tackling selection
criteria and show you what to do in order to write a quality statement to them. The
three steps follow your analysis of the job context. Diagram 5 shows how these steps
fit together.

The three steps are:

 analyse the selection criteria

 write quality responses that provide strong evidence
 review and edit your responses.

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Diagram 5: Three-step approach to writing to selection criteria

Interpret the
job context

Step 2: Write quality

Step 1: responses that provide Step 3:
Analyse the strong, structured Review and
selection criteria evidence edit

Step 1: How to analyse the criteria

If the job uses capabilities, revisit Chapter 7 to gain clarity about what they mean.

Where job-specific criteria are used, an applicant needs to analyse these criteria to
identify five details:

 words and phrases that signal whether examples are essential

 words and phrases that qualify the level of skill needed
 how many different parts there are
 what skill terms mean
 how the selection criteria fit in the job context.

Let’s take each of these in turn and apply them to some job-specific selection criteria.

Words and phrases that signal whether examples are essential

Part of the task of making sense of selection criteria is to understand the meaning of
key words used. Understanding these words is important as subtle differences can
mean a different approach to wording your response.

There is often a strong emphasis on demonstrating or proving your ability in a given

area of skill. A request for proven ability can be expressed as:

 experience in, e.g. experience in managing complex projects

 proven record, e.g. proven record in organising travel arrangements
 demonstrated ability, e.g. demonstrated ability to supervise a diverse team.

Criteria with words like ‘demonstrated’ and ‘proven’ in them means you must provide
examples that prove or demonstrate that you have carried out the task or skill in
question. You need to have practical experience of actually doing the task so you can
substantiate your claims.

Some criteria use the phrase ‘ability to’. Ability means having the skills, knowledge
or competency to do the task required. For example, if the job requires a person to

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produce correspondence, then the ability to use a word processor may be needed.
‘Ability to’ can be ambiguous. Some jurisdictions may take it to mean a person has
the ability to do the task but doesn’t need to have actually done it. This makes it
comparable to ‘capacity to’. However some people may take it to mean that a person
is actually able to do the work, i.e. has done it before. It is probably wise to check the
meaning intended with the contact person. Even if the wording is ‘ability to’ try to
respond as if it is ‘demonstrated ability’. This will make your response stronger.

Criteria may refer to ‘knowledge of’ or ‘understanding of’. These expressions are
often used in reference to government policy such as workplace diversity and
workplace safety, and to specific subject matter.

Knowledge of a subject refers to familiarity gained from actual experience or from

learning. For example, ‘knowledge of the Australian media’ or ‘broad knowledge of
current and emerging issues affecting the industry’ suggest you need more than a
passing familiarity with these subjects.

Understanding is more than knowledge. It means comprehension of a subject and

perception of its significance. You may have knowledge of a policy in so far as you
have read it and perhaps even applied some aspects of it. But to understand the policy
means you grasp why the policy was established, who it is meant to serve, why it is
important, and what the implications are for related policies.

Words and phrases that qualify the level of skill needed

Another set of expressions to interpret are ‘qualifiers’—expressions that signal the

level of development of the specified skills.

Examples of qualifiers are:

 well developed—as in ‘well developed understanding of immigration policy’,

‘well developed ability to develop policy’, ‘well developed interpersonal
skills’
 extensive—as in ‘extensive experience in journalism and government
information programs’
 high level of—as in ‘high level of appreciation of work safety practices’, ‘high
level experience in the preparation of speeches’
 superior, strong or excellent—as in ‘superior communication skills’.

Terms like ‘superior’ and ‘excellent’ tend to be used in selection criteria for higher
level positions, but not exclusively. They indicate to you that claims must be soundly
supported with concrete examples that show some breadth and depth of experience
and/or capability.

Qualifiers imply a continuum of performance from poor, through average, good and
on to excellent. It is relatively easy to distinguish good from poor performance. Take
telephone skills as an example. Poor telephone skills might include these behaviours:
taking a long time to answer; chewing gum while speaking; not knowing the answer
to questions; leaving people on hold for extended periods. Good telephone skills
might be defined as answering no later than the third ring; having extensive product

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knowledge; having a courteous manner with extensive use of ‘please’ and ‘thank
you’.

When it comes to distinguishing four points on the continuum, poor-average-good-

excellent, it is much harder to distinguish levels of behaviour. Organisations that use
generic capabilities have taken some steps to rectify this by specifying behaviours for
different levels of jobs. Some panels however may opt to decide that the person with
the strongest claims is ‘excellent’ without having made any predetermined definition
of excellence.

Describing your level of competence is aided by:

 Competency frameworks that identify level descriptors, e.g. NSW

 Literature on competence levels that distinguish terms like novice, advanced,
proficient, expert.
 Work level standards.xl

Where qualifiers are used give some thought to the demands of the job and what
behaviours these might require of a person. If in doubt about the meaning check with
the contact person.

How many different parts in the criterion

Most job-specific criteria are made up of several parts. It is essential that you identify
how many parts there are so you can use this information to give a structured,
comprehensive response.

For example:

Well developed communication skills and the capacity to represent the department in
liaison and negotiation on contentious issues.

A trap to avoid is to address communication skills in a broad sweep, hoping to

encompass the whole criterion. This criterion refers to four distinct skills:

 communication skills
 representational skills
 liaison skills
 negotiation skills.

Each element must be addressed so that the selection panel can judge you as ‘fully
meeting the criterion’. Here is another example.

Ability to understand complex arguments, interpret financial, demographic and other

relevant data and exercise a high degree of judgement.

This criterion consists of three separate elements (understand complex arguments,

interpret data, exercise judgement), with the second covering three sub-parts
(financial, demographic and other relevant data). You need to address all of these
elements in your response.

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Even seemingly straightforward criteria need careful analysis of the various skills. For
example:

Experience in providing advice on the packaging and marketing of programs/policies.

Two types of advice are asked for—packaging and marketing—and this advice is
applied to programs and/or policies.

Let’s take another example.

An organised and highly motivated approach to work, with the ability to prioritise
and work under pressure.

This type of criterion is popular and applicants need to address each of the four
elements:

 organised approach
 motivated approach
 ability to prioritise
 ability to work under pressure.

If you break down each criterion into its parts and address each part convincingly, you
should dramatically increase your chances of being short-listed. This can raise the
question, Do I need a separate example for each part. No, you don’t. A single example
could cover all four parts. Your log of incidents referred to in Chapter 3 is invaluable
for picking the best example to use.

You may come across selection criteria that are highly detailed. For example:

High level communication, negotiation and conflict resolution skills, proven ability to
work constructively as part of a management team, and the ability to represent the
Division, explain its goals, policies, products and services to identify mutually
acceptable solutions in situations of differing interests.

There are three main components to this criterion and within each there are several
parts. To see the range of skills you need to address, look at the criterion in this form:

 high level communication, negotiation and conflict resolution skills

 proven ability to work constructively as part of a management team
 the ability to represent the Division, explain its goals, policies, products and
services to identify mutually acceptable solutions in situations of differing
interests.

To cover a criterion like this you will need several examples. The key point here is to
conduct this analysis so you do not miss any of the parts.

Where capability-based selection criteria are used, components may be provided as

dot points to give a general indication of the skills and behaviours that might be
demonstrated in meeting a particular criterion. For example:

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Analytical skills and sound judgement

 Applies research, interpretation and problem-solving skills to own work area,

seeking advice as necessary
 Applies independent thinking and common sense in decision-making.

You do not need to treat the dot-point components as separate parts. Common practice
is to tell applicants not to write separately to the components. For example, in the
application kit you may read instructions like this:

‘The application does not need to address all elements of the selection criteria
in detail. Instead, you should briefly identify one or two examples of your
experience or skills that are relevant to each of the criteria (the same
experiences may be relevant to more than one of the criteria). If you are
selected for interview, you will then be expected to provide more information
at interview about how your experience and skills enable you to satisfy the
criteria.’

What skill terms mean

To ensure you write about the selection criterion you need to be clear about what skill
terms mean. Terms that can cause stress for applicants are ones that are related but
still different, such as:

 leadership and management

 communication and interpersonal skills
 administrative and organisational skills.

You need to be clear about these terms so that you pick relevant evidence. Chapter 7
on capabilities provides definitions of the main skill areas found in selection criteria.
Chapter 12 explores leadership and management in more detail.

How the selection criteria fit in the job context

While the selection criteria are important you can’t ignore the job context in which
these criteria are placed. When you select examples to use your choice will be driven
by the duties, the level of seniority, the relationships and expected results. For
example, if the criterion is about writing skills and the job is in a ministerial area, you
may risk underselling yourself if you use examples from a marketing context. Use the
information you gained from interpreting the job in Chapter 8 to inform your
interpretation of the selection criteria.

A cautionary note

When writing your response stick to the wording of the criterion. Even if you think it
is poorly worded or could be briefer, stick to the words that are used. Changing the
words can jeopardise your short-listing.

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You may find that some criteria are similar to each other. Again, you need to provide
a response even if you feel you are repeating yourself. Do not just write ‘See above’.

Step 2: How to write quality responses

Now that you have analysed and fully understood the selection criteria within the job
context, you can begin to write your responses. If you are writing the statement as a
document, rather than using an online recruitment system, start by writing or copying
the selection criteria into your document, exactly as they are worded. Each criterion
becomes a heading under which you write your response.

Under each criterion, whether job-specific or capability based, you need to provide
evidence that you have the specified skills, knowledge, experience and qualities that
will enable you to perform well in this job.

By evidence, I mean strong, structured information and stories about what you have
done, how, why, with whom, with what result, written in strong language. Each part
of this definition is important, so I will take it apart to explain what I mean.

Provide strong evidence

Strong evidence is evidence that ideally reflects three qualities.

 Recent. Examples need to have taken place in the last 12 months but could
extend to the last two to three years. There is no set rule about what recent
means and you will need to exercise judgement about this. If you have been
acting in the job you are applying for then, where possible, select examples
from this experience.

 Relevant. Having analysed the job context and the meaning of the selection
criteria within this context, select examples that are as close a match as
possible to the job requirements. If you have performed work that is exactly
the same as what the job requires, this would be strong evidence. If you do not
have this direct match, then pick examples that are similar, highlighting
transferable skills.

 Appropriate seniority and complexity. Organisations are structured in a

hierarchy with each level carrying expectations about the demands of work
performed. At lower levels work is less complex, meaning it is more
structured, routine, governed by set procedures, with a short-term focus and
closer supervision. The more senior the level the more complex the work
becomes. While there will still be policies and procedures governing the work,
the work is more ambiguous, more uncertain, with greater risk, more scope for
discretion, possibly new, involving multiple issues and players and with a
medium- to longer-term focus. Pick examples that match the classification
level of the job. This is particularly important if you are applying for a
promotion.

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The challenge is finding evidence that meets all three qualities. It could be you have a
relevant and suitably complex example, but it took place two years ago. Or you have
an example that exactly matches the job and occurred three months ago, but is less
complex. Again, you will need to exercise judgement about which example you pick
in order to present your strongest case. Our stars are not always in alignment when it
comes to choosing examples.

Judging seniority level

Capability frameworks are useful for judging what is appropriate for a particular level
of job. (Read Chapter 7) Another document that helps with this judgement is work
level standards.

In 2013 the APSC published a revised set of Work Level Standards (WLS) for APS
Level and Executive Level classifications.xli The Work Level Standards are general in
nature, rather than providing an exhaustive list of responsibilities and duties for each
classification level.

The WLS consist of two key elements: Characteristics and Functions. Characteristics
are general statements about the broad job requirements and operating context for
each classification level. There are five key characteristics:

 Leadership and accountability

 Stakeholder management
 Independence and decision making
 Management diversity and span
 Job context and environment.

Functions describe the typical duties and provide examples of the types of tasks
and/or functions performed at each classification level. Five key functions are:

 Service delivery
 Program and project management
 Policy
 Regulatory
 Professional/technical.

A Work Level Standards Differences document summarises some of the key

responsibilities and requirements that differentiate each classification level from the
others.xlii For each classification level, the list describes what changes, either in new
functions or increases in complexity. Fifteen factors are listed in order to identify
differences between classifications. Examples of these factors are Results, Risk
management, Complexity.

Applicants can use these two documents to:

 increase understanding of the level they are interested in so as to pitch their

material appropriately

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 use their understanding of a level to better manage their career and position
themselves for a promotion
 better understand critical factors such as results, policy work, complexity,
stakeholder relationships, leadership
 check their experience against the examples so that responsibilities and results
listed in résumés match the appropriate level.

Understanding complexity

One way applicants can undersell themselves when applying for a promotion is to
pick examples that are not sufficiently complex to reflect the demands of the higher
level

Complexity is a factor listed in the APS Work Level Standards Differences document
to indicate how levels differ.xliii The lowest levels undertake basic, routine and
straightforward tasks. Middle levels undertake moderately or very complex work and
more senior levels work with a high level of complexity or sensitivity.

The literature on complexity distinguishes simple, complicated and complex,

particularly in relation to problems. Writers point out that understanding the
difference between a complicated and complex problem is important as the tools and
strategies applied, the leadership style taken, the approach to policy involved, all
involve choices.

By only using the descriptor ‘complex’, job descriptions imply that all problems and
issues are complex, which is unlikely to be the case. The term is fraught with myriad
interpretations. One of the oft quoted examples is that sending a rocket to the moon is
complicated. Raising a child is complex. This is a difference of type, rather than
degree.

Another term used in discussions of complex problems is to describe them as

‘wicked’, meaning they cross organisational boundaries, need citizen and stakeholder
engagement, involve changing people’s behaviour and require innovative solutions.xliv

Complicated contexts are the realm of expertise and data analysis – the known
unknowns. Cause and effect are not self-evident but can be teased out through
analysis.xlv The complex is the realm of unknown unknowns, where there is flux,
unpredictability, uncertainty. There are no right answers.

Complex problems can encompass both complicated and simple subsidiary problems,
but are not reducible to either. Such problems are characterised by interdependency,
non-linearity, large elements of ambiguity and uncertainty. Again, these are matters of
degree.

Understanding complexity is relevant to:

 analysing the job context

 choosing examples appropriate to the level of seniority
 explaining the context for a given example.

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To illustrate, take a job that involves providing secretariat services to a committee.

You may have serviced a committee by preparing an agenda, taking minutes, possibly
preparing papers. This committee could have been:

 a Parents and Citizens Committee at a school

 the executive committee of a professional association
 an investigative committee made up of people from several sections of a
workplace
 an inter-departmental committee
 a Commonwealth–State committee.

These situations are listed in an order of increasing complexity. Even if you have
serviced the committee of a professional association for five years, the person who
has serviced a Commonwealth–State committee for six months with solid outcomes
may have a stronger claim to the criterion.

So be careful not to pick the first example that comes to mind. Pick the strongest
example that fits the job.

Provide structured evidence

Structured evidence helps selection panel members to easily make sense of your
experience. As your reader may be in cull-mode you need to make sure that your
information is well-structured so they can quickly assess your ability to meet a
criterion. Also your reader may well be judging your writing skills based on your
application. A poorly structured response may be interpreted as poor writing skills in
general.

How you structure your response will depend on such factors as:

 how many parts the criterion has

 whether there is a word limit is
 how directly relevant your evidence is
 whether structure is provided by the organisation. For example, some agencies
provide the example they wish you to give using the behaviour-based structure
‘Tell us about a time when …’

The three-part structure I am suggesting here is a broad approach which gives a

starting point for tackling your response. You will need to exercise judgement as to
how closely you use this structure, taking into account factors like those mentioned
above. Not all parts will apply in all circumstances.

The three-part structure for selection criteria responses comprises:

 a general opening statement in support of the criterion

 specific evidence in the form of a story or stories
 a link to the job context.

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Let’s take each of these parts and explore how they look in practice. I will use the
criterion Well developed analytical and research skills to illustrate the parts. The
context of the job is a strategic Human Resources unit.

Part 1: General statement in support of the criterion

This is a short paragraph that makes a broad statement about meeting the criterion.
Make sure you use the language of the criterion so that the reader knows you are
talking about the right skill set.

‘My well developed analytical and research skills have been demonstrated
during five years working as an academic research assistant and in
implementing a government grants program. In both roles I researched and
analysed information about complex social issues including homelessness,
obesity and literacy problems.’

Part 2: Specific example/s to support the criterion

The examples used as evidence are specific instances of applying research and
analytical skills. Options for structuring stories (e.g. SAR) are described in the next
section of this chapter.

‘While Project Officer for the Community Grants Program, I researched and
analysed options for a consultative process with community groups. My role
was to prepare an executive briefing paper which identified options and
recommended a course of action.

I reviewed eight consultative processes used by various government agencies,

three recommended by private consultants, and completed a literature review
covering the last 10 years. Using a set of criteria I established based on this
material, I summarised the processes, selected four that best met the
Community Grants Program needs, evaluated them based on the criteria and
recommended one. My recommendation was accepted by the executive, with
commendations on the quality of the briefing paper. I am now developing a
strategy for introducing this option into the program.’

Part 3: Link to job context

If there is a gap between the examples you provide and the work to be done in the
new job, you may wish to close with a short statement that signals the transferability
of your skills to the new job. You do not want to use this option if the example is
directly relevant to the job. Nor do you want to use this part multiple times so that
your reader becomes aware of the repetition.

‘I anticipate that these research and analysis skills will readily transfer to
researching and analysing strategic HR issues such as staff engagement, talent
management and workplace planning.’

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If word length is at a premium and you need to cut to the chase, then another option is
to have a range of ways to start your response to provide some variety to your
responses.

Suppose the criterion is: Well developed oral and written communication skills.

Options for starting a response include:

 I have well developed oral and written communication skills. Examples that
demonstrate these skills are ...
 My well developed oral communication skills are demonstrated by …
 My capacity to deliver well developed written communication is demonstrated
 by …
 Examples of my well developed oral communication skills are …

Each of these opening lines would then be supported with specific examples written
as dot points or as stories.

Provide structured stories

Applicant information kits may provide you with advice about how to structure your
evidence stories. Typically these structures are acronyms:

 STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result

 CAR: Circumstance, Action, Result
 SAR: Situation, Action, Result
 SAO: Situation, Action, Outcome.

There is little difference between these models. The important detail to note about
these structures is that they start with a specific situation in which you demonstrated
the behaviours of the criterion. In this situation you had roles to play, tasks to
complete, challenges to face. You then took some action to deal with this situation.
This action then delivered results.

To write such stories what you need to do is:

 select strong examples from your log of incidents. (Read Chapter 3.)
 write in the first person, that is, using ‘I’ rather than ‘we’ or ‘they’. While it is
appropriate to acknowledge team efforts, your application is about your
contribution and what results you achieved.
 outline what you did, how you did it, possibly why you did it the way you did,
with whom, according to what procedures and policies.
 state what results flowed from your actions.

Let’s take the criterion Demonstrated problem-solving skills to illustrate what a SAR
story structure looks like in practice. I have inserted in brackets where each part starts.
You would not include these words in your actual response.

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‘[situation] I demonstrated my problem-solving skills during a recent meeting.

I attended a branch planning meeting to revise the corporate plan and identify
goals for the coming year. After a heated debate about priorities staff became
bogged down in implementation detail, section silos resurfaced, and blinkered
thinking presented barriers to resolving the discussion. While I was not
facilitating this discussion, as a manager I could see that we weren’t going to
reach an outcome if the current state of play continued.

[actions] To break through this deadlock I suggested three lines of action.

First, that we all take a refreshment break, leave the room, mix and mingle and
have time out. Second, that we revisit our goals for the session to re-focus on
the big picture. Third, we have a timed discussion about section concerns that
were unresolved. The meeting agreed to these steps and to the facilitator
leading the discussions under accepted ground rules.

[results] The break provided the opportunity to shift focus and renew energy
levels. Revisiting the goals resulted in shifting the perspective back to the big
picture with reassurances that implementation detail would receive structured
attention. The discussion of concerns, while painful at times, resulted in a
breakthrough in understanding between sections that contributed to improved
cooperation. The outcomes of this meeting were fully met, with goals that had
100 per cent support. My manager later thanked me for my contribution,
which she described as “critical to the success of the meeting”.’

Another example relates to the criterion: Demonstrated ability to organise a

demanding workload, to set priorities and to meet deadlines.

Your log of incidents has some notes about an example you could use.

Situation: Organised executive forum as additional task while also meeting end of
year reporting requirements, plus carrying out day-to-day duties, during a period of
increased client complaints.

Task: To meet all deadlines while staying sane and helpful to other staff.

Action: Set aside specific time each day to focus on forum, co-opted two other
helpers, refined procedures to better handle complaints.

Result: All deadlines met, quality of reporting maintained, positive feedback on

complaints handling.

A final response might then look like this.

‘My ability to organise a demanding workload, to set priorities and to meet

deadlines was demonstrated in my role as executive assistant at a time when I was
asked to organise an executive forum (an additional task) in the face of end-of-
year reporting and an unexpected increase in client complaints. To organise this
demanding workload and meet all deadlines I identified that these three areas were
top priority and that I needed to create ways to handle this load professionally
with minimal impact on colleagues. To achieve this I:

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o co-opted time from two staff who were delegated specific tasks
o allocated a specified time each day to organising the forum
o identified a way to improve the complaints handling in order to streamline the
process.

By eliminating an additional handling point in the procedures I reduced the

turnaround time for complaint handling by two days.

The results were that all deadlines were met, no day-to-day work suffered, and
feedback about the process from complainants was largely positive, thereby
building goodwill and reducing the basis for future complaints.’

Not all criteria lend themselves to a storytelling approach. For some criteria a list of
dot points conveys the relevant evidence. For example, supposing the selection
criterion is: Demonstrated ability to make public presentations.

A response in dot point form is:

‘My ability to speak confidently in public is demonstrated by:

o three years of lecturing and tutoring to first and third year history students at
the University of Sydney
o presentation of papers at national and international conferences (these are
listed in my résumé)
o four years membership of Toastmasters, including president in 2013, and
twice winner of the International Speech Contest at area level
o voluntary guide with the Australian Museum in 2011–13 explaining
Australia’s history and culture to secondary school groups, seniors groups and
overseas tourists.

Feedback from conference participants showed highly favourable audience

response and follow-up contacts generated several valuable alliances.’

Writing in this abbreviated manner not only helps the selection panel reach a decision
but also forces you to express yourself more clearly and succinctly.

Vague responses make assessment difficult. Suppose the selection criterion is:
Extensive management experience working with information technology teams. A
vague, non-specific response might be:

‘During the last eight years I have had progressively more responsible
positions, working with both small and large information technology teams.
These positions involved managing the teams in all aspects of their work.’

A stronger, clearer, more concrete response is:

‘My extensive management experience is demonstrated by:

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o current position as Assistant Manager, Resource Management Branch,

Department of Public Works, responsible for 85 staff across three sub-
programs; reorganised branch to achieve 10 per cent increase in annual
revenue and cost savings of five per cent; completed a major program review
on time and within budget with 90 per cent of recommendations adopted by
executive
o three years as Manager, IT Services, Department of Public Works, responsible
for a team of 10 staff, including budgeting and business planning, with an
annual turnover of $1.5m
o four years as Project Officer, Specialised IT Services, Progress Inc.,
supervising five staff developing specialised IT services and products for
small businesses. Budget of $0.75m.’

If you haven’t a strong case to make for a criterion, there are several options open to
you.

 You can use an example from another context that you consider would transfer
to this context. Work is about employability and gaining transferable
experience. Think about your work in terms of how a given experience might
be applicable to another situation and what lessons could be learned from it.
Your portfolio stocktake, referred to in Chapter 3, is useful here.

 You can demonstrate that you learn quickly even though you may not be
strong on this particular skill or knowledge. For example, you may have had to
grasp a fairly complex issue within two weeks of arriving at a previous
position. Even if you are not familiar with the present position’s requirements,
you can use this example to demonstrate that you are a fast learner.

 Or, you can admit you are not strong in this area and indicate a willingness to
grasp the material for particular reasons related to your career development.

Use strong language

No matter how strong the examples are, if they are not written well you could still
miss out on being short-listed. The style of writing selection criteria responses is
different from much public sector writing. You need to write in the first person, with
active sentences, strong verbs and specific detail. You also need to use good English.

Watch your verbs

In writing to selection criteria it is your verbs which make your response strong and
concise. Poor verb choice can undersell your talents. Well-chosen verbs give an
accurate and specific picture of your contribution, behaviour and results.

Supposing the selection criterion is: Ability to communicate with people at all levels
of seniority.

A possible response to this criterion could start with:

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‘My position has necessitated the ability to communicate with a broad

spectrum of people.’

On the surface, this statement appears to address the criterion. In reality, it tells the
selection panel very little. Questions the statement raises are:

 What position?
 What did the position require in terms of communication?
 What sort of people did the person communicate with?
 How often?
 Who necessitated the communication?

Note that the expression ‘has necessitated’ is a passive, indirect construction, which
makes the amount of communication, the level of responsibility and the degree of
frequency unclear.

An alternative approach is:

‘In my position as receptionist at XYZ company and as sales assistant at PRQ

Pty Ltd, I met, on a daily basis, senior management of those companies, sales
representatives, suppliers from other companies, and members of the general
public. Each month the board met and I organised their travel arrangements.
Most of the communication was face-to-face and by telephone and I was
frequently commended for the professional manner in which I carried out
these duties.’

This response clearly addresses the important matters of the criterion, namely:

 ability to communicate
 all levels of seniority.

The response specifies the positions (ones which clearly suggest communication
responsibilities), and uses specific verbs (met, organised) to indicate exactly what was
done which would have created a communication situation.

The frequency of contact is mentioned (daily, monthly) which says that the applicant
has regular experience, and specifies the sort of people dealt with (senior
management, sales representatives, suppliers, general public). Additional information
is given to clarify the forms of communication most frequently used (face-to-face and
telephone).

You may be tempted to use expressions like ‘I assisted with’, ‘was involved in’,
‘participated in’, ‘helped with’, or ‘contributed to’. These are vague, and do not signal
what your contribution was. To say ‘I assisted with the project’ could mean you
operated a photocopier, drafted a document, negotiated a deal. While such expressions
can imply more than what your contribution was, they can also undersell your worth
and result in you not being short-listed. And remember, getting short-listed is the
purpose of the application.

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To make your contribution clear, use active constructions and strong, specific verbs
such as ‘I negotiated’, ‘I liaised with’, ‘I edited’.

Let’s take another example. Suppose the selection criterion is: Experience in
operating a small business. Part of a possible response might be:

‘I have assisted with making business decisions as well as helping to

implement procedures to effectively and efficiently operate a small business.’

The verbs ‘assisted’ and ‘helping’ are weak, giving little indication as to what the
applicant’s role was. How did the applicant assist with decision-making? Who made
the decisions? What was the relationship between the applicant and the decision-
maker? What sort of procedures? How did the applicant assist in their
implementation? How do you gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of the
procedures?

A stronger case could be written so that these sorts of questions do not arise. For
example:

‘As a partner in the business I provided advice to the senior partner on how to
improve the work flow between the salespeople and consultants. As a result of
this advice, productivity, as measured by expressions of interest translated into
sales, increased by 30 per cent during the last 18 months.’

Instead of using non-specific verbs like ‘assisted’, ‘helped’, and ‘was involved with’,
select a verb, or verbs, which clearly state your actions. A list of specific verbs is
provided in Table 7 to help you in writing your response to selection criteria.

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Table 7: 550 action verbs

Abstracted Borrowed Consolidated Distilled

Accelerated Bought Constructed Distinguished
Accentuated Brainstormed Consulted Distributed
Accepted Briefed Continued Diversified
Accommodated Brokered Contracted Documented
Accomplished Budgeted Controlled Doubled
Accounted Built Converted Drafted
Accumulated Calculated Conveyed Drew
Achieved Calibrated Convinced Drove
Acquired Capitalised Cooperated Earned
Acted Captured Coordinated Economised
Adapted Cared Corrected Edited
Addressed Catalogued Corresponded Educated
Adhered Categorised Corroborated Elicited
Adjudicated Centralised Costed Eliminated
Adjusted Chaired Counselled Emphasised
Administered Championed Counted Empowered
Adopted Challenged Crafted Enabled
Advanced Changed Created Enacted
Advised Chartered Critiqued Encouraged
Advertised Checked Crystallised Endorsed
Advocated Chose Cultivated Endured
Aligned Circulated Curtailed Energised
Allocated Clarified Customised Enforced
Altered Classified Cut Engaged
Amended Closed Debated Engineered
Analysed Coached Decided Enhanced
Answered Co-created Deciphered Enlisted
Anticipated Coded Decreased Enlivened
Applied Collaborated Defended Ensured
Appointed Collated Defined Equalised
Appraised Collected Delegated Equipped
Appreciated Commanded Delivered Eradicated
Approved Commenced Demonstrated Escalated
Arbitrated Commercialised Deployed Espoused
Arranged Commissioned Derived Established
Articulated Communicated Described Estimated
Ascertained Conferred Designed Evaluated
Asked Comforted Detailed Examined
Assembled Confronted Detected Exchanged
Assessed Compared Determined Exceeded
Assigned Compiled Developed Executed
Assured Completed Devised Exercised
Attained Complied Diagnosed Exhibited
Attended Composed Differentiated Exhorted
Audited Computed Diminished Expanded
Augmented Conceived Directed Expedited
Authenticated Conceptualised Discarded Experimented
Authored Concluded Discounted Explained
Authorised Conducted Discovered Explored
Balanced Configured Discussed Exposed
Bargained Connected Displayed Expressed
Booked Conserved Disseminated Extracted

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Extrapolated Intercepted Negotiated Promoted

Facilitated Interpreted Networked Proofread
Fashioned Interviewed Nominated Propelled
Filed Introduced Normalised Proposed
Filtered Invented Noticed Prospected
Finalised Inventoried Nurtured Protected
Financed Invested Obliterated Proved
Fitted Investigated Observed Provided
Fixed Invoiced Obtained Publicised
Focused Issued Offered Purchased
Forecasted Itemised Officiated Pursued
Formulated Joined Opened Qualified
Fostered Judged Operated Quantified
Founded Justified Optimised Queried
Funded Launched Orchestrated Questioned
Furnished Learnt Ordered Raised
Gained Lectured Organised Rallied
Galvanised Led Oriented Ranked
Gathered Leveraged Originated Rated
Gauged Liaised Outlined Ratified
Generated Licensed Outsourced Read
Governed Linked Overcame Realigned
Graduated Listened Overhauled Rearranged
Greeted Lobbied Oversaw Reasoned
Guided Located Packed Rebuilt
Halted Logged Participated Received
Handled Lowered Partnered Recognised
Headed Made Perceived Recommended
Hired Magnified Performed Reconciled
Honoured Maintained Persevered Recorded
Hosted Managed Persisted Recruited
Hypothesised Manipulated Persuaded Rectified
Identified Manoeuvred Photographed Recycled
Illustrated Mapped Picked Redesigned
Implemented Marketed Piloted Reduced
Imported Marshalled Pinpointed Reengineered
Improved Mastered Pioneered Referred
Improvised Masterminded Planned Refined
Incorporated Matched Positioned Reformed
Increased Maximised Predicted Reframed
Indexed Measured Prepared Regained
Inducted Mediated Prescribed Registered
Influenced Memorised Presented Regulated
Informed Mended Preserved Rehabilitated
Initiated Mentored Presided Reinforced
Innovated Merged Printed Reinvigorated
Inspected Met Prioritised Rejuvenated
Inspired Minimised Processed Remedied
Installed Mobilised Procured Remodelled
Instituted Modelled Produced Renewed
Instructed Moderated Profited Renovated
Intensified Modified Programmed Reorganised
Integrated Monitored Progressed Repaired
Interacted Motivated Projected Reported
Interceded Navigated Proliferated Repositioned

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Represented Shaped Suggested Tuned

Rescued Shared Summarised Tutored
Researched Shepherded Supervised Uncovered
Resolved Short-listed Supplemented Undertook
Responded Slashed Supplied Understood
Restated Simplified Supported Underwrote
Restored Simulated Surpassed Unearthed
Restructured Sketched Surveyed United
Resumed Sold Synthesised Unified
Retained Solidified Systematised Unlocked
Retrieved Solved Tabulated Updated
Reused Sorted Targeted Upheld
Reviewed Sourced Taught Upgraded
Revised Sparked Tendered Urged
Revitalised Speculated Terminated Used
Risked Spearheaded Tested Utilised
Rostered Specified Theorised Validated
Salvaged Spoke Thwarted Valued
Satisfied Stabilised Traced Verbalised
Scheduled Standardised Tracked Verified
Screened Steered Traded Viewed
Scripted Stimulated Trained Visualised
Scrutinised Stocked Transcribed Weighed
Searched Stored Transferred Welcomed
Secured Streamlined Transformed Welded
Selected Strengthened Transitioned Widened
Separated Structured Translated Won
Served Studied Trimmed Wrote
Serviced Substantiated Tripled
Settled Succeeded Trusted

Use active sentences

Applications can become difficult to read and therefore assess, if they are written in
convoluted and passive language. In active sentences the subject is the doer of the
action. It is clear to the reader who is doing what.

Writing in active language means putting you up front and using strong verbs to
signal your contribution. This also means writing in the first person, starting sentences
with ‘I’. This raises two issues:

 Responses with lots of sentences starting with ‘I’ can become repetitious and
sound a tad arrogant.
 People may not have sole responsibility for the work they do. How do you
acknowledge the team while being clear about your own contribution?

The first issue can be addressed by noticing where the ‘I’ sentences are in your
response. Often they occur in the ‘Action’ part of the story. A person writing about a
problem they solved might write this paragraph:

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‘To handle this contract problem I analysed the contract and the relevant
guidelines. I then spoke to the legal section and obtained advice about the
clauses on confidentiality and conflict of interest. I then rang the contractor
and explained the advice I had received. I then wrote a letter confirming the
advice and inviting the contractor to a meeting. I arranged the meeting at
which my manager discussed the implications of the contract.’

This response can be edited to remove most of the repetition. The result is a much
tighter, more succinct response and the list of dot points focuses more directly on the
actions taken.

‘To handle this contract problem I:

o analysed the contract and the relevant guidelines

o spoke to the legal section and obtained advice about the clauses on
confidentiality and conflict of interest
o rang the contractor and explained the advice I had received
o wrote a letter confirming the advice and inviting the contractor to a meeting
o arranged the meeting at which my manager discussed the implications of the
contract.’

Regarding the second issue, most people do not work in isolation from colleagues.
The challenge of selection criteria responses is to acknowledge team effort while
carving out your own contribution. Think of your work as a piece of a pie. The whole
pie represents the work of the unit, team, or group of staff, each contributing a slice or
slices to the pie. You need to carve out the section of the pie that is yours and focus on
that, while still making clear that you were part of a team.

A classic expression used in claims to selection criteria starts with ‘I was required to
…’ For example, an applicant writes:

‘In my position as receptionist I was required to answer the phone and sort the
mail.’

This is, strictly speaking, a true statement. Where it can undersell an applicant, is
when ‘I was required to’ is used multiple times. This expression implies that someone
tells them what to do but they do not necessarily own what they do. There is a
distance between the person and the tasks they carry out. It can imply that the person
does not take responsibility for their work. They rely on others to direct them. This is
not a helpful impression if working with minimum supervision is one of the criteria.

Here is another response. Vague verbs and passive sections are underlined. Notice
that the actor in this story (i.e. the applicant) drops out of the picture. We are left
wondering who does what.

‘In my role as Customer Contact Officer I am involved with many clients and
am required to provide confidential client-focused quality service on a daily
basis. I am required to conduct an advisory visit outlining the client’s
responsibilities. The visit requires me to research the business and prepare a
report. For example, a report was prepared for a client who was not meeting

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grant requirements. The report was reviewed and following changes the client
reviewed their commitments and made changes to their business operations.’

To fix this remove ‘was required to’ and stay ‘in the picture’ of the story. A re-written
version of this example is:

‘As Customer Contact Officer I am daily in contact with many clients and
provide confidential client-focused, quality service. This service is reflected in
my approach to client visits. I regularly conduct advisory visits to small
business clients to outline their responsibilities as grant recipients. These visits
are informed by my research. Post-visit I wrote a report on the client’s grant
requirement compliance. Following my team leader’s review of my report, I
discussed my findings with the client. The result of this visit and review was
that the client made changes to their business operations and became
compliant with grant obligations.’

Restrict your use of belief statements

It is tempting to simply state that you believe you meet each criterion. After all, it will
be self-evident from your résumé and you can tell the panel in person at the interview.

Unfortunately, this won’t do. If you find yourself writing statements like the
following, start again.

 I believe I have highly developed presentation and oral communication skills

which enable me to communicate effectively and informatively.
 I believe I possess superior liaison and presentation skills.
 I believe I possess a well developed and effective sales ability.

What you need to do is provide specific evidence of your claim using stories from
your log of incidents.

Restrict your use of universals

Credibility in a statement against selection criteria can be reduced by using universals

inappropriately. Universals are sweeping generalisations about your performance that
suggest you are perfect, without exception. I am referring here to the use of words like
‘all’, ‘every’, ‘always’, ‘never’, ‘constantly’, ‘continually’, ‘totally’, ‘fully’,
‘completely’.

For example, an applicant may write:

 I always give my customers courteous service.

 I never miss an opportunity to contribute ideas at meetings.
 I always respect my colleagues.

Most people are not perfect all of the time. The occasional generalisation backed by
evidence is acceptable. What is problematic is a statement to criteria riddled with
generalisations and little or no evidence.

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One way to avoid this type of expression is to outline what you strive to do. For
example, in responding to a criterion about customer service, you could list the
behaviours of your service that reflect the level of quality you give.

‘My quality customer service is demonstrated by:

o answering the telephone on the third ring

o responding to written inquiries within seven days
o offering refreshments to customers if they are kept waiting more than 15
minutes
o calling customers to check that their products have been delivered correctly.

I have several emails and letters from my customers complimenting me on my

courteous and professional service.’

A response using this format indicates what you strive to do for all customers and
adds evidence that supports your claim for consistency and quality.

Step 3: Review and edit

Use good English

The written application indicates to the selection panel not only your suitability to do
the job but also something of your writing ability. You should ensure that all parts of
the application reflect correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. However tiresome
you may find this process, an application riddled with spelling errors, whether ‘typos’
or genuine mistakes, does not give a good impression, particularly if writing skills is a
criterion. A useful resource is the Style manual.xlvi

If you are unsure whether you have achieved a well written statement ask someone
you know who is skilled in proofreading and who has a good command of English to
look over your application. If spelling is not your strong point, check words in a
dictionary. Do not rely on computer spellcheckers.

The layout of your statement can help or hinder the reader. A statement that is easy to
read so an assessment of your suitability can be made quickly will help your case.
Pages of long, dense, 10 point text will be a pain to read. Some agencies give
applicants formatting instructions. Where guidance is not given stick to standard
business correspondence format—12 point, standard fonts (e.g. Times New Roman or
Ariel) and standard page margins.

The most frequently asked question about responding to selection criteria is ‘How
long should my answer be?’ There is no simple, single answer to this question. You
will have to make a judgement based on such factors as whether an agency specifies a
word or page limit, how senior the job is and how many criteria and criterion parts
there are. As a general rule of thumb, one short paragraph is not enough. If you are
onto page two for one criterion it could be too long. About two-thirds of a page is
reasonable.

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Whatever you do, don’t cram the answer purely for the sake of fewer pages. It is
better to have readable pages even if it takes more space.

Where online systems are used draft your responses in Word or Notebook, noting any
instructions about formatting, such as not using bold or underline, indicating dot
points with asterisks or dashes, and file type, such as .pdf, .rtf or .doc files.

If you are emailing an application use grammatical English. Avoid using social media
speak. Phrases such as ‘soz’ and “LMK’ are inadvisable.

When you combine your analysis of the job context, with this three-step process, used
with judgement, you will markedly increase your chances of being short-listed for a
public sector job.

Given the length of many applications is dictated by a specified word or page length,
the next chapter provides further guidance on writing succinct responses.

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Chapter 10: HOW TO WRITE CONCISE, PRECISE

RESPONSES
Communication capabilities and instructions to applicants include the following
behaviours:

 communicates clearly and concisely

 focuses on key points
 uses appropriate language
 addresses needs of the audience
 structures written communication so it ensures clarity
 uses unambiguous language
 comprehensive but succinct.

Even though a written application is a specialised form of writing, chances are strong
a selection panel will pay attention to your document as an example of your writing
skills. If responses are unclear, poorly structured, and vague, panel members will have
difficulty deciding whether you should be short-listed.

Plus, some panel members may be pedantic about spelling and grammar, and use
these errors as part of their decision-making.

In the context of job applications, your responses need to meet the above-mentioned
behaviours. In considering these behaviours, there are some details to keep in mind:

 Addresses needs of the audience: A panel member’s initial job when reading
your application is to decide whether to short-list you or not. In order to do
this that person will be reading, possibly quickly, each response, to determine
whether the response provides evidence of meeting the criterion. To maximise
your chances of a favourable decision, your material must be well-structured,
concisely and precisely written, and provide relevant evidence.

 Structures: Chapter 9 describes useful structures for responses, including the

STAR and SAR models.

 Focuses on key points: Responses must focus on what the criterion is about
and select material appropriate to the level of the job. This is explored in
Chapter 9.

 Uses appropriate language: This includes selecting the appropriate

professional terminology, the behavioural language mentioned in capability
statements, and the language of the job description and organisation.

 Clear, concise, succinct: Word choice and word order are critical to writing
strong criteria responses, particularly when there is a word limit. While it may
not be totally unambiguous, it’s important to notice where a sentence is open
to interpretation, and clarify the point being made. What makes responses
strong is choosing words that are precise, particularly verbs, and writing
concisely, so that redundant, unnecessary words are removed. Succinct

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responses are brief, with no words wasted. Concise responses are also brief,
and are comprehensive in scope. So the ideal response is brief, gives all the
information necessary, is precise, and as unambiguous as possible.

This chapter focuses on writing concisely and precisely.

Be wary of simplistic writing advice

Short, simple and direct are not necessarily the hallmarks of effective writing. Much
advice about good writing focuses on keeping sentences short. Yes, omit needless
words, but shorter is not necessarily better, and keeping it simple risks producing
simplistic responses. Simple means plain, not complicated, and capable of being
quickly grasped. Simplistic means oversimplified.

Good writing shows a variety of sentence length and vocabulary choices that are
precise and appropriate. This means that some sentences could be long and include
multisyllabic words.

Effective responses meet the reader’s needs (that is, to assess whether evidence has
been provided to support the criterion), plus accomplishes the writer’s goals, which
may include conveying a professional image as someone who will get the job done,
supporting a case for promotion, and showing cultural fit and enthusiasm.

Know what you want to say

If you are not clear at the outset about what you are trying to say in a response, there
is a risk that what you write will be unfocused.

Underpinning any sentence are propositions, that is, underlying assumptions and
ideas. There will likely be several propositions in a sentence, some more obvious than
others. If I say: ‘I am a public servant’, this sentence assumes I exist, there is such a
thing as a public servant, and that I am one of these. These three unspoken
propositions carry a host of meanings, both intended and unintended, about who I am.

When writing responses to selection criteria, you need to consciously think about
what propositions underpin each sentence, otherwise there can be unintended
consequences, such as information left out (it’s in your head but not in the sentence),
irrelevant information included, or parts that don’t make sense due to leaps in logic.

What are the underpinning propositions for this sentence: ‘I was able to identify that
this issue was potentially a bigger issue than expected’? They include:

 There is an issue.
 The issue is potentially bigger than expected.
 Someone expected the issue to be not so big.
 I identified the size of the issue.

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Are these the points that you want to make in this sentence? Do they raise points that
need to be dealt with in the remainder of the response? Being clear about what
propositions a sentence raises helps with writing a focused response.

Responses are made up of sentences

Responses are built by writing sentences. There are three choices to make with each
sentence:

 What do you want to accomplish with the sentence?

 Which words will you use (i.e. vocabulary choices)?
 How will you combine the words (i.e. syntax choices)?

The main purpose of each sentence is to provide information that supports the
criterion. A secondary purpose is to retain the reader’s interest. If your reader thinks
you are off topic and uninteresting, your application is fast moving towards the No
Bucket.

The second and third choices can be thought of as two axes of a sentence.

Diagram 6: Vocabulary and syntax choices

More abstract

Word choices

Word order choices

More precise

For any word in a sentence, each can be replaced with a synonym that is either more
abstract or more precise. The words in the sentence can also be placed in a different
order, thereby changing the meanings conveyed.

Take the above example:

‘I was able to identify that this issue was potentially a bigger issue than
expected.’

The word ‘issue’ could be replaced with problem, matter, predicament, challenge.
‘Bigger’ could be replaced with huge, more challenging, riskier, more demanding,
more resource intensive, more complex, more serious. The verb ‘identify’ could be
replaced with judged, determined, established, analysed, discovered. ‘Expected’ could
be replaced with anticipated, realized, predicted, identified.

Some choices are more precise, some are more abstract. The meaning conveyed
subtly changes if different choices are made. Consider these alternatives:

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 I was able to determine that this problem was potentially riskier than
anticipated.
 I was able to judge that this problem was potentially more complex than
predicted.
 I was able to determine that this predicament was potentially more resource
intensive than identified.

Something different is going on if a problem is anticipated, predicted, identified.

The order of the words could also be changed. For example:

 This predicament, I was able to determine, was potentially more resource

intensive than identified.
 Riskier than anticipated, I determined that this problem ….(This order then
takes the sentence in a new direction.)

An example like: ‘I was able to identify that this issue was potentially a bigger issue
than expected’ shows other points to consider:

 The redundance of ‘…was able to …’. The sentence could start with ‘I
identified …’. Notice that this changes the verb to past tense, indicating that
this is an example that has already happened.
 It is unclear at this stage how the issue was identified as bigger than expected.
Was this guesswork or based on some analysis?
 It is unclear who had failed to see this problem for what it was—bigger than
expected.

An effective criterion response both provides information and guides the thinking of
the reader so that their main question is answered, that is, Does this person satisfy the
criterion? Whether it is necessary to explain these two unclear points will depend on
the nature of the criterion and whether this information is relevant.

Writing information-rich sentences

A sentence comprising a basic proposition can be added to in three ways according to
Professor Brooks Landon.xlvii

To illustrate, let’s use the sentence, ‘I identified an issue’ as our basic proposition.

The first method is to add propositional information joined to the basic proposition by
words like ‘and’ and ‘because’.

 I identified an issue and I began researching solutions.

 I identified an issue and I began researching solutions because it was
potentially bigger than first thought.

The second method is to subordinate some parts of a sentence to other parts using
‘who’, ‘which’ and ‘that’.

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 I identified an issue, that was bigger than expected, and began researching
solutions.
 I identified an issue, that was bigger than expected, and began researching
solutions that would be cost-effective.

The third method is to use modifying words and phrases.

 I identified a new issue.

 I identified an issue and began researching solutions, a sense of urgency
driving my actions.

Your log book of incidents will provide a series of propositions. Let’s take the
example in Chapter 3.

Table 4: Situation-based log of a problem-solving incident

Situation: Team member suddenly taken Skills demonstrated:

sick. Risk that executive brief misses
deadline. Problem-solving
Initiative
Time management
Flexibility
Actions: Discussed idea with supervisor Teamwork
about gaining help from the branch Staying calm under pressure
manager’s executive assistant. Re-arranged Communication
work. Shortened lunch time. Sent Interpersonal skills
apologies to a meeting. Worked back
another hour.
Ethical or values issues:
Results: Completed brief with four hours
to gain manager’s clearance. Brief Responsiveness
submitted by deadline with compliments Accountability
from supervisor for showing initiative and
staying calm under pressure.
Knowledge applied:
Learnings: Don’t wait for someone else to
do something. If you can, solve a problem Format for an executive brief
yourself.

The criterion is about problem solving. This response illustrates how many
propositions can be combined using the three methods outlined above.

‘A problem I solved as team leader occurred during a peak work period

with critical deadlines. A key team member called in sick leaving two staff
to meet the day’s deadlines which included an executive brief. Remaining
calm, I considered my options and determined an approach based on
priorities and potential resources. I discussed my approach with my
supervisor who supported my choices. By gaining help from the branch

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manager’s executive assistant, re-arranging work and work hours, and

sending apologies to a non-critical meeting, all that day’s deadlines were
met, including the executive brief. My supervisor complimented me for
my initiative and staying calm under pressure.’

Thirteen ways to reduce words

As every word counts, literally and figuratively, in your responses, you need to
have an eye for unnecessary, irrelevant and redundant, words. Here are thirteen
ways to avoid using more words than you need.

1. Essential detail

Including material that can be gleaned from your résumé takes up unnecessary
space in responses. Take this example about research skills:

‘I started working for the Department of Wellbeing in Canberra as a

researcher from January 2012. Previous to this I was working as an
administrative officer for a business support team within the Compliance
Unit where I established my research skills.’

Much of this material should be evident from the person’s résumé. Little is
conveyed about how research skills were used and with what result. These 41
words could be expressed as:

‘I have three years research experience.’

2. Formal writing

A job application errs on the more formal end of the writing spectrum so
colloquial expressions may undermine your case in two senses: such expressions
tend to be wordier and may convey a flippancy that is not intended.

Take this example about problem solving.

‘Last year I was involved with the roll out of the Windows upgrade across
all departmental sites. Having been trained on the new software during the
pilot stage, my task was to pick up on any bugs and make
recommendations on how to fix them.

I identified several issues that everyday uses might face. One was
difficulties with matching calendars and making group appointments for
meetings. This was particularly an issue for executive assistant type roles
where staff needed to keep diaries for their bosses. After chatting to
several of these staff I was able to work out a way round the problem so
that it was no longer an issue.’ (111 words)

While this makes clear what the issue is, there is a risk that the informal style of
writing may lesson the impact of the example. An alternative is:

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‘Last year I was part of a team project managing the roll out of the
Windows upgrade across all departmental sites. Having been trained on
the new software during the pilot stage, my task was to identify problems
and make recommendations on how to fix them.

I identified several problems that staff might face. One was difficulties
with matching calendars and making group appointments for meetings.
This was particularly an issue for executive assistants needing to manage
executives’ diaries. After consulting several staff I tested and established a
solution. Staff have reported no further problems with the calendar
function.’ (99 words)

3. Strong verb choice

Verbs reflect the action taken and criteria-related behaviours. Using vague verbs
not only wastes words but undersells your case. ‘I have also done secretariat work
for a committee’ can be edited to ‘I provided secretariat support for a committee.’
See Chapter 9 for a list of 600 verbs.

4. Delete ‘required to’

These words are usually redundant. If a task is part of your job you don’t need to
say you are required to do it. ‘As part of my role I am required to take minutes for
the committee’ can be edited to ‘I take minutes for the committee.’

5. Delete ‘needed to’ and ‘able to’

Similar to ‘required to’ these words are usually redundant. ‘In my role I needed to
manage my daily workload and set priorities’ can be edited to ‘I daily manage my
workload and set priorities.’ ‘I was able to arrange a meeting with key
stakeholders’ can be edited to ‘I arranged a meeting with key stakeholders.’

Similarly ‘have to’ and ‘would have’ can be removed. ‘I have to edit my
responses and would have to then make changes’ can become ‘I edit my responses
and make changes’.

6. Use one word for several

When reviewing your writing ask yourself if a sentence can be written with fewer
words and still retain the essential meaning.

The sentence: ‘For the last three years I have been asked to train several groups of
staff’ could be edited to ‘Recently I trained several groups of staff.’

The sentences: ‘I realised that joining this team was an opportunity I should get
the most out of, so I got seriously focused on building my network. This made
every encounter a chance to get to know my team members’ could be edited to: ‘I
realised that joining this team was a chance to maximise my networking, making

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daily encounters a relationship-building opportunity.’ These changes reduce 38

words to 19.

7. Use active voice

Passive sentences tend to be longer and carry less impact. The sentence: ‘The
project was managed by the team’ becomes, in the active voice: ‘The team
managed the project.’ See Chapter 9 for more examples.

8. Turn nouns into verbs

Nouns can often be turned into verbs, thereby reducing words and strengthening
your case.

Keep an eye out for nouns ending in ‘ion’. The sentence: ‘We made a decision to
organise a focus group with stakeholders’ can be edited to ‘We decided to
facilitate a focus group with stakeholders’ or ‘We facilitated a focus group with
stakeholders.’

9. Reduce modifiers

Modifiers are words that intensify or de-intensify action.

The sentence: ‘I am very eager to take on this really difficult project in this
extremely challenging environment’ can be edited to ‘I am eager to take on this
difficult project in such a challenging environment.’

The sentence: ‘I would rather like to take on this quite difficult project in this
somewhat challenging environment’ can be edited to: ‘I am keen to take on this
difficult project in such a challenging environment.’

10. Cut empty phrases

An empty phrase is one that adds little or nothing to the sentence. Examples are:
‘at the end of the day’, ‘all things considered’, ‘in the final analysis’.

11. Cut pompous phrasing

Sometimes using the language of criteria can result in sounding a tad pompous.
The sentence: ‘I engaged in utilising my advanced collaborations skills’ could be
edited to ‘I collaborated with colleagues.’

12. Turn negatives into positives

Saying something in the negative may take more words than if the same thing is
written in the positive.

The sentence: ‘It was not uncommon for staff meetings to last three hours’ could
be edited to either ‘Meetings lasted three hours’ or ‘Meetings were long.’

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13. Cut redundancies

Pairs of similar words can be a site for editing. For example ‘goals and objectives’
could become simply ‘goals’.

These are not fixed rules. There may well be times when it is appropriate to ignore
the above list. For the purpose of a succinct statement, they are worth considering.

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Chapter 11: CRAFTING AN EXPRESSION OF

INTEREST OR STATEMENT OF
SUITABILITY
Increasingly organisations are asking for short statements from applicants about how
their skills and experience match a job description rather than responses to a list of
criteria. These statements may have word or page limits, such as 1000 words or a
maximum of two pages.

Another form of application, the Expression of Interest (EOI), is also widely used,
particularly for short-term appointments. Typically, these documents are one to two
pages in length.

Five steps to writing an EOI or suitability statement

EOIs and suitability statements can be mystifying for people accustomed to writing to
selection criteria. While there is no single way to tackle the job of writing these
statements, it can help to have some ideas on format and content.

Statements can fall short of making a strong case because they:

 lack structure
 don’t make a case for why the person is a strong candidate
 don’t take the job context into account
 try to give examples on every criterion or skill mentioned in the job
description.

To ensure you write a strong case try these five steps.

Step 1: Read the instructions

Step 2: Conduct research.
Step 3 Know what you have to offer
Step 4: Write succinctly and make a pitch for suitability
Step 5: Update and tailor your résumé.

I’ll take each of these steps and outline what to do in order to write a strong, tailored
statement. I’m using the word ‘statement’ to refer to both EOIs and statements of
suitability.

Step 1: Read the instructions

First notice the wording of what is asked for. You may be asked to focus on matching
to the job: ‘Send a covering letter outlining how your experience and skills would be a
good match along with a current résumé.’

You may be asked to focus on goals or strategy: ‘Based on the above job description,
please send a statement of no more than two pages, plus a résumé, outlining how you
will use your skills to support the organisation’s goals.’

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Let’s look at some examples to identify some key words.

Example 1: ‘Applicants are required to provide a summary (no more than 850 words)
outlining your skills, knowledge and experience and why you should be considered
for this vacancy. You should take into consideration the Job Overview (including any
detailed position specific requirements) when drafting your response. Where possible
include specific relevant examples of your work. When you include examples, you
should:

Set the context by describing the circumstances where you used the skills or qualities
and gained the experiences:

- Detail what your role was

- Describe what you did and how you did it
- Describe what you achieved – what was the end result and how does it relate
to the job you are applying for.’

Note that you are asked not only to outline skills, knowledge and experience
mentioned in the Job Overview but also to outline why you should be considered for
the vacancy. This is not just assuming this is self-evident from your coverage of skills,
knowledge and experience. You need to make a case for ‘why’.

Notice in this example the need to:

 provide a summary outlining what you have to offer

 make a case for why you should be considered for this vacancy
 take into account the Job Overview
 state in examples how the results achieved relate to the job you are applying
for.

Example 2: ‘Provide a two (2) page (A4) statement of suitability outlining suitability
for this position. It is a requirement of the selection process that your statement not
exceed two (2) A4 pages in length and font to be used is Arial 11.
TIP – Use the suitability statement to describe how the job experience and skills you
possess relate directly to the position. Provide specific details regarding your prior
job responsibilities, special projects and achievements that demonstrate your
proficiency. Be specific by supporting your claims with examples.
Suitability statements are a vital aspect of your application because they provide an
insight into the qualities and characteristics that you would bring to the role that
distinguishes you from other candidates.’

Notice in this example the need to:

 stick to the length and font requirements

 provide specific information to support suitability for the role.

Example 3: ‘A brief covering letter highlighting your ability to do the role. PLEASE
NOTE: your ability to respond succinctly (maximum 2 pages) will be considered as
part of the initial assessment process.’

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Notice in this example the need to:

 respond succinctly or be penalised.

Example 4: ‘A short statement (maximum 2 pages) on how your experience, abilities,

knowledge and personal qualities would enable you to achieve the key
accountabilities and meet the key capabilities.’

Notice in this example the need to:

 link to achieving key accountabilities.

Example 5: ‘Provide a two (2) A4 page statement outlining your suitability for the
position by addressing the capabilities listed under “Are you the right person for the
job?” with reference to the “Key Accountabilities”. Your statement should include
examples of previous performance and the outcomes achieved to support your
claims.’

Notice in this example the need to:

 base suitability on two sections of the job description

 link to outcomes achieved.

From these five examples it is clear that you need to:

 follow the instructions

 link what you have to offer to the position
 give examples
 answer the question: Why you?

In order to achieve this you need to:

 research the role and interpret the job description

 know what you have to offer
 write succinctly
 make a pitch for your suitability.

Step 2: Conduct research

As with a job that requires responses to selection criteria, you need to fully analyse
what the job is about. Refer to Chapter 8 for a list of questions to consider.

For any role, regardless of level, you need to consider at least:

 Who you will be working with?

 What the main tasks are?
 What the results or accountabilities are?
 Why this work needs to be done?

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This last question is critical. If a position is short-term, or even if one or two years
long, there will likely be some imperative or drivers to the work. Is it a project that
has a deadline? Are there particular issues that need to be dealt with? What are the
expectations?

For longer-term roles and ongoing roles, you still need to understand the purpose of
the work area as this will make a difference to how you make your pitch.

After reading the job description and corporate documents, you may still have
questions about the role. Refer to Chapter 8 for material on researching a role. Contact
the contact person with specific questions to inform your preparations.

If the role is for a team leader, manager or supervisor, it is critical to know something
about the team you will be leading as this will affect the choice of management style.
If a team is well-established and productive, the demands will be different from a
team that is newly formed and still sorting out its purpose.

If a capability framework applies to the role you will need to consider this framework
in relation to the demands of the role. A statement doesn’t allow space for addressing
each component separately

One of the challenges facing you when tackling a statement is the amount of
information provided. The job description accompanying these requests may be as
detailed as for any other type of application.

When faced with a long list of duties, two steps you can take to make your response
more manageable are:

 Identify which duties/accountabilities are the highest priority and/or most

complex. Based on the level and salary, seniority and responsibility, work out
which parts of the role are most demanding. You could check your assessment
with the contact officer. When writing your statement you could focus on
these core parts of the job, and group the rest so as to cover them in less detail.

 Group duties according to function or purpose. Cross-reference this list with

the criteria. For example, if there are several references to clients and
communication, you could group these as ‘client communication’ or ‘client
service’. You can then write your statement based on these major functions.

Step 3: Know what you have to offer

As with other types of applications, selecting material will be easier if you have kept
records and maintained a current résumé.

Go back to Chapter 3 for guidance on preparing:

 a portfolio stocktake of knowledge, experience, roles, qualities, skills

 a log of incidents from which you can choose your best examples
 a relationships map.

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Step 4: Write succinctly and make a pitch for suitability

With a word or page limit every word needs to contribute to your case.

A statement is much more a selling document than responses to selection criteria. It

needs to capture your strengths and experience in a way that convinces the reader that
you will make a valuable contribution.

Three-part structure

While there is no one way to tackle a statement, one structure that does work well is a
three-part approach. The three sections are:

Section 1: A short opening paragraph that makes a succinct case for why you should
be considered for the vacancy, based on your motivation and portfolio of relevant
skills, knowledge and experience relevant to the role.

Section 2: Several example-based paragraphs which tell stories about how you have
used your role-related skills to deliver results. These stories are structured around
context, role, action, results. Rather than taking criteria and skills separately, look for
examples that combine skills. For example, a story about project management might
combine communication with stakeholders, research and analysis, writing, and team
management.

This section might include summaries in dot points to reflect the scope of your
experience.

Where possible link the experience to the value it will provide in the new role.

Section 3: A short closing paragraph that could indicate the contribution you wish to
make and your enthusiasm for this opportunity.

Mention of value and contribution is often missing from statements. In other words,
there is no link to the role and organisation to show how you will add value and be an
asset. This can be achieved by including sentences that show you have done your
homework and understand the organisation.

For example, let’s take a role that supports disadvantaged youth. After outlining your
portfolio, you could add a statement based on this structure: This will mean that I can
apply these skills in this role in order to ...[e.g. achieve a certain result, make a
difference, explained in quantifiable terms].

For example:

 This means that I can apply my fundraising skills in this role to build a
stronger financial foundation that will ensure program sustainability.
 This means that I can apply my communication skills in this role to build your
organisation’s public profile so that the community understands both your role
and the services you offer. This in turn will help increase service usage,
thereby meeting your goals of supporting disadvantaged youth.

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Edit for succinctness

Re-read Chapter 10 for ideas on how to write succinctly.

Pitch for suitability

Suitability is indicated in material about your portfolio of skills, experience and

qualities, plus indicating:

 what contribution you will make

 what value you offer
 your understanding of purpose and deliverables/results.

Sections 1 and 3 of your statement are where this material is most likely to be found.

The extent to which this material is covered depends on the level of the role. For more
senior roles, and particularly ones that involve team leadership and staff management,
all of this material should be considered.

To provide this material you need to think about how you will use your portfolio to
the advantage of the manager, team, unit, organisation. The following example
illustrates how this can be done.

Step 5. Edit and tailor your résumé

Read Chapter 14 and look for ways to tailor your document to support your
statement. Options include the Career Overview, selection of skills, results
mentioned, choice of work experience.

Example of a statement
This is a fictitious job description. It could be in any Australian state or territory.
The accompanying statement is designed to illustrate the three-part format, succinct
writing, and pitching to the job requirements. The statement may well contain
inaccuracies and could likely be improved by someone with extensive in-house
knowledge.

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Job description

Administrative Officer
Medical Imaging Department, Clinical Support Services
Regional Base Hospital
Regional Hospital and Health Service

Salary level: $56,332 - $62,990 p.a.

The position reports directly to the Business Manager, Clinical Support
Services.

About our organisation

Regional Health’s purpose is to provide safe, sustainable, efficient, quality and

responsive health services for all people in the region. Our behaviour is
guided by Regional Health’s commitment to high levels of ethics and integrity.

Purpose

Provision of a quality reception and administrative support service to the

Medical Imaging Department.

Your key responsibilities

 Provide best practice reception and administrative support for the

Medical Imaging Department by prioritising duties to ensure an accurate and
timely delivery of service.
 Autonomously transcribe dictated medical reports in a timely, accurate
and efficient manner in preparation for doctor’s signature and then distribute.
 Provide ethical decision making in the achievement of organisational
goals.
 Process patient information on the appropriate information system(s)
including appointments, registration, billing and information retrieval.
 Provide high level of communication, including listening and liaison
skills, with the ability to interact effectively and appropriately with patients and
staff.
 Dealing with patients in a professional and sensitive manner ensuring
patient confidentiality is maintained at all times.
 Proven ability to type at a minimum rate of 60 words per minute with
98% accuracy.
 Comply with the requirements of Workplace Health and Safety, Equal
Opportunity and Antidiscrimination practices and behaviour in the work
environment.

Qualifications/Professional registration/Other requirements

There are no mandatory qualifications for this position

Are you the right person for the job?

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You will be assessed on your ability to demonstrate the following key

attributes. Within the context of the responsibilities described above, the ideal
applicant will be someone who can demonstrate the following:

 Ability to enter and retrieve data on multiple information systems

accurately and quickly.
 A proven ability to work efficiently and effectively under pressure, with
the ability to resolve problems and challenges with a positive manner.
 Ability to communicate effectively in both written and oral forms,
displaying sensitivity and understanding, diplomacy and discretion in dealing
with the public and other staff members.
 An ability to be a productive team member and to work autonomously
and harmoniously with minimal supervision, within a multi-disciplinary team
environment.
 Knowledge of radiological terminology and transcription or
demonstrated ability to acquire knowledge in a timely manner.
 Willingness to participate and use initiative to better meet internal and
external customers’ needs.

How to apply

Please provide the following information to the panel to assess your suitability:

 A short response (maximum 1–2 pages) on how your experience,

abilities and knowledge would enable you to achieve the key responsibilities
and meet the key attributes in the “Are you the right person for the job”
section.’
 Your current CV or résumé, including referees.

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Applicant’s background

Jason Marriott is 22, loves science and technology, but hasn’t yet found his life’s
purpose. He started a science degree that was interesting rather than inspiring. He has
deferred his studies while he explores his options. Medical imaging sounds like it
might have the right combination. He is interested in this role to gain a sense of what
happens in a medical imaging unit, and hopes to find mentors who can give him
sound career advice.

Based on his analysis of the role, a conversation with the contact person, and his
career records, he crafts the following statement.

Jason Marriott’s statement

Administrative Officer, Medical Imaging Department, Regional Base Hospital

I offer the Medical Imaging Department a portfolio of skills, experience and

knowledge that enables me to ‘fit the bill’ as defined by the job description. I have
demonstrated advanced IT skills in accurately and quickly entering and retrieving data
from business information systems, meet your typing requirements, have a track
record in providing best practice client service in difficult circumstances, am adept at
grasping scientific terminology and have proven my ability to be a productive team
member. Combined, this portfolio will enable me to provide a high quality reception
and administrative support service so that staff can provide an accurate, timely,
professional service.

For the last three years I have worked part-time while studying science, providing a
quality reception service in a medical practice. I consistently received praise for my
ability to juggle phone calls, complete data entry and file retrieval, and provide patient
contact with poise, sensitivity, accuracy and speed. Due to my ability to quickly learn
the information system, I was appointed informal business trainer when new staff
joined the practice.

From this experience I mastered an extensive range of medical terminology, some of

it radiology-related. I gained familiarity with billing requirements, invoicing, and
client record management. This exposure means that I can quickly learn the
Department’s systems and provide accurate, confidential support to staff and clients.

The practice was part of a health centre, exposing me to a multi-disciplinary context

with both its complementary services as well as its potential conflicts. During my
science studies I have worked on group projects for which I have taken both a lead
and support role, ensuring that our responsibilities were clear and that deadlines were
met. I have a 100 per cent track record in meeting assignment deadlines.

Interpersonal skills in a client context are one of my strengths. My work supervisor

has provided feedback that: ‘Jason shows maturity beyond his years in dealing with
the broad range of patients who come to this practice. He has shown considerable
discretion when dealing face-to-face with patients at reception, particularly when the
waiting room is full and it is easy to be overheard.’ Patients have sent me personal

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Christmas cards thanking me for my patience, understanding and ability to explain

matters in a way that is easily understood.

My client service experience also draws on two summers working at MacDonald’s

where I served a diverse clientele covering all ages, multiple cultural backgrounds and
language skills. My teamwork and client service skills were recognised when I was
promoted to Team Leader. MacDonald’s gave me insight into the importance of
systems and procedures and their consistent application. My team received an award
for Best Safety Record.

Writing is another strength. My course supervisor has consistently given my reports

and essays Credit rating or higher. My short essays on explaining science have been
published in the CSIRO’s The Helix, a science magazine for teens. Combined with
my understanding of terminology and accurate typing, I am confident that I will be
able to autonomously transcribe dictated medical reports in a timely, accurate and
efficient manner in preparation for doctor’s signature.

I am by nature a problem solver and fixer. When our Student Mentor had difficulties
with the student record system, I analysed the problem, identified where his
difficulties were occurring and wrote out a revised set of steps which he found easier
to follow than the system manual. I am generally the ‘go to’ person amongst my class
mates when there is a computer problem. At the health centre practice, when the paper
filing system was replaced with an electronic system, I was invited to be part of the
scoping team so as to provide practical suggestions, based on my front-of-house
experience, as to how the transition could be made with minimal impact on patients
and doctors. My suggestions were well received. My supervisor recognised that I
undertook this contribution in addition to my work load and studies. I will use this
quality to good effect to solve problems in a positive, helpful manner.

From working in the practice I am highly aware of the importance of confidentiality

and the sensitivity of patient information. I have faced ethical issues and made sound
decisions. For example, one of my team members at MacDonald’s wanted to take
food left-overs home at the end of his shift. MacDonald’s has a strict policy of
accounting for all food prepared and for health reasons, any left overs are to be placed
in the waste. I knew that his parents were facing tough times with unemployment and
a sick child, and that the small quantity of food would make a difference to at least
one meal. After the kitchen had been cleaned and other staff had left I spoke to this
person, exploring with him the competing issues of personal need, team integrity, and
rule compliance. He eventually agreed that despite his pressing need he needed to find
another option. This experience made me aware that ethical decisions are not black-
and-white and that it is better to explore the matter first than issue an order.

I am eager to join the Medical Imaging Department as my studies have highlighted for
me that medical science provides a practical application that makes a significant
difference to people’s lives. It is also a field open to innovation and breakthroughs. I
see myself contributing to the team not only in meeting day-to-day support needs, but
in applying my initiative to provide the best quality service to patients and staff.

Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to an opportunity to explore

it in person.

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Yours faithfully

Jason Marriott

Analysis

What has Jason achieved with this statement given he might be considered by some to
be an atypical applicant?

First, his statement has structure. The opening paragraph summarises what he brings
to the role and makes a broad pitch that says ‘I’m the right person for the job’ without
being too brash about it. The bulk of the statement explores in more detail his
experience that shows he meets the requirements of the job and delivers good results.

His closing paragraph speaks to his motivation for the role and how he sees himself
making a contribution.

Second, his statement takes into account the job context. He shows he understands
how his experience will transfer to this context.

Third, the tone is positive, giving a sense of enthusiasm and sound motivation for the
role.

Fourth, Jason knows what he has to offer. He highlights his strengths and how they
will be of value in this role.

Fifth, he answers the question ‘Why you’. In addition to relevant experience and skills
Jason highlights valued qualities—he’s a problem fixer, reflects on his experience,
and shows appropriate initiative.

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Chapter 12: RESPONDING TO CHALLENGING

CRITERIA
Some selection criteria are more challenging than others. This chapter focuses on five
criteria that applicants tend to find the most challenging:

 strategic thinking
 policy
 leadership
 management
 conflict.

Each subject is dealt with by considering:

 examples of criteria
 challenges applicants face
 clarifying what the criterion is about
 ideas on how to tackle writing a response.

Strategic thinking
Probably the criterion that generates the most angst for applicants is one about
strategic thinking. With the spread of capability statements, strategic thinking now
crops up in a majority of job descriptions, regardless of level.

The form of a strategic thinking criterion can vary depending on whether it is

capability-based or job-specific. Examples are:

 Decision making and strategic thinking

Ability to access and use information and emergent technology strategically to:
- Analyse information from various sources
- Make decisions under pressure and exercise good judgement
- Demonstrate an innovative approach to problem solving. (Middle level, APS)

 Ability to shape strategic thinking

- Engages others in the strategic direction of the work area, encourages their
contribution and communicates expected outcomes.
- Contributes to policy outcomes by representing whole of Agency priorities at
local forums and with external agencies
- Undertakes objective, critical analysis and distils the core issues. Breaks
through problems and weighs up the options to identify solutions. (Middle
level, APS)

 Ability to shape strategic thinking

- Experience in engaging others in the strategic direction of the work area,
encouraging their contribution and communicating expected outcomes

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- Maintains an awareness of whole of Agency priorities and shapes, documents

and shares best practice approaches
- Undertakes objective, critical analysis and distils the core issues. Breaks
through problems and weighs up the options to identify solutions. (Executive
Level, APS)

 Supports strategic direction

- Understands and supports the organisation’s vision, mission and business
objectives
- Recognises how own work contributes to the achievement of organisational
goals
- Thinks laterally and identifies and implements improved work practices. (State
police officer)

 Experience in strategic and business planning within a library context. (Manager,

state health services)

 Describe a situation which demonstrates your ability to clarify the relationship

between your own specific tasks and broader organisational goals. In your
answer, ensure you have addressed the following:
- What was the situation and what was your role
- What specific policy was in development and what relevant issues were
involved
- What strategies did you use to ensure you completed a comprehensive analysis
and understanding of these issues
- In what way did this understanding aid in the development of the policy.
(Executive Level, APS)

The main challenges applicants face are:

 being clear about what strategic thinking is

 talking about strategic thinking for less senior positions
 avoiding responses that are too operational for more senior positions
 choosing relevant content.

What is strategy and strategic thinking

While public sector organisations are awash with strategies, applicants can struggle to
explain what a strategy is, to understand how strategy relates to their role, and to
demonstrate their strategic thinking.

A strategy sets out a broad direction, a path to follow into the future to reach a
preferred goal. A strategy is a master plan, a blueprint, a grand design. Tactics are the
steps to take to implement the strategy.

There are various types of strategies:

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 Whole-of-government agendas on key issues.

 Corporate strategies relate to the whole organisation. These documents are
written in broad terms, often with a vision, mission statement, and strategic
goals.
 Functional strategies relate to specific functions, such as marketing, finance,
systems, human resources.
 Unit strategies relate to how the work of a division, branch, section, or team
fits into the bigger organisational picture.
 Program or project strategies set out how this segment of work fits with unit,
functional and/or corporate strategies.

Strategic planning refers to the processes by which strategies are established.

Typically they involve bringing relevant people together to work through a process,
possibly facilitated by an external person, to develop a document that sets out broad
goals that will drive direction for several years.

While strategic planning is important for setting direction, demonstrating on-the-job

strategic thinking is critical, particularly for managers. Managers need to understand
how corporate and functional strategies are developed, what they are based on, and
how their own work contributes to them. They may have participated in strategic
planning processes that produced these documents. They may need to develop their
own plans for their area of responsibility.

Regardless of level, all staff in the public service are required to understand and
support their organisation’s vision, mission and business objectives. They are also
required to recognise how their own work contributes to the achievement of
organisational goals.

Strategic thinking includes:

 Line of sight: understanding your own organisation’s vision, mission and

goals and how your role contributes to these.
 Appreciating the wider environment: understanding rapidly changing global,
national, industry, sector, organisation trends, market opportunities,
competitive threats, strengths and weaknesses.
 Systems thinking: considering how the things you do impact other processes
and people within your team, unit, organisation and externally, on other
organisations.
 Challenging ideas and concepts that do not fit current strategy without
sounding negative or change-resistant.
 Contextual understanding: understanding the structures, culture, practices,
formal and informal rules and expectations that apply in different situations.
 Keeping up-to-date on local, national, and international policies and trends
that affect the organisation and shape stakeholders’ views.
 Best practice: Examining and utilising proven, quality practices.
 Diversity of viewpoints: Considering multiple, diverse views and needs.
 Decisiveness: making well-informed, effective, and timely decisions, even
when data are limited or solutions unclear.

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 Politically savvy: identifying the internal and external politics that impact the
work of an organisation.
 Risk analysis: identifying, managing and mitigating risks.
 Thinking ahead: working out available options, anticipating others’ responses,
identifying contingencies, preparing well with clear, specific goals, thinking
about how processes might unfold, acting flexibly as things change.

Strategic thinking is contrasted with operational thinking. Strategic goals are long-
term, focus on what the whole organisation, unit, or function must get right over
coming years. Each of these goals is then broken down into smaller steps, identifying
what tasks must be done monthly, weekly, daily in order to achieve the higher-level
goals. Describing these latter details makes a criterion response operational in focus.
This may undermine an application by pitching too low.

For staff at less senior levels the behaviours that fall under strategic thinking are:

 understanding the work environment

 participating in team goal setting, plan development, issue discussions,
decision-making
 awareness of issues that may impact work
 thinking and planning ahead
 awareness of corporate goals and team priorities
 knowing where to find information
 researching relevant information.

Choosing relevant content

Specific behaviours to consider when responding to criteria about strategic thinking:

 considering ramifications of relevant issues, including longer-term

implications
 identifying broader trends and factors that may impact work
 monitoring corporate priorities and the business context
 keeping self and others informed on issues
 drawing information from a variety of sources, using experience and
judgement to analyse information
 drawing accurate conclusions based on evidence
 finding out about best practice
 exploring new ideas and different viewpoints
 identifying and solving problems
 recognising links between issues
 translating strategy into operational goals
 creating a sense of purpose and direction
 understanding the full range of strategic plans and their relationships
 considering the ramifications of issues, anticipating priorities, developing
long-term plans
 probing information, identifying gaps, distilling core issues from research
 anticipating and minimising risks

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 breaking through problems

 exploring possibilities and creating alternatives.

For example, a person in an APS 6 job applies for an EL1 job. A criterion concerns
strategic thinking. You write:

‘My strategic thinking was demonstrated during a systems change process that
involved training staff on a new database. My role was to find a provider who
could design and deliver the training. To achieve this I:

o contracted a provider to deliver the program

o arranged logistics such as venue, equipment etc
o organised registrations
o answered queries from staff.’

While these details may have been carried out they are too low-level for what is
expected from an EL1 person. Plus, they do not demonstrate flexibility and managing
a change process.

A person in this level of job is expected to provide direction, align work with strategic
directions, and build organisational capability.

To better match the level of the job, the example can be rewritten along these lines:

‘My strategic thinking was demonstrated by my contribution to a systems

change process. A new client database was introduced in 2013 to streamline
grant applications and to increase accuracy and efficiency. My role was to
manage the training program so that staff could make the transition from a
paper-based process to an online process.

To manage this component of the change I:

o Liaised with the database designers to monitor timeframes and understand

the new system. The timeframes were adjusted four times, which meant
that I adjusted the training schedule accordingly.
o Liaised with end-user managers to identify needs, concerns, and gauge
existing skill levels.
o Contracted a provider after conducting a selected tender process.
o Liaised with the provider throughout the development and design phase
and established a collaborative arrangement between the provider and
system designer.
o Coordinated the training program to minimise any negative impact on
work areas and to assess the quality of learning.

As a result the training complemented the change process in terms of timing,

system designer and end-user managers’ needs. All staff affected by the
change completed the training prior to system implementation. This resulted in
several ‘bugs’ being removed so that when the system went ‘live’ there were
no problems visible to clients.’

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Policy
Selection criteria about policy can take several forms. Jobs in policy areas may ask for
experience in policy development and related skills, such as research and analysis.
Many jobs may involve applying or interpreting policy. Some jobs may involve
providing policy advice either internally or externally.

Examples of policy criteria:

 Substantial experience in the analysis, development and preparation of policy

advice in an applied public policy environment. (Senior role, peak body)

 Apply relevant legislation, policy and guidelines. (Middle level, APS)

 Demonstrated highly developed conceptual and analytical skills, including

demonstrated ability to develop, implement and evaluate regulatory policies and
the application of research, best practice and risk management principles.
(Manager, state health service)

 Demonstrated ability to provide analytically sound, strategic and balanced policy

advice on complex issues, under limited supervision and guidance. (Executive
Level, APS)

 Demonstrated high level analytical and policy development/program management

skills. (Executive Level, APS)

 Demonstrated ability to provide policy advice and undertake policy research and
analysis. (Executive Level, APS)

 Proven ability to interpret and advise on University policies and procedures and
identify problems, propose and implement solutions using good judgement as they
relate to student and course administration issues. (University Officer, Grade 6/7)

The main challenges for applicants in responding to these criteria are:

 understanding what policy is

 knowing what policies they work with
 choosing relevant content.

What is policy?

One way to understand policy is to examine policies for some basic services provided
by governments. Take, as an example of local government policy, street lighting. If
you Google this subject you’ll read a range of policies.

Such a policy statement may include:

 Purpose or objective: what is the policy setting out to do?

 Principles: what values, propositions or assumptions underpin the policy?

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 Scope: what does the policy cover and not cover?

 Definitions: terms used are defined to establish a commonly understood set of
meanings and to aid interpretation of the policy. (Even though it may seem
self-evident, the term ‘street’ is defined, with reference to local government
legislation.)
 Referenced documents: related policies, standards, acts, regulations, codes and
standards are listed.
 Responsibilities: who should do what?

After setting out details of the policy, there may also be mention of handling requests,
budget, inspections, measures of success, maintenance, and consultation, depending
on what is relevant to the issue.

Policies for street lighting aim at providing guidelines and principles that help with
safety, discourage illegal and anti-social actions, guide placement, and ensure
standards are met. This purpose may be linked to the bigger picture of local
government’s responsibility to provide a safe environment for their community. Some
councils extend their policy to include energy efficiency.

Principles that underpin street lighting policies include energy saving, consistency,
ease of maintenance and replacement, attractiveness in design, reliability,
functionality, reduction in night sky glow conditions, and capacity for dimming or
partial switch-off of the network.

Street lighting policies may also be linked to a council’s mission and strategic goals.
For example, if a council’s mission is to pursue social, environmental and economic
wellbeing for their city, a street lighting policy would support goals about protecting
the environment and maintaining the city.

A council structure includes an infrastructure division responsible for assets, capital

works, and maintenance. Staff responsible for implementing street lighting policy are
likely to be found in this area. In doing so, staff need to understand not only the street
lighting policy, but also related policies (e.g. work safety), standards and regulations,
plus apply their technical knowledge and work with colleagues (e.g. in planning) to
complete their work.

Some policy issues are highly contentious, with divergent views, disputed evidence,
vested interests, and unknown impact for proposed lines of action. An example is
gambling, specifically problem gambling associated with electronic gaming machines.
In seeking ways to reduce problem gambling, actions are not as straightforward as
street lighting. Policy options considered have included mandatory pre-commitments
(where players have to pre-set the amount they are prepared to lose on electronic
gaming machines), daily withdrawal limits from ATMs in gaming venues, electronic
warnings and cost of play displays on poker machines, additional counselling support,
improved training for staff in pokies venues, banning the promotion of live odds
during sports coverage, and banning online sports betting companies from offering
credit. These options involve winners and losers. Some vested interests have
considerable clout to influence decisions. In these circumstances policy development
becomes a fraught process.

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Knowing what policies you apply

There is a wealth of information about the various types and forms of policy. Among
the range of policy types are:

 broad, government or organisation-wide policy

 sector-specific policy (e.g. the economy)
 issue-specific policy (e.g. child welfare)
 operational policy (e.g. recruitment policy, work safety policy).

In broad terms, a policy is a course of action or principle by which a government or

organisation translates their vision into programs and actions to achieve desired
changes. The instruments used to implement policy include legislation, non-
intervention, regulation such as licensing, encouraging voluntary change such as
through grants, and direct service provision.

Part of conducting a portfolio stocktake is to identify the policies, procedures,

legislation, regulations, codes and standards you know about. Read Chapter 3. Much
of this knowledge will be tacit, used unconsciously because it is so familiar. To write
strong applications your log of incidents needs to list what policy knowledge you
applied. The level of decision-making about policy will vary depending on seniority.
Were decisions routine, straight-forward, or did they involve discretion, judgement,
discerning shades of grey and balancing several pieces of information?

Policy-related criteria not only deal with policy knowledge and application, they also
cover policy development and providing policy advice. The activity of developing
policy generally involves research, analysis, consultation and synthesis of information
to produce recommendations, plus monitoring and evaluation. An effective policy
process is generally characterised by various stages:

 issue identification
 issue analysis
 generating solutions
 consultation
 submission, recommendation, decision
 implementation, monitoring
 evaluation.

A web search will take you to a wealth of material on policy development processes.
While any process can be described in terms of stages, in reality, any actual process is
unlikely to follow such a clear-cut path. While people may hunger for certainty and
rationality, there are few policy challenges that have clear answers and easy solutions.

Policy-related capabilities

Capability frameworks may not directly mention policy development. Relevant

behaviours are spread across capabilities. Specific, relevant behaviours are:

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 Strategic thinking including a future focused perspective when solving

problems and making decisions.
 Analysis, judgement and decision-making including assessing and interpreting
information to identify issues or problems; using the results of analysis and
judgement to develop advice and recommendations; making timely, consistent
decisions; applying critical thinking to understand patterns or connections
among data, events, problems or issues.
 Providing advice and influencing including gaining support and commitment;
delivering influential advice; recognising and anticipating the needs of
ministers and senior decision makers; consultation; stakeholder engagement;
staying up-to-date on relevant issues.

Some state jurisdictions, such as Western Australia and Queensland, have developed
capability frameworks specifically for policy roles. The WA framework identifies and
defines four interrelated core capabilities designed to build the capabilities of policy
officers and the policy function. These are:

 ‘Strategic alignment: Shape and manage the development of policy options

aligned to government policies and priorities and the public interest.
 Critical thinking: Develop responsive, innovative, evidence-based, practical
policy and programs that deliver desired outcomes and value for money.
 Communication and engagement: Build and manage productive and effective
relationships and partnerships that engage stakeholders.
 Policy implementation and evaluation: Manage policy implementation and
ensure ongoing monitoring and evaluation of policy performance to deliver
desired outcomes.’xlviii

The Queensland Public Service Commission has produced a Policy Capability and
Development Framework which identifies four policy technical capabilities. These
are:

 ‘Analytical ability
 Communication
 Public policy processes
 Strategic engagement.’xlix

This framework, less complicated than the WA model, also includes the leadership
and management capabilities required by policy officers.

These frameworks are useful for identifying specific skills and how they vary across
levels, and for assessing a person’s readiness to move to a higher level.

They also suggest questions that applicants can ask themselves in order to gauge their
policy skills.

Analytical ability

 What sources of information do I draw on?

 When have I distilled the key issues from research?

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 When have I interpreted the meaning of information?

 Do I work with large scale statistical data sets?
 What decision analysis methods do I use (e.g. cost-benefit, multi-criteria
analyses, SWOT analyses, issues trees, risk assessment)?
 Have I reviewed reports on literature reviews and identified applications for
policy programs?
 Have I defined criteria for selecting among proposed options?
 Have I compared proposed solutions?
 Do I make relevant inferences from quantitative and qualitative data?
 Have I identified whether policy is consistent with research findings?
 Have I presented findings of relevant research to staff?
 Have I evaluated the impact of implemented policy?
 Have I developed innovative and creative ideas and policy solutions?
 Have I evaluated the effect, impacts and outcomes of policy?
 Have I built learnings from evaluation into future policy development?
 Do I understand and apply different research methodologies and data sets in
developing policy options?
 Have I defined the scope of a problem and identified whether a policy
approach will achieve required outcomes?
 Have I analysed the broader political, economic, ecological, social and
technical environment to ensure an appropriate research and data set is
available to develop policy options?
 Have I investigated the political implications of options?
 Do I understand how options are related to other policy areas and to
departmental and wider government objectives?

Communication

 Do I maintain contacts and networks with internal and external stakeholders?

 Have I negotiated with internal and external stakeholders?
 Do I collaborate with stakeholders to develop policy?
 Have I written briefs and correspondence on non-contentious issues?
 Do I understand the sensitivities of target audiences and tailor communication
appropriately?
 Do I listen actively and encourage participation from others?
 Do I build consensus for a chosen course of action?
 Do I respond to emergent issues through establishing and maintaining
appropriate networks?
 Have I written and edited concise, accurate submissions, briefs and
correspondence on contentious issues?
 Do I lead meetings with stakeholders?
 Do I clearly articulate the agency’s agreed policy position?
 Do I coordinate briefings, taking into account potential challenges and
criticisms and other similar initiatives?

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Public policy processes

Do I:

 Understand, develop and apply knowledge of government and its components

in policy development?
 Use appropriate instruments for policy development?
 Understand and apply the processes and principles contained in Cabinet,
Legislation and other Handbooks?
 Interpret and apply legislation and policy?
 Understand the informal factors and uncertainties which influence legislative,
regulatory and policy development and manage risk accordingly?
 Know how to work flexibly with different policy instruments?
 Coordinate and manage projects in terms of process, management and delivery
towards achieving policy outcomes?
 Monitor policy performance against agreed indicators?
 Undertake and interpret ongoing environmental scanning in the evaluation of
policy effectiveness and performance?
 Develop and maintain relationships with policy professionals?
 Contribute to ongoing improvements in policy science and management?
 Lead and coordinate projects within budget, report on progress, manage risk
and conduct process improvements to ensure policy outcomes?
 Anticipate and resolve potential delivery issues, manage policy conflicts,
recommend and make changes to existing programs when necessary?

Strategic engagement

Do I:

 Understand the policy agenda from government, industry community and

agency perspectives?
 Understand and appreciate the issues from line, central agency and whole-of-
government perspectives?
 Know the relevant subject matter and am aware of issues for relevant
stakeholders?
 Identify internal and external issues that may impact delivery of front-line
services?
 Evaluate the potential impacts of policy change on stakeholders, the
community, the agency and the government as a whole?
 Understand cross-jurisdictional issues and direction?
 Understand emerging trends in relevant subjects or industries?
 Estimate the economic, administrative, legal, social, and political implications
of options?
 Incorporate evaluation findings into future planning and analysis efforts?
 Predict the feasibility and expected outcomes of each policy option on
industry/stakeholders?
 Develop mechanisms to monitor stakeholder needs and trends?
 Understand the role, accountabilities and obligations of public sector
employees?

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Choosing relevant content

To respond to policy-related criteria you need to:

 self-assess against the questions above

 understand the job context
 select appropriate examples.

As organisations can be at different stages in a policy development and

implementation cycle about a specific issue, it can be useful, as part of your research,
to establish at the outset what the stage of development for a policy area is.

Some examples will illustrate research questions that drive example selection.

Example 1: Substantial experience in the analysis, development and preparation of

policy advice in an applied public policy environment. (Senior role, peak body)

To respond to this criterion consider these questions:

 How will you interpret the word ‘substantial’? Your analysis of the job may
help. Does it mean number of years, breadth of coverage, or depth of
experience?
 About what topics will policy advice be needed?
 What form will the policy advice take?
 Who receives the policy advice?
 Does your experience match these topics, forms, recipients?
 If your experience is different, how do your skills translate to this new role?
 Examine your examples to check they cover analysis, development and
preparation of policy advice.
 What methods and processes did you use in your analysis and development?

Example 2: Apply relevant legislation, policy and guidelines. (Middle level, APS)

To respond to this criterion consider these questions:

 Consider the job context: what legislation, policy and guidelines are relevant?
Why are they important to the job?
 Which of these are you already familiar with and have applied in your work?
 Are you familiar with them but have not applied them? If so, how did you gain
this familiarity? Is it more than just knowing they exist?
 If you are not familiar with them, how could you obtain this knowledge?
 Do you have similar knowledge that is transferable to this context?
 What are some examples of how you have applied this knowledge? Use the
SAR structure to write about them. Think about whether the decisions you
made were routine or involved some discretion and judgement. What
contributed to the complexity of this decision?
 Do you have a track record in consistently and accurately applying this
knowledge?

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Example 3: Demonstrated ability to provide analytically sound, strategic and

balanced policy advice on complex issues, under limited supervision and guidance.
(Executive Level, APS)

To respond to this criterion consider these questions:

 About what issues will policy advice be needed?

 What makes these issues complex?
 What form will the policy advice take?
 Who receives the policy advice?
 Does your experience match these issues, forms, recipients?
 If your experience is different, how do your skills translate to this new role?
 How would you judge if advice is analytically sound, strategic and balanced?
 Have you received feedback that confirms your policy advice reflects these
qualities?
 Examine your examples to check they reflect these elements of policy advice.
 What methods and processes did you use in providing this policy advice?
 Use the SAR structure to write about your examples. Explain the level of
complexity of the issue, methods and processes used to arrive at analytically
sound, strategic and balanced policy advice.

Leadership
Criteria about leadership may be combined with management skills, be linked to
teams, or seek leadership in a broader context.

Examples of leadership criteria:

 Lead and develop effective teams. (Middle level, APS)

 Outstanding leadership and interpersonal skills. (Senior role, APS)

 Describe a recent achievement, project or task that required you to lead a team to
achieve a challenging outcome. Describe some of the difficulties you experienced
in leading the team and building working relationships, and what you did to
ensure success. (Executive Level, APS)

 Demonstrated ability to lead and successfully implement change programs to

improve operations and organisational culture. (Operations manager, state
government)

 Demonstrated ability to effectively lead and develop internal staff and

multidisciplinary teams with a client focused approach. (Senior manager, tertiary
education)

 Demonstrated capacity to successfully lead, coordinate and manage a specialised

library service. (Manager, state health services)

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 Highly developed leadership and management skills, including demonstrated

ability to work effectively as a leader in a team environment. (Executive Level,
APS)

Responding to criteria about leadership can be challenging because of the many

definitions of leadership and the mystery surrounding how people in operational roles
can to demonstrate it.

Key challenges for applicants are:

 understanding the difference between leadership and management

 choosing relevant content.

What is leadership?

Before examining the what, let’s consider the why. Why is leadership important?
Huge resources are devoted to analysing leadership and developing leadership
capability. Grasping its value and importance can help with understanding leadership.

Basically, leaders give direction, they motivate, they convey commitment.

Metaphorically, they steer the ship, provide a compass, navigate choppy waters,
explore distant lands, carve out a path to the future. This is grand language and seems
to only apply to those at the top of the tree.

This is not the case. Certainly position gives a person increased authority and power.
People who lead teams, projects, or committees are equally leaders, on a smaller
scale. While high-level, executive leaders focus on the organisation as a whole,
subgroup leaders focus on giving direction to their team, motivating and developing
staff, modelling values, all aligned with the bigger picture.

Leadership is not synonymous with position. A person can wield considerable power
and influence without holding a senior position. I worked in an organisation where the
building caretaker was second in power only to the CEO.

A leader’s impact can be either broad or narrow. One person can be a major
international player while another has significant influence in their local community
or professional association.

Messages about leadership from public sector documents include:

 Leadership is not about seniority (although leadership is most clearly and

strongly associated with senior executive roles).
 Leadership is a practice—something we do.
 Leadership is not about personality traits.
 Every employee, regardless of level, is expected to display leadership
behaviours.
 There is no single way to lead.

For a quick history lesson on leadership thought, read the APSC’s document on
Thinking about leadership.l Contemporary thinking on leadership that informs APS

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leadership strategies includes authentic leadership, adaptive leadership,

neuroleadership (a tool rather than a theory), and complexity leadership.

The APS Leadership Development Strategy 2011-12 is based on a knowing-doing-

being model that encompasses building cognitive capabilities and intelligence, having
the behavioural and skill dimensions of a leader, and having a concept of self as a
leader.li

 Knowing covers public service processes; people, stakeholder, and change

management; public service craft; being government savvy; and business
skills.
 Doing covers the five capabilities in order to deliver outcomes.
 Being is about high levels of self-awareness; conviction and courage;
resilience; an ability to work with others; being situationally aware; having a
sense of public service vocation and strong ethics.

The APS Leadership and Core Skills Strategy: 2014-15 Refresh distinguishes
leadership practice, management expertise and cores skills. Leadership is defined as
‘the practice of mobilising people to make progress on challenges and thrive’.lii The
current environment needs leaders who can engage people, innovate, collaborate,
anticipate and manage change, and move towards a new vision of the future.

The revised APS Work Level Standards includes ‘Leadership and accountability’ as
one of five characteristics to distinguish job requirements at each level.liii

Capability frameworks recognise that leaders need a mixture of technical and

management expertise as well as leadership capabilities. This mix differs depending
on the level of seniority of the person. The leadership component is particularly
reflected in three capabilities:

 Shapes strategic thinking

 Achieves results
 Cultivates productive working relationships.

Leadership documents across jurisdictions present similar ideas about leadership. For
example, the Advanced Leadership Framework for Local Government has six core
capabilities – thinking, relationships, context, communicating, learning, outcomes.liv

In 2007 the Victorian Government published a report highlighting the leadership

challenges for the Victorian Public Service (VPS).lv The VPS Executive established
the Victorian Leadership Development Centre. While the Centre’s material is aimed
at executive leadership, it is useful for aspiring leaders and for those wanting to
understand the essence of leadership.

The VPS Leadership Framework has four dimensions, similar to other leadership
frameworks:

 ‘Strategy: setting the direction

 Execution: monitoring and measuring progress towards strategic imperatives

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 Proficiency: demonstrating composure, resilience and self-insight

 Integrity: ensuring the VPS values guide all actions and decisions.’lvi

These documents indicate desirable leadership behaviours:

 Political nous: scanning the political, cultural and social environment,

diagnosing situations, analysing stakeholders, issues, perspectives,
understanding the power context, thinking politically, risk savvy.
 Future focus and strategic thinking: scanning the horizon, anticipating future
change, strategic questioning, generating options, weighing alternatives,
balancing competing interests, developing and implementing plans; dealing
comfortably with ambiguity and complexity.
 Leading people: creating a culture in which people thrive, creating a vision,
mobilising capacity, fostering diversity, motivating and inspiring staff to
perform well; building capability.
 Leading change: working collaboratively, building alliances and partnerships,
brokering solutions, mobilising systems, agility, anticipating and responding
to change, unlocking innovation, developing new habits.
 Being a leader: ways of understanding self and others, emotional intelligence,
resilience, continual learning, social awareness, stewardship of culture, moral
courage, judgement, self-insight, displaying an appropriate balance between
self-confidence and humility, modelling ethical behaviour.
 Working across boundaries: creating an environment for groups to collaborate,
drawing out competing perspectives, exploring values and assumptions,
helping groups to understand each other and work towards solutions; building
a broad spectrum of relationships.
 Delivering outcomes: financial and commercial acumen, accountable for
outcomes, maximising resources, monitoring and measuring performance.

Another way to think about leadership behaviour is in terms of different spheres:

 Personal leadership: operates with a strong moral compass; aware of own

values and how they synch with organisational values; senses when situations
may test integrity and takes appropriate action; actively promotes
organisational values; does not undermine organisational values with cynicism
or contrary actions; models leadership development approaches and facilitates
learning opportunities; stays calm under pressure; displays resilience;
maintains a sense of perspective.

 Technical leadership: expertise in specific subject areas, public sector

knowledge (such as policies, procedures, processes, legislation), competencies
(such as project management), or ICT (systems, software, databases, website
management); provides strategic, specialist advice; actively shares expertise
with peers, staff, managers; skilled in translating technical information for lay
people; shares expertise externally at seminars, conferences, meetings;
actively engages with professional groups, academics, discussion groups to
stay current and build wider expertise.

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 Thought leadership: develops strategies for enhancing performance,

relationships, or improving outcomes; considers multiple components during
planning; explores contradictory positions; anticipates, mitigates and manages
risks; generates original ideas or solutions; gains support for new ideas.

 People leadership: paints a compelling picture of the future; makes it safe to

experiment and make mistakes; gains buy-in for new ideas/approaches;
quickly builds rapport with diverse people; identifies potential areas of conflict
and manages to minimise escalation; exercises judgement as to how and when
to intervene in issues and when to coach others; develops a talent pool of
suitable successors.

 Ethical leadership: builds an ethical culture that impacts credibility, reputation

and compliance with values.

Choosing relevant content

Criteria about leadership are often linked to change programs, teams, relationships,
delivering outcomes, and use descriptors such as ‘successfully’ and ‘effectively’. A
first step in considering your response is to gain clarity about what success or
effectiveness looks like in the context of the role. Factors may include delivering on a
change program, on specific outcomes for a project or work area, and on team
productivity.

Contextual sensitivity

Understanding the context of the role is essential to making a strong case for
leadership ability. Revisit Chapter 8 about analysing the job. Specific details to
understand include:

 What are the outputs and accountabilities?

 Where is a person to add the most value in this context?
 Who are the stakeholders?
 What is the timespan for expected achievements?
 Are there any long-standing, unresolved organisational issues?
 What are the constraints in terms of resources, time, staff skills, resistance?
 What is the impact of work on other parts of the organisation, on other
organisations?
 What are the most urgent areas needing improvement?
 What cultural change is needed?
 What are the main barriers to change?
 Are any issues high profile, new, contentious?
 What are the time pressures and budgetary constraints?
 What is the nature of the internal culture—does it promote learning, is it risk
averse, is micro-management common, is hierarchy strong, is the focus mainly
on task delivery?
 Is there a workforce plan?
 What is the current state of the workforce?

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 What is the likely impact of workforce issues on delivery of business

outcomes?
 What is the relationship to the Minister, Government, and Opposition?
 Which issues are likely to create interest from/difficulty for Ministers, the
Government and key stakeholders?

This information enables you to arrive at a clear plan of action to engage and build a
team, manage change, lead a project, articulate a rationale behind it; and establish
standards, behaviours, accountabilities, and team responsibilities.

Sense making as a leadership skill

Leaders demonstrate behaviours that are central to sense making:

 dealing with ambiguity and complexity

 discerning the essence of issues by making connections in multiple sources of
information
 seeing situations from a range of perspectives
 listening actively
 demonstrating a high level of self-insight
 asking clarifying questions
 tailing communication style and language according to audience
 anticipating and identifying other people’s expectations and concerns
 translating information for others
 checking to ensure own views are understood
 understanding personal frameworks, including own biases and judgements.
 providing others with a sense of meaning in their work, such as through links
to vision, goals, purpose, and providing answers to, Why am I doing this?

Some writers recognise that leaders are sense makers, although the concept is used
with various meanings. The MIT Leadership Center suggests sense making consists of
five major tasks: observe, question, act, reassess, and communicate. These tasks occur
simultaneously and are continuous.lvii

Responses to leadership criteria may need examples that show how sense making
skills have been applied, such as during change processes, in situations of high
ambiguity or complexity, or where diverse viewpoints are held.

Complexity

Dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity is a desirable quality for leaders. When
making a case for a leadership position it is useful to be able to explain what added
complexity to a situation. Much of this complexity is related to uncertainty and
ambiguity.

Explaining complexity is an element of contextual sensitivity. To help with

specifically identifying elements of complexity, the following list, in part based on the
VPS Leadership Skill and Experience Map, sets out thirty ways in which a situation
can be complexlviii:

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 advice has multiple dimensions or there is no one right answer or one clear
course of action
 uncertainty arising from lack of information, a large number of options, doubt
about the consequences of action, inability to predict outcomes, degree of
interdependency within and between organisations, issues open to a variety of
interpretations
 providing advice to someone with a strong vested interest
 high degree of external pressure
 new or unique situation with no precedent
 impact on several areas of an organisation
 likely to encounter high level of resistance
 spans an extended period of time or very short/crisis period of time
 long-standing unresolved issue, including performance issues
 multiple constraints, limited resources
 politically contentious issue
 change of Government or Minister
 multiple Ministers with varying perspectives
 cross agency/portfolio issue
 service delivery in high risk circumstances
 issue subject to unfavourable audit reports, or Parliamentary inquiries
 issue with high public visibility, attracting frequent negative public comment
 proposal is complex, costly, unfamiliar, unpopular
 benefits long-term, difficult to quantify
 issue subject to frequent changes of direction
 new team not aligned with organisational goals
 diverse range of stakeholders
 stakeholder relationships poor or damaged
 stakeholders have opposing and contentious views
 issues poorly understood by stakeholders
 culture of micro-management or risk aversion
 staff skills markedly different from those of leader
 team includes staff whose capability is below the level required
 project timeframes and priorities unclear
 staff are strongly technically focused.

Examples of leadership behaviours

When writing examples to demonstrate leadership or leadership potential, consider

the relevance of these details:

 the rationale for a decision in terms of strategy and outcomes for government
 the legal, moral and professional boundaries of a situation
 potential for conflict of interest
 the team’s context for its results (what, why, how, when, with whom it
achieves results)
 thinking long-term and broadly while maintaining momentum for current
goals and issues

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 connections, networks, partnerships, relationships developed

 effective development and succession plans developed
 talent spotted, encouraged and supported.

Just stating ‘I do this’ is insufficient for an effective response. Anyone can write “I
always align my team members and functions to ensure best outcomes’. This
statement gives no evidence nor persuades a reader that the writer both understands
what you are talking about and actually does this in a range of circumstances. Usually,
these behaviours are not once only events. They are ongoing, regular behaviours that
are part of a person’s style of operating.

An example may need an explanation that you took over leading a team and noticed
that some members were working on tasks that had little link to the team’s goals. Or
that team members were engaged in worthy tasks but there was no agreed goal that
linked to a wider, organisational objective.

Best outcomes may depend on a team’s motivation, sense of purpose, level of

competence, capacity to take risks or suggest new ideas. Being a leader means
monitoring these elements and taking action when appropriate. A strong example will
need an indication of your situational analysis plus the steps taken to remedy or
improve the situation.

To demonstrate your leadership, consider how you have performed the following:

 Developed a vision (picture of how things could be in the future) and/or

strategic direction (goals) for your team, unit, branch.
 Promoted this picture and these goals to others.
 Persisted with getting work done according to what was intended.
 Encouraged others to get work done and achieve results.
 Gathered information from a range of sources.
 Listened to different viewpoints.
 Mentored and coached others.
 Supported others when times were tough.
 Taken action to build or maintain morale.
 Suggested an improvement.
 Provided clear and consistent guidance.
 Set an example.

In this list ‘others’ can be team colleagues, clients, suppliers, stakeholders, staff in
other areas of your organisation, professional colleagues. They can also be people in
non-work contexts, such as a study group, community organisation, not-for-profit
board.

Anyone can suggest ways to make improvements. At the micro level, a person can
spot ways to reduce the complexity of processes, systems, decision-making steps.
Such initiatives can:

 reduce the number of steps

 remove duplication

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 eliminate unnecessary actions

 replace a process with a better one
 remove barriers
 speed up processes
 remove out-of-date actions
 create a new approach
 spark new thinking.

Writing effective responses to leadership criteria may depend on your ability to draw
on how you use your skills in:

 problem analysis
 critical thinking
 decision making
 conflict management
 change management
 performance management.

You will need an understanding of these skills, the frameworks you use, and the
relevant policies and procedures, in order to explain why you acted the way you did in
whatever example you use.

Read about career management opportunities for potential leaders in Chapter 4.

Management
Selection criteria about management may cover managing a team, supervising staff,
managing resources, and managing projects. This section focuses on managing staff
and resources.

Job descriptions may not always make clear who a person is managing. If you think a
job involves managing staff but it’s not clear, it’s best to find out all you can about the
team. Re-visit Chapter 8 on analysing the job.

Examples of criteria:

 Ability to assist with the concurrent management of a number of related projects

including management strategies for community involvement, WHS, environment
and quality. (Middle level role, state government)

 Experience in leading and managing large, geographically dispersed groups of

operational staff delivering a compliance and enforcement function. (Operations
manager, state government)

 Demonstrated leadership and management skills in managing financial and

human resources and fostering effective teamwork to achieve department/service
and hospital service targets and goals. (Manager, state health service)

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 Demonstrated capacity to manage staff, and multiple projects simultaneously

within a complex organisation. (Lecturer, tertiary education)

 Demonstrated ability to supervise and manage staff within quality human

resources management practices and commitment to their implementation.
Manager state health services

 Ability to manage staff to deliver work in accordance with agreed time frames.
(Senior officer, territory government)

 Strong skills in supervising staff and contractors, working independently, or as a

member of a multidisciplinary team in a dynamic, complex environment. (Senior
officer, territory government)

Management and leadership are not the same. Managers need to provide leadership
and leaders may need to be good managers. Managing effectively is about navigating
public sector accountability requirements, managing risk, being effective decision
makers, able to manage human and financial resources well and ensure project
management and procurement are sound.

Key challenges for applicants are:

 understanding the difference between management and leadership

 articulating management behaviours
 identify management style
 choosing relevant content.

What is management?

Managers are responsible for achieving goals through others. Whether a chief
executive, middle manager, team supervisor or project leader, the job is much the
same: setting goals, planning, putting in place people, resources, systems, procedures,
motivating people, monitoring, reporting, and innovating. Management is about
‘keeping the show on the road’, while leadership is deciding what the show is and
where it is heading. One is not better than another. Both are vital to an organisation’s
success.

Confusion can arise from the many words that ‘management’ is attached to:
stakeholder management, resource management, people management, risk
management, asset management, and self-management, to name a few. Some of these
are subsets of managing, such as resource and people management. Non-manager
roles can include stakeholder and risk management. Everyone is meant to self-
manage.

As a general starting point, a manager role is likely to involve these skill sets:

 managing finances, including preparing and sticking to a budget, costing,

preparing reports, reading financial statements

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 managing staff, including performance management, professional

development, recognition, feedback, motivation
 delivering team results on time, on budget, to standards, compliant with
policies, procedures and legislation
 standard setting, delegating, clarifying roles and responsibilities, setting
context.

The NSW Public Sector Capability Framework identifies four capabilities in addition
to the core 16, that fall under People Management. These four capabilities are for
employees who manage people. The capabilities are:

 ‘Manage and develop people

 Inspire direction and purpose
 Optimise business outcomes
 Manage reform and change.’lix

Note that ‘Inspire direction and purpose’ falls under ‘Strategic thinking’ in some
capability frameworks.

The revised APS Work Level Standards lists ‘Management Diversity and Span’ as one
of five characteristics distinguishing classification levels.lx

The Australian Institute of Management’s Australian Management Capability Index

measures ten categories of management capability. The ten categories of management
capability are:

 ‘Visionary and strategic leadership

 Performance leadership
 People leadership
 Financial management
 Organisation capability
 Application of technology and knowledge
 External relationships
 Innovation – products and services
 Integrity and corporate governance
 Results and comparative performance.’lxi

The APS Leadership and Core Skills Strategy Refresh: 2014-15 defines management
as ‘the use of formal authority and processes to get things done’.lxii Good managers
deliver on their accountabilities, use their authority appropriately, including
delegations, and use resources effectively. Management skills considered critical are:
planning and managing change, risk management, program evaluation, expertise in
organisational design, and business-oriented expertise.

Choosing relevant content

To respond effectively to management criteria applicants first need to analyse the

criterion and the context. Where both leading and managing are mentioned, these
need to be considered separately as well as together.

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Understanding context is critical for management roles. The questions raised in

Chapter 8 about teams are essential to ask. Jobs can become available in a range of
contexts, including restructures, amalgamations, downsizing, or are newly created.
Each of these situations can have an impact on the formation of a team, its
composition, its response to change, its productivity and morale. This information is
often not provided in a job description, but may be known to insiders. The
management skills needed in the short term to perform well in a job are driven by this
contextual information.

Factors that may need to be considered include:

 What changes are taking place that affect the team?

 What is the nature of the change process being undertaken?
 Is the team fully formed with clear goals and responsibilities?
 Are changes still underway with some staff still to leave?
 For a newly created team, who is responsible for providing vision and
direction?
 What tensions still exist from an amalgamation?
 Are these tensions manageable?
 What is causing lowered productivity and morale?
 How much corporate knowledge has been lost from downsizing?
 How is the team geographically dispersed? How do they currently
communicate with each other and what is the quality of cooperation and
collaboration?

A call to the contact officer may be needed to find answers. Read Chapter 3.

Management style

Management style means the patterns of behaviour a manager adopts to plan,

organise, motivate and control. A range of management styles has been identified by
researchers. Choosing a management style is more a matter of what is appropriate to
the context—the task, people, situation managed, organisational culture—rather than
what is right or wrong. The key to being an effective manager is flexibility—having a
repertoire of skills to adapt to the circumstances.

Management styles identified include: coercive (do as I say), authoritative (firm but
fair), affiliative (people first, task second), democratic (participative), coaching
(developmental). Organisations tend to prefer management styles that are democratic,
coaching, and affiliative, while getting the job done, delivering results, and being
authoritative when appropriate.

These styles lie along a scale that moves from highly autocratic at one end, to highly
democratic and participative at the other. The style to be adopted in any given
situation will vary according to factors such as:

 the urgency of the situation

 the risks involved
 the attitudes and skills of the people involved.

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Different styles will suit different situations. Most people have a preferred way of
operating. To gain the best from people, the preferred style is one that builds a
motivating climate, and will therefore likely lie towards the democratic end of the
scale. An autocratic style can be appropriate, such as in times of crisis.

Building high performance teams

Manager, team leader, and supervisory roles may include criteria about building high
performance teams, or fostering a positive workplace. The behaviours needed are a set
of complementary work practices that good bosses engage in and which are identified
in capability frameworks (though spread across several components). These
behaviours broadly fall under three headings:

 Human resource practices including recruiting, induction, performance

reviews, managing poor performers, learning and career development,
feedback, coaching, flexible working arrangements, ensuring work-life
balance, recognition and appreciation, maintaining good industrial relations,
ensuring workforce diversity.
 Engagement practices including motivating, social events, communicating,
sharing information, caring for staff, ensuring effective teamwork.
 Resources and support including delegating, setting direction, planning
projects, advocating on behalf of the team, monitoring and reporting,
maintaining standards and quality, managing finances.

Behaviours to consider when talking about building high performance teams include:

 understanding what drives, motivates and engages staff

 communicating frequently and consistently about goals, priorities and
outcomes
 actively building knowledge, skills and confidence of staff
 recognising and appropriately rewarding achievements
 aligning people and functions to ensure best outcomes
 developing effective development processes and succession plans
 spotting, encouraging and supporting talent
 using effective recruitment, retention and promotion strategies
 providing regular feedback to staff on strengths and development needs
 seeking opportunities to build resilience, confidence and trust
 developing a workforce plan.

Conflict
It would be an unusual set of criteria that didn’t include at least one item on
communication, interpersonal skills, teamwork or client service. Often, all of these are
included as they are essential for many jobs.

When writing criteria responses you are likely to pick examples that are positive,
reflecting strong, effective skills and productive outcomes. Some roles may involve
dealing with people who behave in less than ideal ways. Often referred to as

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‘difficult’ or ‘challenging’ people, these clients or stakeholders may be sufficiently

important to the role to warrant a mention in the job description and criteria.

Examples of such roles, apart from the obvious ones like police and prison officers,
nurses, and paramedics, are those that involve daily contact with a cross-section of the
public facing trying circumstances—court officers, call centres, service centres.
People that you may encounter can be upset, irritated, angry, abusive, even violent.

There are occasions when conflict is specifically mentioned in criteria:

 Experience with conflict resolution and negotiation, including technical issues

management. (Project officer, state government)

 Strong written and verbal communication skills combined with good interpersonal
skills, the ability to build effective relationships with stakeholders, and the
capacity to deliver excellent customer service to handle situations of potential
conflict. (Operations manager, state government)

Chances are high that interviews will include a question on conflict. Certainly for
middle to senior positions, it is wise to anticipate such a question. Visit Chapter 23.

Challenges for applicants are:

 understanding what conflict is and isn’t

 choosing relevant content.

What is conflict?

Conflict is a broad term referring to disagreements, particularly where there is a

perceived threat to needs or interests. Disagreements about how to act, think and feel
are natural and occur because people hold differing views about what is important to
themselves. Conflict can arise between individuals, as well as within and between
groups. Conflict is an inherent part of human relationships and is a process to be
managed rather than something to resist, negate or avoid.

Words associated with conflict—quarrel, fight, battle, struggle, opposition,

argument—all carry negative connotations. Understandably, most people want to
avoid such situations. Avoidance however, is not a useful response. Recognising
when a difference is at risk of escalating to conflict, such as reaching a decision at a
team meeting when it is clear that people still hold differing views, and taking steps to
manage it, is a critical skill for people to have.

Behaviours that breed a negative atmosphere and which feed grievances are taking
credit for someone else’s work, back-stabbing, scape-goating, withholding
information, pursuing hidden agendas. More serious, and illegal, are bullying and
harassment.

Poor behaviour in the workplace, from colleagues, managers, clients, suppliers and
stakeholders, can be expressed in three ways:

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 Unsatisfactory performance: behaviours that indicate a person is not meeting

work standards and expectations, such as lateness, not meeting deadlines,
unauthorised absence.
 Misconduct: behaviour that clearly violates mandatory standards, such as a
public service Code of Conduct, or legislation.
 Disruptive behaviour: behaviour that has a negative impact such as emotional
outbursts and political behaviours (e.g. hidden agendas).

These three behaviours are not clear-cut distinctions nor mutually-exclusive.

Unsatisfactory performance can include disruptive behaviour. However when it
comes to questions about conflict you do need to give some thought to these
distinctions.

When asked about dealing with conflict, many people will say they work in a friendly
environment and have no relevant experience to draw on. How lucky they are. It
would, however, be a rare soul who has never witnessed some form of undesirable,
inappropriate or unacceptable behaviour, even if not directed at themselves.

Before exploring possible examples, think about what role you play and what
responsibilities that carries. If you are a team leader, supervisor or manager you carry
additional responsibilities about people’s performance. Part of your role is to set
standards, ensure compliance, model professional behaviour, provide feedback, foster
a positive working environment and deal with unsatisfactory performance.

As part of a team you have responsibilities to cooperate with others, share

information, meet standards, model professional behaviour and contribute to a
positive working environment. It is also part of your role to understand the authority
and responsibilities of your manager so that you avoid misinterpreting their legitimate
behaviour as something that it isn’t, such as harassment.

Visit Chapter 13 on values-based management for further information.

Choosing relevant content

When sharing examples of negative interactions there are several points to consider:

 Do not share confidential, private information or any details with security

implications. Do not name names. If members of a selection panel are likely to
know who you are talking about and/or were involved in the situation,
consider whether it is wise to use the example.

 Take into account the context of the job. Is the conflict likely to arise in the
context of contract management or service delivery? Select relevant examples
from your log of incidents. Use the SAR structure to tell the story. (Read
Chapter 9.)

 Pick an example where you took responsibility for a situation or for your
response to a situation and explain how you assessed it, what actions you took
and what result you gained. Part of how you handle a situation is to diagnose
the situation and decide what is the best response to make, including where

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possible, taking a non-disciplinary, non-adversarial approach. Use the SAR

structure to tell the story.

 Do not assume that conflict means worst-case behaviour. Think about what
situations are likely to arise in the context of the role. If possible, select
examples that match this context.

There is plenty of literature on how to handle conflict. Applicants need to show they
used an appropriate process and a range of skills based on the circumstances.
Managing conflict involves analysing the issues and interests at stake, the reasoning
behind different positions (a sense making skill), and determining where there is
agreement and disagreement. Then follows steps on how the issues are framed,
negotiating points of difference, and reaching resolution.

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Chapter 13: VALUES-BASED MANAGEMENT

For people outside the public sector who are applying for government jobs it is
important to appreciate how public servants differ from other employees. Working in
the public service carries with it special obligations because officials are responsible
for managing resources paid for by taxpayers, delivering services to citizens and
reflecting the policies of the government that was elected by those citizens. They are
therefore subject to expectations of high performance and high standards of personal
behaviour.

Values and Codes of Conduct

Public services place a strong emphasis on values-based management. Values-based
management is about relationships and behaviours. Workplaces are expected to be
safe, harassment-free, flexible and rewarding. People treat each other with respect and
courtesy. Communication and consultation underpin good workplace relationships.
Public servants are apolitical, professional, responsive, accountable and impartial.

All jurisdictions have a set of values and a code of conduct. They are legal
requirements and hence mandatory.

The values for public servants generally include:

 Impartiality—decisions are made and advice provided without bias,

favouritism or self-interest.
 Integrity—honesty, openness, transparency, using powers responsibly,
avoiding conflict of interest, financial probity, reporting improper conduct,
giving reasons for decisions.
 Accountability—working to clear objectives, accepting responsibly for
decisions and actions, open to scrutiny, establishing audit trails, recording
reasons for decisions.
 Responsiveness—making improvements, applying best practice.
 Respect—fairness, objectivity, courtesy, ensuring freedom from
discrimination, harassment and bullying, understanding the importance of
privacy and confidentiality.

More senior staff are expected to actively model these behaviours, to ‘exemplify’ and
promote them, whereas less senior staff are expected to ‘display’ them. In addition to
exemplary personal behaviour, senior managers raise awareness, align strategies and
plans with values, select staff considered capable of exemplary behaviour, recognise
staff who demonstrate commitment to the values, and respond to potential, real or
perceived ethical dilemmas with guidance.

A Code of Conduct sets out the standards of conduct expected of employees. A

breach of a Code of Conduct can result in sanctions ranging from a reprimand to
termination of employment. Misconduct tends to be incidents of bad behaviour and
bad judgement by individuals. Types of misconduct are:

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 harassment and bullying

 improper use of the Internet and email
 improper access to personal information
 improper use of position status
 fraud other than theft
 theft
 conflict of interest
 improper use of resources
 unauthorised disclosure of information
 misuse of alcohol or drugs.

These types of misconduct are not unique to the public service. They are equally
unlawful and unacceptable in the private and community sectors.

Public services also use a set of employment principles which define how staff can
expect to be treated when applying for jobs, working together, seeking development
or resolving disputes. These principles usually include:

 merit
 fair and reasonable treatment
 equal employment opportunity
 human rights
 fair issue resolution
 career public service.

In recent years several jurisdictions have reviewed their values, some in the context of
major reform. While a public service set of values applies across the jurisdiction,
some departments and agencies also have their own set of values.

Australian Public Service

The Public Service Amendment Act 2013 (the Amendment Act) made significant
changes to the Public Service Act 1999 (the Act). Section 10 of the Act was repealed
and replaced with a new section 10 setting out new APS Values. Each Value is
supported by a short statement that expands and clarifies its intent. The new Values
are as follows:

 ‘Committed to service: The APS is professional, objective, innovative and

efficient, and works collaboratively to achieve the best results for the
Australian community and the Government.
 Ethical: The APS demonstrates leadership, is trustworthy, and acts with
integrity, in all that it does.
 Respectful: The APS respects all people, including their rights and their
heritage.
 Accountable: The APS is open and accountable to the Australian community
under the law and within the framework of Ministerial responsibility.
 Impartial: The APS is apolitical and provides the Government with advice that
is frank, honest, timely and based on the best available evidence.’lxiii

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The Amendment Act identifies Employment Principles, which are largely those of the
previous APS Values that relate to employment and workplace relationships. The Act
also modified the Code of Conduct so that the first four elements apply ‘in connection
with’ the employee’s employment, rather than only ‘in the course of employment’.
This change is aimed at providing greater certainty when dealing with suspected
breaches that occur on work-related travel or training and in connection with use of
social media.
The new Employment Principles are as follows:
‘The APS is a career-based public service that:

 makes fair employment decisions with a fair system of review;

 recognises that the usual basis for engagement is as an ongoing APS
employee;
 makes decisions relating to engagement and promotion that are based on
merit;
 requires effective performance from each employee;
 provides flexible, safe and rewarding workplaces where communication,
consultation, cooperation and input from employees on matters that affect
their workplaces are valued;
 provides workplaces that are free from discrimination, patronage and
favouritism; and
 recognises the diversity of the Australian community and fosters diversity in
the workplace.’lxiv

Queensland Public Sector

The Queensland public service has undergone a major reform and renewal process.
The Better ways of working report identified four measures of success that
government seeks:

 ‘Increased employee engagement

 Better customer experience
 Reduced cost to Queenslanders
 Improved productivity’.lxv

This reform process aims to change the culture of the Queensland public service by
shifting the focus from compliance to a values-led way of working, and increasing
people’s capacity to act to deliver improved business outcomes.

This report identified five value statements and associated behaviours or ways of
working:

 ‘Customers first
 Ideas into action
 Unleash potential
 Be courageous
 Empower people’.lxvi

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Behaviours worth noting include:

 Challenge the norm and suggest solutions (Ideas into action)

 Work across boundaries (Ideas into action)
 Expect greatness (Unleash potential)
 Take calculated risks (Be courageous)
 Play to everyone’s strengths (Empower people)
 Develop yourself and those around you (Empower people).

South Australian Public Service

The South Australian public service has undergone a renewal program. Stated Values
are:

 Service
 Professionalism
 Trust
 Respect
 Collaboration and engagement
 Honesty and integrity
 Courage and tenacity
 Sustainability.

A website devoted to explaining these values and the associated cultural change
provides behavioural details for each value under three headings: Organisational
practices, Successful personal behaviours, and Taboos. Knowing what not to do is as
valuable as knowing what to do.lxvii

ACT Public Service

The Public Sector Management Act (1994) (the PSM Act) sets out service values and
principles: Impartial stewardship, Responsiveness, Accountability, Fairness, Equity,
Integrity, and Efficiency. Section 9 of the Act sets out General obligations of
employees. These cover areas such as care, impartiality, probity, courtesy, lawfulness,
conflict of interest, and efficiency.lxviii

In 2011 the Australian Capital Territory Public Service (ACTPS) was reconstituted as
a single enterprise led by the Head of Service. This major change prompted the
development of a Code of Conduct, founded on the values of Respect, Integrity,
Collaboration and Innovation and ten Signature Behaviours that all people employed
under the PSM Act are expected to demonstrate. The signature behaviours embody
the principles of decency, courtesy, professionalism and fairness.lxix

NSW Public Service

The Government Sector Employment Act 2013 established new legal requirements for
NSW government employees to act ethically and in the public interest. The Act
provides a set of four government sector core values with principles that guide
behaviour. These values are:

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 Integrity
 Trust
 Service
 Accountability.lxx

The principles are similar to other jurisdictions.

Ethical issues
Capability frameworks include behaviours concerned with adhering to Values and
Codes of Conduct, behaving honestly, ethically and professionally, treating people
fairly and equitably, and making unbiased decisions. A person applying for more
senior roles in a public service would be wise to consider what ethical issues they
have faced and how they handled them.

Ethical decision-making models have been established to help public servants make
decisions in situations where there is no written rule or there are conflicting views or
values.lxxi Such models assist clarity of thinking and enable a person to justify their
decisions and ensure there is accountability and transparency. When addressing
ethical issues either in an application or during an interview you could use such a
model to explain how you move from a problem to designing a course of action.

Tools for dealing with ethical issues broadly cover these steps:

 scope the problem

 examine existing policies, procedures, precedents
 develop options
 assess risks
 evaluate and decide
 implement
 review.

Rather than taking a rule book approach to ethics, the St James Ethics Centre focuses
on the ethical dimension of daily practice by seeing the basic question of ethics as:
What ought one to do?lxxii Every time we make a choice or take a decision we reflect
values. In daily practice it is the grey choices rather than the black-and-white ones
that become tricky. Giving a mate a contract is relatively straight forward as an
unethical decision. But what about in the case of booking travel? When it comes to
confirming a flight, do I tick the carbon offset payment option? It is only a small
amount of money, but how does that sit with the requirement to seek the best price?
And will it make any difference anyway? But what if I am a committed
environmentalist? Even the most minor choices can have an ethical dimension.

The NSW Public Service Commission engaged the St James Ethics Centre to
investigate the ethics issues experienced by NSW public service employees. The
report gives examples of the range of potentially ethical situations public servants
could face, listed and illustrated under twenty headings.lxxiii

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No specific definition of an ethical issue is provided. Rather, the list includes

conditions which might encourage unethical action, patterns of unethical action, and
management failures that do not minimise unethical conduct.

This report is particularly useful for identifying the vast range of obvious and nuanced
situations that can raise ethical issues. For example, professionals may be accountable
to two or more codes of ethics which may have conflicting requirements. A
psychologist or social worker requires confidentiality when working with clients but
the public service requires a client information record that can be accessed by a range
of people.

Another example is the high levels of potential, actual and perceived conflicts of
interest for staff members in regional offices, as they live and work in and with the
small local communities they serve. In this context there can be significant ethical
challenges around impartiality, equity and transparency in decision-making, service
delivery, resource allocation and appointments.

Implementing new ICT systems can create risks such as unauthorised access to
information. Restructures can create uncertainty and competition for positions, with a
risk of favouritism in making appointments.

Another area addressed in the report is attitude to mistakes and its role in supporting
an ethical culture. Capability frameworks include, usually under showing personal
courage, behaviours associated with taking responsibility for mistakes, learning from
them, and acknowledging when one is wrong.

The report explores the role of middle managers in supporting an ethical culture.
Failure to act on poor work performance, including misconduct like timesheet
misreporting and misstating travel claims, was a particular management shortcoming
reported during consultations. Also reported were factors making it difficult for
middle managers to act in these circumstances. These factors include the risk of
becoming the subject of bullying or similar complaint if they instituted a performance
management process, lack of understanding of a manager’s responsibility for
performance management, and/or lack of skills, including the ability to conduct
difficult conversations, to manage performance. Inadequate performance management
is mentioned repeatedly in public service reports across jurisdictions. People applying
for manager roles should take note and consider their experience and skills in this
area. Chapter 12 explores responding to criteria about management in more detail.

Conflict of interest has received considerable attention in reports, inquiries and the
media. A conflict of interest occurs when there is a conflict between a person’s public
duty and their private interests. It may be actual (i.e. real), perceived (i.e. where a
third party might think private interests could improperly influence behaviour) or
potential (i.e. there is a possibility of private interests affecting actions).

Activities with an increased risk of conflict of interest are:

 procurement
 recruitment
 allocating grants, subsidies, concessions

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 passing binding judgements

 issuing fines and penalties
 issuing licences and certifications
 regulating standards.

Private matters which may raise the potential for conflict of interest include personal
assets, family business interests, affiliations with trade unions, political organisations,
ethnic and religious associations. Client and contractor relationships also include risks
of conflict of interest such as receipt of gifts, access to confidential information,
contract administration.

Resources on ethical behaviour

Some jurisdictions provide useful resources about ethical behaviour. Of particular

value is Behaving Ethically: A guide for NSW government sector employees.lxxiv In
addition to explaining the context of the NSW Values, this document provides tools
for dealing with ethical issues, guidance on handline difficult conversations, including
saying ‘No’ constructively, giving and receiving negative feedback, and providing
frank advice. It also links values to the range of legislation relevant to an ethical
decision, including Acts concerning:

 anti-discrimination
 bullying and harassment
 record keeping
 corruption
 work health and safety
 information
 privacy
 data protection
 whistleblowing
 crime
 child protection
 ombudsmen.

For people wishing to pitch their examples of ethical dilemmas to more senior roles,
this document identifies some of the factors that can complicate an issue:

 multiple stakeholders
 ambiguous or conflicting objectives
 various interpretations of the facts
 multiple options
 pressure for an urgent decision
 different ethical views.

Criteria responses may need to indicate an understanding of the nuances associated

with weighing up potentially competing interests. For example, guidelines issued by
the Victorian Commissioner for Privacy and Data Protection set out how a person
may need to weigh up opposing public interests such as the free flow of information

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versus protecting the privacy of personal information, or promoting open access to

public sector information versus protecting its security.lxxv

A range of resources is available for identifying and managing conflicts of interest.

Applicants can use these to analyse their own experience and explain examples of
handling relevant situations.lxxvi

Victoria’s Public Sector Commission’s Ethics Challenge Quiz is another useful

resource.lxxvii

Engaging with risk

Before considering how to respond to criteria concerning values and ethics, it is worth
looking at the nature of risk. Risk management is receiving increasing prominence in
the public sector. It is one factor that differentiates classification levels. Entry level
staff are expected to identify and manage risks that affect day-to-day tasks, while
managers need to identify and manage risks in all areas of their decision-making.

Risk refers to the effect of uncertainty on objectives. Material on risk management

provides valuable material on identifying, analysing and responding to risks. Many
areas of risk relate to values and principles of public sector employment. Examples
are:

 fraud and corruption

 contractual compliance
 work health and safety
 environmental damage
 use of resources.

Risks can relate to reputation, public expectations, stakeholder relationships, security,

and budget allocations. Risks can apply to an organisation, multiple organisations, and
the government.

Not all risks are ethical risks. Risk management can however, be linked to sound
judgement, integrity, confidentiality and discretion. A job description may ask for
understanding of risk identification and mitigation. This requirement needs to be
interpreted and responded to in the context of the job. For example, if the context is
property, many of the risks will be associated with contracts, work safety and asset
management.

Some jobs may call for developing risk management plans. Such plans are based on
asking such questions as:

 What can go wrong?

 How likely is it to go wrong?
 What will be the consequences if it goes wrong?
 What will we do to prevent it?
 What will we do if it happens?

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Plenty of toolkits exist online to help with understanding risk management. Jobs that
have a major risk management component may require training or qualifications in
the subject.lxxviii

Selection criteria about values-based management

Selection criteria about public service values and standards of behaviour are
expressed as a capability or a specific criterion.

Capability examples are:

 Personal drive and integrity

Personal qualities to facilitate effective performance, including:
- A proactive approach with a high level of enthusiasm, energy and motivation
- Initiative and flexibility
- The ability to act with diplomacy and discretion when dealing with sensitive
and/or confidential issues.

 Displays personal drive and integrity

Proven capability to:
- Persist and focus on achieving objectives even in difficult circumstances
- Demonstrate a high level of self awareness
- Adhere to APS Values and Code of Conduct
- Comply with relevant legislation and policy.

 Exemplifies personal drive and integrity

- Provides a positive role model to colleagues and stakeholders by behaving
professionally, ethically, responsibly and demonstrating a commitment to
personal development.
- Displays initiative, commitment, flexibility and resilience.

 Demonstrates personal drive and integrity by displaying the courage and

commitment to maintain a difficult position and by being prepared to challenge
and address difficult or controversial issues. Takes personal responsibility for
continual professional development and actively participates in development
opportunities.

Job-specific examples are:

 Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of client rights including

confidentiality, privacy, advocacy and complaints mechanisms.

 Ability to demonstrate and display Council Values—integrity, courage, respect for

others, and striving for excellence.

 Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise judgement regarding sensitive

issues.

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You could also be given a specific question to respond to, such as this one on
integrity:

Please demonstrate your ability to operate with integrity and your commitment to
ethical practice.

In responding to criteria about values-based management think about why these

values and behaviours would be important in the job you are applying for. Here your
analysis of the job context is valuable. Then scan your log of incidents (referred to in
Chapter 3) to select relevant examples.

Think of situations where ethical issues arose. For example, take service and contract
management situations where there is a potential for conflict of interest. Should you
accept a gift from a supplier or contractor as a sign of goodwill? How do you balance
this with building positive relationships with clients? Is acceptance likely to be
interpreted as bribery, or at least an attempt to influence future decisions? What if a
contractor asks you out to lunch? Do you accept or not? If you are coming from the
private sector where there may be greater leeway on these issues, you need to
consider the implications from a public sector perspective.

For people outside the public sector, consider values and codes of conduct that you
have experienced in organisations or industry sectors you have worked in, or
professional associations you belong to. For example, the banking industry has a code
of practice. Individual banks have customer service standards about treating people
with respect and courtesy.lxxix

To help with looking for relevant examples, consider these questions.

 How do you, or would you, model public sector values?

 Which values particularly apply to the work you do?
 Have there been any times when a decision was made based on particular
values?
 How do you let staff know that conduct consistent with the values and code of
conduct is expected and that misconduct will not be tolerated?
 How are the values and code integrated into performance management
processes?
 What do you do in relation to fraud control and risk assessment?
 Are you likely to be the recipient of gifts?
 How do you manage consultants or contractors?
 Does your work involve corporate sponsorship?
 Do you use resources such as the Internet, frequent flyer schemes, motor
vehicles, equipment or other property that may raise ethical issues?
 Do you handle public money?
 Does your work involve contact with the minister’s office?
 Do you handle confidential information?
 How thorough is your record-keeping?
 Do you handle client’s private information?
 Do you take the learning and development needs of staff seriously?

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 Do you take steps to stop behaviours that constitute harassment, bullying or

discrimination?
 What have you done to prevent and eliminate unacceptable behaviour within
your workplace?
 How do you encourage staff to build their equity and diversity awareness?
 Have you completed training in relevant areas, such as risk management,
contract management, procurement, customer relations, work safety?

Relationship with government and the parliament

Public servants serve the government that citizens elected. Irrespective of which party
is in power, public servants must provide impartial, accurate and responsive advice.
This means being sensitive to how matters like personal political activity and making
public comment are handled.

Public servants may work in roles where they have contact with the minister’s office
and ministerial advisers. Such dealings can be tricky for a public servant as the role of
ministerial advisers is political. Similarly public servants need to understand the
boundaries around dealing with members of the opposition and their staff.

If you are applying for a job that involves contact with ministerial staff be aware of
the potential difficulties that can arise, like unclear boundaries before and during an
election campaign or inappropriate levels of involvement in deciding government
grants. Web searches will provide relevant resources and background information.

Workplace policies
Employers and their staff are subject to the provisions of a range of legislation that
affects behaviour in the workplace. Applicants need to consider which
Commonwealth, State or Territory legislation is relevant.

Key Acts relevant to applicants concern:

 Unlawful discrimination
 Human Rights
 Equal Opportunity
 Harassment, bullying, victimisation
 Work Health and Safety.

Lists of selection criteria can include specific criteria about diversity, workplace
health and safety and workplace participation. Examples of such criteria are:

 Demonstrated commitment to continuous learning and self-development and to

the principles and practices of Workplace Health and Safety, Workplace Diversity
and Workplace Participation.

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 Demonstrated understanding and commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity

(EEO) and Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) principles and practices.

 Sound knowledge of WHS requirements pertaining to water and sewage

construction and maintenance.

 Demonstrated knowledge of WHS legislation, associated legislation and relevant

industry standards.

 Understanding of public service values covering ethical standards and a

demonstrated self-awareness, professionalism and a proven commitment to the
ongoing integration of workplace respect, equity and diversity work practices and
workplace health and safety principles and practices.

Where capabilities are used as criteria, duties may be preceded by a statement such as:

In accordance with the principles of workplace diversity, Workplace Health & Safety,
participative work practices and values, and under general direction and within the
standards for positions at this level the duties may include …

Capabilities cover these areas, but with the exception of diversity, they are more
indirectly expressed. Diversity is specifically referred to under ‘Cultivates productive
working relationships’ as ‘Values individual differences and diversity’. Behaviours
relevant to diversity, equity, workplace health and safety, and participative
management are implicit in ‘Demonstrates public service professionalism and
probity’ (under ‘Exemplifies/Displays personal drive and integrity’).

The NSW Capability Framework includes ‘Value Diversity’ as a ‘Personal Attribute’.

There may be no selection criterion on these policies.

Before looking at how to respond to these criteria, I will briefly outline what they
refer to.

Workplace diversity

The term ‘diversity’ refers to a variety of differences between people including race,
gender, ethnic or cultural background, sexual orientation, age, religion, language,
disability, marital status, pregnancy and family responsibility. Diversity also refers to
the many ways we differ from each other, such as personality, job function, education,
life experience and working style.

Workplace diversity involves recognising the value of individual differences and

managing them in the workplace. Diversity also means creating an inclusive
workplace that embraces people’s strengths and provides opportunities to succeed.

Organisations develop a workplace diversity plan that includes measures to prevent

all forms of discrimination, whether direct or indirect, consistent with the relevant
law. Applicants need to locate this plan, usually found on websites, to find out about
particular issues and approaches taken.

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Equal Employment Opportunity

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is about ensuring that all employees have
equal access to the opportunities that are available at work by:

 making sure that workplaces are free from all forms of unlawful
discrimination and harassment
 providing programs to assist members of EEO groups to overcome past or
present disadvantage.

EEO groups are people affected by past or continuing disadvantage or discrimination

in employment. These groups are:

 women
 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
 members of racial, ethnic, and ethno-religious minority groups
 people with a disability.

EEO and diversity plans promote fair treatment and identify steps to remove barriers
and address past imbalances.

Unlawful discrimination and harassment

Discrimination refers to any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of

race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, social origin or other
attributes that removes equality of opportunity or treatment in employment.

Senior executive leaders have a responsibility to foster positive workplace

environments where people treat each other and the community with respect, and
where harassment and bullying are unacceptable. The public service should be a good
place to work for everyone.

Harassment refers to any unwelcome, unsolicited, offensive, abusive, belittling or

threatening behaviour directed at an individual or group because of some real or
perceived attribute such as a person’s sex, sexuality, ethnicity, or disability. A
reasonable person, having regard to all the circumstances, would expect the person
harassed to be offended, humiliated or intimidated. Even if the behaviour is not meant
deliberately, it can still be harassment.

Sexual harassment is conduct of a sexual nature that is unwanted, not sought and is
not reciprocated. Forms of sexual harassment that can occur at work include:

 personally offensive verbal comments

 sexual or smutty jokes
 repeated comments or teasing about a person’s alleged sexual activities or
private life
 persistent unwelcome social invitations or telephone calls from workmates at
work or at home
 being followed home from work

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 emailing dirty jokes or pornography

 unsolicited letters
 stares and leers
 offensive hand or body gestures
 provocative posters with a sexual connotation.

Public service staff should be aware that any form of sexual harassment in
employment is illegal. Managers and supervisors have a direct role to play in
maintaining a safe and productive environment in their work unit and ensuring proper
standards of conduct are maintained at all times. Staff also play a role in addressing
sexual harassment by bringing matters to management’s attention.

Managers addressing underperformance or unacceptable workplace behaviour is not

bullying nor harassment.

Participative work practices

Participative work practices refer to the communication and consultation processes

that underpin good workplace relationships. Cooperation is encouraged as is input
from staff on matters that affect their workplace.

Participative management involves more than simply asking staff to participate or

make suggestions. It involves encouraging staff involvement in the analysis of
problems, development of strategies, and implementation of solutions. Staff are
invited to share in decision-making processes by participating in activities such as
setting goals, determining work schedules, and making suggestions.

Behaviours in capability frameworks that reflect participative work practices are:

 contributes to the development of work plans and team goals

 keeps self and others well informed on work progress
 asks questions to gain full understanding of an issue
 identifies issues that could impact on designated tasks
 participates in decision-making
 suggests improvements to work practices, work tasks and business practices
 contributes own expertise for the benefit of the business unit
 constructs task plans to deliver objectives
 responds to changes in requirements
 participates actively in teamwork and group activities
 shares information with own team and seeks input from others
 treats people with respect and courtesy
 supports a positive work environment
 engages others in the organisation’s vision and encourages comment
 explores new ideas with an open mind
 fosters teamwork by working collaboratively and cooperatively
 encourages and rewards those behaviours in others
 seeks input and facilitates joint ownership
 consults and promotes open discussion

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 encourages input, listens and takes action to harness the varied input for the
benefit of the business unit
 motivates others to take ownership
 encourages and contributes to debate on own ideas and the ideas of others
 acknowledges differences of opinion and addresses disagreements objectively
 offers a convincing rationale and makes a strong case, without getting personal
or aggressive.

Work health and safety

The essential objective underlying work health and safety (WHS) statutes is to
prevent workplace injury and illness. Legislation outlines obligations for both
employees and managers/supervisors. While at work, employees are expected to take
all reasonable and practicable steps to:

 use equipment in accordance with instructions issued by management

 not risk the health and safety of other people
 cooperate with those who have obligations under legislation.

Supervisors have direct responsibilities to implement work health and safety policies
and procedures. Their day-to-day role includes:

 promoting a safe and healthy workplace

 helping to ensure that adequate safety training is provided to staff
 assisting with staff consultations on changes to work practices and equipment
 notifying and reporting accidents
 identifying and evaluating hazards in the workplace and making
recommendations about hazard control.

When considering the job you are applying for, find out if there are hazards of
concern. These could be:

 physical hazards, including noise, heat, cold, vibration and pressure

 chemical hazards, for example explosions, flammability, corrosion and
toxicity
 biological hazards, derived mainly from infection or allergic reaction,
including viruses and bacteria
 ergonomic hazards, such as poor work design, layout or activity, manual
handling and repetitive strain activities
 psychological hazards, including stress, violence, shift work, long working
hours and lack of control in decision-making.

Workplace safety also covers workplace stress. Managers need to monitor and take
action about workplace stressors. Examples of such stressors are:

 lack of consultation
 the amount of change
 too much or too little work
 not enough training

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 boring, repetitive work

 team conflict
 unclear job descriptions.

As part of their obligation to provide a safe workplace, employers need to address any
workplace bullying. Bullying is repeated, unreasonable behaviour which belittles and
humiliates a person. Examples of bullying are:

 malicious rumours
 shouting
 abusive language
 persistent and unfounded criticism
 petty work rules
 isolation from information, opportunities, decision-making.

To fully understand WHS policies and issues you should read any material provided
with the selection documentation as well as more detailed information such as
organisational strategies and agreements.

These questions will help you think about workplace safety issues.

 Do I adhere to WHS procedures?

 Am I aware of the relevant regulations?
 Do I consult with staff and appropriate managers?
 Do I implement safe systems at work?
 Do I include WHS when inducting new staff?
 Do I take action when problems are identified?
 Do I arrange ongoing training when work practices change?

Relationships with the public—customer service

Many public sector staff are either directly involved in delivering services to the
general public or manage staff who do. Staff are expected to deliver services fairly,
honestly, impartially and courteously, with care, and be sensitive to the diversity of
the Australian public. They are also expected to maintain public confidence in an
organisation’s ability to protect individual privacy. Knowing your obligations and
responsibilities under privacy legislation with respect to privacy and confidentiality is
essential.

Commonwealth agencies have developed service charters which set out the quality of
service clients can expect to receive. Charters outline client rights and responsibilities
and avenues for complaints. Across all jurisdictions agencies have complaints
procedures and mechanisms for providing feedback from the public.

Customer service criteria can be job-specific, as in this example:

Provide a quality service to clients and resolve specific customer issues in an efficient
and courteous manner.

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Capabilities include customer service skills under ‘Supports productive working

relationships’. Relevant behaviours are:

 anticipates and is responsive to changes in client needs

 provides courteous, prompt and professional service to clients
 keeps clients informed on progress
 manages client expectations by clarifying expectations and deadlines.

Under ‘Displays personal drive and integrity’ you will find reference to providing
accurate advice to clients.

The NSW Capability Framework includes ‘Commit to Customer Service’ under

‘Relationships’.

While customer service often relates to members of the public, keep in mind that
some clients are internal, within an organisation. For example, people working in
corporate roles have clients spread across the organisation.

Use of social media

In July 2010, the Australian Government made a declaration of Open Government
which encouraged agencies to consider the opportunities created by social media to
more effectively engage with staff, stakeholders and the community.lxxx Social media
are now widely used by all levels of government. Policies and guidelines set out how
they can be used to support or deliver a wide range of activities including community
engagement, communication and marketing; policy development and implementation;
service delivery; and research. The projected result is more open and democratic
government processes, early identification of public issues or concerns, leading to
more effective, responsive risk management and stakeholder engagement.

Your use of social media, both privately and professionally, needs to take into account
a range of policies and legal requirements. Plus you need to be aware of potential
ethical issues. (Chapter 4 explains the role of social media in career management.)

Social media policies

Government employees need to be aware of the boundaries between personal use of

social media and work-related use, particularly when talking online about factual,
unclassified and uncontroversial matters related to their department. Social media
policies set out what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and identify relevant
values, including:

 Remaining apolitical: being apolitical, impartial and professional.

 Fair and objective treatment: behaving with respect and courtesy, and without
harassment.
 Public comment and official information, privacy and confidentiality: dealing
appropriately with information, recognising that some information needs to
remain confidential.

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 Equity and diversity: being sensitive to the diversity of the Australian public.
 Open to scrutiny: taking reasonable steps to avoid conflicts of interest.
 Work resources: making proper use of resources, including IT resources.
 Public trust: upholding the integrity and good reputation of the public service.

There is a healthy list of relevant policies and law that public servants need to
consider in relation to their use of social media. This list includes the relevant Code of
Conduct; policies concerning personal information, information management,
bullying and harassment, information security, internet and email usage; Acts related
to the relevant public service, criminal conduct, freedom of information, archives,
privacy, contempt of court; plus an employee’s common law duty of loyalty and
fidelity, which is an implied term in any employment relationship.

You are personally responsible for the content you publish in a personal capacity on
any form of social media platform. Work email or social media accounts should not
be used for private comment nor linked to personal accounts. Excessive time using
social media that is not related to your work is unacceptable.

Acceptable use may include re‐tweeting content from your department’s account on
your own Twitter account and engaging as an individual citizen in community debates
which do not cross‐over into your areas of policy responsibility.

Where your comments or profile can identify you as a public servant, policies state
you must only disclose and discuss publicly available information, ensure that all
content is accurate, not misleading, and complies with relevant policies, expressly
states your views are your own and not those of the department or the government, be
polite and respectful, and comply with relevant Terms of Use and laws.

Social media policies specify what you must not do. Actions deemed unacceptable
include providing content on social media channels that:

 Could be interpreted as speaking on behalf of a department or government.

 Commits the department or government to any action.
 Relates to controversial, sensitive, political or confidential matters.
 Could bring the department or the public service into disrepute.
 Provides on-the-record comments to journalist, politicians and lobby groups.

Unacceptable use also includes using Government resources to access or post any
material that is offensive, obscene, sexually explicitly, defamatory, threatening,
harassing, bullying, discriminatory, hateful, racist, sexist, fraudulent, infringes
copyright, constitutes a contempt of court, breaches a Court suppression order or is
otherwise unlawful.

Most of these behaviours equally apply to employees in other sectors.

Questions about the boundaries between acceptable work-use and unacceptable

private use of social media could potentially arise during an interview where this
subject is relevant.

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Social media and stakeholder engagement

If stakeholder management is part of a job description it would be worth finding out

what role social media plays. Social media can play a role in information campaigns,
customer enquiries, feedback and complaints, engagement with journalists, public
consultations, and monitoring people’s views. They can also help with keeping
abreast of the latest developments in a field of interest, and with forming external
relationships.

Questions to ask include:

 What role does social media play within a stakeholder management strategy?
 What policies and procedures exist?
 What platforms are used and for what purpose?
 How effective are they?
 What role could you play in using social media?

Social media jobs and values

Social media jobs may carry job titles starting with words such as content (e.g.
content manager, content strategist, content marketer), digital (e.g. digital content
manager), social media (e.g. social media coordinator, social media editor). Some jobs
may include a social media component, such as roles in community engagement.

Social media jobs can involve setting up and implementing various social media
platforms, determining a social media and content strategy, and applying these
platforms in a range of contexts, such as recruitment, community engagement,
information sharing.

Social media platforms serve different purposes. A job may mean choosing the right
tool for purposes such as research, information sharing, consultations, and citizen
participation.

In addition to the relevant technical skills you may need to indicate you understand
the uses of social media, relevant governance structures, policies and guidelines, and
potential risks.

Official social media accounts need to be authoritative sources of government

information. Information needs to be consistent, transparent, trustworthy (accurate,
relevant, timely, available and secure), equitable and managed.

The official use of social media has the potential to compromise compliance with
legislation, particularly in regard to accessibility, privacy and recordkeeping. Content
contributed by anyone may infringe upon the rights of others in areas such as
defamation, intellectual property and fraud. Policies and procedures therefore need to
address a wide range of concerns including:

 risk management planning

 right to information and accessibility
 privacy

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 defamation
 information security
 information licensing
 intellectual property infringement
 communication strategies
 community engagement guidelines
 applicable code of conduct
 web publishing policies
 records and information management policies.

Procedures are needed on monitoring content, preventing and responding to offensive

material, misrepresentation, moderation of content.

Commonwealth, state and territory governments have policies and procedures for
social media. If you are applying for a social media job read the relevant documents.

Responding to values-based management criteria

Responding well to criteria about values will strengthen your application. Do not
assume that these criteria are of lesser importance and therefore warrant less attention.
Doing so may give the selection panel a reason to not short-list your application.

Notice the criterion wording

With job-specific criteria you need to analyse the criterion to make sure you have
noted the language used. (See Chapter 9.) Note whether the criterion asks for
knowledge, understanding or demonstrated commitment. Your response will be
different depending on which of these terms is used.

If you are asked for knowledge of these areas, include in your response:

 how you gained your knowledge (training, qualifications)

 what the basics are (main objectives, key points).

If you are asked for understanding, include in your response:

 what your responsibilities are as an employee or manager/supervisor

 the value or benefit of these policies to the workplace.

If you are asked for demonstrated commitment, include in your response:

 a general claim of a track record over time of meeting the criterion

 specific roles undertaken (Fire Warden, First Aid Officer, Harassment Officer)
 specific examples that demonstrate actions taken with a results focus.

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Information to draw on for responses

For a strongly written response you need to draw on specific evidence rather than
make vague claims. Whether you are in the public sector or not, there is a range of
sources of material you can draw on.

 Roles. Taking on roles, such as Fire Warden, Equity Officer, Harassment

Officer, Ethics Officer, gives access to training, knowledge of policies and
procedures, and examples of handling situations.

 Professional development. Attendance at induction programs, training courses,

seminars, conferences, provides foundational knowledge.

 Staying current. You can keep up-to-date on developments via reading and
research.

 Qualifications. Some areas, such as work safety, require specific

qualifications. Some degrees and diplomas, such as in management, include
units on work safety and diversity.

 Staff issues. As a supervisor or manager you may have had to handle sensitive
issues such as personal crises that affected a staff member’s performance, by
applying relevant policies and giving access to support such as Employee
Assistance Programs.

 Memberships. Membership of professional associations and maintenance of

professional status. Professional associations have codes of conduct and
requirements to complete professional development activities in order to retain
status within a profession. Actively maintaining your status and increasing
your professional status show a commitment to standards as well as
professional development.

 Comparable policies and values. Most of the public service values are not
unique to this sector. You can draw on your experience in industries and
organisations that have similar values and codes of conduct.

 Feedback. Use feedback you have received from managers, customers, audit
processes that confirm the quality and consistency of your customer service,
modelling of behaviours or professional handling of situations.

 Ideas. You may have suggested ideas to your team or supervisor that relate to
diversity, participative management or work safety. Examples are: celebrating
Harmony Day, sharing who chairs team meetings, taking it in turns to bring
food for morning teas that reflect cultural background, team efforts to support
the community such as fundraising or work area clean up days, suggestions
about lunch time health programs, awareness raising activities about health
issues or promoting programs available to staff such as influenza injections.

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 Compliance. In carrying out your job you have to comply with policies,
procedures, laws and regulations. For example, people in finance jobs must
comply with rules relating to financial management and accounting practice.
People in project management roles must comply with rules relating to
procurement. You can demonstrate that you work within these boundaries.

Example of a response

To illustrate these points let’s take the criterion: Capacity to implement workplace
diversity principles and practices, and participative, safe and healthy work practices.

Without the benefit of the advice contained in this and earlier chapters, an applicant
might write:

‘I have always followed these principles and practices and practiced them
constantly in my career. I believe in equality for everyone and would never
discriminate against anyone. I work in such a way as to continually support
these policies and I place a particularly strong value on all staff having their
say.’

This response, not atypical, suffers from a number of inadequacies. It:

 does not respond to the detail of the criterion

 does not provide any useful information
 demonstrates limited understanding of the policies
 uses sweeping generalisations—‘always’, ‘never’, ‘constantly’, ‘continually’
 uses uninformative expressions like ‘I work in such a way as to ...’
 is devoid of any concrete examples.

A more useful approach would be to express a response in these terms.

‘My knowledge of these principles and practices has been gained by

attendance at an induction program and a one-day planning session to develop
the department’s workplace diversity program.

This knowledge has been supplemented by training to support my role as a

Sexual Harassment Contact Officer.

My capacity to implement these principles and practices is demonstrated by:

o fulfilling the role as a Sexual Harassment Contact Officer. In this role I

have handled five cases from initial inquiry to formal complaint resulting
in procedural changes, mediated outcomes, and improved manager training
o implementing a professional development program to build confidence and
skills in participating in team decision-making
o representing staff on an accommodation working party
o establishing a team-based approach to accommodate different family
responsibilities, ensuring that family-friendly practices are used by staff.’

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This response is an improvement over the first version because it:

 responds to the criterion in a logical manner

 demonstrates an understanding of the terms used in the criterion
 provides concrete and relevant examples that demonstrate the skills and
experience required
 sets out the information in a clear and easy-to-read manner.

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Chapter 14: PREPARING YOUR RÉSUMÉ

Your résumé is a statement of personal particulars and a chronology of your work
history. It is a separate document from the covering letter and the statement to
selection criteria. A résumé is a shorter, less detailed document than a curriculum
vitae (CV). Academics and researchers are more likely to produce CVs that can be
longer documents listing publications and presentations in detail.

Mistakes applicants make

The main mistakes applicants make with their résumé are:

 not keeping a master career record

 not keeping it current so much time is wasted updating it when an application
is due
 taking a one-size-fits-all approach rather than tailoring the résumé to the job
 seeing the résumé as little more than a record rather than as a marketing
document
 taking an activity focus rather than a results focus
 writing in a narrative style
 using poor layout and structure rather than a logical sequence and consistent
style
 failing to help the reader make sense of their work history, particularly if the
person has changed, or is wishing to change, career direction
 preparing a document that is too long
 leaving details incomplete.

This chapter focuses on helping you to avoid these mistakes. There are numerous
books and websites devoted to preparing résumés. You can combine the ideas here
with information you obtain from these other resources.

Avoiding résumé mistakes

To avoid these mistakes you need to:

 keep an up-to-date master career record that details everything about your
career
 prepare a tailored, shorter version for each job you apply for (2 – 3 pages)
 regard your résumé as a marketing document with a strong results focus that
helps the reader make sense of your history
 use a simple, consistent style and layout.

Here are some specific suggestions for preparing a results-focussed, job-specific

résumé that markets your history to a selection panel.

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Mistake 1: Writing in narrative form

The writing style for a résumé is highly concise and you do not need to use full
sentences. A narrative writing style used to describe what you do looks like this:

‘Administrative Officer

In this role I have responsibility for coordinating briefs, keeping the section’s
finances up-to-date, writing correspondence and contributing to projects. I
have been in this role for two years and during that time I have been trained in
a range of computer skills so that I have a sound knowledge of records
management and finance systems. During the last six months I have acted as
an APS 5 taking on higher levels of responsibility in coordination and
finance.’

When explaining what you do, select the key words and phrases and write them as dot
points or as a short paragraph. For example:

‘Administrative Officer

Key responsibilities:

Coordinate briefs, update section finances, prepare correspondence, contribute

to projects.’

Mistake 2: Incomplete details

Identify positions you have held, starting with the present and working to the past. For
each position, state:

 the period of employment

 the employer’s name
 type of work performed or job title
 the classification level (for public servants).

For example:

2014 – Present Assistant Project Officer, APS 5, Division of Sustainability,

Department of Climate Change

2011 – 2014 Business Development Officer, The Computer Whizz

Company

If you have private sector experience it may be useful to explain who companies are
and what they do, so that selection panels understand who you have worked for.

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Mistake 3: Detailing every job held

Give greater detail about your more recent positions. Selection panels are primarily
interested in the last eight to 10 years of your history. If you have a long work history
you can decide whether to:

 mention all work

 choose a cut-off point and delete the rest
 choose a cut-off point and summarise the rest
 group similar work, such as short-term contract work.

If you have multiple contract jobs in your work history, an alternative to listing them
separately is to group them, as shown in this example.

2011 – 2014 Multiple contracts as web designer with various state and
federal government departments.
Projects worked on: [insert details]
Key results: [insert details]

Mistake 4: Writing long lists of activity

You may hold the belief that the longer the list of tasks you include under each job the
more impressive your résumé will look. This is not the case. A résumé is not a
regurgitation of your job description. With a ‘longer is better’ belief in mind you run
the risk of listing lower-level tasks which then risks underselling your abilities,
particularly when you apply for a promotion. While selection panels want to know
what you do in a job, what results you produce is also important.

People who perform administrative work are particularly prone to fall into this
activity trap. Take a local government finance role as an example. You could list the
following as what you do, based on a duty statement or work records:

‘Tasks:

o prepare fortnightly payroll

o make payments of employee deductions
o maintain payroll database
o input debtor data in an accurate and timely manner
o process invoices for posting on a fortnightly basis
o produce debtors trial balance and aged debtors listing
o check outstanding debtors monthly and report on what follow-up action
has been taken with Deputy Chief Executive Officer
o maintain debtors database
o balance debtors ledger to general ledger
o process creditor invoice details and reconcile creditors’ statements at least
monthly in an accurate and timely manner
o prepare cheques and vouchers for authorisation on a fortnightly basis
o process any manual payments to creditors as required
o maintain creditor database
o balance creditors ledger to general ledger

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o prepare monthly accounts listing for council agenda

o raise rates (in consultation with Deputy Chief Executive Officer)
o ensure all instalment reminders are sent out to ratepayers
o respond to ratepayer and community enquiries on rating and electoral roll
matters
o processing of interim rate accounts
o answer all telephone enquiries received from ratepayers and attend to
general counter enquiries regarding rating and electoral roll matters
o identify accounts in credit, determine the reason for the credit and refund
the amount as appropriate
o prepare necessary data required to update changes of address and/or
ownership
o liaise with ratepayers regarding unpaid accounts
o prepare written correspondence as required
o distribute, balance and recoup petty cash
o cover front counter enquiries, assist licensing and other necessary
administrative duties in the absence of the Administration Officer
o other duties as directed by Chief Executive Officer or Deputy Chief
Executive Officer.’

Now it may well be true that you do all of these tasks. However, you are not your duty
statement and your résumé serves a different purpose to your duty statement. A long
list like the one above needs to be cut down to the tasks that take up most time, are of
most importance, and are the most demanding or complex.

The above example could be a much shorter list, particularly if grouped under
headings.

‘Key responsibilities:

o Payroll: prepare fortnightly payroll, make payments of employee

deductions, maintain payroll database.

o Debtors: input debtor data, process invoices fortnightly, produce debtors

trial balance and aged debtors listing, check outstanding debtors monthly,
report follow-up action, maintain debtors database, balance debtors ledger
to general ledger.

o Creditors: process monthly creditor invoice details and reconcile creditors

statements, prepare cheques and vouchers for authorisation, maintain
creditor database, balance creditors ledger to general ledger.

o Rates: raise and process rates, respond to ratepayer inquiries, update

database, unpaid accounts liaison and correspondence.’

Mistake 5: Leaving out results

Achieving results is part of the definition of merit, is often one of the selection
criteria, and is what selection panels are keenly interested in. Given your résumé is a
marketing document, you want to convey information about what value you offer an

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employer. This value does not lie so much in what you do but in what difference you
make. In other words, what is important is how well you do your work, how
productive you are, and what results you produce.

Adopting this results focus can mean thinking differently about what you do. Rather
than focusing on the breadth of what you do (i.e. long lists of activity), you need to
think in terms of what is expected from you. This is where your analysis of the job
description is important so you can make sure your résumé reflects the sort of results
demanded in the job you are applying for.

In order to make this shift in your résumé you need to understand some
terminology—inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes.

 Inputs refer to resources, both human (staff) and non-human (finance,

infrastructure, information) used to produce outputs.

 Activities refer to how work is carried out. For example, negotiating,

inspecting, consulting.

 Outputs, also called deliverables, refer to the goods and services organisations
produce stemming from activities. For example, cheques delivered, advice
given, payments processed, grants provided, reports written.

 Outcomes refer to the impact, consequences or flow-on effect of outputs and

activity. Outcomes are described as immediate, intermediate, or final; direct or
indirect; intended or unintended.

The distinction between outputs and outcomes is not always clear-cut so I will refer
simply to results. The point for applicants is to give some thought to how these terms
apply to their circumstances. When preparing your résumé you need to give a short
list of key responsibilities then give some thought to what you produce (your outputs)
and whether you can say anything about the flow-on impact of what you do (your
outcomes). Both of these are results.

Consider your personal impact. What impact did you have on peers, team members
and stakeholders? Impact can be short-term, such as persuading a meeting to reach a
preferred decision, and long-term, such as changing the attitude of a key stakeholder
so that they became a supportive ally.

Impact on peers and team members can include job satisfaction, professional
development, career prospects, talent development. Clients can be impacted indirectly
and directly by shifts in client service culture or service delivery. Suppliers can be
impacted through contract management, service quality, organisational reputation,
governance and innovation.

Take the example above of the local government finance person. In handling payroll,
debtors, creditors and rates, what outputs are produced? The outputs include
payments, data, reports, cheques, information and correspondence. How do we know
if this has been done well? Key measures of how well this work is performed are:

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 Accuracy: if cheques and payments are wrong or data is entered into databases
incorrectly, this generates problems for other people, possibly complaints, and
certainly follow-up action to correct the errors and provide further guidance to
the person who made the error.

 Deadlines: most jobs involve working to deadlines. In a finance role, meeting

deadlines is critical. If deadlines are missed people complain and there may
also be compliance issues relating to laws and regulations.

 Service: this finance person is providing a service to staff, managers,

suppliers, clients and stakeholders. There may be service standards that set out
what quality service means.

 Targets: some roles have targets for a time period. For example, this finance
person might have to handle payroll for all staff with names starting with A to
L and have records updated by three days before payments are made.

What might be the outcomes of this finance role? What are the flow-on effects from
this work? Examples of outcomes include:

 consistently happy staff and suppliers who receive accurate and timely
payments
 informed managers who receive useful, accurate and timely advice
 a manager who knows they have a productive staff member who can work
with minimum supervision
 satisfied ratepayers who receive accurate rate notices and have their inquiries
answered in a friendly, helpful manner
 a council that has a positive reputation for accuracy, timeliness, accountability,
customer service
 a council that becomes more efficient as routine processes are streamlined.

To develop a results focus in your résumé think about the outputs and outcomes you
produce. Or more simply, what results you produce. Has any of your work contributed
to:

 saving time
 reducing costs
 increasing productivity
 improving something (process, procedure)
 exceeding targets or expectations
 developing staff
 improving morale
 increasing efficiency
 solving problems
 going the extra mile
 introducing something new?

If your answer is ‘No’ to these questions it means you need to pay more attention to
what you are doing and look for opportunities to make contributions.

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Think about your work and ask yourself whether you have:

 run a team well

 organised something
 made difficult decisions
 motivated yourself or others in difficult circumstances
 introduced a change
 persuaded people to take action
 coached others to perform better
 completed something successfully.

Another way to measure the difference you make is by absence. You appreciate the
work of a good editor, for example, because the impact of their efforts is largely
invisible. When writing is awkward, grammatically incorrect, or shows
inconsistencies, you know the work needs the attention of an editor. Similarly, when
cleaners do a good job, no one notices. But we readily complain when the bins have
not been emptied. You may be able to quantify your results as an absence of disputes,
breakdowns, stoppages or complaints.

After you have written what you think is a results statement, ask yourself the question,
So what? in order to find out if you have captured all the relevant information. You
may find you have established what the output was but not captured its value. For
example you could list the following results:

 Launched new website.

 Designed new product brochure.

These two statements tell the reader what the output was but they don’t tell what
value they delivered. The statements can be extended to:

 Launched new website which increased monthly hits by 20%.

 Designed new product brochure that generated 200 requests for information.

Another flaw in a results statement occurs when you identify what the result was
without fully explaining what you did that led to this result. Consider these two results
statements:

 Shortened recruitment process from three months to 45 days.

 Cut processing costs by $12,000.

These statements can be extended to show how this was achieved:

 Shortened recruitment process from three months to 45 days by removing

three unnecessary steps.
 Cut processing costs by $12,000 through a combination of staff training and
simplified forms.

When writing results statements start with a verb, written in the past tense, state what
you did, then link to the value or benefit with words like by, which, that, through.

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 Initiated a team building program that resulted in a 10% increase in

productivity.
 Redesigned the careers section of the website which reduced unnecessary
applicant inquiries by 40%.
 Reduced customer complaints by expanding the Q&A session during
consultation processes.
 Increased training attendance through a combination of improved catering,
participant input to design and content, and shorter programs.

Can you quantify what you do and combine this with some measure of your
performance? This particularly applies to work where there is a processing
component. Some roles, like the finance role above and arranging travel or handling
inquiries, involve handling a volume of work that is procedural in nature. Here are
some examples to illustrate this point:

 Received and finalised 200 complaints covering 34 issues, all within service
standards and deadlines.
 Completed data entry for 43 complex grant applications with 100% accuracy.
 Conducted 45 client inquiry investigations with 38 receiving phone responses
and seven receiving information packages.
 On average, handled 350 phone inquiries each week with 95% completed
within time allocation targets.
 Consistently met or exceeded application targets.

In the résumé extracts provided later in this chapter there are further examples of how
to present results.

The essentials of your résumé

Public sector organisations may specify that your résumé should provide the
following information:

 contact details
 qualifications and training
 employment or work history
 professional memberships
 referee contact details.

Let’s take each of these components to identify what to include and what to leave out.
When preparing your résumé you will need to exercise judgement about what is
relevant and appropriate to the job you are applying for and what you feel comfortable
with in terms of promoting what you have to offer.

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Contact details

List your name, address, email address, phone number. Take care with email
addresses. If you have a creative private email address, such as
[email protected], consider whether this creates a professional impression.

It is not necessary to include details of marital status, children, age, date of birth or
religion. This information is not relevant to your ability to do the job.

If you are already a public servant you could list your employee number and security
clearance.

You may choose to list whether you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

Qualifications and training

Traps applicants can fall into with this information are:

 Mixing formal qualifications and non-accredited training under the heading

‘Qualifications’.

 Distributing this information throughout the résumé. If you have a list headed
‘Qualifications’ near the start of your résumé, then later another list headed
‘Training’ and then another list somewhere else headed ‘Education’, give
some thought to whether this information should be co-located to help the
reader make sense of your professional background.

 Listing every course you have ever completed regardless of its relevance and
currency. Remember your résumé is a marketing document tailored to the job
you are applying for. Not every course will be relevant to that job. Some
training subjects date quickly, such as ICT courses, so make sure the ones you
list show that your knowledge is current.

The heading ‘Qualifications and training’ can cover:

 school and post-school qualifications

 accredited training
 non-accredited training
 licences (for example, a specific type of driver’s licence).

Australia has a set of standards called the Australian Qualifications Framework

(AQF).lxxxi The AQF comprises national qualifications issued in different parts of the
education sector. An accredited course is a structured sequence of vocational
education and training that leads to an AQF qualification or Statement of Attainment.
Short training courses that do not contribute to an AQF qualification are non-
accredited courses. Applicants have often completed many non-accredited courses
during their careers. Keep a list on your master résumé but only include those that are
current and relevant on your job-specific résumé.

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Unless asked for, you do not need to attach to your application a photocopy of your
qualifications.

When listing qualifications, consider including the date of award and awarding
institution.

If you have post-secondary education it is not essential to include secondary education

in your education list.

If you gained qualifications in another country then you will need to check if they are
recognised in Australia.lxxxii

Layout options for qualifications and training include listing the details:

 chronologically, working backwards from the most recent qualification

 hierarchically, working backwards from the highest level of qualification
 by subject matter.

Use your judgement as to which method will best serve your needs.

You might also want to mention special skills you have such as fluency in languages,
particularly if these are relevant to the job you are applying for.

For ICT jobs and roles requiring computer-related expertise you will need to list your
technical skills. For some people this can be a long list. One way to set out this
information is to create a table listing specific details for:

 operating systems
 hardware
 applications software
 web development
 programming languages
 databases.

Work history

Books on résumé writing suggest several methods for setting out work experience
details—chronological, functional, and a mix of the two. Given the statement of
claims to the selection criteria is the key document for public sector jobs, a clearly set
out chronology of work history that makes cross-referencing with the selection
criteria easy will likely serve you well.

Some books suggest ‘Employment history’ as a heading. ‘Work history’ can be

interpreted more broadly than employment history which implies payment. People
who are entering work for the first time or re-entering need to think about their whole
life experience to identify what to include as work history. In addition to paid work,
whether full- or part-time, casual or contractual, there is also:

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 parental and carer responsibilities

 voluntary work
 study or learning work.

These types of experience all provide work-related skills. Voluntary work is

productive work even though it is unpaid. You can choose whether you identify work
as paid or unpaid. Adopting the belief that work takes several forms that are
legitimately part of your résumé is what’s important here.

Treat all this experience as work experience, giving dates, details of the organisation,
responsibilities and results. For example:

2011–20014 Coordinated gift stall at Wisepeople School fete.

Twenty parents contributed stock, resulting in $350 in
funds.

2009–2013 Lifeline Counsellor

After successfully completing the six months training
program, worked 10 pm–2 am shift as a phone
counsellor. On average responded to 80 calls each
week.

2012 Organised local car pool to transport four children to

school.

2006–2009 Library Aide

Completed weekly home deliveries of library books to
frail, aged, bed-ridden and disabled people. Received
several letters complimenting me on my interpersonal
skills and customer service.

Selection panels should be taking account of the range of work people do and the
transferable skills this gives them that make them capable of carrying out the duties of
the job. Some jurisdictions actively encourage applicants to refer to activities outside
of paid work.

Your chronological work history:

 works from the present to the past

 uses the present tense for current work and past tense for previous work
 details the last eight to ten years
 summarises key responsibilities
 lists key results and achievements
 may include all types of work (paid, unpaid, part- and full-time, contract)
 uses a consistent format.

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Additional elements for your résumé

Some organisations suggest including interests and any other relevant information that
will support your application. This information could be community contributions,
awards, publications, conference presentations. Make sure you read the application kit
to identify any advice about the résumé.

You might also want to include a career goal, particularly if you are seeking to enter
or re-enter the workforce, or are changing career direction. Such a statement,
combined with a career overview, helps frame how the panel reads your résumé. It
helps them to make sense of what you are offering.

Career goal

This is a short statement about the type of job, profession, industry, organisation you
wish to work in. It may also make reference to career direction changes.

Examples:

‘To work in events management with the opportunity to contribute to the

success of high-profile professional conferences.’

‘To join a sustainability team where I can contribute to fostering sustainability

both within a local government environment and in the local community.’

Career overview

A career overview or profile is a short, factual summary of your key skills and
qualities, tailored to the job. It may also include what you are looking for and why. It
can be a combination of both a career goal and skill summary. This statement can be
used to frame transitions and ‘non-standard’ work histories.

The summary can be written in the first person, or in the third person.

First person example for recent graduate:

‘I am a passionate environmental science graduate, specialising in

environmental sustainability, seeking to join an organisation where I can
contribute to building a viable, long-lasting community. I completed a summer
internship with the Department of the Environment and an honours thesis on
community attitudes to sustainable waste management practices. I have
contributed to Land Care programs and Clean Up Australia campaigns and
was a Reef Watch Ranger at school.’

Third person example for recent graduate:

‘Recent environmental science graduate, specialising in environmental

sustainability, seeking to join a government organisation to contribute to
building a viable, long-lasting community. Completed a summer internship
with the Department of the Environment and an honours thesis on community

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attitudes to sustainable waste management practices. Contributed to Land Care

programs and Clean Up Australia campaigns and was a Reef Watch Ranger at
school.’

Examples for more experienced people:

‘Enthusiastic and confident accountant with a flair for making complex

financial information readily understood by non-accountants. Experienced in
accrual accounting, knowledgeable about government financial practices,
skilled in analysis, budget preparation and management reporting, competent
in Microsoft Office suite of software.’

‘Multilingual public librarian with extensive professional experience in

automated libraries. Learning advocate with track record in implementing
literacy innovations that benefit local, multicultural communities. Awarded
2009 Library Technician of the Year for outstanding contributions to the
community.’

‘Significant track record of success in strategic planning and policy

development, with a focus on corporate change programs. Proven ability to
formulate, develop and implement professional development and performance
management strategies to achieve cultural reform in large agencies.
Consistently able to deliver superior results within tight time frames.’

‘Experienced IT professional with track record of success in implementing

major projects, seeking to move into program management to further APS
career. With proven team leadership abilities in small and large service
delivery agencies, offers highly developed skills in stakeholder management,
problem-solving, and contract negotiation.’

Skill summary

A skill summary is a list of the key skills you have that are most relevant to the job
you are applying for. One trap with a skill summary is that people list skills that
would be expected from any employee, such as communication skills and problem-
solving. A useful skills summary needs to be relevant to the job and focus on skills
that are unique or add value by the applicant.

Another trap is to write a mix of skills, experience and knowledge rather than a list of
skills. For example:

‘Skill summary:

o detailed knowledge of procurement policies and guidelines

o track record in working under pressure and meeting deadlines
o highly developed communication skills
o three years experience in contract management
o demonstrated record in negotiating contract details.’

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Either the heading needs to change to something like ‘Portfolio summary’ or ‘Key
capabilities’ or the list needs to include only skills.

Résumé and online systems

Applicants need to be aware that online recruitment systems may affect the format of
their résumé. Note applicant instructions about formatting. Be aware that e-
recruitment tools may not support documents that contain graphics, images, tables,
text boxes, heavy formatting.

Include in your résumé key words and phrases from the job description so that
Applicant Tracking System software works in your favour.

Examples of results-based work history

The following examples illustrate how to write about results for a range of roles.

Finance officer

‘June 2013 – Present Finance Officer, Dept. of Finance, ACT

Key Responsibilities:

Analysis and review of program reporting, preparation of monthly management

reports and budget estimates.

Results:

o Implemented new project reporting system that reduced process by three steps.
o Met all management reporting deadlines.
o Reduced program managers’ reporting workload by 1.5 hours per month.’

Library technician

‘May 2013 – Present Library Technician, Richmond Public Library, SA

Responsibilities:

Assist with maintenance and security of physical collection including shelving and
repairs; delivery of services to library users; work within policies and procedures.

Key results:

o Consistently met deadlines and shelving targets and complied with library
policies and procedures.
o Track record in solving library users’ problems, particularly with technology
and research.
o Awarded ‘Bright new staff member’ Award for showing early promise.

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o Increased participation in Summer Reading Club by 20%.’

Museum assistant

‘2012 – 2014 Museum Assistant (P/T), Richmond Community Museum

Responsibilities:

Welcomed visitors, answered visitor queries, conducted information tours, assisted

museum staff.

Key results:

o Consistently received positive feedback from visitors on the quality of

information and service provided.
o Track record in reliability, cooperation and willingness to take on new duties.
o Improved visitor welcome experience by changing foyer layout for easier
access.’

Human Resource Consultant

‘2011– 2013 HR Adviser, EL1, Department of Wellbeing

Key responsibilities:

Managed workforce development team responsible for capability management,

recruitment, and graduate program; special HR projects, staff training, mentoring,
process improvement.

Key results:

o Awarded Australia Day Achievement Award as a member of the National

Indigenous Graduate Recruitment Program in recognition of the high quality
and outstanding results of this program.
o Managed rollout of Capability Management Strategy with 100% manager buy-
in.
o Trained over 100 staff in the use of new online recruitment system.
o Mentored six graduates for periods ranging from three months to two years.
o 360 degree feedback process evidenced high ratings in my management skills
by staff, colleagues and managers.
o Working with team, reduced average recruitment turnaround from 160 days to
45 days.
o Initiated a review of the department’s induction program resulting in 12 of 15
recommendations being accepted by executive and implemented during the
next 12 months.’

Communications officer

‘2012 – 2014 Communications Officer, APS 5, Department of Sustainability

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Key responsibilities:

Media and promotional campaigns, corporate documents, managed communications

team, quality assurance of corporate communications.

Key results:

o Project managed a $10m ‘Perish if you populate’ promotional campaign in

support of the government’s population policy, resulting in 230 articles in all
major newspapers, 30 television interviews, 49 radio interviews, and extensive
commentary in blogs, tweets and online articles.
o Initiated a media training program for new senior executives with 95% of
attendees rating the program as ‘excellent’.
o Coordinated 2011 and 2012 annual reports, meeting all project deadlines and
standards. 2012 report received an honorary mention in the Annual Report
Awards.
o Drafted the department’s Style Guide which received executive approval.
o Led and managed a team of four staff. Improved staff engagement as
measured by annual feedback surveys by reinvigorating the performance
appraisal process, introducing weekly staff meetings, celebrating staff
birthdays, and adopting a career development approach to coaching staff.’

Administrative assistant

‘2013 – Present Administrative Assistant, Innovation Branch,

Department of Business Development

Key responsibilities:

Coordinate responses to ministerial and administrative correspondence, develop and

implement administrative practices and procedures, file registration and recording,
maintenance of associated databases, prepare travel arrangements for local and
overseas travel, maintain office equipment and stationery requirements.

Key results:

o Coordinated Branch responses to 230 ministerials, with 92% completed within

time and quality standards.
o Completed travel arrangements for 53 domestic and five international
itineraries, many at short notice and with multiple changes, purchasing best
value tickets where possible.
o Maintained suite of office equipment to ensure they were fully operational.
o Maintained file database with 100% accuracy.
o Re-wrote stationery purchasing procedures.’

ICT professional

‘2012 – Present Helpdesk Supervisor, Department of Treasury

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Key responsibilities:

Manage helpdesk, manage software application developments, manage team of six

staff, manage projects, develop best practice.

Key results:

o Reduced user complaints about poor problem-solving by 75% by improving

how problems were monitored, establishing escalation procedures and closure
arrangements.
o Standardised software applications development practices resulting in
improved functionality and reduced error-rate.
o Introduced the use of business analysts resulting in fully defined business
requirements, improved communication with end users, and faster delivery.
o Developed, tested and introduced testing practices that resulted in fewer errors
at roll-out, wider staff acceptance and willingness to implement new
applications.
o Provided technical leadership by introducing quarterly ICT Forums at which
trends and developments are presented to staff in lay language.’

Policy Officer

‘2010 – 2013 Policy Officer, Department of Sustainability

Key responsibilities:

Assisted with conference organisation, prepared ministerials, briefs and PPQs,

stakeholder liaison, researched and analysed policy issues concerning water
management.

Key results:

o Improved key stakeholder relationships through extensive liaison with federal

and state government agency personnel, business and NGO CEOs.
o As a member of the organising team for the National Climate Change
Conference, liaised with PCO to ensure all logistical details (registrations,
travel, accommodation, catering, equipment) were completed with accuracy,
timeliness, attention to detail, and responsiveness. Delegate feedback
confirmed a high level of satisfaction with the service provided.
o Prepared multiple ministerial submissions and correspondence, PPQs and
talking points on contentious aspects of population policy, often with only
several hours’ notice during three months of intense media and parliamentary
scrutiny.’

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Chapter 15: HELPING YOUR REFEREES

Obtaining applicants’ referee reports remains a popular pre-employment procedure
for screening job candidates. Reference checks are generally used for three purposes:

 to verify information provided by applicants during other selection processes

 to serve as a basis for predicting job success
 to unearth background information that may not have come to light during
other processes.

A reference check is not meant to be about simply confirming a decision that has
already been made. A referee report is another piece of information that the selection
panel uses to assess an applicant. The most useful information comes from people
who have a direct, personal knowledge of the applicant’s work behaviour and
performance.

Selection processes vary on the timing of references. While most processes ask for
referee contact details to be submitted with an application, the actual report may be
obtained during short-listing, after interviews (or other selection methods), or not at
all. In some cases decisions are made based on referee reports and applications only.

Referee reports tend to be obtained in verbal rather than written format. These are
quicker to obtain and human resource practitioners recognise that a telephone
reference check is of greater value than a written document. The report may be made
available to the applicant, although the referee’s comments may be included in the
assessment report rather than written as a separate document. Where a referee report
includes negative comments the applicant should have the option of commenting. If a
referee is a member of the selection panel they should write the report before
applications close.

The approach to obtaining a reference by a selection panel is structured, with direct

links to the selection criteria and job requirements. Referees are asked to provide
examples that demonstrate an applicant’s abilities. It is therefore vital that you
provide your referees with information about the job you are applying for. You could
also discuss your application with them and provide a copy to assist their memory.

What makes a useful referee report?

People who work in the public service usually understand what is required when
writing a referee report. People outside the public service may be unaware of the
format for a referee report and produce a document that is less useful than it could be.
It is therefore in your interest to ensure that your referees fully understand the
requirements of a public service referee report and have the information necessary to
prepare a useful one.

For information to be useful referees must:

 have had the opportunity to observe the applicant in relevant work situations

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 be competent to make the evaluations requested and be willing to give honest

assessments
 be able to express themselves so their comments can be understood as they are
intended.

Referees may be given guidance by an organisation on how to structure their report.

This guidance may be in the form of an assessment table or rating scale so that
referees can place applicants on a scale for each criterion. Typically the scale will
range from A (Highly suitable) through to E (Unsuitable):

 Highly suitable, Outstanding, Exceeds requirements

Highly suitable is only used in exceptional cases. Such a person performs at a high
level, without direct supervision. They are able to effectively do all aspects of the
criterion with little or no effort.

 Very suitable, Fully competent, Meets requirements to a high level

Very suitable means a person has highly developed skills, can perform with little
guidance and is able to deal with all routine and most complex matters of the
criterion.

 Suitable, Competent, Meets requirements

Suitable is for the person who possesses the necessary skills, abilities and
qualities, would require routine guidance for more complex matters and could
carry responsibility but not necessarily seek it.

 Marginal, Requires development,

A marginal rating means the person possesses some skills, abilities and qualities,
would require close guidance and further training and development, and would
produce inconsistent work performance.

 Unsuitable, Unsatisfactory, Does not meet requirements

Unsuitable is for a person who does not have the skills, abilities and qualities for
the criterion and would be unable to perform even routine duties.

Information referees are asked about

The selection panel may seek information from referees across a range of areas.

 Relationship: What is their relationship to you, how long have they worked
with you, can they validate or clarify information about you and what you
have already provided to the panel.

 Job performance: What is their assessment of your past performance, what are
your strengths and weaknesses, do you meet objectives, how much supervision
do you need, have there have been any instances of poor performance.

 Disciplinary history: Whether you have ever been disciplined in relation to

work performance or behaviour.

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 Workplace behaviour: How you contribute to a positive work environment for

colleagues, supervisors and clients, how you respond to feedback.

 Attendance: What is your record of attendance.

 Ability to operate in a specific work environment: Whether you could meet the
demands of a particular work environment or are ready for promotion.

Ten tips for managing your referees

What can you do to manage your referees to give you the best result? Here are 10
suggestions.

1. Ask

Ask your referees if they are willing to speak on your behalf. Do not assume that just
because a person is your manager that they should or will. It is embarrassing to be
rung by a selection panel member and be told you are a referee when the applicant has
not even mentioned they were applying for a job.

Also, exercise the courtesy of thanking them afterwards, regardless of whether they
provided a reference and what the result of the process was.

2. Provide information

Generally the amount of detail and specific comment in a referee report may signal
the level of knowledge the referee has of the applicant, how much effort they are
willing to put into the report on behalf of the applicant, or the level of skill the referee
has at writing reports. Where a referee has to write reports for several staff,
particularly if they are applying for similar positions, then skill is needed in drawing
distinctions between each of the applicant’s level of performance. This in turn means
that a referee needs to take their supervisory responsibilities seriously so that they are
in a position to make comments based on a fair assessment of a person’s ability.

One way to assist a referee to write a fair and comprehensive report, particularly if
this person is not a current supervisor, is to provide the referee with either a copy of
your application or a summary of your key achievements during the time of your
working relationship with this person.

Think about the questions referees are likely to be asked, and reflect on what you have
been doing to help your referees respond positively.

 How well does this person interact with team members?

 What do you regard as the applicant’s strengths? Weaknesses?
 How would you rate their interpersonal skills?
 Give an example of a time when they have shown initiative.
 How well do they work under pressure?

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 Would you hire this person again?

Being able to provide this information means that you need to keep a regular record of
what you do in a job. If you have kept a work diary, as suggested in Chapter 3, this
should be a relatively simple task to complete.

3. Suggest a format

Some organisations provide a format for referee reports. Where this is not provided
you can suggest the following structure:

 a brief outline of the referee’s relationship to you (what were the positions you
both held, at what level, when, in what organisation, and what were your
respective responsibilities)
 a comment about your performance against each of the selection criteria
 a closing general comment which may include reference to qualities not
covered by the selection criteria and a recommendation of support for the
applicant.

An example is provided later in this chapter.

4. Explain the selection criteria

Non-public service referees need to understand the role of selection criteria in the
selection process and provide comments against each of the criteria. Where a referee
has no experience of you for a particular criterion, then an ‘unable to comment’ note
is acceptable.

5. Choose your supervisor

The expectation is that you will seek a reference from your immediate supervisor.
Selection panels prefer to speak to this person to gain an idea of your past work
performance. For this person to support you they should ideally have at least nine to
12 months experience of your work. If you have worked with your supervisor for only
a short period of time, then you may wish to offer a previous supervisor in addition to
the current one. If this is not appropriate or possible then you need to find alternative
referees who can comment on your current work performance against the selection
criteria.

Some applicants, such as school leavers, graduates, migrants and refugees, may have
difficulty providing a referee who is an immediate supervisor. Character references
are of limited value. Draw on people who you have had temporary employment with
or people who know you in a voluntary capacity so they can comment on your work-
related behaviour.

6. Advise of any difficulties

If there are any difficulties with contacting your referees, particularly if you are in the
private sector, let the selection panel know so they can contact you before they make
any calls to your boss.

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7. Advise if it is a promotion

If you are applying for a promotion make sure your referee understands this and the
requirements of working at the higher level. Their role is to comment on your work
and potential for promotion.

8. Are they contactable?

When you nominate a referee make sure they are contactable during the selection
period. Are they going on leave or travelling, making them difficult to contact? Also
provide both a landline and mobile number. Panels may feel more comfortable going
through a switchboard or calling an office as this gives more assurance that the person
being called is a genuine referee.

9. Think ahead

Take a strategic approach to your referees. Think ahead and develop relationships
with a wide range of people who could potentially speak on your behalf—colleagues,
senior managers, clients, stakeholders, suppliers, subordinates. This approach will
give you a wider pool of referees to draw on.

10. Keep in touch

Your referees may move around. Consider keeping in touch with key ones so you
know where they are and they know what you are doing. You never know when you
may need to call on these people to support your case.

Think like your supervisor

As an applicant, put yourself in your supervisor’s position and think about what rating
(highly suitable, very suitable, suitable, marginal or unsuitable) you would give
yourself if you were working for you. Ask yourself these questions:

 How much supervision do I need?

 Can I be relied on to do my work accurately and effectively?
 What is my level of job knowledge?
 Do I suggest improvements?
 Can I handle both routine and complex matters?
 Is my work accurate?
 Do I seek further responsibility?
 Can I follow directions?
 Do I need checking up on?
 Is my work performance consistent?
 Can I solve problems?
 Is my work output satisfactory?
 Would I hire me again?

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Referees may be asked to comment on a candidate’s strengths and development

needs. Knowing yourself what your strengths and development needs are, and making
these known to referees in the course of your work would be advantageous when it
comes time to have these documented in a reference. In other words, work them out
yourself and discuss them during performance appraisals.

Example of a referee report

The fictitious referee report provided in this chapter demonstrates the use of the
suggested format. This report is useful because it:

 states the applicant’s strengths

 gives details of work experience
 confirms the applicant’s demonstrated performance on the job
 provides supportive comment and information in addition to what is required
in the selection criteria.

Reference for Ms Jennifer Ready

APS Level 4, Position No 2451,
Department of Wellbeing For All Australians

Background

I worked with Ms Ready in the Policy Advancement Branch of DWFAA during 2013
– 14 when I was supervising a section responsible for promoting departmental policy
both within the department and to its external clients. Ms Ready was working for me
as an APS 3, assisting with implementing communication strategies, particularly
drafting promotional materials and speeches.

Selection criteria

1. Well developed communication skills, both oral and written.

Very suitable

Ms Ready has demonstrated good writing skills which she has applied to drafting
speeches, promotional brochures, media releases, correspondence in response to
public enquiries and several ministerials. She is able to grasp key points quickly and
write a clear, succinct response that requires minimal alteration. Her oral
communication skills are her strength. She expresses herself clearly and succinctly in
meetings, briefings and in discussions with staff and clients. She is able to modify her
presentation to meet the needs of different audiences and can, when necessary, be
firm while remaining polite.

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2. The ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of individuals and

organisations.

Very suitable

In her work with me, Ms Ready liaised with staff in other branches, executive staff,
and ministerial staff as well as members of the public. She has demonstrated that she
can relate to this range of individuals, to people at different levels of seniority and
from different organisations. She remains courteous, diplomatic and friendly while
achieving the section’s outcomes.

3. An organised and highly motivated approach to work with the ability to prioritise
and work under pressure.

Very suitable

Staff in my section need to work with minimal supervision and be able to organise
their work according to shifting priorities. At times the deadlines are tight and may
change unexpectedly. Ms Ready has demonstrated that she can meet these needs.

4. Awareness of workplace diversity and WHS principles and practices and the ability
to apply and promote these in the workplace.

Very suitable

The section meets weekly to review progress and Ms Ready takes an active role in
these meetings. She is particularly effective at encouraging the quieter members of
staff to contribute to these meetings. Ms Ready is a trained Sexual Harassment Officer
and has skilfully resolved a serious complaint. She is respected by staff and has
demonstrated her awareness of workplace diversity principles.

General comment

Ms Ready is a hard-working, reliable and enthusiastic officer who puts in the extra
effort when needed to meet deadlines and achieve targets. She works well as a team
member and seeks ways to make improvements. She has acted in an APS 4 position
on several occasions and is more than ready to assume this level of responsibility.

Overall assessment: Very suitable.

Geraldine Power
Director

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Chapter 16: A CASE STUDY: LEE KOUDBEE CLIMBS

HIGH
Previous chapters have explained how to go about writing an application for a public
sector job. This chapter presents a fictitious case study to demonstrate how to apply
these suggestions.

Lee Koudbee’s applications are not intended to illustrate full and complete
documents. Nor are they necessarily models you should copy. How useful they are
will depend on the job being applied for. Real applications may be of a different
length. What these examples are designed to do is draw your attention to writing
styles that undersell people by being misaligned, poorly written, and lacking results-
based evidence relevant to the classification level.

Who is Lee Koudbee?

Lee Koudbee is making a career in the public service. After a change of government
at an election a new department has been created, the Department of Wellbeing For
All Australians (DWFAA). Lee spots an attractive APS 5 job and prepares an
application. Selection documentation sets out the duties and selection criteria for the
position.

An abridged application (covering letter and statement against the selection criteria
only) is presented here which is typical of many applications—mediocre and easily
eliminated from further consideration.

You are then invited to analyse the application to identify its flaws. These are the
questions you need to ask yourself to improve your own writing.

Lee then prepares a second, much stronger application based on the ideas in this book.
Observe and study the difference. Can you improve your own application in the same
way? This second application is not perfect. You may well be able to improve on it
further.

Lee then wins a promotion and eyes a more senior role, this time based on
capabilities. After drafting an application, advice is sought from a professional career
development practitioner. Based on their advice Lee has another go at the application.

Lee then decides to gain broader experience in another jurisdiction by applying for a
short-term transfer. Faced with different application requirements, Lee struggles to
make a case. Help is again sought, which sees Lee prepare a stronger statement of
suitability.

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Selection documentation

Department of Wellbeing For All Australians

Position number 7001

Classification APS 5
Central office ACT
Sub-program Sustainable Health
Local title Holistic Wellbeing Policy Officer

The Department of Wellbeing For All Australians (DWFAA) has responsibility

for ensuring that all government policies and programs contribute to achieving
optimum wellbeing for all Australians.

Duties

1. Under general direction, undertake research to assist with the section’s

policy development.
2. Respond to requests for policy information from departments and the
general public.
3. Provide support to meetings of the Joint Wellbeing Professionals
Cooperation Committee.
4. Liaise with holistic health community groups.

Selection criteria

1. Demonstrated experience in policy research.

2. Demonstrated high quality oral and written communication and
interpersonal skills and ability to liaise with people at all levels in the
community.
3. Ability to work under pressure, meet deadlines, and work as part of a team
in a dynamic environment with limited supervision.
4. Knowledge of holistic wellbeing programs and policy is desirable.
5. Knowledge of and demonstrated commitment to, the principles and
practices of workplace diversity, occupational health and safety, and
participative management.

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Initial application

Covering letter

The Recruitment Officer

Department of Wellbeing For All Australians
GPO Box 7
Canberra ACT 2601

Dear Sir/Madam

Position 7001

I wish to apply for the position of APS 5 with the Holistic Wellbeing Office.

A statement against the selection criteria is attached. I believe I am well suited to this
position and would bring excellent qualifications and experience.

Yours faithfully

Lee Koudbee

Lee Koudbee: Statement against selection criteria

APS 5 Holistic Wellbeing Office

1. Demonstrated experience in policy research.

I believe that the overall performance of research and the type of outcome you wish to
achieve in a position involving research depends on how much you know about the
subject and where to obtain the necessary information to fulfil the research needs. I
have been involved with various research projects, both large and small, and these are
outlined in my résumé. These projects were undertaken when I was working for the
Department of Health, studying for a post-graduate diploma, and working for a
community organisation.

2. Demonstrated high quality oral and written communication and interpersonal skills
and ability to liaise with people at all levels in the community.

My liaison skills are one of my strongest attributes. I have always held positions
where I have had to communicate with a wide range of people, and accordingly, I
have developed very sound interpersonal and liaison skills. I have been an effective
coordinator; have had good relations with my peers and clients. All of the positions I
have held have provided an excellent opportunity to enhance my oral and written
communication skills. I believe that communicating is one of my natural talents and
effective communication skills have been essential requirements for my current

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position and all positions held. I believe I have extremely well developed written and
oral communication abilities and I know that I can communicate with a wide range of
individuals and organisations.

3. Ability to work under pressure, meet deadlines, and work as part of a team in a
dynamic environment with limited supervision.

I am a person with great initiative and ability to work effectively with little or no
supervision. I have demonstrated this on many occasions in various work situations. I
have extensive experience working as an effective member of a team as in most of the
positions I have held it has been in a team capacity. I believe that when working with
others it is important that all decisions that are made are put to the team first before
implementation and then explained in detail when confirmed. I am a firm believer that
all members of a team should get along together. I believe it is the responsibility of
each member of a team to contribute his or her best, communicate with each other and
the results are then always of a high standard.

4. Knowledge of holistic wellbeing programs and policy is desirable.

An indication of my experience is given in the attached résumé. At an interview we

might discuss particular qualities relevant to the position and I would be pleased to
cite contacts who would attest to my extensive knowledge of and effectiveness in this
area.

5. Knowledge of, and demonstrated commitment to, the principles and practices of
workplace diversity, workplace health and safety and participative management.

I have a complete understanding of the principles and practices of these strategies. I

have always been an advocate of workplace diversity and would be willing to
participate in and promote it. I understand the importance of participative
management and believe that everyone has a right to his or her say on what goes on in
the section.

Analysis of the application

Read through the statement against the selection criteria again and answer these
questions.

1. Does Lee Koudbee make any statements of belief without concrete support?
Underline them. Imagine you are the chairperson of the selection panel. How do they
sound to you—convincing, irritating, off-putting? How do they affect the tone of the
application? What impression do they create of the writer? Are you keen to meet this
person? What assumptions are you making about the applicant? Do you write similar
comments in your applications?

2. Underline all the verbs used in the statement. Are they specific? What impact do
they have on the statement? Do you obtain a clear idea of the applicant’s
achievements? What verbs could be used in their place? What difference do they
make?

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3. How many parts to the selection criteria are there in total? Has the applicant
responded to all of them? Is there scope for the panel to eliminate Lee Koudbee from
further consideration?

4. Is the statement easy to read? Why or why not? How could it be improved?

5. Are any of the sentences unclear in meaning? Are any ungrammatical? What
impression does this create of the applicant?

6. Are claims supported with relevant, concrete examples, particularly where the
applicant is required to demonstrate experience?

7. Has Lee Koudbee provided evidence of results achieved at work? Where could
such evidence be provided? What affect would this have on the application?

8. Do Lee Koudbee’s responses indicate an understanding of the meaning of the

criteria? For example, does the statement respond to these expressions accurately:
‘demonstrated’, ‘knowledge of’? What changes are needed to indicate this
understanding?

9. Are there any parts of the duty statement which are not directly mentioned in the
selection criteria? Could they be addressed in the statement against the selection
criteria? Has Lee Koudbee used the statement to achieve this?

Revised Application
Covering letter

The Recruitment Officer

Department of Wellbeing For All Australians
GPO Box 7
Canberra ACT 2601

Dear Ms Graham

Application for position 7001

I wish to apply for the position of APS 5 with the Holistic Wellbeing Office.

The combination of my volunteer experience in a holistic wellbeing community

centre, my academic studies in public policy, and my policy research experience with
the former Department of Health, provide me with a strong capacity to make a
valuable contribution to the Holistic Wellbeing Office. With the government’s shift in
emphasis from reducing sickness to building wellbeing, the need for imaginative
research and policy development is critical. I am confident that I bring a combination
of skills and experience which will contribute to building this research capacity.

A statement against the selection criteria is attached, along with my résumé.

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I look forward to discussing my application with you in person.

Thank you for considering my application.

Yours faithfully

Lee Koudbee

Lee Koudbee: Revised statement against selection criteria

APS 5 Holistic Wellbeing Office

1. Demonstrated experience in policy research.

My experience in policy research has been demonstrated during two years work with
the former Department of Health. During that time I worked in the policy
development section which was responsible for analysing existing policies and
evaluating their effectiveness.

As a member of a small research team, I supported the principal researchers by

gathering and summarising statistical and qualitative data from census information,
university studies, surveys and academic literature; collating the information; and
providing preliminary analysis, particularly of the statistical data.

The most significant research projects I had responsibility for supporting were:

o a cost-benefit analysis of medical support for eye surgery

o policy implications of potential usage of homeopathy services
o a five-year study of the recipients of the Halt Program.

The reports from these projects have been publicly commended by academics and
wellbeing professionals as well as members of the medical profession, including the
AMA. In particular, the quality of the data in these reports is the most current and
accurate available. The report recommendations have been largely adopted and
implemented, with the most significant impact being homeopathy services are now
eligible for health fund rebates.

2. Demonstrated high quality oral and written communication and interpersonal skills
and ability to liaise with people at all levels in the community.

I have demonstrated my high quality oral communication skills on many occasions. I:

o liaised with academics, private researchers and colleagues, clearly explaining

research projects and keeping them informed of progress, with feedback
complimenting my responsiveness, professionalism and helpfulness

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o effectively chaired fortnightly section meetings with feedback from staff

confirming that these meetings provided opportunities to keep people
informed, raise issues without fear of reprisal
o consulted widely with members in my role as union delegate by speaking at
union meetings, representing members’ views at consultative meetings and
briefing working parties on current issues plus presented staff issues to
management and won their support.

My high quality written communication skills have been demonstrated many times. I
have:

o prepared research summaries and analyses on complex wellbeing issues that

provided executive with information about critical policy gaps related to the
HALT program
o drafted sections of research reports, based on statistical analysis and
interpretation, within tight deadlines
o drafted numerous ministerials on a range of wellbeing issues including the
campaign by Australians for Improved Wellbeing that generated 3400 letters
to the Minister.

My written work receives little amendment by superiors. My research has been

published in the department’s newsletter Wellbeing Matters, and has been quoted by
wellbeing academics.

My high quality interpersonal and liaison skills have been demonstrated by:

o the cooperation I receive from colleagues both within my research team and
from other sections of the department to meet research project deadlines
o successfully working with a range of medical staff and clients in a holistic
wellbeing community centre which primarily catered for inner-city un/under
employed people and people of non-English speaking background resulting in
a 30% increase in attendance
o working with a committee of five people to successfully raise $500,000 to
purchase specialised equipment for the intensive care unit of a regional
hospital.

The effectiveness of my interpersonal skills has resulted in my establishing an

extensive network of contacts across the wellbeing field, including academics,
community groups and other agencies.

3. Ability to work under pressure, meet deadlines, and work as part of a team in a
dynamic environment with limited supervision.

My ability in these areas has been demonstrated by working in a research team whose
projects had fixed and tight deadlines. Due to restricted staff and budget resources I
worked with limited supervision, reporting weekly to the team leader.

During this year the team was working on three research projects simultaneously and
the deadlines shifted due to ministerial request. To meet these changed circumstances
we worked longer hours, including weekends, resulting in earlier completion dates

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being met. I supported these arrangements and completed my share of the work within
the deadlines. In support of these arrangements I used electronic diaries and project
management planning software, attended weekly team meetings at which I provided
updates and offered support to colleagues. After these projects were finished my team
leader commended each of us for our contribution. In addition the Director
commended us for our teamwork and awarded us the Outstanding Teamwork Award
for that month.

4. Knowledge of holistic wellbeing programs and policy is desirable.

My broad knowledge of holistic health programs and policy has been gained from:

o 12 months working in the Sickness Reduction Branch of the former

Department of Health, prior to it being replaced by the DWFAA
o six months working as a volunteer in an holistic wellbeing community centre
in Longreach, Qld.

This experience is complemented by:

o accredited training in massage, tai chi and aromatherapy; studying a unit in

holistic health for my Diploma in Public Policy, ANU
o reading the DWFAA’s annual report, corporate plan, and the Review of
Holistic Health and its Impact on Australians’ Wellbeing.

This combined knowledge and experience has exposed me to the key wellbeing policy
issues, in particular the impact on the health rebate system of including a range of
non-medical healing services and the budget impact of allocating funds to wellbeing
building programs.

Having worked in three different policy areas during the past five years (health,
agriculture and air safety) I am confident that I can quickly acquire the additional
knowledge needed to be fully effective in this position.

5. Knowledge of, and demonstrated commitment to, the principles and practices of
workplace diversity, workplace health and safety, and participative management.

My knowledge of these policies has been gained from attending introductory courses
(listed in my résumé) and from representing union members on WHS issues. As a
union delegate I have achieved a 30 per cent increase in meeting attendance by
ensuring that participatory management practices work well.

In addition to my role as union delegate, my commitment to these policies has been

demonstrated in practice. I have:

o suggested ideas about family friendly workplaces during consultations on the

current certified agreement
o arranged English classes during work hours for several staff for whom English
is a second language
o wrote a series of explanatory articles in the staff newsletter outlining the role
of the sexual harassment officer

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o arranged regular working parties to keep the work area clear of rubbish and
hazardous obstructions.

Lee’s career progresses

Time passes and Lee is promoted. Lee has been working at this new level for 18
months, during which some acting at the next level has been experienced. A position
at the Executive Level has come up and Lee is now keen to apply. This time the job
description uses capabilities as selection criteria. In addition, DWFAA has been
elevated to the status of a central agency responsible for a whole-of-government
approach to Australia’s wellbeing.

Lee drafts an application but struggles with the capabilities.

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Selection Documentation

Department of Wellbeing For All Australians

Position number 9010

Classification Executive Level 1
Central office ACT
Branch Whole-of-Government Approach to Wellbeing

About the Department

The Department of Wellbeing For All Australians (DWFAA) has responsibility

for ensuring that all government policies and programs contribute to achieving
optimum wellbeing for all Australians. The Department has recently been
given central agency status. The Australian Wellbeing Review, a review of
wellbeing-related programs across government, recommended 31 specific
initiatives grouped under 11 interdependent issues to ensure a whole-of-
government approach to achieving sustainable wellbeing for all Australians.

The Role

A new branch has been established in DWFAA to oversee implementation of

the Review initiatives. Whole-of-Government Reporting is a section within the
branch, responsible for monitoring, assessing and reporting on the
implementation and delivery of Review initiatives. This includes the
preparation of comprehensive reports and significant stakeholder
engagement. This team is also responsible for providing secretariat support to
the Wellbeing Interdepartmental Committee. This is a high profile unit with
tight deadlines. Staff will be at the forefront of dealing with complex wellbeing
issues and their management across government.

The Assistant Director, Whole-of-Government Reporting will:

 Manage a team that provides secretariat support to the Wellbeing

Interdepartmental Committee.
 Oversee an annual cycle of reporting.
 Work with relevant areas of the department, other central agencies and
other departments and agencies.
 Prepare papers and reports for the Wellbeing Interdepartmental
Committee and Executive briefings.

Selection Criteria

The successful applicant for this position will demonstrate:

 Shapes strategic thinking

Proven capability to:

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- Develop and implement effective strategies to meet organisational

goals
- Inspire a sense of purpose and direction
- Harness information and opportunities
- Identify emerging issues and exercise sound judgement to develop
solutions and recommendations

 Achieves results

Proven capability to:

- Steer and implement change and deal with uncertainty

- Monitor performance of work area and establish priorities and plans
for work completion
- Build organisational capability

 Cultivates productive working relationships

Proven capability to:

- Build and sustain positive relationships with colleagues, clients and

stakeholders
- Harness individual differences and diversity

 Exemplifies personal drive and integrity

Proven capability to:

- Persist and focus on achieving objectives even in difficult

circumstances
- Commit to continuing personal learning and development
- Promoting learning and development for team members
- Display initiative, commitment, flexibility and resilience

 Communicates with influence

Proven capability to:

- Communicate effectively with staff, management and clients both

internally and externally
- Prepare a broad range of written correspondence, reports and
briefs
- Represent the department in a positive and professional manner
and build the reputation of the department

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Lee Koudbee: Statement against selection criteria

Assistant Director, Whole-of-Government Reporting

 Shapes strategic thinking

Proven capability to:

Develop and implement effective strategies to meet organisational goals

Inspire a sense of purpose and direction
Harness information and opportunities
Identify emerging issues and exercise sound judgement to develop solutions
and recommendations

Throughout my career in the public service I have provided strong strategic purpose,
direction and leadership within a variety of organisations, projects and teams. I have
demonstrated strategic thinking in a number of ways. For example, building a strong
evidence base is critical to providing policy advice on wellbeing. During my work on
the Australian Wellbeing Review I have recommended several changes to the
research methodology so that more useful results could be obtained. This required
liaising with consultants and academics. In the process I set up links with states and
territories to identify and assess the key wellbeing priorities.

I have acted in EL1 roles as a team leader of a research team in the Sustainable Health
Branch and of a project team working on the Australian Wellbeing Review examining
wellbeing issues in relation to an ageing population. In both these roles I ensured that
work met organisational goals and staff understood the purpose of their work.
Through these roles I have gained an understanding of the strategic direction of the
changed role of the department and its new central agency status. As leader of these
teams I was responsible for clarifying and informing staff regarding the unit’s
strategic direction.

In my current position I have identified a number of processes needing improvement

which I have been able to resolve through my ability to motivate others to help me
identify the ideal solution.

In my previous position in Holistic Wellbeing I coordinated many research projects

concerning transport and city design. These projects required the ability to see the big
picture to be successful. I ensure that at all times I have a ‘big picture’ view on the
department’s goals and directions. I have an understanding of how my team’s
performance impacts the organisation as a whole and I use my people and
communication skills to develop this understanding.

 Achieves results

Proven capability to:

Steer and implement change and deal with uncertainty

Monitor performance of work area and establish priorities and plans for work
completion

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Build organisational capability

I have spent many years adapting to changing priorities and circumstances. I thrive on
the challenges offered by the unexpected. I am strongly committed to the concept of
continuous improvement. I am a highly motivated and focused person who is able to
work autonomously and meet deadlines despite heavy workloads and competing
priorities.

In my previous position with this department I was responsible for delivering the
external budget outcomes of a department as complex as this one over two years with
three to four staff which was no simple accomplishment. I drew on my well
developed organisational, technical and leadership skills, often under very taxing and
unpredictable times to make it happen. In the face of this accomplishment I believe
that I have the skills, experience and confidence to tackle similarly scaled operations
with success. I encourage staff to share their expertise with others.

I currently manage and provide leadership to three staff. This requires me to establish
goals, monitor priorities, adjust plans, build staff skills, clarify changes. I pass on
information from meetings with my director. At weekly team meetings I review
progress and seek ideas for dealing with any problems. I implement processes for staff
performance. I take personal responsibility for meeting objectives and to identify the
organisation and program line goals and targets.

 Cultivates productive working relationships

Proven capability to:

Build and sustain positive relationships with colleagues, clients and

stakeholders
Harness individual differences and diversity

My interpersonal skills are my strong point. I have always found that clients,
stakeholders and colleagues respond favourably to my personal style and I receive
willing assistance and cooperation from a wide circle of people across the department
to help me achieve my business outcomes. My skills have enabled me to forge strong
relationships across program lines.

I believe in working closely with people in an open, informative and constructive

manner. I have found from long experience this approach facilitates cooperative
working relationships and prevents misunderstandings and duplication of effort.

I have established relationships with academics, state and territory agencies and
community groups. These relationships have enabled me to identify opportunities for
promoting the department’s goals, address misunderstandings and false expectations,
and establish information exchanges that have enriched our research capacity.

I am committed to effectively mentoring staff and actively encourage continuous

learning. For the past two years I have mentored a member of the graduate program.
The feedback from this staff member has been positive, showing that my support has
built their confidence and increased their understanding of the department.

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 Exemplifies personal drive and integrity

Proven capability to:

Persist and focus on achieving objectives even in difficult circumstances

Commit to continuing personal learning and development
Promoting learning and development for team members
Display initiative, commitment, flexibility and resilience

I always adhere to and promote the APS Values and Code of Conduct. I value and
demonstrate integrity and professionalism, making sure other staff behave in the same
way. I believe in making sure that the workplace is free from all forms of unlawful
discrimination and harassment.

My flexibility in a changing environment was demonstrated during the introduction of

new project management software that involved training staff on using it to more
effectively monitor research projects. My role was to find a provider who could
design and deliver the training. To achieve this I:

o contracted a provider to deliver the training program

o arranged logistics such as venue, equipment etc
o organised registrations for the training
o answered queries from staff.

Following this training I initiated an evaluation of the training and software usage.
This initially seemed like an exercise that would take two weeks. I encountered some
resistance, misunderstandings, plus the project was caught up in the department’s
Review process, resulting in shifts in priorities. I was able to complete this exercise
effectively.

I regularly analyse my own performance to identify areas where I can improve. I

incorporate action strategies in my professional development plan (PDP) to address
areas of development. I also work closely with my manager to identify areas for
development. An example of this is when my manager commented that my strategic
thinking skills needed to be improved. From this feedback I took steps to improve
these skills.

I encourage my team to take their PDP seriously and make regular times to discuss
professional development. When staff attend training sessions I discuss with them
beforehand what they will focus on and afterwards discuss opportunities for applying
their new learnings. Once a month I schedule a team meeting at which staff take turns
to share something they have learnt, either on the job or from another source. This
forum has resulted in process improvements, increased knowledge of research
resources and greater understanding of wellbeing issues and their impact on areas that
previously had not been considered.

 Communicates with influence

Proven capability to:

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Communicate effectively with staff, management and clients both internally

and externally
Prepare a broad range of written correspondence, reports and briefs
Represent the department in a positive and professional manner and build the
reputation of the department

I have well developed communication skills and I am very capable of expressing

myself verbally and by written means. I am also very capable of developing briefs,
papers and other means of communicating in writing. I have developed and used these
skills over more than seven years working in the APS.

I am able to actively listen and respond appropriately. I always communicate with my

staff members and value their opinions for better solutions and better processing
ideas. Any changes, which I put in place are discussed with the team so they can have
input and are aware of the changes.

Some examples of my written communication experience are:

o research plans
o records of professional development and performance agreements
o meeting agendas and minutes
o daily communication/emails with staff
o client correspondence
o contracts with researchers
o ministerial briefs, executive reports
o chairing community consultations
o one-on-one staff mentoring sessions
o presentation of conference papers on wellbeing
o representing the department at community and academic events and seminars.

I have received feedback from stakeholders complimenting me on my ability to

explain the department’s role and wellbeing issues in ways that they can readily
understand and respond to. This ability has been particularly effective during
community consultations when people often do not have the resources to effectively
interpret discussion papers and policy statements. As a result people can express their
frustrations at meetings and potentially become angry. In recognition of my ability to
translate complex policy issues into lay terms, I have been frequently asked to attend
meetings to perform this role, even though I would normally not attend.

Revised version
Lee has sought advice about the application from an independent career development
professional. This person has pointed out aspects of the application for further
consideration, starting with some questions to Lee.

 Have you analysed the job context and spoken to the contact person?
 How many staff will you be managing in this new job?
 What is the state of transition for the staff in this new team?
 What are the immediate challenges for you in this new role?

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 How do other agencies feel about the department’s elevated status?

It turns out that Lee has made the mistake of assuming information about this new
work area without confirming the validity of those assumptions. After further research
and discussions Lee establishes vital new information.

The new team consists of four staff who know they will be joining the team. These
staff have been in research roles. They will physically move to a new area in two
weeks and will report to the Director until the Assistant Director is appointed. There
is considerable uncertainty amongst staff about what the team will do and what roles
they will play, other than what is mentioned in the Review report. The first meeting of
the Wellbeing Interdepartmental Committee is scheduled in four months. Terms of
Reference have been established.

Immediate challenges for the Assistant Director will be to consolidate the team,
prepare for the committee meeting and work with the Director to establish
relationships across the department and with external stakeholders. Other agencies are
still struggling to come to terms with this whole-of-government approach to wellbeing
and there is some resentment at the department’s elevated status.

Based on this information the professional makes the following suggestions about
how to improve Lee’s application by taking into account this context.

Choose examples that demonstrate:

 steering change
 dealing with staff and stakeholder uncertainty
 working in a high profile area with tight deadlines
 dealing with complex issues that others may not understand
 establishing an effective team quickly, with clear goals
 identifying staff capabilities for the new role and building capability
 providing secretariat support
 existing networks across the department and other agencies, including central
agencies
 dealing with situations where there is resentment and lack of clarity
 ability to deal with a cycle of reporting (rather than conducting research).

The professional also suggests:

 ensuring examples are appropriate to Executive Level work

 having a strong results focus in all examples
 writing active sentences in the past tense and dropping ‘required to’
 ensuring that all material is relevant.

Based on this advice Lee revises the application.

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Lee Koudbee: Revised statement against selection criteria

 Shapes strategic thinking

Proven capability to:

Develop and implement effective strategies to meet organisational goals

Inspire a sense of purpose and direction
Harness information and opportunities
Identify emerging issues and exercise sound judgement to develop solutions
and recommendations

Throughout my 10-year career in the public service I have provided strong strategic
purpose, direction and leadership within a variety of organisations, projects and
teams. Two examples demonstrate my ability to shape strategic thinking.

Building a strong evidence base has been critical to providing policy advice on
wellbeing and building the reputation of the department as having expertise in this
field. When acting as team leader of the Research Team I identified a gap in the
network of our wellbeing stakeholders, namely we had not established links with
scientists working on the health impact of climate change. Knowing that the
Australian Wellbeing Review (AWR) was imminent, this was an issue that could
damage our credibility. After researching the field I identified a national conference
that could be used to quickly rectify this gap. I recommended to my Director that the
Department send a delegation and establish initial contacts that we could then
develop. My Director accepted my recommendation. A senior delegation attended and
we have since established strong relationships with key researchers.

During my work on the Australian Wellbeing Review I recommended several changes

to the research methodology so that the Review Advisory Group (RAG) could
establish more useful KPIs. I liaised with consultants and academics to identify
modelling expertise. I also established links with states and territories to identify and
assess their key wellbeing priorities. This information was essential as I anticipated
that taking a whole-of-government approach would need to be informed by this
intelligence. My research and analysis shaped the RAG’s discussion and
recommendations on KPIs resulting in a more robust monitoring process.

When acting in EL1 roles as a team leader of a research team in the Sustainable
Health Branch and of a project team working on the AWR, I ensured that work met
organisational goals and staff understood the purpose of their work. The Review was
receiving considerable media attention so demand for multiple briefs, driven by media
deadlines, was a regular occurrence. To manage this high pressure environment I met
weekly with my team, reminding staff of our goals and timeframes, responding to
queries, and clarifying expectations about work standards. My team met all deadlines.
My manager commended me on my ability to meet the unit’s goals.

My work on the Review means I have an understanding of the issues driving the
establishment of the Whole-of-Government Reporting team and the strategic
sensitivities of a shift to central agency status. My previous experience in the
Department of Health gives me an understanding of lingering uncertainties and

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confusion about the concept of wellbeing and the need to quickly establish a team
with a clear sense of direction to guide their work. I am confident my team leadership
experience will enable me to quickly establish this sense of purpose and direction.

 Achieves results

Proven capability to:

Steer and implement change and deal with uncertainty

Monitor performance of work area and establish priorities and plans for work
completion
Build organisational capability

I have a track record of consistently achieving and exceeding goals, including seeing
complex research projects through to completion, guiding projects through times of
uncertainty, identifying process improvements and identifying staffing resources to
deliver project outcomes. During my five years in the department I have achieved
these key results:

o Initiated and developed a community of practice on evidence-based research

which fostered improved cross-divisional knowledge sharing which had
previously been limited.
o Established quarterly forums at which internal and invited external speakers
shared current developments on contentious wellbeing issues. This resulted in
improved knowledge as well as closer stakeholder relationships.
o Steered the research team supporting the AWR through a six-month period of
high pressure, sensitivity and visibility to deliver quality evidence-based
research, innovative methodologies and robust recommendations.
o Developed and implemented new standards dealing with environmental health
and conducted two cycles of compliance reporting by health bodies and
professionals identifying 87% compliance.

I currently manage and provide leadership to three staff. In consultation with staff I
established agreed goals consistent with branch outcomes. To ensure my team
continues to achieve results I have:

o monitored priorities and adjusted plans when priorities changed, particularly

following the Review
o established staff’s capability strengths and gaps, and structured professional
development plans around filling these gaps
o held weekly team meetings to review progress and seek ideas for dealing with
any problems.

This experience gives me a sound basis for quickly establishing an effective team that
delivers results.

 Cultivates productive working relationships

Proven capability to:

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Build and sustain positive relationships with colleagues, clients and

stakeholders
Harness individual differences and diversity

In the past 10 years I worked in several positions both in this and other departments in
which cooperative networks with diverse stakeholders was critical to delivering
outcomes. I attribute my success in these roles to the strong relationships that I have
built and sustained with my colleagues, senior managers, mentors and external clients.

I have a wide network of relationships across this department that will enable me to
promote this new unit and deliver outcomes. These relationships include senior
executives, and colleagues in corporate and policy areas. In addition I have links with
other central agencies and several of the key departments most directly affected by the
Review recommendations.

While working on the Review I encountered several colleagues in other agencies who
were reluctant to cooperate and resentful of the increasing priority being given to
wellbeing policy. I maintained those relationships on a cooperative basis by regularly
sharing information, giving responsive and prompt advice and support, and offering
assistance, such as modifying deadlines where possible, to retain their cooperation. As
a result I received feedback complimenting me on my consultative approach and
strong service ethic.

I have established relationships with academics, state and territory agencies and
community groups. These relationships have enabled me to identify opportunities for
promoting the department’s goals, addressing misunderstandings and false
expectations, and establishing information exchanges that have enriched our research
capacity. These relationships have also exposed me to diverse viewpoints about
evidence-based research, wellbeing and its role within the economy, as well as more
contentious subjects such as measuring population happiness.

I am committed to effectively mentoring staff and actively encourage continuous

learning. For the past two years I have mentored members of the graduate program.
The feedback from these staff has been positive, showing that my support has built
their confidence and increased their understanding of the department.

 Exemplifies personal drive and integrity

Proven capability to:

Persist and focus on achieving objectives even in difficult circumstances

Commit to continuing personal learning and development
Promoting learning and development for team members
Display initiative, commitment, flexibility and resilience

My flexibility and persistence in the face of obstacles was demonstrated by my

contribution during the introduction of new project management software. This
software was selected to improve monitoring of research projects. I initiated a training
program so that staff could make a smooth transition to using this software.

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Initially staff were reluctant to adopt the software and some were resistant. The
process was being affected by the Review and some thought the change should be
delayed. My assessment was that the software would be even more critical post-
Review. To manage this component of the change I:

o liaised with staff to identify needs, concerns, and gauge existing skill levels
o liaised with the training provider to ensure that staff concerns were considered
o scheduled the training program to minimise negative impact on work
o participated in this training to show my commitment.

After the formal training I included in weekly meetings a ‘how do you’ session which
encouraged sharing of difficulties and knowledge. This sped up the learning process
so that everyone became competent with the new software within six weeks of the
training. A consequence of this approach was that the team is now effectively
monitoring projects in the post-Review environment. Staff have expressed their
appreciation of both my persistence and flexibility.

I regularly analyse my own performance to identify areas where I can improve. I

incorporate action strategies in my professional development plan (PDP) to address
areas of development including areas identified by my manager. When my manager
commented that my strategic thinking skills needed to be improved I took steps to
improve these skills, including attending a training program and seeking secondment
to the Australian Wellbeing Review Team. My manager has noticed an improvement
in this area since my return.

I encourage my team to take their PDP seriously and make regular times to discuss
professional development. When staff attend training sessions I discuss with them
beforehand what they will focus on and afterwards discuss opportunities for applying
their new learnings. Once a month I schedule a team meeting at which staff take turns
to share something they have learnt, either on the job or from another source. This
forum has resulted in process improvements, increased knowledge of research
resources and greater understanding of wellbeing issues and their impact on areas that
previously had not been considered.

 Communicates with influence

Proven capability to:

Communicate effectively with staff, management and clients both internally

and externally
Prepare a broad range of written correspondence, reports and briefs
Represent the department in a positive and professional manner and build the
reputation of the department

I have well developed communication skills and a track record of effectively

expressing myself verbally and in writing. I have written briefs on complex policy
issues, research papers and plans, speeches and meeting minutes for executive
managers and the minister. I have developed and used these skills over more than
seven years working in the APS.

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I have a reputation amongst my staff as being open and approachable, a good listener
and willing to accept others’ ideas. A 360 degree feedback survey has consistently
supported this view.

Some examples of my communication experience are as follows:

o Chaired and facilitated stakeholder consultations that identified a strategy for

putting extra nurses in country hospitals.
o Provided secretariat support to a Commonwealth–state committee on mental
health, including agendas, minutes and briefing papers.
o Prepared a research strategy that gave direction to research projects on
sustainable health.
o Prepared short and more complex contracts with researchers, in consultation
with the department’s legal advisers.
o Chaired community consultations in regional and remote areas of Australia,
resulting in increased goodwill and information that contributed to increased
acceptance of local programs.
o Presented conference papers on national wellbeing issues that raised the
department’s profile amongst the academic and community sectors.
o Represented the department at community and academic events and seminars
resulting in extended networks and improved understanding of wellbeing
issues.

I have received feedback from stakeholders complimenting me on my ability to

explain the department’s role and wellbeing issues in ways that they can readily
understand and respond to. This ability has been particularly effective during
community consultations when people often do not have the resources to effectively
interpret discussion papers and policy statements. As a result people can express their
frustrations at meetings and potentially become angry. In recognition of my ability to
translate complex policy issues into lay terms, I have been frequently asked to attend
meetings to perform this role, even though I would normally not attend.

I anticipate that my skills and experience will enable me to provide effective

secretariat support to the Wellbeing Interdepartmental Committee and provide high-
level, quality papers and reports that drive the delivery of the Australian Wellbeing
Review recommendations.

Lee’s career plateaus

Lee has now gained another promotion but further opportunities are limited. A change
of government threatens to downgrade the department and reduce staff. Lee’s
manager recognises Lee’s leadership potential and suggests experience in another
jurisdiction would be career enhancing.

Lee spots an attractive non-ongoing role in a state government organisation. Now

used to writing to selection criteria, Lee struggles with the new format.

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Selection documentation

Centre for Clinical Innovation

HSS: Central West Hospital and Health Service (CW HSS)

Role title: Senior Project Officer: Rural Telehealth Services
Classification level: AO8
Status: Temporary full-time for up to 12 months
Location: Longreach, Queensland

About the Centre for Clinical Innovation

Queensland Health has one of the largest managed telehealth networks in

Australia, with more than 2000 systems in over 200 hospitals and community
facilities, supporting more than 40 clinical specialties and subspecialties

The Centre for Clinical Innovation was established to provide support for
Hospital and Health Services to integrate tele-healthcare into service delivery.
Following an inquiry into Telehealth Services the Centre has established pilot
projects at selected HSSs to increase understanding, use, coordination,
integration and monitoring of tele-healthcare services.

Based at the Central West Hospital and Health Service and reporting to the
Longreach Rural Telehealth Services Pilot Project Committee, the Senior
Project Officer’s role is to reinvigorate tele-healthcare services by building
trust in telehealth service delivery, encouraging change in clinical practice
models and improving administrative, technical and governance support.

Key Accountabilities:

As Senior Project Officer you will:

 Engage with a diverse range of key stakeholders using fit-for-purpose

communication and consultation mechanisms to identify opportunities
relevant to expanding the use, coordination and integration of tele-
healthcare services in the Central West region.

 Proactively build health partnerships in support of tele-healthcare services.

 Improve trust and understanding of, and administrative, technical and

governance support for, tele-healthcare services.

 Proactively foster a willingness to incorporate greater use of tele-

healthcare in clinical practice.

 Establish monitoring and evaluation processes and provide quarterly

reports to the Longreach Rural Telehealth Services Pilot Project
Committee.

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 Provide secretariat support to the Longreach Rural Telehealth Services

Pilot Project Committee, including the preparation of advice and reports.

 Effectively manage competing and changing work priorities with minimal

support to ensure timeframes are met and accountabilities delivered.

How you will be assessed

Your suitability for this role will be assessed on the basis of your experience,
skills and achievements in the following core capabilities as they apply to the
responsibilities of the Senior Project Officer:

 Technical: You have experience and/or knowledge of tele-healthcare

services and related administrative, technical, governance support.

 Shapes strategic direction: you identify broader factors, trends and

influences that may impact on work objectives. You undertake objective,
systematic analysis and draw accurate conclusions based on evidence.
You have a depth of knowledge of managing projects, demonstrate
leadership and show judgement.

 Achieves results: you value specialist expertise and capitalise on the

knowledge and skills of others within and outside the organisation. You
have a high level of problem solving skills and are able to contribute your
own expertise to achieve outcomes. You are able to prepare strategic
advice for senior and executive stakeholders, identify opportunities for
improvement, and steer change.

 Cultivates productive working relationships: you demonstrate high level

experience in preparing for and engaging with key stakeholders and
community representatives. You can facilitate cooperative partnerships.

 Displays personal drive and integrity: you take personal responsibility for
meeting objectives and progressing work. You show initiative and commit
energy and drive to see that goals are achieved, and persist even in
difficult circumstances.

 Communicate with influence: you demonstrate effective consultation,

facilitation, and high level written and oral communication skills for use in a
complex project environment. You have demonstrated ability to negotiate
persuasively.

Capability and Leadership Framework (CLF) relevant to this role are QPS
CLF Level 8.

Your application:

Please provide the following information to the panel to assess your suitability:

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 Your current CV or résumé, including the names and contact details of two
referees. Referees should have a thorough knowledge of your capabilities,
work performance and conduct within the previous two years, and it is
preferable to include your current/immediate past supervisor.
 A short statement (maximum 1-2 pages) on how your experience, abilities,
knowledge and personal qualities are relevant for the role, taking into
account the key responsibilities and attributes noted in the ‘How you will
be assessed’ section.

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Lee’s draft statement of suitability

Lee knows from past experience that research is essential for preparing a quality
application. This research, including talking to the contact person, reveals some useful
details:

 No staff management is involved in this role. The project officer will use
existing staff at Longreach and in Brisbane, plus stakeholders and community
members, to progress the project.
 The role is for 12 months due to a special funding grant.
 The Committee comprises eight people drawn from medical and allied health
clinicians, representatives from key rural health organisations including the
Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Australian College of Rural and Remote
Medicine, plus a representative from the Centre and the Health Department.
The Committee has terms of reference and has met once.

Lee is familiar with the capabilities but not the application format. The first draft
looks like a truncated criteria-based application.

Application for Senior Project Officer: Rural Telehealth Services

I bring extensive experience, abilities, knowledge and personal qualities relevant to

this role.

Technical: My experience and knowledge of tele-healthcare services is based on eight

years working in the wellbeing field both regionally in Queensland and nationally at
the Department of Wellbeing for All Australians. During my work on the Australian
Wellbeing Review I a compiled literature review on the use of technology to deliver
health services. In implementing the Review initiatives I oversaw an annual cycle of
reporting. Under my guidance my team developed KPIs which were refined over 12
months to provide a robust reporting base. I have read and understood the inquiry
report of telehealth services, along with strategic documents for Queensland health. I
have five years experience working in health-related Commonwealth agencies which
has given me a sound knowledge of the issues faced by rural and regional Australia. I
am proficient in using PRINCE2 project management methodology, Microsoft
Project, Excel, finance systems, videoconferencing.

Shapes strategic direction: Throughout my career in the public service I have provided
strong strategic purpose, direction and leadership within a variety of organisations,
projects and teams. Two examples demonstrate my ability to shape strategic thinking.

During my work on the Australian Wellbeing Review I recommended several changes

to the research methodology so that the Review Advisory Group (RAG) could
establish more useful KPIs. I liaised with consultants and academics to identify
modelling expertise. I also established links with states and territories to identify and
assess their key wellbeing priorities. This information was essential as I anticipated
that taking a whole-of-government approach would need to be informed by this
intelligence. My research and analysis shaped the RAG’s discussion and
recommendations on KPIs resulting in a more robust monitoring process.

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As a team leader of a research team in the Sustainable Health Branch and of a project
team working on the AWR, I ensured that work met organisational goals and staff
understood the purpose of their work. The Review was receiving considerable media
attention so demand for multiple briefs, driven by media deadlines, was a regular
occurrence. To manage this high pressure environment I met weekly with my team,
reminding staff of our goals and timeframes, responding to queries, and clarifying
expectations about work standards. My team met all deadlines. My manager
commended me on my ability to meet the unit’s goals.

During the last 15 months I have worked in a whole-of-government context,

improving reporting on wellbeing initiatives and coordinating cabinet submissions to
ensure a wellbeing perspective was included. This placed me at the forefront of
dealing with complex wellbeing issues and their management across government. My
ability to judge timing and language to explain issues and reiterate the government’s
increased focus on wellbeing meant that key stakeholders’ understanding of priorities
was improved and reinforced, with a flow-on effect of cooperation and better
coordination.

Achieves results: I have a track record of consistently achieving and exceeding goals,
including guiding projects through times of uncertainty, identifying process
improvements and identifying staffing resources to deliver project outcomes. During
my recent public sector career I have achieved these key results:

o Initiated and developed a community of practice on evidence-based research

which fostered improved cross-divisional knowledge sharing which had
previously been limited.
o Established quarterly forums at which internal and invited external speakers
shared current developments on contentious wellbeing issues. This resulted in
improved knowledge as well as closer stakeholder relationships.
o Steered the research team supporting the AWR through a six-month period of
high pressure, sensitivity and visibility to deliver quality evidence-based
research, innovative methodologies and robust recommendations.
o Developed and implemented new standards dealing with environmental health
and conducted two cycles of compliance reporting by health bodies and
professionals identifying 87% compliance.

Cultivates productive working relationships: In the past 10 years I worked in several

positions in which cooperative networks with diverse stakeholders were critical to
delivering outcomes. I attribute my success in these roles to the strong relationships
that I have built and sustained with my colleagues, senior managers, mentors and
external clients.

While working on the Review I encountered several colleagues in other agencies who
were reluctant to cooperate and resentful of the increasing priority being given to
wellbeing policy. I maintained those relationships on a cooperative basis by regularly
sharing information, giving responsive and prompt advice and support, and offering
assistance, such as modifying deadlines where possible, to retain their cooperation. As
a result I received feedback complimenting me on my consultative approach and
strong service ethic.

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 238

I have established relationships with academics, state and territory agencies and
community groups. These relationships have enabled me to identify opportunities for
promoting the department’s goals, addressing misunderstandings and false
expectations, and establishing information exchanges that have enriched our research
capacity. These relationships have also exposed me to diverse viewpoints about
evidence-based research, wellbeing and its role within the economy, as well as more
contentious subjects such as measuring population happiness…

At this point Lee realises that continuing on this path will result in an unsatisfactory
document that exceeds the page limit.

Revised statement of suitability

Lee seeks feedback on this application from a reputable career development

practitioner.

Lee has made the mistake of cutting and pasting from previous applications without
considering relevance nor how that material should be tailored to the new role.
Another mistake is including material about capability components that are not
mentioned for this role.

The application lacks a coherent structure and doesn’t make a convincing case for the
role.

The career professional asks Lee the following questions:

 Who are the main stakeholders?

 Why was Longreach picked?
 What are the Committee’s expectations of this role?
 How much technical expertise is needed for the role?
 What sort of partnerships are needed and why?

Other questions raised by the career development practitioner are:

 What will be your contribution to re-invigorating tele-healthcare services?

 What do you offer that sets you apart from Queensland health services staff
who will apply for this role?
 Why include examples of managing staff when this is not part of this role?
 Why do you want this role?

The career professional suggests Lee craft a response based on the three-part structure
described in Chapter 11. Another suggestion is that the response be tailored to the
role, taking account of the duties as well as information gained from research.

Further research by Lee, both with the contact person and from documents, reveals:

Key stakeholders: Chief Technology Officer, Central West HSS Board, Longreach
Rural Telehealth Services Pilot Project Committee, clinical staff, local health and
aged care providers.

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Why Longreach? Longreach was chosen because of its recognised leadership in

adopting telehealth and the board’s strategic drive to improve telehealth services and
to build regional workforce capacity in the use of telehealth. The Longreach hospital
is undergoing refurbishment. Queensland health is undergoing decentralisation of
decision-making and improvements in accountability.

Committee’s expectations and results: The region’s Health Service’s Board has a
focus on improving technologies including telehealth, eliminating duplication and
streamlining referrals through partnerships with other providers. The board is also
keen to attract and retain a skilled workforce and to encourage innovation. The
committee’s expectations and results reflect the board’s strategies. The board sees this
role as a key player in revitalising services to patients.

Technical expertise: The HSS has appointed a new Chief Technology Officer who is
responsible for the technical details. The person in this role needs to have a broad
understanding of relevant ICT and be able to talk to IT staff but does not need in-
depth IT expertise. Board understands the IT challenges but some staff, particularly
specialists, have yet to fully grasp the benefits of telehealth.

Partnerships: The aim is to establish a culture that promotes and encourages

innovation and collaboration, develops community and clinician engagement
strategies, builds partnerships with local health and aged care providers. Several
communities in the region have service delivery models that provide opportunities for
developing a shared service plan.

Based on this information Lee crafts a new response.

Revised version

Application for Senior Project Officer: Rural Telehealth Services

A results-delivering project manager with ten years cross-jurisdiction public sector

experience, including a dedicated focus on health and wellbeing, I bring to this role a
portfolio of skills, knowledge and experience that will enable me to strengthen the
Central West HSS as a leader in telehealth service delivery. Informed by strategic
plans for Queensland Health, Central West HSS, ICT and health workforce
development, I present my case for strategically managing this significant project.

My experience and knowledge of tele-healthcare services is based on eight years

working in the wellbeing field both regionally in Queensland and nationally. During
my work on the Australian Wellbeing Review (AWR) I compiled a literature review
on health service delivery technology including data transmission, real-time
diagnosis, in-home monitoring and mobile care delivery.

I have a network of relevant contacts, including Department of Health officials,

university researchers specialising in rural health, peak bodies (e.g. AMA). I am
familiar with Longreach from living and working there and understand cultural issues
impacting on health. I have worked, negotiated, liaised and coordinated with a diverse
range of health professionals including doctors, nurses and allied health professionals

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resulting in a strong grasp of their professional perspectives, and concerns about

telehealth.

My relevant strengths are in project management, stakeholder management,

partnership development, governance, business acumen and culture change, all
aligned with strategic objectives, with a proven ability to translate business needs
between IT professional and end users. Examples demonstrate these strengths:

Governance: My management experience includes achieving governance

improvements in reporting processes and transparency, and eliminating duplication
and inconsistencies in service delivery. During my AWR work I recommended
several changes to the research methodology so that the Review Advisory Group
(RAG) could establish more useful KPIs. My expert-based research and analysis
shaped the RAG’s discussion and recommendations resulting in a more robust
monitoring and reporting process, and improved compliance.

Stakeholders/Partnerships: I have a track record of consistently achieving and

exceeding goals, including guiding projects through times of uncertainty, and
identifying staffing resources to deliver project outcomes. Key results that reflect
stakeholder management, partnership development and tapping specialist expertise
include:

o Established quarterly forums at which internal and invited external speakers

shared current developments on contentious wellbeing issues resulting in
improved knowledge as well as closer stakeholder relationships.
o Chaired community consultations in regional and remote areas of Australia,
resulting in increased goodwill and information that contributed to increased
acceptance of local programs.
o While working on the AWR I encountered several colleagues in other
agencies who were reluctant to cooperate and resentful of the increasing
priority being given to wellbeing policy. I maintained those relationships on a
cooperative basis by regularly sharing information, giving responsive and
prompt advice and support, and offering assistance, such as modifying
deadlines where possible, to retain their cooperation. As a result I received
feedback complimenting me on my consultative approach and strong service
ethic.
o Led a team that persuasively negotiated the National Chronic Disease Strategy
for Diabetes, a policy guide structured to reflect the phases of the patient
journey. Stakeholders were expert groups and individuals including leading
clinicians, policy makers, peak consumer bodies, NGOs and health
organisations.

I have received feedback from stakeholders complimenting me on my ability to

explain strategic roles and wellbeing issues in ways that they can readily understand
and respond to, and on the trust my collaborative approach engendered.

Cultural change: My drive, flexibility and persistence in the face of obstacles was
demonstrated by my approach to change during the introduction of new project
management software to improve monitoring of research projects. Facing staff
resistance and calls to postpone action, my strategic assessment was that the software

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would be even more critical post-Review. As a result of my persuasive negotiation

and change management, including initiating a staggered training program, everyone
became competent with the new software within six weeks of the training.

I am skilled in supporting high-level committees. For example I provided secretariat

support to the Wellbeing Interdepartmental Committee across 15 months of reporting,
including adopted recommendations on how to reduce resentment and increase
cooperation from other central agencies. Within six months an interdepartmental
strategy was agreed to. My committee support covered meeting documents, including
finance reports, briefs and research papers on a range of wellbeing topics.

During this project I will use my skills and experience to shift thinking on the value of
telehealth services, remove practical barriers, foster collaboration, engage clinicians,
build their IT understanding, and establish partnerships to improve service integration,
so as to revitalise services to patients.

I welcome the opportunity to explore this legacy in person.

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Part 4
______________________________________________

The interview

In this part …

 How to establish an effective interview strategy

 What to expect at a job interview
 What language practices to use
 How to build mental stamina
 How to prepare for self-promotion opportunities
 What types of questions could be asked and how to prepare for them
 How to respond to seven challenging questions
 How to anticipate interview questions
 What to do after the interview

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Chapter 17: HOW TO PREPARE FOR A PUBLIC

SECTOR INTERVIEW
C H A P T E R TWELVE
Once you have been short-listed you will move into the next stage of the selection
process. This may involve a range of selection methods, such as work tests, referee
checks and an interview.

If the next stage is an interview, then there is further preparation you need to do in
order to perform at your best. You should be given some notice but it may only be as
little as a day or two.

Are you willing to put in the effort?

One of the reasons people perform poorly at interview is that they go unprepared.
They assume that they can wing it on the day. This assumption places great pressure
on your memory. No matter what you are asked and whatever happens, you assume
you will immediately draw from your memory all the most relevant and most useful
responses and information. This is unlikely to happen, resulting in a poor performance
and an unsatisfactory result.

Interviews have limitations as a means for deciding the best person for the job, as they
can favour the articulate and strong interview ‘performers’. However, to perform well
at an interview you must put in the preparation so you sound concise and confident
and present your case strongly. Yes, this is hard work and time-consuming. But if you
want the job you have to be prepared to put in this effort. After all, there is a good
chance that some or all of your competitors, however ill-suited they are for the job,
will prepare and possibly look better than you on the day. Do you want to take this
risk?

10 Ways to undersell yourself at interview

Job applicants can undersell themselves at interview without even realising it. Here’s
how:

 They don’t know enough about what they have to offer because they haven’t
conducted a stocktake of all their skills, know-how and qualities.
 They rely on recent memory. Whatever comes top of mind is what gets
mentioned.
 They don’t link their evidence to the selection criteria, duties or outcomes of
the job.
 They pitch below the level of the job.
 They don’t prepare responses for self-promotion questions.
 They don’t understand the sub-text of questions and therefore respond poorly.
 They allow negative mental rehearsal to sabotage their performance.
 They allow false assumptions about the process to undermine their
performance.
 They stick to speech habits that undersell.

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 They allow poor posture and low energy to create a poor impression.

To counter these habits you need to:

 know fully what you have to offer

 be mindful of sabotaging thinking
 develop the art of self-promotion talk
 practice asserting your case with energy.

Do you have an effective job interview strategy?

There is no one right way to ‘do’ a job interview. There are well-known, soundly
based steps to take to maximise your chances of presenting your case well. To take
these steps you need to be organised, allocating time and energy to do the work.

Key before-during-after steps that form a job interview strategy are:

Research: Revisit the job description, your application and everything you learned
from your research. If you didn’t conduct research before you wrote the application
now is the time to read the organisation’s website, including corporate documents, to
learn as much as possible about what they do and why. At this point it is too late to
talk to the contact person.

Logistics: Know as much as you can about the where, when, who of the interview
process. Work out what you’ll wear and what you’ll take with you.

Anticipate questions: By thinking about the job requirements and selection criteria in
terms of what the role is about and what you have learned from your research, you
can anticipate what some of the job-related questions might be. Part of your
preparation is to select a range of stories to take to the interview. This step is made
easier if you have been managing your career by keeping a log of work-related
incidents.

Assert your case: It is wise to prepare for a range of standard self-promotion questions
so that should you be given the opportunity, you are well prepared. Being able to link
what you have to offer to the requirements of the job will make your case stronger.

Mental preparation: Understand what concerns you about an interview. Test strategies
for handling nervousness.

Rehearsal: Thinking through your responses is useful, but not enough. You need to
practice your responses out loud so you become accustomed to hearing yourself and
become familiar with your material.

Self-assessment: After the interview capture information about what happened. Who
interviewed you, what questions were you asked, how did it go? This step will help
with identifying how well your strategy worked and what you might need to do next
time.

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The chapters in Part 4 provide information to help with these steps.

Underpinning these steps are some skills that support your interview performance.
Key skills include:

 Rapport-building: able to create a good impression quickly and connect with

people.
 Presentation skills: information and ideas need to be expressed clearly,
confidently, in a well-structured manner.
 Thinking on your feet: able to assess questions and select material in response
to questions.
 Interpersonal skills: able to positively relate to a range of people.
 Listening skills: able to hear what is being asked by panel members.

Deliberative practice while rehearsing out loud

In their article ‘The Making of an Expert’, authors Ericsson, Prietula and Cokely point
out that not all practice makes perfect.lxxxiii To develop expertise you need a particular
kind of practice—deliberative practice. Deliberate practice involves two kinds of
learning: improving skills you already have and extending the reach and range of your
skills. Such practice requires enormous concentration so limits the amount of time
you can spend doing them.

The effort and concentration involved in deliberative job interview practice is critical
for an effective interview strategy. Casual practice won’t cut it. A job interview is a
specific type of public speaking. A skilled public speaker does not turn up
unprepared. Nor have they left their preparation to the eleventh hour. A professional
will have devoted considerable time and effort to their preparations so they can
control what is controllable; anticipate what could happen; develop contingencies for
the unexpected; rehearsed their material while incorporating any new techniques
learnt from coaches and advisors.

For questions that you want to be able to give a ready answer to, work out a quality
response and rehearse that response out loud. You need to hear yourself speaking your
responses so you become comfortable with what you are saying. If you only rehearse
your responses in your head, the risk is that at the interview, when you hear yourself
saying your response for the first time, that inner critic will start running a
commentary that may well not be complimentary.

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Chapter 18: WHAT TO EXPECT

One of the traps with interviews is not understanding what can happen and making
assumptions that prove to be wrong or unhelpful. This chapter outlines in broad terms
what happens during a public sector interview and offers some tips about interview
behaviour.

What is an interview?
This might seem a self-evident question. What I have found is that people come to
interviews with a range of beliefs, one set of which concerns what they think an
interview is. Typically, people think about an interview as an interrogation or a
memory test.

An interview is an exchange of information. The applicant wants to find out about the
job and provide the panel with information that supports their case. The panel wants
to find the best person for the job. This can only be done well if both parties approach
the task as a civilised exchange, an interaction involving give and take of information.

An interview can usefully be thought of as a business meeting at which you will

exchange information. Thinking about a business meeting is far more palatable than
an interrogation or memory test.

The bulk of the exchange is, however, one-sided. The structure of an interview
dictates that the applicant is likely to receive information only at the beginning and at
the end, and the breadth and depth of the exchange will be constrained by the
formalities of an interview. Applicants generally do not receive much of a response to
their answers, other than signals that their response was sufficient, insufficient, (in
which case there may be prompting), or a polite ‘thank you’. Panel members
generally do not give indications as to the acceptability of the response, the evaluation
they have made of it, its appropriateness or degree of relevance.

While a job interview is largely one-sided in the flow of information, this does not
mean you are at the mercy of the panel and have no control over what happens. These
chapters on job interviews give you information about what you can control and
influence, including your own thinking.

Myths about interviews

People make all sorts of assumptions about the intentions of the interviewers, and
hold beliefs about how they should behave (both themselves and the panel) and what
they are allowed and not allowed to do. Many of these beliefs are based on one bad
experience, assumptions, unfounded expectations, or hearsay. Without stopping to
check the basis of these assumptions people allow these ideas to influence their
behaviour. The result can be detrimental to the quality of their performance.

Here are some of the myths, or false beliefs, that people hold.

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 The panel is out to get me or make my life miserable.

 Panel members are skilled at interviewing.
 Panel members are unskilled at interviewing.
 Panel members feel comfortable with interviewing.
 There are right answers (and I should know them).
 I can’t take or make notes.

Let’s examine this thinking. Panel members may have varying levels of skill and
interest. The extent of their preparation may vary. How much effort they put into
building rapport with applicants may also vary. These variables will affect the quality
of the interview experience. But here is what you need to keep in mind. Panel
members are likely to feel some anxiety about the process. This anxiety stems from
concerns like:

 not wanting to upset any of the applicants

 not feeling comfortable in the face of nervous applicants
 not feeling comfortable at having to interview people they know
 feeling less prepared than they would like to be
 worrying that work is piling up while interviewing
 worrying whether the job will be filled
 worrying whether the selection process is conducted in the way it should be
 worrying whether a sick child is okay (or any other personal concern).

Note that these concerns either have nothing to do with you, the applicant, or they
stem from wanting to do the right thing by applicants. One of the reasons why
building rapport with the panel is important is to help put them at ease so they sense
that this is going to be a comfortable exchange of information.

People hold inaccurate beliefs about interviews. One belief is that selection panels can
only ask questions that relate to the selection criteria. Another is that all interviewees
will be asked exactly the same questions. There are flaws in these beliefs.

It is good interview practice to:

 base interview questions on the work-related qualities as expressed in the

selection criteria
 take a structured approach to the interview
 probe responses for relevant detail.

These practices do not mean that broader questions, such as self-promotion questions,
cannot be asked. Part of the interview process is to get to know the applicant, to help
them present their case well, and to ensure they have a fair go at putting their case.
These elements can result in a range of legitimate questions being asked.

These practices do not mean that each applicant is asked exactly the same questions.
While having a prepared structure of questions to explore with each applicant is
essential to a fair, merit-based approach, each applicant will present unique evidence
in response to those questions. A skilled selection panel must be able to inquire
further, probe answers and obtain more detail in order to be fully informed and be

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able to assess the responses. This means that any given applicant may be asked a
question that no other applicant is asked.

So, some critical beliefs to hold are:

 Selection panels, in general, want applicants to do well. At the end of the

interviews, they want to be able to pick a quality person to fill the vacancy. It
is in their interests that each applicant performs to their best.

 There are usually no right answers. Apart from questions that seek specific
information, such as how to use a piece of equipment, most questions are
about how you handle situations and how you think. There are more or less
useful, appropriate and relevant responses, and ones that do and don’t cover
what the question is about.

 Think in terms of responses rather than answers. The word ‘answer’ too easily
implies that the interview is an accuracy test. ‘Response’ on the other hand,
suggests considered thought and individual experience.

 The interview is not a memory test. Take with you your application, job
documentation, memory jogging notes, and blank paper to make notes if
needed. You may never refer to any of these. Just having them there can help
reduce nervousness because you know you are not totally relying on memory.
(A caveat is that selection panels may hold the view that people applying for
more senior jobs should not need these ‘props’.)

Content and process

When preparing for a job interview, understand the difference between content and
process. Content is about what is said, what is exchanged between the applicant
and the panel. Process is more intangible and is about the relationship between the
applicant and panel members. There is some overlap between the two.

Two points are important to appreciate about this distinction. The first is that
applicants tend to focus on the content, offering information about skills, knowledge
and tasks. So much energy is devoted to finding the ‘right’ answers, that aspects of
the process, such as how you relate to the panel, are neglected.

The second point is about control. Some panel members may think they are in charge
of both content and process. However, the applicant can also manage and influence
both. Understanding this will shift your focus and enable you to perform better at the
interview.

You manage content by:

 anticipating questions
 practicing and rehearsing
 listening to the questions asked.

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You manage process by:

 developing presence through a strong handshake, confident walk and

appropriate body language
 putting zest into your answers
 having a strong opening and closing (preparing these is also managing
content).
 taking notice of subtle hints like a request to keep answers short.

Interview notice
You will be given notice for an interview. It could be more than a week and it could
be only a couple of days. When you are contacted about your interview, if you are not
told, ask for more information.

 How many people are on the panel and who are they?
 What is their relationship to the job?
 What other selection processes will take place? (e.g. a writing exercise)
 How long is the interview?

Knowing these details will help to minimise surprises.

If you need any special arrangements, such as physical access or signing, let the panel
know. If you cannot make an interview, also let the panel know.

What could happen

Knowing what to expect is helpful in reducing uncertainty about the process and in
going prepared. While some organisations may choose to do things differently, in
general, this is what you can expect:

 a panel of two or three people (it could be more, particularly in universities)

 there may or may not be a gender mix on the panel
 you may be given the questions immediately before the interview with time to
consider your responses, at the interview, or not at all
 most questions will be designed to relate to the selection criteria
 you may be asked questions in addition to these questions
 a member of the panel may be from outside the immediate work area
 the process will be based on merit
 privacy will be respected
 scribes may be used
 applicants will be rated as to their suitability for the job
 other selection methods may be used at the time of the interview
 you may have 30–40 minutes to put your case
 the questions may be shared amongst the panel members
 you are likely to be given behaviour-based questions.

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What if you know people on the panel?

Knowing people on the panel can be uncomfortable for applicants. Much of the
discomfort comes from feeling embarrassed about selling yourself. The temptation is
to assume that because they know you, you do not have to give the full story about
yourself.

This is a dangerous assumption. You risk a lower assessment by the panel because
you have not given enough information to convince the panel you are the best person
for the job.

People who know you cannot fill in the blanks after you leave. They cannot say
afterwards: ‘Oh this person is much better than they let on. They have extensive
experience in …’ and then go on to list it. They may express disappointment at
your performance, but that is all. If you do not say it, no one will. That is part of
treating applicants fairly and reaching a decision based on merit.

Treat people you know with courtesy and then regard them the same as panel
members you do not know so that you focus on giving complete answers.

The role of scribes

When you attend an interview you may find that a scribe is being used by the panel.
This person is usually contracted from a company, but could be internal to the
organisation. Their role is to record what applicants say and prepare the report for the
panel. They are not usually part of the panel and do not participate in proceedings.
There may be times though, when the scribe is an active member of the panel.

Building rapport with you

A skilled panel will take steps to put you at ease and build rapport. These steps
include:

 coming to meet and greet you

 introducing themselves and other panel members
 shaking hands
 inviting you to take a seat
 asking if you would like a drink, particularly water
 arranging seating so that discomfort is minimised
 easing into the interview with small talk or a ‘getting to know you’ question
 asking follow-up questions to provide guidance if questions are unclear or it is
apparent you have not fully understood the question.

If any of these actions are absent, work on the basis that it reflects lack of skill rather
than an intent to make your life miserable. Moving into a victim mindset is not the
most resourceful state to be in. Maintain your professionalism even in the face of its
absence in others.

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Building rapport with the selection panel

Applicants need to build rapport with the panel and create a positive impression. This
is vital as two of the unstated questions operating in the panel’s mind are: Will this
person fit in? Can I work with this person? Showing that you are like them helps to
answer these questions.

Building rapport is something most of us do to one degree or another. Rapport refers

to a relation of harmony, accord or affinity and is a most important process in any
interaction. Rapport is affected by our level of trust in the competence of the other
person to carry out the task at hand. So start with the belief that the panel wishes you
well and will conduct a professional interview.

People who have rapport tend to act like each other in a number of ways. This is
referred to as matching. In the first few minutes you need to show that you are
professional, like they are. This is reflected in how you greet people and how you
shake hands.

Rapport-building helps to put the panel at ease, manages the impression you make,
and helps the panel to perceive you as like them, all useful parts of the interview
process.

It also sends signals about the quality of your interpersonal skills. A person who is
flexible, demonstrates a repertoire of behaviours, and can adapt to new situations,
shows greater skill than a person who maintains a fixed approach throughout.

Create a positive impression

In addition to building rapport there are other factors that affect what impression you
create.

Your handshake

A limp, dead-fish handshake may not impress the panel. Neither will one which
compresses every bone in the hand. A firm, but not bone-crunching handshake is
desirable.

Punctuality

There are few valid excuses for being late for an interview. Being late raises serious
questions about your commitment to the job (‘They can’t be too keen on the job’),
your timekeeping habits (‘Are they often late?’), and, if you do not warn the panel or
provide an explanation, assuming it to be a good one, about your courtesy and
manners (‘Are they always this inconsiderate?’). Being late throws the interviewing
schedule out and can create the embarrassing situation of having two applicants
waiting together.

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Avoid stretching the truth about your work

If you try to convince the panel that you had responsibility for achieving something
that was essentially someone else’s achievement, you are bound to be found out,
either by an astute panel member or through referees. For example, trying to claim
that you wrote a major document, when in fact your role was to coordinate the input,
will not win you points with the panel when they are trying to assess your writing
skills.

Avoid being glib with the panel

An interview is a serious exchange. Even if you are sceptical or have little time for the
panel, avoid letting this show. Panel members will pick up on these nuances. Give
considered responses in appropriate language.

Understand the status of the panel members

Avoid making assumptions about who is who on the panel. When you are invited to
attend an interview endeavour to find out:

 the names of the panel members

 their position in the agency
 their status in the hierarchy
 their relationship to the position you are applying for.

It is useful to know if one of the interview panel is your potential boss.

Take note of subtle hints

The panel may give interviewees subtle hints to influence their behaviour and
responses. A common one is that time is running short and a brief answer would be
appropriate. This may be given through a comment such as ‘Well, as our time is
limited could you briefly tell us ...’. This is not your cue to be longwinded. Failure to
respond to these hints may be interpreted as poor communication and listening skills
or lack of cooperation.

Understand the culture of the organisation

Any organisation will have its own culture and understanding what this is and its
implications are critical. Finding out about the culture is part of your research.
A service agency will be different from a policy-driven one. Both will be different
again from a research-based or regulatory agency.

The organisational culture may have implications for you in terms of skills,
experience, personality and how well you will fit in. However much you might dislike
stereotypes and personality assessments, a panel who assesses you as a creative or
marketing type may query whether you would fit into a regulatory role governed by
rules and procedures.

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Telephone interviews
If you live interstate you may be offered a telephone interview. This can be difficult
for both applicants and interviewers because there is no visual information available.
The panel will likely be concerned to ensure that the applicant is given a fair hearing.

As you are relying on your voice to create pictures for the panel, here are some
specific factors to consider.

 Dress the part: Dress for the interview as if you were in the panel’s presence.
This will help put you in the right frame of mind. Dressing in shorts and T-
shirt, or worse, your pyjamas, is likely to encourage a casual sense of occasion
that could affect your performance.

 Stand and walk: Either sit at a desk, or better still, use a hands-free phone that
allows you to walk around during the interview. Standing means you can
breathe better which will improve your voice quality. Walking around enables
you to gesture freely and put more energy into your voice, which will carry to
the panel.

 Use practical aids: Use cushions or cardboard cut-outs of the panel, line them
up in front of you and address your responses to them. Such aids, while
somewhat comic, can help you focus and engage in the interview process as if
you were with the panel. These aids help prepare you mentally, improve your
voice and delivery, and reduce nervousness.

Video and Skype interviews

There is plenty of advice on the Internet about handling video and Skype interviews.
Here are some key practical tips.

 Plan and prepare: Know where you need to go if a videoconferencing facility

is being used. Learn about what technical support you will receive. Arrive
early. Have water available, preferably in a glass. Drinking from a bottle looks
unprofessional. Confirm that the employer is meeting the costs.

 Look professional: Wear professional clothes. Avoid wearing white, stripes,

complex patterns, strong contrasts. If you are using your own computer make
sure the background looks like an office. Keep the table tidy.

 Know how to use a microphone and camera: Microphones are sensitive and
can pick up distracting noises such as shuffling papers, pen tapping, cuff links
banging a desk. Make sure everything is turned off at the end so that any
comments you make are not heard by the panel. Look at the camera. Check
with the panel that they can see and hear you. Use the Picture-in-Picture
feature to see how you appear.

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 Technical difficulties: Think about how you will handle any technical
difficulties. If something goes wrong, how you handle it may become part of
the panel’s discussions.

 Voice: Speak at a normal volume. Any delay in transmission can create

confusion for both you and the panel. To minimise this problem give time for
panel members to finish speaking. Indicate your understanding with a nod or
smile rather than a verbal response. Speak slowly and end sentences clearly.

 Non-verbal behaviour: Lean forward. Gesture naturally. Avoid flamboyant

gestures. Smile. Sit up straight. Look alert.

 Quality connection: Make sure you have a quality connection for a Skype
interview, otherwise the distortions and delays may not serve you well.

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Chapter 19: INTERVIEW LANGUAGE PRACTICES

Many communication books, including some on job interviews, continue to put the
misguided view that words play a very small part in communication. What is
important, they contend, is voice tone and body language. This view is based on a
misinterpretation of some research and flies in the face of common sense. There are
times when the actual words we choose and the order in which we express them are
critical to the result we achieve. Skilled therapists know this well.

When it comes to performing well at an interview, what you say is of paramount

importance. If you cannot express your responses well, another applicant may be
offered the job. And by ‘well’ I mean responses that:

 deal with the real intent of the question

 provide concrete examples of experience
 confidently and comfortably assert your case
 make sense of the value you offer.

Most of this ability comes down to word choice and order. Tone of voice and body
language are other layers of meaning that complement (or contradict) your responses.

Work on your oral communication skills

It is a rare list of criteria that does not include one about communication. Keep in
mind that your oral communication skills will be judged on your interview
performance. Even though the oral communication required in the job may not be the
same as that required in an interview, nevertheless, a judgement may be made using
this ‘evidence’.

What this means for you at the interview is that there will be an expectation that
you demonstrate succinctness, clarity and to some extent, directness. Interviews are
generally held one after the other with a strict time schedule. You may only have 30
minutes to put your case. An applicant who waffles and meanders around the subject
uses up valuable time and runs the risk of creating anxiety for the selection panel as
the time schedule gets out of hand.

If you can answer succinctly and clearly you will give a good impression, demonstrate
‘sound oral communication skills’, help the panel to keep to their schedule, and
maximise the opportunity to sell yourself. This is one of the reasons why your
preparation is so important.

How linguistic style can undermine perceptions of confidence

One of the qualities interviewers may look for in applicants is confidence: confidence
in communicating, in one’s skills, in one’s ability to effectively perform in a new job.
But how do interviewers judge confidence?

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Socio-linguist Deborah Tannen asked in a Harvard Business Review (HBR) article,

Who gets heard and why?lxxxiv She points out that communication is more than just
saying what you mean. How you say what you mean differs from one person to the
next, depending on their learned cultural experience.

Tannen has observed how ways of speaking learned in childhood affect judgments of
competence and confidence, as well as who gets heard, who gets credit, and what gets
done. She found that even senior women can be judged to lack confidence because of
their linguistic style.

What is linguistic style?

Tannen explains that linguistic style refers to the way a person typically or
characteristically speaks.lxxxv Each of us learns a range of cultural signals by which we
communicate and interpret others’ meaning.

Workplace problems can surface due to people having different speaking patterns that
are judged negatively by those who do not operate by these same patters. Examples
are:

 Pausing different lengths of time before turn-taking, such that some people
never get a word in because they wait too long, thereby creating the
impression they have nothing to say and possibly lack confidence.
 Speaking at a slower rate thereby being perceived by fast talkers as slow
thinkers and lacking enthusiasm.
 Speaking directly, thereby creating the impression of bluntness, rudeness, and
possibly not a team-player.
 Using words and phrases to qualify comments, such as like, think, tend to,
quite, just, only, thereby creating the impression of doubt, and therefore
lacking confidence.

This information has relevance for job applicants preparing for an interview as well as
common workplace situations like meetings.

 Understand your linguistic style. This is an element of self-understanding that

can impact your ability to present well at meetings and interviews, and how
well you work with others. Consider any aspects of your style that might
contribute to a perception of ‘lacking confidence’.
 Notice others’ linguistic style and your response. Part of the art of managing
meaning is to observe the style of others, withhold judgement and respond
appropriately.
 Build flexibility in matching others’ linguistic style. At interview you may
have to change the pace at which you speak, or your volume, or directness.

11 language practices for interviews

When it comes to presenting a case for a job, words matter. The words you choose
and their order can undersell your case, trigger unhelpful responses in listeners, sound
irrelevant and even unprofessional.

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Here are eleven details to pay attention to.

1. Strong verbs

As has been pointed out in Chapter 9, much of the action in your stories will be
captured in the verbs you use. If you pick weak, vague, general verbs like ‘helped
with’, ‘involved in’, ‘assisted with’, the chances of underselling your experience are
high. Pick specific action words that accurately capture your actions.

2. Capability words

If selection is based on a capability framework you would be wise to use as much of

the relevant language as possible. To pitch to the right level of seniority use the
relevant phrases and words to describe what you do.

3. Job description words

In addition to the selection criteria, note words and phrases used in the job
description, ones that signal key skills, experience, responsibilities. If the job
description mentions ‘providing strong leadership’, ‘builds a positive workplace
culture’ or ‘implement a suite of initiatives’ think about what questions might be
asked and incorporate these words into your responses.

4. Be direct

Applicants can fudge their contribution by not asserting what they have done. Instead
of saying ‘I managed the project by anticipating potential problems and dealing with
issues as they arose to keep the team to deadlines’ they say ‘During managing the
project issues arose that affected the project’. Be direct and assert what you did.

5. I versus We

Another way applicants can fudge their contribution is to use ‘we’ when they need to
be using ‘I’. Yes, you need to acknowledge the contribution of others and show you
worked with colleagues and staff. More importantly, you need to focus on what you
did, so using ‘I’ is essential.

6. Remove self put-downs

Another way to undermine your interview performance is to use expressions that

signal to people that you don’t believe in yourself. Expressions like:

I’m just … I’m just a receptionist.

I might … In that situation I might ring maintenance.
I’d try … In that situation I’d try to get in touch with the customer.
I only … I only work part-time.
I guess … I guess I’d ring security.

Instead, practice using definite, unqualified language so that you convey your self-
assurance to the panel:

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I’m a receptionist.
I would ring maintenance.
I’d get in touch with the customer.
I work part-time.
I’d ring security.

7. Features versus benefits

Applicants need to explain the value of what they have to offer. Focusing only on
activity, or features, without mentioning value or benefits, can undersell your case.
Chapter 21 explains this distinction in more detail.

8. Breathe deeply

When nervous, people can start to sound breathy and their voice can go soft or
squeaky. Breathing from the abdomen enables you to lower your voice and reduces
breathiness.

9. Make statements

Work on keeping your voice even and making statements, unless you are asking a
question. In other words, avoid ending sentences on an upward inflection. Upwardly
inflecting after each comment can sound as though you are unsure, making your
overall presentation less convincing.

10. Put zest in your responses

Nervousness and lack of preparation devour much of your energy. If you are worried
about forgetting information, then your energy will be on that fear rather than on
hearing the questions and relaxing into responses. Energy indicates enthusiasm,
interest and adds to the positive impression you create.

11. Structure behaviour-based responses

Chapter 22 outlines how to structure responses to behaviour-based questions. Vague,

opinion-based, future-oriented responses give unsatisfactory material for these
questions.

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Chapter 20: THIRTEEN IDEAS FOR MANAGING

NERVES
Most people feel some nervousness as they approach a job interview. Worrying about
an interview can consume valuable energy. While you will not eliminate nervousness,
you do want to manage it to reduce the chances of your emotional state sabotaging
your ability to put your case well. This chapter offers suggestions for your mental
preparation.

Common fears about interviews

One of the exercises I use in workshops is to ask people what is in their mental pantry
when it comes to attending a job interview. In other words, what are the beliefs,
expectations, assumptions, fears that people are thinking about as they face this
‘ordeal’. Here is a list I have compiled from many answers. While some are relatively
unique (such as ‘I’ll sleep in’), most are commonly expressed. For those of you who
believe that your thinking is unique, this should be reassuring.

 I’ll go blank
 I’ll be asked a question I didn’t think of
 I’ll look stupid
 I’ll sleep in
 I won’t know the answer
 I’ll misinterpret the question
 I don’t feel good enough
 I’ll be distracted by a panel member’s mannerisms
 I hate being the centre of attention
 I’ll get ‘dry mouth’
 I hate talking about myself
 I’ll say too much
 I won’t say enough
 I won’t use the right language
 I’ll freeze up
 I believe the interview is rigged
 I’ll be laughed at
 I won’t be liked by the panel
 I won’t handle disruptive behaviour by the panel, such as telling jokes
 I think the other applicants will be better than me
 I’ll be intimidated by the panel
 I’m afraid of failure
 I’m not prepared enough
 I’m over prepared
 I’m scared I’ll be nervous
 I won’t be able to cope with the situation
 I’ll make mistakes
 I’m too keen to get the job

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 I feel over-powered by the panel

 I don’t like being judged
 I don’t know what to wear
 I’ll get lost
 I’ll give the wrong answer.

From this list, the ones that are mentioned most often are:

 I’ll go blank
 I hate being the centre of attention
 I won’t know the answer
 I’ll say too much or too little.

Some observations can be made about this list.

The one detail they have in common is that they are about the future. This is the
nature of fear—it is concern about what may happen at some future point. Fear is
based on expectations, anticipating that something nasty may or will happen. They are
not facts. They are not guaranteed.

Some concerns are within your control. Fear that you will sleep in on the day is
something you can do something about. Use an alarm clock, or several. Use a wake-
up service. Worrying that you are not prepared enough is also within your control.
Decide what is the necessary amount of preparation and then carry it out.

Some concerns are not within your control. Worrying about what other people are
thinking is a waste of time and energy. You do not know what people think unless
they tell you and you cannot control what they think anyway. You can influence what
people think by what you say and do, and this is where your attention needs to be.

Then there are ideas which are based on hearsay or a bad experience which taints all
future experiences of interviews. Believing that interviews are rigged is not helpful.
Even if someone has been acting in a job they are not invincible.

Ruminating over concerns in the lead-up to a job interview generates nervousness.

Being nervous is not a resourceful state to be in. It will affect your behaviour, such as
nervous mannerisms manifesting themselves, and it will affect what you say. You
need to influence the contents of your mental pantry so they are more positive and
foster a resourceful state at interview. Keep in mind that your nervousness will not be
totally removed. Some nervousness is useful in order to perform at your best. It is a
matter of managing your nervousness.

So what are some ideas for handling your fears and beliefs? Here are 13 tactics to
better manage your nervousness. Practice them for any situation that generates
nervousness so you become skilled at mental preparation.

There is no guarantee that any of these suggestions will work for you. A mix of tactics
is better than relying on one, and even this approach will have little value if the other
preparation steps are not taken.

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The evidence for some suggestions is mixed and often comes down to ‘it depends’. If
you are seriously worried about job interviews, some wider reading may help with
understanding the nature of fear and how our brains work, plus it may be wise to seek
help from an appropriate professional.lxxxvi

1. Ask yourself three questions

Having identified what is in your mental pantry that is undermining your preparation
for the interview, ask yourself:

 What is the worst thing that could happen to me in this interview? For
example, many people say that going blank is one of their worst fears.

 How likely is this to happen? You could find that you are worrying about
something that is as likely to happen as winning first prize in a lottery. So why
are you giving it so much energy? On the other hand, there may be some
chance of this worst nightmare happening. It is possible that despite all your
preparation, there is a moment when your mind goes blank. It might only be a
10 per cent chance, but it still exists. So you also need to ask …

 How would I handle it? This is the question most people fail to ask
themselves. Instead of identifying what the options are, they continue to
worry, thereby taking energy away from their interview performance. What
then are your options for handling a blank mind? The options include:

- pausing
- consulting notes
- asking for the question to be repeated
- asking to return to the question later
- asking for clarification of the question
- walking out (this is a last resort option!).

Knowing what your options are for handling your worst nightmare reduces your
level of concern and dissolves much of the nervousness it generates.

2. Challenge unsound thoughts

Identify those beliefs and fears that are not based on much evidence. Ask yourself:

 Why do I believe this?

 What is it based on?
 Is that sufficient evidence to continue believing this?
 Is it useful for me to believe this?

For example, putting a lot of energy into worrying that you will be nervous, is a
concern that is not very useful. Most people experience some nervousness. Observers
generally don’t perceive the extent of your nervousness as you experience it. Learning
how to manage nervousness can reduce this concern.

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Worrying that other applicants will be better is not useful. A risk of any application
process is that there may be someone better than you. Starting from a mindset that you
have much to offer and that it is a privilege for the panel to meet you and consider
your evidence is a more useful approach to take.

3. Check your definition of success

What does success mean for you at an interview? That’s obvious, you may think,
being offered the job! Yes, that is the obvious answer, however stop for a moment and
consider whether it is valid and useful. You are not offered a public sector job at an
interview, so the definition is flawed.

If you attend an interview with a definition of success being a job offer, being super
keen can come across as desperate, and this is a turn-off for a panel.

While the interview process is a competition and there can be only one winner, it
may well serve you better to approach the interview with a different idea of success.

One meaning that might reduce your desperateness is to go with the view that if you
present your case as well as you can then you will be satisfied. Being offered the job
is a bonus. By focusing on presenting well you then concentrate your efforts on
learning how to achieve this and delivering it on the day.

Also keep in mind that even if you are not offered the job you may still be assessed as
suitable and placed on a merit list.

4. Reframe your fear

You may find it useful to reframe what some of your beliefs and fears mean. We tend
to attach specific meanings to an experience. Just like a picture frame, we place a
frame of meaning around what happens. Some events we frame as a ‘disaster’, others
as a ‘celebration’, still others as a ‘yawn’.

The meaning is whatever we choose to focus on. If we look at a situation from a

different point of view, we can change how we respond to it. Take for example, ‘I
fear interviews because these people are watching me closely.’ This belief could be
reframed to mean something else. ‘When I attend an interview and people give me
their attention, it means they are really listening to me and want to know about me.’
This is a more useful way of thinking about an interview.

How are you defining the interview? As a nightmare? An interrogation? Try thinking
of it as a journey, an adventure or another business meeting.

How are you seeing the relationship between you and the panel members? One of
equals or one of superior/subordinate? Seeing the interview as a business meeting of
equals will be a more helpful starting point.

5. Control nervous mannerisms

Nervousness can express itself in a number of mannerisms, such as shuffling papers,

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racing through answers, avoiding eye contact with the panel, and making excuses
such as ‘I’m not very good at this’. Decide to mask these mannerisms by behaving
differently. Place your hands in your lap, deliberately slow down, look at the panel,
and avoid excuses.

6. Prepare

Preparation is one of the major ways to reduce nervousness. The person who fronts
up to an interview and just wings it, with no thought about what they might be asked,
what responses they might offer, and how they might behave, deserves the result they
get. Taking this approach means that they are entirely at the mercy of the panel.

Applicants have some control over what happens at the interview. To reduce nerves
and present more confidently, think of questions you might be asked. Read chapters
21 and 22.

7. Breathe effectively

Knowing how to breathe is useful for calming the body and feeding the brain with
a good supply of oxygen, thereby reducing the chances of going blank. When we are
nervous our breathing becomes shallow from the upper chest. Breathing more deeply
and slowly from the abdomen calms us down and helps us to think more clearly. To
learn more about breathing try activities that include it in their practice, such as yoga,
singing, tai chi and martial arts.

8. Mentally rehearse

Mental rehearsal is the intentional skill of imagining what an event or experience will
be like.

The practice is based on the idea that the mind cannot tell the difference between
real and imagined experiences. Think of a nightmare for example. It is a vivid mental
experience and the body responds as if it is real by sweating, tossing and turning,
perhaps even crying out loud.

You already engage in mental rehearsal for interviews. The problem is you imagine
how awful it is going to be, you think of all that could go wrong, and picture an
unpleasant result. It’s useful to consider what can go wrong and prepare for it. It’s
also useful to think about how you want the interview to go at its best.

Mentally go through all aspects of the interview, actually doing them in your mind’s
eye. See yourself arriving at the location, walking into the interview room, greeting
the panel. Hear yourself answering questions. See the panel members nodding,
writing your responses. Vividly imagine all the details. Along the way you may
identify details that require a Plan B.

Keep in mind though, that mental rehearsal without preparation is likely to be

ineffective.

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9. Use affirmations

Affirmations are based on understanding that thoughts have an impact. They are
declared pictures of a reality that does not yet exist but is attainable through taking
action. They are not fantasy pictures that we think will magically happen. They are
honest, realistic statements declared with the intention of moving in the direction they
point. They can help to reinforce important interview behaviours. Examples are:

 I am well prepared for this interview.

 I listen to the questions asked.
 I deliver my responses with enthusiasm.
 I build rapport with panel members.
 I have much to offer this role.

Keep in mind that affirmations need to be supported by action. Repeating ‘I present

my responses confidently’ will make little difference if you do not take any steps to
prepare some responses.

10. Place your attention externally

Another suggestion is to be conscious of where your attention is when you attend an

interview. If your focus is primarily internal, that is, on what you are worried about,
how well or badly you are performing, how nervous you are, then you will likely
reduce your effectiveness in making a positive impression on the panel.

Focus your attention externally, on engaging with panel members. This is much easier
when you have carried out the preparation for an interview. Once secure in the
knowledge that you are well prepared, you are free to focus on what is happening
around you rather than worrying about what is in your mental pantry.

11. Take documentation and note paper

You can help reduce nervousness by reducing your reliance on memory. Take all your
application documentation with you plus some note paper to make notes. Create a one
page list of the selection criteria with words and phrases to trigger relevant examples.

Trust your memory. If you have carried out the preparation believe that the
information you need is safely stored. Thinking about how your memory will let you
down will likely increase your chances of forgetting.

12. Develop your public speaking skills

If presenting to a small group is daunting for you, you may find it valuable to gain
some basic skills and experience by joining a public speaking organisation like
Toastmasters International or Rostrum. These organisations provide excellent
programs of development that not only build skills but also help with conquering
nervousness.

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13. Are you ready to step up?

Applicants can subtly undermine their interview behaviour with doubts about whether
they are prepared to take on the additional responsibility of a promotion. If you are
applying for a team leader or management role you need to have thought through
‘stepping up’ issues before the interview.

 Are you ready to take on additional responsibility?

 Are you willing to be held accountable for this responsibility?
 Are you ready to no longer be part of the team?
 Do you understand the difference between being friends with team colleagues
and being friendly with staff you manage?
 What is your relationship to power and specifically exercising the position
power that comes with a management role?
 What skills do you need to acquire or build on to be an effective manager?
 Do you understand the relationship between being a manager and being a
leader?
 Are you willing to lead a team?

While you may not resolve all of these matters before the interview, it is worth giving
them some thought so that underlying doubts do not leak and sabotage your
performance. Read Chapters 12 and 23.

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Chapter 21: THE ART OF SELF-PROMOTION

C H A P T E R FOURTEEN
Whether you call it selling yourself, marketing or self-promotion, an interview is an
exercise in letting people know you are the best person for the job. A key part of your
preparation is to anticipate self-promotion questions, and prepare and rehearse
tailored responses.

Most applicants cringe at the thought of having to promote themselves. They may
equate this distasteful process with exaggeration and bragging. Certainly we are
brought up to value modesty and humility and these qualities are valuable for a civil
society. Yet there is a mid-point between distasteful arrogance and undue modesty.
Let’s call it ‘modest bragging’, the ability to comfortably and conversationally assert
to a panel what your strengths, achievements and contributions are.

Your ability to ‘modestly brag’ stems from knowing yourself and understanding the
importance of word choice. An idea can be expressed so as to sound mundane and it
can be made to sound like pure arrogance. It is all in the language. Asserting yourself
in an interview depends on a range of language skills and behaviour. These are
learnable.

To show you what I mean, compare these statements.

‘I’m quite good at writing proposals.’

‘Having quickly grasped the intricacies of writing complex proposals I am

now recognised as the resident expert in our team. No one can better my work
in this area.’

The first statement is underselling. Qualifying your skills with a word like ‘quite’
might appeal to your modesty but does little to convince a panel of your skill. The
second is a tad over-the-top and sounds arrogant.

A third option is to say:

‘Having written more than 10 detailed proposals, supported by coaching from

my manager and attendance at a two-day training program, I now take the
running on many new proposals.’

Self-promotion, as reflected in this statement, is about being positive and realistic

about your own capabilities and achievements and persuading others to share this
view of yourself. In other words, you are managing how you see yourself and
managing how others see you. In an interview situation, both are designed to focus on
what you have to offer.

Good news for introverts

Introverts may experience discomfort at the idea of modestly bragging so it’s useful to
examine this label. Susan Cain has become famous for her work on introverts. Her
book, Quiet, The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking, makes the case

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that much of the world values the extrovert—the person who is gregarious and likes
the spotlight.lxxxvii If you’re not familiar with her ideas, watch Cain’s TED talk.lxxxviii

The Extrovert Ideal

The Extrovert Ideal is based on research that shows that talkative people are rated as
smarter, better-looking, more interesting, and more desirable as friends. Fast talkers
are rated as more competent and likable than slow ones. In groups, the voluble are
considered smarter than the reticent, even though there is no correlation between
capacity to hog the airwaves and quality ideas.lxxxix

Workplaces express this bias towards the extrovert in such practices as: an insistence
people work in teams; offices without walls; an expectation people self-promote; an
impatience with anyone who can’t think and speak quickly.

What is introversion?

Let’s be clear about what introversion and extroversion are, as there can be some
confusion. For starters, introversion is not synonymous with shyness, nor with a lack
of social skills, nor are introverts antisocial. Introverts may have strong social skills
and enjoy social events. They prefer deep discussions over small talk. They listen
more than they talk and think before they speak. After spending time with other
people, there comes a point when they wish for solitude.

Extroverts tend to be assertive, dominant, and in great need of company. As Cain

points out, extroverts think out loud and on their feet; they prefer talking to listening,
and rarely find themselves at a loss for words. They are not comfortable with solitude.

Another point to note from Cain is that people are not predictable across all
circumstances. Just because I may not enjoy big, raucous parties, doesn’t mean I don’t
make a useful contribution to a strategic planning meeting.

While Cain’s argument is primarily based on US culture, much of what she says
applies to Australian workplaces.

Cain’s work is reassuring for introverts. Her book offers several tips which can help
introverts manage their careers and prepare for interviews. One of these is to create an
extroverted persona to cope with situations that demand extroverted behaviour, such
as a job interview.

How to start a self-promotion comment

For some applicants, the problem is not what to say. It’s getting started. What’s a
good opening line when you want to assert your case for a job? Here are 12 opening
sentences that relate to the types of questions covered in this chapter.

1. Reasons why I am a strong candidate for this position are ...

2. I consider myself to be a strong candidate for this position because ...
3. My strengths for this position are ...

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4. What I bring to this position is a range of skills, knowledge and experience.

They include ...
5. I can offer a range of skills, knowledge and experience that are relevant to this
position. The key ones are ...
6. I see myself making a difference in this role by ...
7. I would like to contribute to this organisation by ...
8. I am keen to work with this organisation because ...
9. I can make a valuable contribution to your organisation by using my skills in
...
10. To sum up, my main strengths are ...
11. I’d like to sum up by highlighting ...
12. In addition to what we have covered I’d like to add ...

Think benefits as well as features

Metaphors offer alternative ways of thinking about something. While not my
favourite metaphor, self-promotion can be helped by thinking of yourself as a product.
Self-branding is a growth industry so the metaphor is apt.

As a product you have two options to promote yourself. You can be The No Name
Generic Applicant or you can be the Branded Applicant. Diagram 7 shows you how
they look.

If you are on a selection panel and are offered the choice of these two products, which
would you pick, metaphorically speaking? Obviously the Branded Applicant has
stronger appeal.

In order to sell yourself to the panel you need to have identified the goodies you have
to offer and then couch them in a language that entices the panel to ‘buy’. In
marketing terms, this is the language of benefits and value. The No Name Generic
Applicant focuses on features, such as qualifications and tasks, which are vaguely
expressed. The Branded Applicant, like any well-marketed product, comes with a
focus on how the organisation will gain value from what is on offer.

Diagram 7: Features versus value

No Name Generic Applicant Branded Applicant

 Works hard BEST PERSON FOR THE JOB

 I guess I’ve got some skills
 I do lots of stuff Comes with:
 I can’t think of any
achievements  High level complex skills that ensure delivery
 I think I know something of quality results
 Strong technical knowledge for identifying
Nutritional Information opportunities and improving systems
 Proven people skills to motivate, inspire and
Low in energy lead
Needs supervision  Six years relevant experience to tap for new
ideas
I’m okay—just take my word for it
Quality commitment: I am committed to upholding
your values

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These are features:

 I’m a punctual, reliable person

 I have six years experience
 I have an MBA plus certificates in a range of IT applications.

It is useful to know what you have to offer in terms of skills, knowledge and qualities.
However, in order to sell yourself at interview, you need to go one step further and
identify what employer needs these features will satisfy.

Some benefits of the features listed above include:

 freedom for my boss to get on with their work

 can be productive quickly
 won’t need much training
 reduced stress about work quality
 access to scarce expertise.

In order to sell yourself you need to identify how your features will be of benefit or
value to an employer. Understanding this, and being able to express it to a panel, will
make a difference to responding to questions about:

 why you are interested in the job or organisation

 what strengths you offer
 how you see yourself contributing to the organisation
 explaining what you do
 why you see yourself as ready for a promotion.

This chapter takes you through seven opportunities for asserting your case (or
modestly bragging) during an interview, offering ideas on what material to select and
how to structure that material so you can comfortably assert what you have to offer.
Where relevant, capability components are given to show that these questions link to
desirable workplace behaviours.

Why do you want this job?

Many interviews start with general questions to put applicants at ease. Do not waste
this opportunity. Opening impressions can have a big impact. The sorts of questions
you might be asked at the outset are often ones you can prepare for.

If you are asked why you applied for the job, prepare a response that focuses on the
benefit for the organisation. The temptation is to focus on what the job gives you
(more money, security, access to training). What the selection panel is primarily
interested in is what they will gain from employing you.

Rather than saying:

‘This job is a promotion for me and I’ll enjoy being a supervisor.’

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Recast this to a value statement like:

‘What attracts me is the opportunity to bring my years of experience managing

service teams to a unit that wants to improve its service delivery.’

If the selection panel asks you to give a summary statement of your claims to the
position, do not repeat your whole application. Select the essential points and briefly
outline what they are and how they will be useful in the new role.

If you are asked what you know about the organisation and its work, draw on your
research to give a summary statement. If you turn up to an interview not knowing
what the organisation does then you significantly reduce your chances of success.

Explaining your current job

Relevant capability behaviour: Recognises how own work contributes to the
achievement of organisational goals.

You may be given the opportunity early in the interview to tell the panel about your
current job. People already holding public sector positions may be tempted to give the
‘name, rank and serial number’ introduction. By this I mean, you give a job title,
section title, branch title, department title all liberally sprinkled with acronyms.
Then you may be tempted to list tasks and once you start listing tasks you will want to
include everything so it is an impressive list. This is not useful particularly for more
senior jobs.

This approach will seriously undersell yourself and start the interview on an
unproductive note. This means the first part of the encounter has been wasted.

What you need to do is work out a way to explain what you do so that it is strategic
and interesting. The structure I’m suggesting can achieve this outcome.

There are two parts to this structure: ‘I’m a … and what I do is …’ The second part is
not about activity and tasks, but about results and value. To identify the content to fill
these two parts, draw up a list of your main responsibilities and then step back and
ask: Who benefits from your work? By answering this question you are focusing on
what value you add.

Beneficiaries range across a spectrum, ranging from an individual, through a team or

section, to the whole organisation, and beyond to the government, the state, Australia,
and other countries. An individual will be the main beneficiary of an executive
assistant’s work. The organisation as a whole benefits from corporate roles such as
finance, IT and HR. Some roles directly feed government processes. Some have
international implications. A role may have several beneficiaries across this spectrum.
It will be a matter of choosing where clear relationships exist which you feel
comfortable claiming and can readily explain.

Another way to tackle this is to ask what would happen if you didn’t do what you do?
If the answer is ‘Not much’, then there is a problem. If an organisation has deemed

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that a person doing what you do is worthwhile, then you need to understand what that
value is and be able to tell others.

Let’s take the example of a senior manager’s executive assistant. You might start off
by saying:

‘What I do is:

o screen phone calls

o organise appointments
o prepare correspondence
o arrange travel
o minute meetings
o manage the office.’

What is the value of all this effort? Answers might be:

 enables the division to function smoothly

 frees the senior manager to focus on strategic matters
 provides the operational side of the senior manager’s strategic coin
 keeps the office flowing smoothly.

The response then becomes:

‘I’m the Corporate Affairs Manager’s Executive Assistant and what I do is I

enable this office to function smoothly, freeing the manager to focus on
strategic matters.’

You can then list some of the tasks if this seems appropriate. You can start this part by
saying: ‘And the way I achieve this is by …’

Let’s take other examples:

‘As a teacher’s assistant at Wisepeople School my role is to free the teacher to

focus on students’ education. I achieve this by preparing equipment for
classes, setting out student materials and providing back-up when students
face difficulties.’

‘As the CEO’s Executive Assistant at the Department of All Things Good, my
role is to free her to focus on strategic issues. I achieve this by maintaining her
appointments and arranging travel, screening visitors and calls, drafting
correspondence and coordinating an efficient support office.’

What you are doing with this style of response is making a clear link between what
you do and the expected outcomes of your team, section or organisation. Being able to
comfortably explain your current role in goal language, particularly if you are
applying for a promotion to a management or leadership role, will set you apart from
other applicants.

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How will you make a difference?

Analysing the job context to identify purpose, outcomes and issues gives you insight
into what difference you will be expected to make. In preparation for an interview
consider how you will respond to questions like: How do you see yourself
contributing to the work area? or What contribution would you like to make in this
role?

Depending on the nature of the job and the role you will play, you may be able to
make a difference by:

 managing a team
 providing leadership
 delivering results
 providing service
 increasing team morale
 improving staff productivity
 making improvements
 building visibility and reputation
 ensuring compliance
 assuring quality
 setting an example
 changing culture
 retaining staff.

Contextual information from your research can be used to make a link to your main
skills. For example:

‘One of the main contributions I’d like to make in this role is to use my team
leadership skills to build a new team and drive the section’s policy agenda.’

‘I see myself contributing to this team by using my accuracy and attention to

detail to make sure invoices are correctly processed to meet deadlines.’

Talking about your strengths

Relevant capability behaviour: Understands and communicates areas of strengths.

In recent years much has been written about strengths and their relationship to
weaknesses.xc People may operate from two flawed assumptions. The first is that a
person can learn to be competent in almost anything. This has to be a stretch of the
truth when you think about it. None of us can be good at everything no matter how
hard we try.

The second flawed assumption is that a person’s greatest room for growth is in areas
of greatest weakness. Again, common sense tells us that putting a lot of effort into an
area that we are not good at is going to be a waste of time. Far better to build on
strengths and manage around weaknesses.

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What is a strength? A strength is an area of activity in which you can achieve

consistent, quality performance. Before using it you look forward to it. When using
one of your strengths you feel effective, it feels easy, and you feel focused.
Afterwards you feel fulfilled. In short, using strengths makes you feel strong. To
discover your strengths examine your portfolio stocktake (see Chapter 3) and identify
those areas that fit this description.

In an interview you need to be comfortable talking about your relevant strengths

without sounding cocky and obnoxious. It can be seriously embarrassing to front up to
an interview and not be able to give a coherent answer to questions like: Tell us about
what strengths you bring to this position, or Why do you think you are a strong
candidate for this role?

Discomfort about strengths talk may stem from beliefs in the mental pantry about not
big-noting yourself, not bragging, nor boasting. Yet these are beliefs that sabotage
your ability to respond to a strengths question.
C H A P T E R FIFTEEN
A more useful belief to adopt is that you have a responsibility to know, use and build
your strengths. Working from strengths gives you satisfaction, validates your sense of
competence and enables you to make a difference.

So if you are responding to a strengths question what could you say? One option is to
give a list.

‘Well, I’m honest …

and I communicate well …
I have good keyboard skills …
I work well in a team …
and, um, I get along well with people …’

Such a response is uncertain, vague and untargeted.

What you want to do is assert your strengths so that the panel can see their relevance
and value. This is the art of managing the meaning of your strengths. In order to be
able to provide this link to the job you need to draw on the research and analysis you
did when preparing your application.

Here is a framework for talking comfortably about your strengths. You are asked in
the interview: Tell us about the strengths you bring to this position. Your answer,
following this script, is based on identifying a small number of strengths relevant to
the position in question and outlining what that relevance is.

‘There are a number of strengths I’d bring to this position and I’d like to
mention three that I think are most critical/most relevant to this position.

Firstly …
This strength is relevant to this position because …

Secondly …
This strength is relevant to this position because …

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Thirdly …
This strength is relevant to this position because …’

Notice there are two components to each of the three strengths offered:

 a statement of what the strength is

 a link to the position to show how it is relevant or of value to the organisation.

Showing the relevance of your strengths lets the panel know that you understand the
job and how you can add value. The other point to notice is that in the opening line
you refer to a ‘number of strengths’. This lets the panel know that you know your
strengths, there are many, but you are selecting those that are most relevant. The
opening is there for the panel to explore other strengths. Be prepared to offer others
just in case they ask.

You could add a third component, namely how you came to acquire the strength. This
evidence is designed to reassure the panel that you really can do what you say you
can. The risk with adding this third element is that the answer will become much
longer and you may become sidetracked by the detail. Chances are strong that this
evidence will be picked up in criteria-related questions so there is really no need to
include it here. If you do include it, keep it short.

Let’s take an example to see how this works. Supposing the job involves building
projects in regional areas. From your research and the job description you know that
what is critical to this job are project management, liaison, and supervisory skills.
Your response about strengths might be:

‘I have a number of strengths that I bring to this position and I’d like to
mention three that are of most relevance. Firstly, project management skills.
This strength is relevant to this position because it involves team-based
construction projects where tight budgets and deadlines are critical.

My second strength is liaison skills. This strength is essential to this position

because in order to complete housing projects effectively, the team needs to
consult with academic and community groups to make sure that their concerns
and needs are taken into account.

And thirdly, I bring extensive supervisory experience which I’ve developed

over the last 10 years, leading teams of between 10 and 25 staff of diverse
ethnic, educational and work experience backgrounds. As I understand it, you
will need a strong leader to ensure that these housing projects are delivered
effectively in regional areas drawing on local labour.

So these are three strengths I bring to this position.’

When you say this out loud you will find it sounds comfortably conversational
without sounding arrogant. It does, however, take practice. Like any habit, a new
language practice takes some getting used to. Once you have mastered the structure
the answer will flow smoothly and comfortably. Do not wait until the day of the

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interview to try to say something in a way you have never said it before. It will not
work. If you are going to play a game of tennis, you would be unlikely to wait until
you are on the court to start practicing. The same goes for interviews.

And remember, you want to rehearse these responses out loud, not just in your head.

Let’s take another example, for a personal assistant role:

‘I have a number of strengths that I bring to this position and I’d like to
mention three that are of most relevance.

First, I have a strong eye for detail. This strength is important for this job
because you want a person who can keep track of many pieces of information
and can notice errors and inconsistencies in documents like letters and memos.

Second, I have well-developed written communication skills, particularly in

preparing correspondence and minutes. These are major parts of this job.

My liaison skills are also a strength. I have been commended many times for
my ability to keep a range of people informed, to cooperate with many units
and divisions, and coordinate input with little fuss. Liaison skills are critical to
this job because you want the personal assistant to keep in touch with a range
of managers.

So these are three of my strengths that will be of value in this role.’

There are three traps to avoid when preparing a strengths response based on this
structure:

 Picking strengths that are too broad. For example, picking ‘communication
skills’ as a strength is going to be difficult to work with because it covers so
many skills, such as liaison, presentations, negotiation, facilitation, writing a
range of material, and so on. Even if ‘communication skills’ is one of the
criteria, you want to pick a specific sub-set of this skill, one that is critical to
the job. It is much easier to make a linking statement using a specific skill than
using a general capability.

 Using what you write. When you first draft your strengths response it will
likely be long and written in language that is suitable for writing. When you
come to say it out loud, it may sound clumsy and possibly bureaucratic. You
need to take what you have written and turn it into short, conversational
language so that you can say it smoothly and remember it easily.

 Choosing strengths that are not critical to the job. Just because you have a
strength that seems relevant to the job, does not mean you should select it for
this response. I have coached people who pick skills or expertise that are
relevant to the job, but are not central or critical. By choosing these options
they run the risk of sending mixed messages to the panel. ‘I’ve got this
strength that will be useful, but I haven’t fully grasped the job and what is
important.’ This is where your research and analysis of the job specifications

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become vitally important. To check your choice ask yourself: What value do
you think the panel would place on this strength? Is this a high priority for the
panel?

Remember, keep your response short and pick strengths that relate to the context of
the job.

Talking about your achievements

Relevant capability behaviour: Sees projects through to completion. Takes
responsibility for delivering on intended outcomes. Shows initiative and proactively
steps in and does what is required. Persists and focuses on achieving objectives even
in difficult circumstances.

Given a key component of capability frameworks is the ability to ‘Achieve results’,

prepare for questions like: What is your most significant achievement in the last 12
months? What is a result you are particularly proud of?

A mental trap for applicants considering an achievements question occurs when they
start going through the filing cabinet in their memory labelled ‘Achievements’. As
they thumb through the options, their inner critic says:

 No, not that one! Goodness, what will people think.

 No, not that one! Everyone does that!
 No, not that one! That’s just so pathetic it’s not worth mentioning.
 No, not that one! That’s just part of my job.

The result of this search is that the applicant is left thinking ‘I don’t have any
achievements’. Not a useful place to find yourself.

In order to get past the inner critic that invites you to discount all your achievements
you need to consider what it took for you to make the shift from point A, where you
were before the result, to point B, the outcome, result or achievement. The size of the
achievement is not the issue. Only a few people climb Mt Everest or break world
records. Most of us operate at a far more modest level.

The point is though, that what can be seemingly easy for you may take the equivalent
of climbing Mt Everest for me because of the skills I would have to acquire, the fears
I would have to conquer, the obstacles I would have to overcome. And this is the
critical point. You need to make sense of your achievements for the panel. Simply
saying what it is may well undersell you because what you mention may be easy for
some panel members and they will not appreciate what it took for you to achieve the
outcome.

To take a personal example, I could list overcoming a fear of deep water at age 37 as
one of my life achievements. If I am mentally comparing myself to Olympic
swimmers I will likely say to myself ‘This is no big deal. Anyone can do this’. The
point is I had to make the decision to change this fear. I found a suitable teacher and
committed to a series of lessons that were at times painful. I persevered until I

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succeeded. This is what it took for me to move from point A to point B. And this is
what you need to explain to a panel about your achievements so they can appreciate
their significance.

With your example, what did it take for you to move from A to B? Recall the factors
listed earlier in Chapter 3:

 Time: did it take a long or short time?

 Quantity: did you have to deal with a large amount of resources or manage
with minimal resources?
 Complexity: was it simple or made up of many parts?
 Unexpected: were you unprepared but still able to obtain a result?
 New: did it involve unfamiliar subject matter or demand acquiring new skills?
 Development and/or design: did the result involve developing or designing
something from scratch?
 Additional workload: was the result achieved in addition to your normal
workload?

What you want to convey is the complexity of the achievement, all the factors you
had to deal with as well as how you did it.

For example, you might offer this personal, work-related response to the question,
Tell us about an achievement that you are proud of:

‘An achievement that I’m particularly proud of is how I developed my public

speaking skills. I recognised that I needed to be more confident when speaking
at team meetings so I could contribute to discussions of issues as well as put
ideas clearly. I recognised I held fears about speaking up and if I was to deal
with them I would have to commit to a program of personal development.

So I joined Toastmasters International and attended meetings outside of

business hours and at my own expense. I worked through their program and
over the course of 12 months I prepared and presented 10 short speeches. I
also presented impromptu speeches at six meetings and took part in a speech
competition.

Now I can confidently speak off-the-cuff at team meetings and chair meetings.
All of this work I completed in my own time and I found I came to enjoy the
program so much I’ve now moved on to the advanced program. What I
learned in addition to preparing and presenting speeches is meeting skills
which I’ll be able to use in this team leader role.’

Notice that this response uses the SAR model as a framework to tell the story. Notice
too how in the last sentence reference is made to the lesson and benefit that this
achievement offers the employer (SAR + L). You will have captured this information
in your log of incidents. (See Chapter 3.) This is the bonus part of the response. Here
is how it works:

Questions may be more specifically about work-related results: Tell us about a work
result that you achieved in difficult circumstances. The example you use needs to

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reflect the level of seniority of the role, the degree of complexity involved, and
difficulties encountered. Difficulties can be financial, interpersonal, technological, as
well as related to security, safety, timeframes. For example:

‘A key result I achieved in difficult circumstances was the coordination of a

Cabinet Submission. The finance figures proved to be inaccurate, the
environmental impact statement identified a rare insect was endangered by the
proposal, and several stakeholders claimed the consultation process was
flawed. In addition, timeframes were critical to meet legislative
requirements…’

Results can include immediate outputs, flow-on consequences, and by-products. For
example:

‘As a result of my actions the finance figures were corrected, an alternative

was found to protect the insect, and stakeholders views were incorporated, all
in time to meet legislative requirements. As a consequence of this Submission,
changes were made to two complementary pieces of legislation to ensure
consistency. A by-product of the process was improved coordination skills in
my team and a streamlined consultation process that has been used effectively
in subsequent Submission preparation.’

Revisit your list of key achievements and results. Select those that are most relevant
to the level of the job you are applying for and practice your story using the SAR
format.

Closing questions
At the end of the interview the selection panel may ask applicants if there are
any questions they wish to ask. The main reason for this is to make sure applicants
fully understand the job they are applying for.

This is an opportunity that should not be dismissed lightly. It is a chance to show

the panel you have done your homework and thought about the implications of the
position. It is also an opportunity to clarify anything that is still unclear about the
duties or opportunities the position offers.

Check to see if your mental pantry is stocking any unhelpful beliefs about asking
questions. Are you thinking:

 If I ask questions I may look stupid.

 What if I ask a dumb question?
 I should know all the information I need.

You are not expected to know everything about the organisation or the job, unless you
have been acting in the job or are in a senior role, in which case you would be
expected to have some knowledge. That is partly why you are at the interview, to find
out more about the job.

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Most information about general working conditions can be obtained from recruitment
staff prior to the interview. If the position is temporary and/or contractual, it may be
useful to clarify the nature of the appointment. If you are not already a public servant
you may wish to discuss the starting salary. You will need to exercise your judgement
as to how you explore these matters so you do not look like you are exploring matters
you should already know.

Asking broader questions shows you have done some homework and are interested
in the organisation. Such questions might include:

 What is the budget of the unit?

 How much contact is there with other sections?
 What induction training is provided?

For more senior positions take some strategic questions with you. These may be based
on your research and analysis of the role.

 Explore what is coming up: In six months from now what would a successful
person in this job have achieved? What is the most pressing problem for a new
person to tackle?
 Team culture: How would you describe the unit’s culture? What do you enjoy
about working here?
 Management style: How would you describe your management style? (It is
useful to know what your future boss is like.)
 Team performance: What is the performance of the team like? (It is useful to
know if they are performing well or under-performing.)
 Expectations: What is your ideal staff member like? What would you like
done differently by the next person in this job?
 Relationships: How does this unit link to …? [name a stakeholder]
 Resources: How does the recent budget impact on this program?

Other questions might be specific to the position or work area. They could arise from
your research, for example clarifying the implications of a proposed policy change
you read about in the media, or the questions could be prompted by the interview
itself.

For internal applicants asking questions can be difficult, particularly if you have been
acting in the role and know all there is to know. If the above-mentioned options are
not going to work you could indicate your questions have been answered or you do
not have any and then segue into a closing summary.

Closing summary
The interview may also end with a request to the applicant as to whether they have
anything they wish to add about their application. The reason for this is to ensure that
applicants have had a fair hearing.

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This is an opportunity for you to end on a positive note. You may think everything
has been covered. Even if this is so, it is worth making a succinct summary statement
about your claims to the position.

If the duty statement refers to matters which you think have not been covered by the
selection criteria, this is a chance to mention relevant experience.

If you have not been asked about your key strengths, then this is the time to offer
them using the structure referred to earlier in this chapter.

If the strengths question has been asked, have a couple of additional strengths to
mention, again using a linking statement to show relevance.

Remember: You are the expert

Keep in mind that you are the expert on you when you attend an interview. No one
knows you like you do. You might be tempted to downplay what you have to offer or
you might be tempted to wait for the panel to read your mind, draw you out or assume
you are as wonderful as your application suggests. None of these approaches will
serve you well. You are the expert on you, and you must share that expertise with the
panel.

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Chapter 22: TYPES OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

C H A P T E R SEVENTEEN
The one question applicants want answered when facing a job interview is: What
questions will they ask? While you are unlikely to anticipate every question, you can
certainly anticipate some of them based on the information you already have.

This chapter sets out information about question wording and type to help with your
interview preparations.

Listen for key words

When an applicant is nervous they may not be listening as well as they usually do and
may not hear key words in a question, resulting in an off-target response. I recall an
occasion when applicants were asked to outline the main stages in managing a
publishing project. Rather than identifying the key stages, such as project plan,
preparing a budget, developing a time line and so on, several applicants described in
minute detail how they went about managing a specific publishing project. The
question was asking the applicant to step back from their experience of multiple
projects and give an overview of the process. By doing so they would identify the
general approach to be applied to any specific case. As a result of not hearing the
question several applicants did not fare well.

Interview questions are similar to writing essays. An essay asking you to describe
your summer holiday is different from one that asks you to compare and contrast
Australia with New Zealand, or to argue a case for a republic. So it is with interview
questions. Opening words can signal the nature of the question.

There are some key words to listen for.

 Describe: Describe a time when you had to handle a difficult customer.

 Outline: Outline the main stages in managing a project.
 Give an example of: Give us an example of a time when you negotiated an
outcome.
 Explain: Explain how you go about motivating your team.

Questions can vary in their focus. They can focus on:

 Facts: What type of written material have you prepared?

 Understanding: What factors would you use to judge if a phone was answered
well?
 Self-analysis or reflection: How effective are you in the role of meeting
chairperson?
 Ideas on problem-solving: How could we reduce the time customers wait in
line at the counter?

If you manage nervousness well you will have more energy to focus on hearing what
you are being asked.

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Types of questions
The types of questions most likely to be used during a job interview are:

 Open questions: designed to encourage an expansive answer

 Closed questions: designed for a limited answer
 Résumé-based questions: designed to clarify details of your biography
 Technical questions: designed to find out if you know specific information
 Probing questions: designed to find out more details once an initial response
has been given
 Hypothetical questions and case studies: designed to present a typical situation
and seek a response about a possible course of action
 Behaviour-based questions: designed to elicit examples from the applicant’s
experience about situations likely to arise in the job
 Self-awareness questions: designed to find out what the applicant knows about
their own behaviours, habits, preferences, approaches.

We will now look at the types of questions that are most likely to arise during a public
sector job interview.

Behaviour-based questions
Behaviour-based questions are the main type of question used by selection panels.
This means asking questions about specific instances that provide evidence of having
actually performed relevant work or skills. Rather than simply describing what
happened, the emphasis is on outlining what your role was, what you did, what result
you achieved and what you learnt. Such examples are based on the belief that past
behaviour is a good indicator of future behaviour.

A criterion that starts with ‘demonstrated’ or ‘proven’ is a hot candidate for a

behaviour-based question. Capability-based criteria are also likely to draw behaviour-
based questions.

To prepare for behaviour-based questions think about what examples you could use
for each criterion. Your strongest examples are likely to be the ones you wrote about
in your application. Review your work diary and log of incidents (referred to in
Chapter 3). These records provide you with other examples to take to an interview.

Remember when choosing examples to use in an interview select ones that are recent,
relevant and appropriately complex. (See Chapter 9.)

Rehearse talking about these examples. As with applications, you can use the STAR
or SAR model to structure your response. (See Chapter 10.) Some agencies encourage
applicants to take this approach at interview. As a reminder here is an outline of the
structure:

 The situation and task—what was the context, what had happened that had to
be dealt with, when this occurred, who was involved, what role did you play.

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 Actions—what you did, how you handled this situation, why you took the
approach you did, how you responded to the situation or task, what
problems/difficulties you had to address and how you resolved them.
 Results—the end result of your action, what feedback you received as a result
of your efforts.

The aim is to show how you have effectively applied the capabilities or criteria. There
are, however, some traps in how you respond.

Take the criterion: Ability to manage workloads and meet deadlines.

A behaviour-based question might be: ‘Give us an example of a time when you had to
juggle competing priorities to meet tight deadlines. Tell us how you handled it, what
outcome you achieved and what you learnt from the experience.’

If your response is vague, opinion-based or future-oriented you may receive a follow-

up question to get you back on track. In response to this question you could say:

‘Most of the time I’ve been able to stay on top of my workload.’

As this is vague you may get a follow-up question: ‘What did you do to stay on top of
everything your job demands?’

Or you say:

‘I believe I’m good at keeping my work under control.’

This is opinion, so you might then be asked: ‘Tell us about what you do to keep your
work under control.’

If you say: ‘To manage workloads I would …’ this implies what you might do, rather
than what you have done. You might then be prompted with: ‘Tell us about a time
when you have managed workloads.’

If you are inclined to these sorts of responses, then you need to practice being much
more specific and concrete. Remember, your actual words are important.

Your response needs to sound more like this (if you are a team leader):

‘During the budget development process our team has a particularly high
workload with competing demands from other agencies and sections, plus
close scrutiny from the executive. In order to manage these competing
priorities, what I did was I made some personal adjustments so I could include
two additional work hours each day, I met twice a week with the team to
review progress and adjust for changing circumstances. All of us used project
management software.

I appointed two people to be solely responsible for keeping the executive

informed. We worked out a schedule for dealing with requests from other
agencies and sections and we introduced, before the process began, a series of

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information sessions to reduce the number of queries. These strategies gave us

the flexibility to accommodate changes. It also meant the whole team was
across what was happening, all stakeholders’ needs were met and deadlines
were met. These strategies were based on the previous year’s experience and
what we learnt this time was anticipating the problems enabled us to
reduce the impact on workload.’

Suppose the panel asks: ‘Give us an example of a situation in which you used your
research and analytical skills in order to make a sound decision.’ After giving your
example a follow-up question is asked about what you learnt. Your response might
sound something like this.

‘In my current role as policy researcher I apply my research and evaluation

skills on a daily basis as I assess information for its value to specific policy
projects. One example is the analysis work I conducted for a policy project on
ageing. My role was to provide advice on the merits of redefining the concept
of ‘retirement’. Initially, this sounded like a relatively straight-forward
analysis of what had been written on the subject during the last five years,
liaising with other agencies that are working in this area, plus inviting input
from key stakeholders including community groups.

What I hadn’t anticipated was that there is actually a dearth of material on this
subject and stakeholders hadn’t really given it much thought since our whole
system is largely geared around a specified age and life-cycle period called
retirement. This in turn meant that the implications of changing the concept
hadn’t been thought through.

So one decision I made was to establish a project team to brainstorm ideas.

One of the outcomes of this was to invite selected academics to give further
thought to the issues. This project is still underway. These academics are due
to respond by the end of the month. We have already had considerable interest
from other agencies, particularly Treasury, on what impact it would have on
the economy if retirement was made a non-age-based concept.

What has become clear to me from this example is that seemingly straight
forward tasks can generate unexpected challenges that require flexibility of
response and the ability to try new approaches.’

Another response, pitched to a lower level, might be:

‘A standard part of my work is to arrange travel for my manager. On one

occasion she was attending a conference in Tehran. What was initially a
straight forward exercise was complicated by security requirements plus the
lack of easy flight connections. Not only did I have to research various airline
timetables, but I had to evaluate information from Foreign Affairs, which at
the time, was changing daily.

The outcome was that I found a set of connections that minimised stopovers,
kept costs to a minimum and met security requirements, all within a fairly
tight time frame. The ticket also included maximum flexibility so that should

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circumstances change, my manager would have no problems with changing

flights.

What I learnt from this project was that tasks that start out being standard can
quickly become complicated as circumstances change. I have to be ready to be
flexible, deal with uncertainty, and ultimately make a choice based on an
assessment of the available information. As I understand this position, these
would be skills that I could use in responding to clients’ queries.’

Notice in these examples they describe the situation in enough detail to make clear
what the issue is and then focus on action taken and the results achieved. They give
lessons learnt and benefits to the job applied for.

Hypothetical questions
A hypothetical question is future oriented and is prefaced by ‘what would you do’ or
‘how would you go about …’ rather than ‘give us an example of …’. For example,
‘You are faced with an angry member of the public. What would you do?’

The limitation of a hypothetical question is that a person can prepare responses

based on observation, research or hearsay, but have never actually dealt with the
issue. In such a situation it would not be clear that an applicant would in fact behave
in the way they describe.

What you need to keep in mind about these sorts of questions is that in addition to
what you would do, the panel is also interested in your ability to think through a
situation and arrive at a reasonable assessment of what action to take. A response to
the angry customer scenario may be about listing the steps you would take. It may
also be about weighing up the situation and thinking through the options, since
context will have a big impact on what option you select.

You could respond by saying:

‘There are times when members of the public do become emotional. In my

experience, they become angry for a range of reasons. These include being
kept waiting, poor service, being given incorrect information, or building
frustration from not being able to connect with someone who can help them.

Regardless of the reason, it is important to hear the person out without

becoming defensive, no matter how unjustified their response is.
Acknowledging their response is also important for building rapport with a
person, as nothing escalates emotion more that having the sense that you are
not heard. So I might say something like, “Yes I can see that explaining your
problem to five different people would be frustrating. Let’s see what we can
do to sort this out.”

How quickly I can move to solving a problem will depend on how responsive
the client is to this suggestion. There are occasions when you have to offer

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people options. They may be so cranky that they can’t or won’t deal with it
now so making an alternative time might work.

My goal would be to assess the situation, build rapport, resolve the issue and
maintain goodwill. From my experience in the shopfront what I have learnt is
that most people will respond well when they feel that they matter, they have
been heard, and they are offered options to sort out what they want.’

Another variation of the hypothetical question used by selection panels is to describe

a situation where there are multiple options and you are asked what action you would
take. For example:

‘You are working back late. Everyone else has left. The printer stops working.
The minister’s office rings with an urgent request. The Director of Finance rings
seeking figures for a tender due the next day. A colleague’s partner calls and sounds
concerned that they haven’t arrived home. What would you do?’

Again, the point of the question is not to simply list the order in which you would
tackle the tasks. You are expected to think aloud to show the thinking processes and
judgement you would exercise in establishing priorities. Your response might sound
something like this:

‘As the minister is our key customer, I would take steps to meet the urgent
request. As I have no immediate need of the printer and could likely find
another in the building I would leave that for the following day. Little can be
done outside business hours to fix it. The second priority would be the finance
figures. If I was able to locate the information then I would do something
about it. If it was not within my power I would ring the person responsible and
let them handle it. The colleague’s partner would be given a simple and
immediate answer as to whether they are in the immediate work area or not.
So in summary I’d attend to the minister’s needs first then the finance issue.’

Case studies
Case studies are extended versions of hypothetical questions. They describe in detail a
situation that is multi-faceted. The applicant is invited to explore how they would go
about handling this complex situation. Case studies are more likely to be used for
more senior roles or roles where cases are managed, such as social workers.

There may be no right or wrong answer to a case study. Rather, some responses will
be more appropriate, relevant, soundly based. The art of responding is about thinking
out loud and providing a sound rationale for the actions you propose taking.

One way to handle case studies is to take a three-step approach.

 Ask yourself who is responsible for taking action. There could be in-built traps
that result in you launching into action when it would not be your
responsibility to do so.

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 Identify the key issues. Case studies are likely to include issues like under-
performance, team morale, problematic projects, interpersonal matters.

 Outline how you would deal with each of these issues. Here you need to think
out loud so the selection panel understands why you choose the approach you
suggest, what knowledge you take into account (e.g. policies, legislation,
procedures), possibly some indication of the inter-relatedness of the issues,
who you would include in discussions, what your expected outcomes are and
available options if one line of action doesn’t work.

Self-awareness questions
People applying for more senior jobs that involve management and leadership
responsibilities may face questions that concern knowledge of personal style, the
impact of this style on others and steps to accommodate differences. These questions
are linked to capability behaviours concerning valuing individual differences,
recognising differing working styles, reflecting on personal behaviours and work style
and understanding how they impact on others, plus tailoring communication style and
message.

Three self-awareness areas to consider are:

 communication style
 management style
 leadership style.

Here are some examples of questions, including behaviour-based questions, related to

these styles.

 Tell us about a time when your communication style made a difference to a

project’s success.
 What would coworkers and subordinates say about your management style?
 Give an example of how you have tailored your communication style to adapt
to an audience.
 How would you describe your leadership style?

To respond to these questions you need to have thought about three topics:

 Your own style. Professional development programs often include tools that
give insight into personal habits and preferences. These tools give labels to
describe various styles or types. Examples of tools are the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator, DISC, Influence Dimensions, and various leadership and emotional
intelligence tools.

 The impact of your style. If you work with people with similar styles, you will
get along reasonably well. People with different styles can present challenges.
Such differences may have negative consequences either because your
behaviour is inappropriate to the situation or the people you are dealing with

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would prefer a different approach. You need to be aware of potential

differences and notice when they could be having an impact. A person who
notices these details is exercising mindfulness and self-awareness.

 Adapting your style. Flexibility underpins many of the behaviours identified in

capability frameworks. If you can only do your preferred style and nothing
else you are likely to be ineffective as a leader and manager. Different
situations require different approaches. Team members are unlikely to be
clones of each other. There are times when you need to be commanding,
inspiring, motivating, collegiate. You will need skills in accurately reading
other people and having a wide repertoire of behaviours to draw on.

Use the SAR or STAR approach to construct stories about situations that reflect your
self-understanding and flexibility.

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Chapter 23: CHALLENGING QUESTIONS

Just as there are capabilities and criteria that present challenges to write about, there
are also areas of questioning that applicants either overlook or find difficult to prepare
for. This chapter outlines some ideas on preparing for questions about:

 weaknesses
 mistakes
 ethics and values
 difficult people
 leadership
 strategic thinking

Where appropriate, relevant capability behaviours are included.

Questions about your weaknesses

Relevant capability behaviour: Seeks feedback on behaviour, reviews performance,
identifies development needs. Takes into account communication shortcomings.

Questions about weaknesses are often more about finding out whether you learn from
feedback and can reflect on your behaviour than asking you to list your imperfections.
Remember:

 People’s portfolio stocktake cannot stock everything. People are skilled at

some things and not others.
 Many ‘weaknesses’ can be a strength in some situations. Impatience can be
useful in an emergency. Some caution is needed when facing a major decision.
 While it is useful to be aware of behaviours that negatively impact on your
work performance and to take action to change those behaviours, sound
management practice focuses on encouraging people to use their strengths.

Given these points there will be areas where you could know more or do things better.
It largely depends on how serious it is and what impact lacking this knowledge or
skill has in the workplace.

When preparing for this question there are several points to keep in mind.

 Do not pick a skill or quality that is included in the job specifications. It will
not go down well if you say you crack up under pressure if one of the criteria
concerns ability to meet tight deadlines.
 Pick something that has substance but is not vital to the job. It could be a
personal quality, skill or subject area. It could be a gap filled, a response to
feedback, or a quality that is part of who you are.
 Identify what you are doing to improve or manage around your weakness.
 Decide whether you wish to call it a weakness. You may wish to reframe a
weakness as ‘an area I’ve identified I need to improve or change or develop’.
 Use the SAR or STAR approach to structure your response.

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Based on these points your answer, using a response about a gap to fill, might sound
like this.

‘A few years ago I realised that if I wanted to move into a marketing role I
needed to fill a gap in my skills, namely networking. Up until then I had been
shy when mixing with strangers and found it difficult to attend meetings where
I didn’t know anyone. Having attended two workshops on the subject and
applied them at various functions, I now attend meetings with confidence and
readily mix and mingle. This has proven immensely valuable. Not only have I
been able to represent my agency well but I’ve also been able to make others
feel more comfortable at such meetings, thereby building positive
relationships across agencies.’

Notice that this answer does not stop at identifying the weakness and what was done.
It goes on to identify the value that now accrues from this change with the implication
that the new employer will also benefit. Note too that it could also be used as a
response to a question on achievements.

An answer based on feedback might go like this:

‘Last year I received feedback from my team that I needed to give more
individual recognition. During the following six months I gave this particular
attention. Whenever members of my team performed well I made a point of
thanking them or commending them individually and in private. When
appropriate I also acknowledged them publicly. At the next formal feedback
session staff said they were pleased with the change.’

An answer based on a more permanent quality is:

‘When I attended a training program on influencing skills I completed a tool

that indicated my preferred communication habits. One of these is my
tendency to deal with information quickly. I learned that other people are not
all like that and it helped me to realise that my irritation with some staff
stemmed from this difference. Now that I know this what I do when working
with these people is to allow more time for them to respond. I stop myself
from giving hurry up signals that put people off. I’ve noticed this has made a
big difference to getting along with these people.’

Questions about your mistakes

Relevant capability behaviour: Takes responsibility for mistakes, learns from them,
acknowledges when in the wrong. Focuses on identifying opportunities for continuous
improvement.

How comfortable you are with questions about mistakes depends on your mental
pantry. The word ‘mistake’ has negative connotations that can trigger an emotional
response placing you in an unresourceful state in which you are unable to respond
well.

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Remember, no one is perfect and most people like to do a good job. When something
goes wrong you have choices. You can wallow in guilt or self-pity, bewail your
stupidity, and become stuck in inaction, or you can start working things out.

Mistakes can take several forms. They can be about:

 literally getting things wrong, such as getting inaccurate information from a

customer that meant they were given wrong advice or an inappropriate service
 mishearing what someone said and acting on that interpretation
 projects going off the rails
 an identified process or system that is not working well and needs fixing or
improving
 making a poor choice where several possibilities presented themselves
 errors of omission where you could have done something but didn’t.

In responding to a question about mistakes the task is to identify the mistake and then
explain how you fixed things and what you learned from it so that you reduce the
chances of a repeat performance. If you were able to make an improvement to a
situation that helped other people as well, so much the better. What the panel wants to
know is: Is this person a problem-solver? Will this person take responsibility for their
actions?

Again use the SAR or STAR approach to the question ‘Tell us about a time when
things went wrong and what you did about it’. A response might sound like this:

‘When things don’t go according to plan it’s a good opportunity to identify

ways to reduce them happening in the future. On one occasion I was
responding to a customer’s query and misheard what he said. As a result I sent
him off to see a person about a particular type of pension, only to find later
that he was not eligible. This meant the man had to go through the whole
interview process again, much to his annoyance.

After apologising to the man and making sure he was guided quickly and
accurately to the right service, I then gave some thought to how I had made
such a mistake. On reflection I realised that one of the questions on the
application form was ambiguous, and depending on the answer you got, you
could easily misdirect the person. I took this up with my supervisor who found
that other staff had also noticed the problem but hadn’t identified the source.

As a result, the wording of the question was changed and this problem no
longer occurs. The other benefit of this experience is that it’s made me very
conscious of question wording and whenever we are designing new forms, I
actively contribute to the consultations so that we produce a quality
document.’

Again, the answer is more than just ‘giving the facts’. It draws out the lessons and the
longer-term benefit. In this response the applicant has ‘sold’ themselves not only as a
problem-solver, but also as a person skilled in identifying ambiguous questions on
forms.

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Questions about values and ethics

Relevant capability behaviours: Demonstrates public service professionalism and
probity. Be ethical and professional, and adhere to the Public Sector Values.

Selection panels may include questions about public service values or they may
consider that this area is covered in other questions. For example, in talking about
financial management there may be references to probity, accountability and
transparency. Selection panels may rely on your application and/or referees to gather
evidence for criteria related to values-based behaviour.

Examples of questions about values are:

 Give us an example of an ethical issue you have faced and tell us how you
handled it.
 Tell us about a time when you upheld your values in difficult circumstances.
 Give us an example of a time when you have encountered unethical behaviour
in the workplace. What did you do?
 How do your organisation’s values apply to your current role?

If you haven’t already included examples in your application, think about your current
and previous jobs and what values or aspects of a code of conduct were most relevant.
Return to the questions about values-based management in Chapter 13 to help with
identifying relevant situations.

Think about the context of the job you are now considering and what values or
aspects of conduct would be relevant. Select relevant examples and use the SAR or
STAR model to construct a response.

Questions about difficult people

Relevant capability behaviours: Tries to see things from other people’s perspective.
Addresses under-performance. Show respect for diverse backgrounds, experiences
and perspectives. Collaborate with others and value their contribution.

Questions about difficult or challenging people may be designed to assess your

teamwork, client service or interpersonal skills. Prepare for questions about team
conflict, difficult clients and stakeholders. Managers need to prepare for questions on
under-performance. Re-read the section on conflict in Chapter 12.

Examples of such questions are:

 Tell us about a time when you had to manage conflict between people. What
was the conflict about? How did you manage this? What was the outcome?
 Have you worked with a person with different perspectives to your own? What
was the difference and how did you handle this situation?
 How would you go about dealing with an emotionally charged individual?

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 Give an example of a difficult team experience you have had. How did you
handle it?
 How would you go about responding to a staff member’s under-performance?
 Have you had to provide difficult feedback to a staff member?
 What makes a team effective?
 Give an example of dealing with a challenging stakeholder?

Recognise that any situation you have faced that falls under the heading of ‘dealing
with difficult people’ will be context-specific. Applicants can err on brevity about the
context, thereby denying the panel the opportunity to make a reasonable assessment.

How you handled a situation will depend on the circumstances—who was involved,
what your relationship to them was, what behaviour had been observed. In assessing
how to respond, you would have undertaken some analysis, weighed options, made a
decision, exercised judgement, possibly drawn on relevant expertise.

Given that examples are driven by context, a follow-up question you should anticipate
is ‘What did you learn from this situation?’ or ‘If you were faced with this situation
again, what would you do differently?’ Part of your record-keeping is to consider
these questions in order to readily feed your interview preparations. A good story can
be undermined by a weak response to this probe.

While it is ideal to have a ‘happy ending’ to a story about dealing with difficult
people, this is not always the outcome. Some people just don’t want to be ‘fixed’, are
belligerently uncooperative, or are square pegs in round holes, doomed to under-
performance unless moved to another role. A situation can drag on for so long that it
becomes someone else’s problem. Where any of these apply, you will need to focus
on the entrenched complexities of the situation and the range of options you took to
find a solution.

Another option is to use an example where you anticipated potential conflict and took
action to prevent it escalating into something unpleasant. Sophisticated interpersonal
skills are needed to identify such situations and take effective action. Staff who can
act in this way are a major asset.

Questions about challenging people may test whether you know the relevant
legislation, policies and procedures and when to apply them. These include:

 the relevant public service Act

 Codes of Conduct and professional standards
 Employment principles, Enterprise Agreements, employment contracts
 under-performance procedures
 legislation on harassment, bullying, discrimination
 client service standards.

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Questions about leadership

Relevant competency behaviours: Behaviours are spread across the capabilities and
are particularly found under Shapes strategic thinking, Achieves results, and
Cultivates productive working relationships.

The nature of questions about leadership will depend on seniority and context. They
could focus on giving examples about:

 helping someone to develop

 recognising someone’s potential
 dealing with low team morale
 communicating the vision or strategy of your organisation
 successfully introducing something new or changing something
 challenging the status quo
 gaining buy-in for a change initiative.

Examples of leadership questions are:

 Give an example of when you had to lead your team in pursuit of a significant
organisational objective. How did you know that you had been effective?
 Give an example of when you have motivated people to achieve difficult
results and kept them feeling positive. What feedback did you receive from
individuals involved?
 Give an example of how you operationalised an organisation strategy for your
team? How did you check your team’s understanding?
 Give an example of how you have adjusted your leadership style to suit
particular circumstances.
 Give an example of strategic leadership you have provided to your team.

To prepare for leadership questions select a range of examples that demonstrate the
main leadership behaviours relevant to the job, informed by your research. Re-read
the section on leadership in Chater 12.

Questions about strategic thinking

Relevant competency behaviours: Behaviours are primarily found under Shapes
strategic thinking.

Interview questions may be specifically about strategic thinking or may combine

strategic thinking with other behaviours. Examples are:

 Tell me about a time when you worked on something and had to consider its
longer-term consequences. What factors did you take into account? What as
the outcome of this?
 Tell me about a time you took a broad view of a problem. How did you ensure
you did not get lost in the detail? What was the outcome of this?
 What are the key issues likely to affect the future of your work/organisation?

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 What are some of the main policy challenges facing this organisation?
 Give an example of strategically negotiating an outcome with an important
stakeholder. How did you prepare for this negotiation?

To prepare for strategic thinking questions select a range of examples that

demonstrate the main strategic thinking behaviours relevant to the job, informed by
your research. Re-read the section on strategic thinking in Chater 12. For more senior
roles, read strategic documents so you can give informed responses to questions about
issues and challenges relevant to the work area or organisation.

One of the most commonly asked questions during interview coaching is: How do I
put a strategic flavour into my answers?

Most people are strategic in their thinking, it’s just that it’s so automatic that they
don’t recognise what they are doing. In preparing for an interview you need to bring
your strategic thinking to conscious awareness.

Here are eight suggestions as to how you can sound more strategic in your responses.

1. Avoid detailing the action minutiae of what you do. When giving an example to
demonstrate your skills, stick to the key actions rather than the detail of those actions.
For example, note the difference between these two responses about working with
stakeholders:

‘I brought together a meeting of key stakeholders, identified where there were

conflicting points of view, facilitated an exploration of these differences, and
negotiated an action plan that would address all parties’ concerns.’

‘I brought together a meeting of key stakeholders. As we worked through the

agenda several people put forward points of view that resulted in extended
discussions about the pros and cons of the issues. After an hour of discussion it
was clear that there was disagreement. I suggested that we spend 15 minutes
exploring the different viewpoints and the meeting agreed. Each stakeholder was
asked to explain their viewpoint without interruption. They did so and after
another hour of discussion we were able to identify where people agreed and
disagreed... ‘

(This is getting down into unnecessary detail of process)

2. Where possible mention corporate objectives, government policies, strategic

documents that you took into account in deciding a course of action.

3. Work out what key issues are likely to face the area where the job is located.

4. Identify what risks you considered in your examples. What ‘Plan B’ did you come
up with in order to minimise key risks.

5. Refer to when and how you have provided direction to others so that they
understood the purpose and importance of their work, and the links between what they

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are doing and organisational goals. ‘Others’ can be supervised staff, team colleagues,
managers, stakeholders, clients.

6. Refer to when and how you have contributed to planning discussions that
established a link between work done and corporate objectives.

7. Refer to when you have recognised the links between issues that others have not
seen or overlooked.

8. Refer to when you have examined an issue and identified a critical gap that has
been overlooked or ignored.

An example may cover several of these elements, thereby signalling that you are a
strategic thinker.

Tricky questions
There are two types of tricky questions to consider as part of your preparations:

 ones that ask about experience or skills you do not have

 ones that may be inappropriate because they are based on irrelevant, non
work-related factors such as age, family responsibilities, or cultural
background.

When faced with questions about experience or skills you do not have, you have
several options:

 Be up-front and admit this gap. By itself, this is a last-resort option. Where
possible draw on the other options.

 Draw on transferable skills or experience. Your portfolio stocktake is useful

for reminding you about skills or experience gained in other contexts that
could be transferred to the job you are applying for. For example, a job
involves some event organisation. You haven’t organised events during your
work experience but you have helped organise community events. Or a job
involves taking minutes at meetings. You have not done this in a paid job, but
you have been secretary in a sports club.

 Draw on research skills. Not knowing something now does not mean you
cannot easily find out. Admit to the knowledge gap and indicate that you could
quickly find out this information either by general research or by going to a
specific resource.

 Draw on a record of learning new things quickly. When starting a new job
there is usually new knowledge or skills to learn. If you have had several jobs
which involved learning new skills or knowledge, you could make reference to
this track record and reassure the panel that you will pick up whatever is
required for this new job.

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For inappropriate questions there is no easy answer. A judgement needs to be made

quickly about how to respond and whether you are prepared to risk giving an
‘unfavourable’ answer.

Concerns usually centre around questions concerning age, race, gender and disability.
The behaviour that is unlawful is making decisions not to employ someone on the
basis of factors covered by the relevant legislation. Asking questions at interview
about an applicant’s age and family responsibilities, for example, is inappropriate,
irrelevant and unlawful.

However applicants can be asked whether they can fulfil the requirements of a job,
such as travel and overtime. People with disabilities can be asked whether they
require any adjustments to perform the job. Applicants can be asked for any relevant
information that may prevent them from performing all the duties of the job.

If you are unclear as to why a question is being asked you could ask something like:
‘I’m not entirely sure of the purpose of this question,’ or ‘How does this question
relate to the requirements for this job?’

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Chapter 24: CASE STUDY: HOW TO ANTICIPATE

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
To illustrate how to anticipate interview questions I will take a vacancy in my
fictitious Department of Wellbeing For All Australians. This is a manager role with a
salary of around $110,000. While presented as an Australian Government department
the process applies regardless of jurisdiction.

What follows is the job description, some context analysis, followed by an approach
to anticipating interview questions.

Selection documentation

The Department of WellBeing For All Australians (DWFAA) has responsibility

for ensuring that all government policies and programs contribute to achieving
optimum wellbeing for all Australians. Applications are invited from suitably
qualified persons for a new research leadership role with the opportunity to
influence the strategic direction of policy advice.

The role

The department is seeking a highly motivated and results focused person to

lead the Sustainable Research Team. Highly developed management skills
and people skills are essential.

As Director of the Sustainable Research Team you will be responsible for

developing and delivering strategic research, including partnering with
academic and research bodies to ensure the department understands issues
and trends about wellbeing for the future. Your work will support evidence-
based decision-making and policy advice.

Key relationships

The Director of the Sustainable Research Team works directly with the
Branch Manager and will build and cultivate strong relationships with a wide
range of internal and external stakeholders.

Primary responsibilities

Reporting to the Branch Manager, Sustainability, the successful candidate

will:

 Manage a work unit and research projects to achieve organisational and

operational goals.
 Provide high-level professional, specialist and/or technical advice to a
range of internal stakeholders in relation to wellbeing research.
 Actively develop working relationships across the organisation and with
clients and other stakeholders that are effective, collaborative and
strategic.

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 As part of the department’s leadership forum contribute to the

department’s strategic direction.
 Represent the department at external forums.
 Participate in learning and development activities.
 Promote and model public service professionalism.

Selection criteria

The following selection criteria are based on the department’s Capability

Framework.

1. Job specific/qualifications
Professional, specialist, technical expertise and knowledge of research in the
sustainability field, and contract and project management.

2. Shapes strategic thinking

- Contributes to the formulation and achievement of team, business and

corporate goals.
- Ability to think strategically and to find innovative solutions to complex
issues.
- Identify emerging issues and exercises sound judgement to develop
solutions and recommendations.
- Ability to lead change.

3. Achieves results

- Monitors performance of work area and establishes priorities and plans for
work completion.
- Motivates others to achieve results.
- Steers and implements change and deals with uncertainty.

4. Cultivates productive working relationships

- Develops and maintains internal and external productive relationships,

partnerships and networks.
- Leads and manages team effectively.

5. Exemplifies personal drive and integrity

- Consistently delivers sustained effort to achieve outcomes.

- Commitment to continuing personal learning and development.
- Promotes learning and development for team members.

6. Communicates with influence

- Communicates verbally and in writing at a high standard.

- Negotiates effectively with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
- Represents the department with credibility and professionalism.

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Analysis

In preparing an application for this job you would have established answers to these
questions.

 Why has this role been created?

The division has undergone a restructure to create this new research team. This action
has been driven by feedback from the minister that stronger, evidence-based advice is
needed to support policy recommendations. The minister also wishes to expand the
concept of sustainability to include population issues. The team has been established
by identifying those staff who are already involved in research work.

 How many staff are in the team?

There are five staff in the team covering two classification levels below the director.

 What is their level of performance like?

The team is currently in a state of flux, with some uncertainty about what they are
going to do and why. Staff are productive but lack motivation. One staff member is
showing signs of stress about the change.

 What are the key challenges in the short-term?

The immediate challenges are to:

 consolidate the team and build morale and capability.

 identify a strategic research program that supports the department’s goals and
minister’s wishes.
 establish relationships across the organisation with staff who will need advice
from the research team.

Possible interview questions

Based on this knowledge you would then identify two sets of questions to guide your
preparations:

 self-promotion questions
 selection criteria-related questions.

The self-promotion questions you would base on Chapter 21, with a focus on
identifying how you see yourself contributing to this role and what your strengths are.
You would consider questions like:

 Why are you interested in this job?

 How do you see yourself contributing to the department in this role?
 What strengths do you bring to this role?
 Why do you see yourself as a strong candidate for this role?

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The selection criteria-related questions would be guided by the knowledge gained

from your initial research and analysis, what you wrote in your application, the duties
of the role as well as expectations of someone working at this senior level. To give
order to what can be a long list of possible questions, you could group them under
these headings:

 knowledge questions
 behaviour-based questions
 hypothetical questions
 values and ethics questions
 self-awareness questions.

Here are some examples for each type of question.

Knowledge questions:

 What do you see as the key challenges in sustainability policy that need more
evidence-based research?

Behaviour-based questions:

 How have you used your professional expertise to build team capability?
 This is a new team and staff may be looking for direction. Give us an example
of when you have helped a team establish a new focus.
 Who do you see as the key stakeholders in this role? How have you gone
about establishing relationships with stakeholders?
 Give us an example of a time when you have influenced thinking on a policy
issue.
 Give us an example of when you have led your team in pursuit of a significant
objective. How did you know that you had been effective?

Hypothetical questions:

 This is a new team and staff may be looking for direction. How will you go
about helping the team establish a new focus.
 How will you foster a positive working environment for this new team?
 How will you go about building relationships with other agencies on sensitive
issues?

Values and ethics questions:

 Give us an example of where you have had to exercise ethical judgement

when managing a contract or project.

Self-awareness questions:

 How would you describe your management style?

 What do your staff say about your management style?
 What skills would you seek to learn or improve if promoted to this role?

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Chapter 25: AFTER THE INTERVIEW

There are two useful steps to take after an interview so that you can improve your
preparation and performance next time. The information you record and obtain
through feedback about the whole selection process feeds into your career
management cycle. In the short-term you may also need to take steps to restock your
mental pantry.

Make a record of interview

Create a record of what happened at the interview—the questions you were asked,
parts you handled well, parts you had some difficulty with, lessons learned. This
information will assist you in improving your preparation for future interviews.
Make notes about other selection processes used, how you handled them and what
you need to consider next time.

Obtain feedback
Whether you are successful or not, learn from the experience in order to improve.
Feedback comes in two forms.

 Written: Either a member of the panel or a scribe writes a report on the

selection process. This report outlines how short-listed applicants were rated
and recommends who should be appointed. You can usually obtain the section
of the report that relates to you. This will give you information about how you
were assessed.
 Verbal: The selection panel chairperson has a responsibility to provide
applicants with feedback. Talk to this person about the quality of your
application and interview performance.

Access to this feedback varies across the public sector. Check information about the
selection process to identify your options.

Applicants can be fearful about obtaining this feedback. They do not want to hear bad
news, to be told that they did not measure up in some way. This is not a helpful
mindset as it denies you the opportunity to:
C H A P T E R EIGHTEEN
 Learn that the outcome was beyond your control. Someone had more to offer
on the day.
 Learn what you can do to improve next time. You may find that by changing
something relatively minor you could vastly improve your performance.

Your mental pantry will be active when receiving feedback. One way to overcome
your concerns about feedback from an interview is to reframe the meaning you put
around what you hear. Feedback is information about another person’s perceptions. It
is data about the results you achieved. More neutral meanings like these increase your
chances of hearing what is said without becoming defensive.

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You may also wish to ask questions based on your own evaluation of your
performance to confirm if your perceptions match those of the panel. For example,
you may feel you didn’t really answer one of the questions well. You could ask
questions to confirm this. You may find that you did not create the impression you
thought you had.

Understand that giving feedback is a challenging task for many people. The
chairperson may feel uncomfortable about giving bad news multiple times. Imagine
you have interviewed eight applicants, all competent people who could do the job.
But only one is successful. You have to be able to explain to each person why they
did not get the job.

Now this can be straight-forward in some cases. It may be an applicant did not have
as much experience as it first appeared. Maybe they just did not perform well on the
day. In other cases, it can be a close contest. So when you call the panel chair,
understand that they may experience some uneasiness about talking to you, even
though they wish to do so.

You may miss out on the position only because someone else was stronger on
particular selection criteria. Armed with this information, you will know how to
improve your application and you can identify areas in which to increase your
experience so that you are in a stronger competitive position next time.

Another way to ensure you obtain useful information is to ask clarifying questions. If
the feedback comes in a vague form, such as, ‘The other applicants had more to
offer’, or ‘It was a competitive field’, ask for more specific information. Examples of
clarifying questions to have on hand are:

 What aspects of the interview do I need to improve?

 Did the examples I gave support my application?
 In what areas did I have less to offer?

Use your judgement and select those questions that will be most useful to you.

Dealing with ‘rejection’

Not winning your dream job is painful. When people tell you that you have not won
the job it is easy to interpret that to mean you have been rejected and take it
personally. What you offered has been declined, but you have not been rejected.

Yes, it is disappointing to be told ‘No’. However, how you handle the result of the
selection process is important for your wellbeing as well as how others perceive you.
You can still have a successful job interview even though you were not offered the
job. Remember your definition of success from Chapter 20? If the feedback suggests
you did as well as you could then there is no more you could have done.

Keep in mind that if you see yourself as somehow different because you did not
receive that job offer, you may start to shift your thinking and then your behaviour.
You may start thinking: ‘I’m hopeless, I’ll never get that promotion.’ ‘It’s not fair.

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I’m much better than …’ ‘I’ll show them. If they can’t recognise my talents then they
can jolly well pay. I’m not going to do anything that’s not in my duty statement.’

The danger with this line of thought is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
You see yourself differently, you behave differently, and people start to also see and
treat you differently. If you move into pay-back mode, people may well start to think,
‘Just as well we didn’t give them the job. Look how they’re behaving!’ This is not a
useful place to be.

So ask yourself: How am I currently framing not being offered a job and how could I
make this more useful to me?

Make sure you have some supportive people around you who can replenish your
sense of belonging. This may be your work team, your circle of friends, your family
or community group. This sense of belonging will help offset any sense of rejection.

Ongoing career management

Chapter 4 offered 50 ideas on how to manage your career. Each application is an
opportunity to revisit your career plan. Use your application experience to identify
what skills you need to develop or refine, what knowledge or experience you need to
gain, what adjustments you need to make to your career goals, what support you now
need.

Feeding your mind for fruitful results

In Chapter 2 I explored the three ingredients of Mental Nutrition®. Throughout
this book I have examined how your sense making skills impact your
employability, your application and interview performance. Now that you are more
mindful of what is happening in your mental pantry you can take steps to feed
your mind to sustain more fruitful results.

To close this book I offer some additional career management insights from an
astronaut.

One of the best books I’ve read is Canadian Chris Hadfield’s An Astronaut’s Guide to
Life on Earth.xci Easy to read, this book gives insight into the training and life of an
astronaut as well as profound insights about a career and living life.

Colonel Chris Hadfield was a top graduate of the US Air Force Test Pilot School and
was selected by the Canadian Space Agency to be an astronaut in 1992. Hadfield most
recently served as Commander of the International Space Station where, while
conducting a record-setting number of scientific experiments and overseeing an
emergency spacewalk, he gained worldwide acclaim for his breathtaking photographs
and educational videos about life in space. His music video, a zero-gravity version of
David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’, was a YouTube hit.xcii

Hadfield’s story points to seven valuable career lessons.

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1. A career trajectory looks pre-ordained on paper. The reality is different.

Chris Hadfield decided at age nine to become an astronaut after watching Neil
Armstrong step onto the Moon. At that time the chances of him succeeding in this
career goal were zero. NASA only accepted applications from US citizens, and
Canada didn’t even have a space agency.

He wasn’t destined to become an astronaut. He had to be ready if the opportunity ever

arose, and when it did, he had to turn himself into one. Hadfield points out that being
accepted into the Canadian Space Agency doesn’t make you an astronaut. It takes
years of serious, sustained effort to build the knowledge and skills.

A résumé can make us look like there is a series of steps we took to take us to our
current role. The reality may be quite different. Plus, being selected by an
organisation (such as for a graduate program) doesn’t make you what you want to be
(e.g. a public servant). There is still much to learn to turn into a professional.

2. It’s useful to sweat the small stuff – it could save your life

A few years ago someone proclaimed ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff’. They wrote
books, ran motivational seminars and generated much ‘evidence’ that sweating the
small stuff is bad for you.

Hadfield writes about the importance of sweating the small stuff. Doing so builds
competence which, for an astronaut, could save your life.

Not everyone’s job is as potentially life-threatening as an astronaut’s. Wise though to

pay attention to details that could make a difference to your performance. Putting your
case well in an application and at interview involves sweating some small stuff.

3. Learning is still success and advancement

One of the misconceptions about astronauts is that they spend a lot of time in space.
Chris Hadfield spent a total of six months in space out of a 21 year career. Most of
that time was spent training to handle a vast range of dire situations in space including
pulling a tooth, removing an appendix, fixing the toilets and changing orbit to miss
space debris. You can listen to his talk about this in an ABC interview.xciii

Given this context, defining success in terms of being selected for a space mission is
problematic. You could spend much time thinking of yourself as a failure. Hadfield
suggests conceiving of advancement in terms of learning rather than climbing to the
next rung of the professional ladder. You are getting ahead if you learn, even if you
wind up staying on the same rung.

If we define our success only by the promotions we win we are likely to be

disappointed much of the time. Chris Hadfield has a mindset of always getting ready
and taking opportunities to learn more. Such a mindset served him well in positioning
himself for being selected three times for space missions.

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4. Don’t rely on the big, shiny moments to feel good

In a job like an astronaut, a trap is relying on the big shiny moments in space to feel
successful. Such thinking sets us up to feel like a failure most of the time. Chris
Hadfield would rather feel good most of the time, so to him everything counts: the
small moments, the medium ones, the big successes and also the ones that no one
knows about but himself.

Yes, the ‘high-octane experience’ is great to have. But if we rely on these to have a
sense of fulfilment, success, purpose, joy, then dealing with the stark realities of
everyday life will be difficult. As Hadfield puts it, better to have 10 wins a day than a
win every 10 years or so.

5. Distinguish between perceived and actual danger to conquer fear

In his TED talk What I learned from going blind in space Colonel Hadfield makes a
useful distinction between perceived and actual danger, using an example of
spiders.xciv He points out that there are hundreds of spiders in Canada, but only one is
venomous, and then not dangerously so. This spider sticks close to the ground rather
than weaving a complex web that you might walk into, and it isn’t really much
interested in biting humans. To conquer fear of spiders, know the actual danger and
then walk through many spiders’ webs to become accustomed to the feel and know
that there isn’t a dangerous spider lurking in the middle waiting to grab you.

In his book Hadfield explains that fear comes from not knowing what to expect and
not feeling you have any control over what’s about to happen. Preparation and
knowing your options are a sound basis for overcoming fear. Whether it’s a job
interview, a presentation, a difficult meeting, it’s wise to consider what could go
wrong and figure out how you would handle it. Otherwise, when things do go wrong,
you won’t know what to do. Having a plan of action gives peace of mind.

6. The value of helping others to succeed

Teamwork is vital to the success of a space mission. While all astronauts are highly
competitive, it’s not enough to just put this aside when working with others. Wisely,
Chris Hadfield points out that helping someone else look good doesn’t make him look
worse. In fact, it often improves his own performance, particularly in stressful
situations.

Take note managers and leaders. It’s not about you. Helping others succeed is part of
your role. Strong team members will make you look good and speak well of you.

7. Have a neutral impact – aim to be a zero

A temptation for a person in a new situation is to make an impact early, even

proclaiming how useful they will be. Colonel Hadfield realised that a person in such a
situation will be viewed in one of three ways: ‘As a minus one: actively harmful,
someone who creates problems. Or as a zero: your impact is neutral and doesn’t tip
the balance one way or the other. Or you’ll be seen as a plus one: someone who
actively adds value.’xcv

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Of course, everyone wants to be a plus one. But, as Hadfield points out, in their over-
eagerness to be helpful, proclaiming one’s plus-oneness at the outset almost
guarantees they’ll be perceived as a minus one, regardless of skills and performance.

So his advice is to enter a new environment with the intention of having a neutral
impact, to observe and learn, and pitch in where possible. In other words, aim to be a
zero. It’s an attainable goal.

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FURTHER READING
There are numerous books on career management, writing job applications and
preparing for job interviews. Rather than list a selection of these, I’ve chosen to list
some wider reading that offers wisdom and insight.

Norman E Amundson, The Physics of Living, Ergon Communications, BC, Canada,

2003

Marcus Buckingham, Go Put Your Strengths To Work, 6 Powerful steps to achieve

outstanding performance, Free Press, NY, 2007

Alain De Botton, A Week at the Airport, A Heathrow Diary, Profile books, London,
2009

Cordelia Fine, A Mind of its Own, How your brain distorts and deceives, Icon Books,
UK, 2007

Chris Hadfield, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, Macmillan, London, 2013.

Hugh Mackay, What Makes Us Tick? The ten desires that drive us, Hachette,
Australia, 2010

Hugh Mackay, The Good Life, What makes a life worth living? Pan Macmillan,
Australia, 2013

Ken Robinson, The Element, How finding your passion changes everything, Allen
Lane, Australia, 2009

Ken Robinson with Lou Aronica, Finding Your Element, How to discover your talents
and passions and transform your life, Penguin Books, London, 2013

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INDEX
INDEX
Achievements 32-34, 276-278
Application kit 50
Application processes 53-55
Behaviour-based questions 282-285
Career activist 37
Career goal 199
Career management cycle 18
Career overview 199
Career planning 14-16, 19
Case Study 132-136, 212-241, 298-301
Complexity 99, 101-102, 154-155
Conflict 161-164
Contextual understanding 14, 84, 153-154
Cover sheet 51
Covering letter 51-52
Customer service 180-181
Difficult people 292-293
Diversity 176
Employability mindset 18-19
Equal employment opportunity (EEO) 177
Ethical issues 169-172
Expression of interest 53, 126-136
Feedback 302-303
Hypothetical questions 285-286
Integrated Leadership System 64-66
Introverts 266-267
Leadership 46-47, 149-157, 294
Linguistic style 255-256
Mental pantry 21-23
Managing meaning 10, 23
Management 157-161
Merit 49-50
Participative work practices 178-179
Policy 142-149
Portfolio stocktake 25-26
Public service gazettes 50
Relationship map 24-35
Results 32-34
Résumés 52-53, 188-204
Risk 172-173
Roles 27
Scribes 250
Selection panel 55-56
Sense making 20, 154
Seniority 99, 100
Short-listing 56
Skype interviews 253-254
Social media 43-46, 181-184

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Stakeholder management 36
STAR 104-107
Statement of suitability 53, 126-136
Strategic thinking 137-141, 294-296
Strengths 272-276
Telephone interviews 253
Weaknesses 289-290
Work diary 30
Workplace Health and Safety 179-180

INDEX
Preface
i
Australian Bureau of Statistics, Retrieved November 13, 2014 from
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/4e5ab
048dbbe8203ca2570ec001971cb!OpenDocument
ii
Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency, Australian Recruitment Practices,
The changing nature of recruitment, Retrieved January 15, 2015 from
http://www.awpa.gov.au/our-work/Workforce%20development/Pages/Recruitment-
practices.aspx

Chapter 1: A public sector career

iii
Australian Public Service Commission, State of the Service Report 2013-14,
Retrieved October 25, 2014 from http://www.apsc.gov.au/about-the-
apsc/parliamentary/state-of-the-service/state-of-the-service-2013-14; University of
Birmingham, The 21st Century Public Servant Workforce: Eight Lessons from the
Literature by Catherine Needham, Catherine Mangan, Helen Dickinson, Retrieved
October 25, 2014 from http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-social-
sciences/public-service-academy/twenty-first-century-public-servant--eight-
lessons.pdf
iv
Australian Bureau of Statistics, Retrieved November 4, 2014 from
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/6248.0.55.002
v
Australian Public Service Commission, State of the Service Report 2012-13,
Retrieved October 28, 2014 from http://www.apsc.gov.au/about-the-
apsc/parliamentary/state-of-the-service/sosr-2012-13/chapter-seven/the-geographic-
distribution-of-the-aps
vi
ibid, http://www.apsc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/29230/SOSR-2012-13-
chapter-7.pdf
vii
Australian Public Service Commission, Job Family Model, Retrieved October 28,
2014 from http://www.apsc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/7231/Job-Family-
Models.pdf
viii
Retrieved October 28, 2014 from http://localgovernmentcareers.com.au/links/;
http://www.uq.edu.au/current-staff/career-streams;

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 311

http://www.qgcio.qld.gov.au/products/ict-workforce-capability/careers-and-
programs/ict-career-streams
ix
Retrieved October 29, 2014 from http://governmentskills.com.au/
x
Retrieved October 29, 2014 from https://resources.apsc.gov.au/myaps/home.html#

Chapter 2: Job seeker as career manager and sense maker

xi
For information about the concept of employability visit
http://www.myfuture.edu.au/getting-started/what-is-a-career/what-are-employability-
skills
xii
For details of the ABCD visit http://education.gov.au/australian-blueprint-career-
development

Chapter 3: Know what you offer

University of Birmingham, The 21st century public servant, Retrieved December

xiii

10, 2014 from http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/public-service-

academy/themes/twentyfirst-century-public-servant.aspx

Chapter 4: Fifty ideas for managing your career

xiv
Barbara Moses, Career intelligence: the 12 new rules for work and life success,
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco, 1998.
xv
Visit the Career Development Association of Australia at www.cdaa.org.au. The
website provides a Find a practitioner search facility.
xvi
Tourism Australia campaign, Retrieved October 29, 2014 from
http://www.tourism.australia.com/campaigns/no-leave-no-life/benefits.aspx
xvii
Support tools can be found at http://www.psc.qld.gov.au/for-
employees/performance-and-development/capability-frameworks.aspx;
http://www.psc.nsw.gov.au/Sector-Support/Capability-Framework/Tools-and-
Resources; http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-and-media/current-
publications/integrated-leadership-system
xviii
Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency, Australian Recruitment Practices,
The changing nature of recruitment, p. 307. Retrieved January 15, 2015 from
http://www.awpa.gov.au/our-work/Workforce%20development/Pages/Recruitment-
practices.aspx
xix
Based on Victorian Leadership Development Centre, VPS Leadership Skill and
Experience Map, Retrieved December 20, 2014 from
http://www.vldc.vic.gov.au/images/Publications/vps_leadership_skills_and_experienc
e_map.pdf

Chapter 5: Understanding merit-based selection processes

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xx
Links to listings of state and territory job sites can be found at
https://www.apsjobs.gov.au/Content/stateterritory.aspx

Guides for applicants and managers are on the NSW Public Service Commission’s
xxi

website at http://www.psc.nsw.gov.au/employmentportal/recruitment

Chapter 7: Making sense of capability frameworks

xxii
Core Skills for Work Framework, Retrieved December 20, 2014 from
http://www.industry.gov.au/skills/ForTrainingProviders/AustralianCoreSkillsFramew
ork/Pages/default.aspx
xxiii
Australian Public Service Commission, APS Leadership and Core Skills Strategy
Refresh 2014-15, Retrieved December 20, 2014 from
http://www.apsc.gov.au/learn/aps-leadership-and-core-skills-strategy-2014-15-refresh
xxiv
Australian Public Service Commission, The Integrated Leadership System,
Retrieved December 20, 2014 from http://www.apsc.gov.au/learn/frameworks-and-
guidelines/ils
xxv
Australian Public Service Commission, Senior Executive Leadership Capability
Framework, Retrieved January 13, 2015 from
https://resources.apsc.gov.au/pre2005/SELC.pdf
xxvi
Support tools can be found at http://www.apsc.gov.au/learn/frameworks-and-
guidelines/ils/resources
xxvii
Queensland Public Service Commission, Capability Framework, Retrieved
December 20, 2014 from http://www.psc.qld.gov.au/for-employees/performance-and-
development/capability-frameworks.aspx
xxviii
New South Wales Public Service Commission, Capability Framework, Retrieved
December 20, 2014 from http://www.psc.nsw.gov.au/Sector-Support/Capability-
Framework/Access-the-Capability-Framework/The-Capability-Framework
xxix
Victorian Public Sector Commission, Capability Strategy, Retrieved December 20,
2014 from http://www.ssa.vic.gov.au/workforce/victorian-public-sector-capability-
strategy.html
xxx
SA Department of Premier and Cabinet, Capability Frameworks, Retrieved
December 20, 2014 from http://www.dpc.sa.gov.au/publications#competency; SA
Executive Service Competency Framework, Retrieved December 20, 2014 from
http://www.saes.sa.gov.au/attachments/000_SAES%20Competency%20Framework.p
df
xxxi
WA Public Sector Commission, Capability Profiles, Retrieved December 21,
2014 from http://www.publicsector.wa.gov.au/workforce/leadership/capability-
profiles
xxxii
Tasmanian Department of Premier and Cabinet, Senior Executive Leadership
Capability Framework, Retrieved December 21, 2014 from

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http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/ssmo/learning_and_development/leadership/pro
ject_no_1/senior_executive_leadership_capability; Key capability areas, Retrieved
December 21, 2014 from
http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/ssmo/learning_and_development/our_key_progr
ams
xxxiii
ACT Public Service Executive Capabilities, Retrieved January 13, 2015 from
http://www.cmd.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/116769/execcapabil.pdf
xxxiv
NT Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment, Capabilities and
Leadership Framework, Retrieved December 21, 2014 from
http://www.ocpe.nt.gov.au/building_capability/leadership
xxxv
Tasmanian HR Capability Framework, Retrieved December 21, 2014 from
http://www.people.tas.gov.au/?a=75291; NT Office of the Commissioner for Public
Employment, Human Resources Capability Framework, Retrieved December 21,
2014 from http://www.ocpe.nt.gov.au/building_capability/Building_Capacity; WA
Public Sector Commission, Human Resources Capability Framework, Retrieved
December 21, 2014 from http://www.publicsector.wa.gov.au/document/human-
resources-capability-framework; AHRI Model of Excellence, Retrieved December 21,
2014 from https://www.ahri.com.au/about-us/model-of-excellence
xxxvi
Skills Framework for the Information Age Foundation, http://www.sfia-
online.org/
xxxvii
NSW Public Service Commission, ICT Professionals, Retrieved December 18,
2014 from http://www.psc.nsw.gov.au/Sector-Support/Capability-
Framework/Occupation-Specific-Capability-Sets/ICT and ICT Role Descriptions
from http://www.psc.nsw.gov.au/Sector-Support/Capability-Framework/Tools-and-
Resources/library; Queensland Government Chief Information Office, ICT Capability
Framework, Retrieved December 18, 2014 from
http://www.qgcio.qld.gov.au/products/ict-workforce-capability/ict-capability-
framework and ICT Career Streams from http://www.qgcio.qld.gov.au/products/ict-
workforce-capability/careers-and-programs/ict-career-streams

xxxviii
Institute of Public Administration Australia, Professional Capability Standards,
Retrieved January 8, 2015 from http://www.ipaa.org.au/professional-capability-
standards/

xxxix
Australasian Procurement and Construction Council, Procurement Capability
Development, Retrieved January 8, 2015 from
http://www.apcc.gov.au/SitePages/PCD%20Home%20Page.aspx
Chapter 9: Writing to selection criteria
xl
NSW Public Service Commission, Capability Framework, Retrieved November 5,
2014 from http://www.psc.nsw.gov.au/Sector-Support/Capability-Framework/The-
Capability-Framework; Australian Public Service Commission, Work Level
Standards, Retrieved November 5, 2014 from http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-
and-media/current-publications/worklevel-standards

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xli
Australian Public Service Commission, Work Level Standards, Retrieved November
5, 2014 from http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-and-media/current-
publications/worklevel-standards
xlii
Australian Public Service Commission, Work Level Standards Differences,
Retrieved November 5, 2014 from http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-and-
media/current-publications/worklevel-standards/differences
xliii
ibid.
xliv
Australian Public Service Commission, Tackling Wicked Problems, Retrieved
November 5, 2014 from http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-and-
media/archive/publications-archive/tackling-wicked-problems

S Snyder, “The Simple, the Complicated, and the Complex: Educational Reform
xlv

Through the Lens of Complexity Theory”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 96,
OECD Publishing, 2013, Retrieved November 5, 2014 from
http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/WP_The%20Simple,%20Complicated,%20and%20the
%20Complex.pdf
xlvi
Style manual: For authors, editors and printers, sixth edition, revised by Snooks &
Co., John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd, 2002.

Chapter 10: How to write concise, precise responses

Professor Brooks Landon. Building great sentences: Exploring the writer’s craft,
xlvii

The Great Courses, available from http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/building-

great-sentences-exploring-the-writer-s-craft.html

Chapter 12: Responding to challenging criteria

xlviii
WA Public Sector Commission, Policy capability framework, Retrieved
November 11, 2014 from
http://www.publicsector.wa.gov.au/workforce/development/policy-
practitioners/policy-capability-framework
xlix
QLD Public Service Commission, Policy Capability and Development Framework,
Retrieved November 11, 2014 from
http://www.psc.qld.gov.au/publications/assets/policies/Policy_Capability_Developme
nt_Framework.pdf
l
Australian Public Service Commission, Thinking about leadership, Retrieved
January 14, 2015 from http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-and-media/current-
publications/thinking-about-leadership-a-brief-history-of-leadership-thought
li
Australian Public Service Commission, Leadership Development Strategy 2011-12,
Retrieved January 14, 2015 from http://www.apsc.gov.au/learn/links/strategic-
centre/leadership-development-strategy

How to Write and Talk to Selection Criteria

 315

lii
Australian Public Service Commission, APS Leadership and Core Skills Strategy
Refresh 2014-15, p. 16, Retrieved December 20, 2014 from
http://www.apsc.gov.au/learn/aps-leadership-and-core-skills-strategy-2014-15-refresh
liii
Australian Public Service Commission, Work Level Standards, Retrieved November
5, 2014 from http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-and-media/current-
publications/worklevel-standards
liv
Local Government Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government,
Advanced Leadership Framework, Retrieved November 11, 2014, from
http://www.acelg.org.au/sites/default/files/ACELG%20Advancing%20Leadership%2
0MASTER.pdf
lv
Victorian Public Sector Commission, Developing leaders, Retrieved November 11,
2014 from http://www.ssa.vic.gov.au/products/leadership-a-management-html-
only/developing-leaders.html
lvi
Victorian Leadership Development Centre, VPS Leadership Framework, Retrieved
November 11, 2014 from
http://www.vldc.vic.gov.au/images/Publications/vps_leadership_framework.pdf
lvii
MIT Leadership Centre, Making a difference by making sense, Retrieved November
11, 2014 from http://www.mineducacion.gov.co/cvn/1665/articles-
112257_archivo_pdf2.pdf
lviii
Victorian Leadership Development Centre, VPS Leadership Skill and Experience
Map, Retrieved December 20, 2014 from
http://www.vldc.vic.gov.au/images/Publications/vps_leadership_skills_and_experienc
e_map.pdf
lix
New South Wales Public Service Commission, Capability Framework, Retrieved
December 20, 2014 from http://www.psc.nsw.gov.au/Sector-Support/Capability-
Framework/Access-the-Capability-Framework/The-Capability-Framework
lx
Australian Public Service Commission, Work Level Standards, Retrieved November
5, 2014 from http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-and-media/current-
publications/worklevel-standards
lxi
Australian Institute of Management, Australian Management Capability Index
2013, Retrieved November 11, 2014 from
https://www.aim.com.au/media/default/downloads/ACMI-2013-Full-Report.pdf
lxii
Australian Public Service Commission, APS Leadership and Core Skills Strategy
Refresh 2014-15, p. 20, Retrieved December 20, 2014 from
http://www.apsc.gov.au/learn/aps-leadership-and-core-skills-strategy-2014-15-refresh

Chapter 13: Values-based management

lxiii
Australian Public Service Commission, Commission Advice 2013/04, Retrieved
November 2, 2014 from http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-and-media/circulars-

How to Write and Talk to Selection Criteria

 316

and-advices/2013-advices/apsc-advice-20134. The Act can be read at

http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2013A00002
lxiv
APSC ibid.
lxv
Queensland Public Service Commission, Better ways of working, Retrieved
November 2, 2014 from http://www.psc.qld.gov.au/about-us/about-the-public-
service/renewing-our-culture/assets/Better-Ways-of-Working_Report.pdf
lxvi
Queensland Public Service Commission ibid.
lxvii
SA Office for the Public Sector, Values, Retrieved November 2, 2014 from
http://change.sa.gov.au/values/
lxviii
ACT Public Sector Management Act 1994, Retrieved November 3 2014 from
http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/a/1994-37/current/pdf/1994-37.pdf
lxix
ACT Commissioner for Public Administration, ACT Public Service Code of
Conduct, Retrieved November 3, 2014 from
http://www.cmd.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/363230/codeofcond2012_201
3edit_wtables.pdf
lxx
NSW Public Service Commission, Ethics & Conduct, Retrieved November 3, 2014
from http://www.psc.nsw.gov.au/employmentportal/ethics-conduct
lxxi
Queensland provides a range of ethics resources for the public sector, including on
decision-making, at http://www.ethics.qld.gov.au/
lxxii
For a wealth of information on ethics visit the St James Ethics Centre at
http://www.ethics.org.au/
lxxiii
NSW Public Service Commission, Ethics Stocktake, Retrieved November 3, 2014
from http://www.psc.nsw.gov.au/About-the-Public-Sector/Ethics-Stocktake
lxxiv
NSW Public Service Commission, Behaving Ethically: A guide for NSW
government sector employees, Retrieved November 3, 2014 from
http://www.psc.nsw.gov.au/employmentportal/ethics-conduct
lxxv
Victorian Commissioner for Privacy and Data Protection, Guidelines to Public
Interest Determinations, Temporary Public Interest Determinations, Information
Usage Arrangements and Certification, Retrieved November 11, 2014 from
http://www.dataprotection.vic.gov.au/pdf/guidelines_to_public_interest_determinatio
ns.pdf
lxxvi
Victorian Public Sector Commission, Managing Conflicts of Interest: A guide to
policy development and implementation, Retrieved November 11, 2014 from
http://vpsc.vic.gov.au/images/stories/product_files/604_Managing%20Conflicts%20o
f%20Interest%20a%20guide%20to%20policy%20development%20and%20implemen
tation%20-%20guide%20and%20tools%20final%20(D14_22584).pdf

Victoria’s Public Sector Commission, Ethics Challenge Quiz, Retrieved

lxxvii

November 11, 2014 from

How to Write and Talk to Selection Criteria

 317

http://www.ssa.vic.gov.au/products/view-products/ethics-challenge-quiz.html
lxxviii
NSW The Treasury, Risk Management Toolkit for the NSW Public Sector,
Retrieved November 12, 2014 from
http://www.treasury.nsw.gov.au/Publications/treasury_policy_papers/2012-
TPP/tpp_12-03/tpp_12-03_risk_management_toolkit; Queensland Treasury, A Guide
to Risk Management, Retrieved November 12, 2014 from
http://www.treasury.qld.gov.au/office/knowledge/docs/risk-management-guide/guide-
to-risk-management.pdf

Australian Bankers’ Association, Code of Banking Practice, Retrieved January 14,

lxxix

2015 from http://www.bankers.asn.au/Industry-Standards/ABAs-Code-of-Banking-

Practice/Review-of-the-Code-of-Banking-Practice-Response-by-Australian-Bankers--
Association-to--Review-Final-Recommendations
lxxx
Department of Finance and Deregulation, Declaration of Open Government,
Retrieved January 14, 2015 from http://www.finance.gov.au/e-government/strategy-
and-governance/gov2/declaration-of-open-government.html

Chapter 14: Preparing your résumé

lxxxi
Information about the Australian Qualifications Framework can be obtained from
http://www.aqf.edu.au/
lxxxii
For information about recognition of overseas qualifications start with
https://internationaleducation.gov.au/Services-And-Resources/services-for-
individuals/Pages/Services-for-individuals.aspx

Chapter 17: How to prepare for a public sector interview

lxxxiii
K Anders Ericsson, Michael J Prietula and Edward T Cokely, The Making of an
Expert, Retrieved December 8, 2014 from https://hbr.org/2007/07/the-making-of-an-
expert/ar/1

Chapter 19: Interview language practices

lxxxiv
Deborah Tannen, Who gets heard and why? Retrieved December 19, 2014 from
https://hbr.org/1995/09/the-power-of-talk-who-gets-heard-and-why
lxxxv
ibid.

Chapter 20: Thirteen ideas for managing nerves

lxxxvi
Relevant reading includes: Cordelia Fine, A Mind of Its Own, How your brain
distorts and deceives, Icon Books, UK, 2007; Dorothy Rowe, Beyond Fear,
HarperCollinsPublishers, London, 1994: Dr Stephen Briers, Psychobabble, Exploding
the myths of the self-help generation, Pearson, Great Britain, 2007.

Chapter 21: The art of self-promotion

How to Write and Talk to Selection Criteria

 318

lxxxvii
Susan Cain, Quiet, The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking,
Penguin, London, 2013, p. 4.
lxxxviii
Susan Cain’s TED talk The power of introverts, Retrieved January 13, 2015
from http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts?language=en
lxxxix
Cain, 2013, p. 5.
xc
Marcus Buckingham and Donald O Clifton, Now, Discover Your Strengths: How to
develop your talents and those of the people you manage, Free Press Business,
London, 2001; Marcus Buckingham, Go Put Your Strengths To Work: 6 powerful
steps to achieve outstanding performance, Free Press, NY, 2007; Martin Seligman,
Flourish, William Heinemann, Australia, 2011; Gray Poehnell, The Unsung Potential
of Weakness, Retrieved January 13, 2015 from
http://hr.anu.edu.au/career/publications-and-podcasts

Chapter 25: After the interview

xci
Chris Hadfield, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, Macmillan, London, 2013.
xcii
Space Oddity, Retrieved January 13, 2015 from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaOC9danxNo
xciii
ABC Sunday Profile, Retrieved January 13, 2015 from
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/sundayprofile/chris-hadfield2c-
astronaut2c-former-commander-of-the-internat/5978954
xciv
Chris Hadfield, What I learned from going blind in space, Retrieved January 13,
2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo62S0ulqhA
xcv
Hadfield, 2013, pp. 181-2.

How to Write and Talk to Selection Criteria