Selection Criteria Examples: My Responses To A Real Job Description

In this blog I want to give some full selection criteria examples, and talk through them about their layout. I don’t do this a lot as most of the selection criteria I deal with are not mine to share but this one is.

A question I am occasionally asked is do I apply for jobs very often and how successful am I?

That is a fair question. The last time I was applying for a job I wrote the Why your next government job application should start with a coffee blog but I did not end up submitting an application because of some personal stuff going on.

This is the job description if you’re interested.

Selection Criteria Examples With Responses

If you’re interested in reading through a more detailed description of linking it to the position description, STAR method and my training courses, you can do that after the selection criteria example shown below.

As you read these selection criteria examples, what should stand out is that most of the content relates to me personally.

It is about what I did, how, why and my experience.

You cannot just download this off the internet but I can teach you how to write selection criteria yourself.

Role Capability Outline – Vision

Stimulates ideas and innovation – Supports the team to generate actionable insights from data and empowers the use of technology to drive new efficiencies

Leads change in complex environments – Empowers others to understand and embrace change by communicating openly about the rationale and intended outcomes

Selection Criteria Response

I am a visionary when it comes to using data in TMR. I was employed in 2010 in Transport Services (now CSB) to deliver the compliance intelligence and higher-level legal matters scope of work for __ . This involved establishing an analytical function to examine the heavy vehicle industry and environment to deliver actionable advice for targets for compliance enforcement and education. This was a greenfield piece of work with no systems or process in place. I commenced work, reviewed the environment and systems, prepared a plan for adoption by senior leadership and commenced work on the plan. Assisted by one AO6 intelligence analyst within two years we delivered an intelligence analysis system capability in the form of the i2 iBase and i2 Analysts Notebook products including GITC contracts and ITB systems, collection systems via Microsoft SharePoint, and rating systems for analysing TRAILS infringement and defect data to identify patterns of serious non-compliance in high-risk areas such as speeding and brake defects. The i2 iBase system has grown over the years and now serves Compliance for all their case management and audit recording. It also serves TransLink personalised transport for recording details of service delivery by CSB Compliance.  

I also undertook the change management for the implementation of the intelligence and higher-level legal investigations capability. For both intelligence and investigations, knowledge and skills within CSB were very limited; the enforcement culture was based on writing infringement notices for roadside offences. The change management in investigation processes involved a review of skills and processes by my AO7 investigations manager. After the review, he set about delivering the changes and me the management. The change management was focussing on the hand in glove nature of intelligence analysis and advice, leading to investigation of companies. This relied on management buy in for each compliance region, delivering actionable results and celebrating them in a visible way, and, ensuring voices were heard as changes were made so we could work at their pace and consider their feedback. Legacies still in place today from this include the moot court process for Transport Inspector recruits run today by prosecutions section. Many transport inspectors have never been to court, nor understand what it involves, and the moot court process is an important legacy of the change giving them the experience in a safe environment.

Applying the STAR Method

Looking at the selection criteria examples visually you can see the breakout of STAR Method (or SAO – Situation, Action, Outcome).

Most of the content in the selection criteria examples is about the action. You see from reading this it is my story and my experience. What you need to do is tell the story, so someone who doesn’t know you can read the story and understand your skills and how you work.

I cannot give you selection criteria examples for your experience because your experience us unique to you. I can teach you these easy to learn skills in as little as an hour, maybe two. You can see above the content is roughly in the proportions of:

• ST (Situation Task) 20%
• A (Action) 60%
• R (Result) 20%

That is about what you want to aim for. Once again, you need to tell your story, your case study.

Role Capability Outline – Results

Develops and mobilises talent – Implements development plans with direct reports to address skill and knowledge gaps and enhance the capabilities they require for current and future roles. Encourages self-reflection, and provides clear, timely and accurate feedback on progress against agreed goals

Builds enduring relationships – Initiates two-way collaborations by providing information and advice in a timely, proactive and non-technical manner, supporting the team to do the same

Drives accountability and outcomes – Works with the team to develop shared objectives and clear indicators for success, empowering others to take ownership for the delivery and quality of outcomes achieved

Selection Criteria Response

I have shown I can develop and mobilise talent recently working with an AO6 intelligence analyst who had been with me three years. As progression in intelligence analytics is limited within TMR, I worked with the staff member to map her plan. She was targeting Executive Level 1 (EL1) roles in the commonwealth government, which require considerable management experience according to the Integrated Leadership System (ILS) profile but commence at similar salary to AO6. I contacted the Manager Employee Development Program in LTSR to discuss shadowing opportunities as the HVOps section has no available AO7 roles, and limited supervision opportunities. We identified CSB Customer Service Centre’s would provide a wealth of opportunity so established a partnership. We mapped activities the CSC supervisors perform to those the staff member needed development, and, set in place one day a week for her to attend a CSC to undertake work. At the same time, I assisted in writing skills for job applications which ensured she was obtaining interviews although coming up short on experience. The staff member has just this week moved on from TMR commencing as an APS6 negotiating a starting salary at top of range. This came about as she was identified in interview as being suitable and asked to apply for the vacancy where she could both develop her intelligence analysis skills as well as having opportunity to develop management experience. In her final goodbye email, she stated “Richard, not only are you a great manager, you are also an amazing mentor and leader. Thank you for being my biggest champion and guiding me along the way”. I have worked with several staff through training, SARAS assisted university study and providing my analytical experience training as an analyst in 1997. 

I have shown my ability to build enduring relationships and drive accountability and outcomes while I have been working at TMR, having commenced in the Information Systems Branch in 2007. In 2020 considerable background project work has been done to replace the Conditions of Operation Database (CoOD) but no progress had been made on delivery. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator provided a quote of $180,000 to host the data in their portal, which was expensive and would mean TMR losing control of their own data. I proposed to replace the database with a Cloud hosted solution utilising internal data analyst resources, and Cloud architects from Amazon Web Services (AWS). Running the procurement process from end to end, I obtained a quote of $ __ to deliver this however funding was operational and tied to the 2021 financial year.  I leveraged relationships in ITB with the Cognos DataStage resources, TRAILS resources, Database Administrators and Middleware teams to deliver this using business as usual (BAU) resources. I did this by being known, having clear shared objectives that were win/win for everyone and where I contributed resources to assist in doing work. The win/win was important as I needed to replace a legacy system and spatially enable customer data, but it was as system I understood was also a liability to ITB. It was impacted by being on premises Oracle, the Windows Process Activation Service had a very unusual J2EE framework and involved the IBM DataStage product. With each area I established clear indicators for success and through relationship and engagement, I delivered the ITB work for this project with BAU resources and without impacting their other activities. 

Applying the STAR Method

Looking at the selection criteria examples visually you can see the breakout of STAR Method (or SAO – Situation, Action, Outcome)

You’ll see here there is one ST, and two AR’s.

This is because I have used the one example to address two criteria:

• Develop and mobilise talent recently
• Builds enduring relationships

This is perfectly okay to do, at the end of the day all you need to do is address the criteria. It doesn’t matter how you do it or in what order or whether you use one example to address one, two or four criteria.  I can teach you these skills in about an hour and you can use them to address any criteria you ever want to

On building relationships, this is a significant question in any selection criteria response and it is asked for a specific reason, as I discuss in relationship building key selection criteria why blog.

Role Capability Outline – Accountability

Pursues continuous growth – Embraces opportunities to expand knowledge and experience through networks, new assignments and development avenues

Demonstrates sound governance – Promotes integrity in the management and use of processes and resources, ensuring others have the information and training they need for successful implementation.

Works with the team to evaluate options and develop appropriate plans to mitigate risks.

Selection Criteria Response

I have referred to pursuing continuous growth above regards staff development, I also approach this as a BAU activity. Evidence of this is the implementation of Cloud analytics within HVOps. In 2019 with the formation of the TMR Data and Business Analytics (D&BA) capability I saw an early opportunity to leverage their resources being a new team with a new scope. The Intelligent Access Program (IAP) system relied on decade old on premises Oracle and had not had development for over ten years and Transport Certification Australia (as the specification owner) had no lifecycle management in place. I contacted with D&BA team with a view to running a proof of concept of IAP in the AWS Cloud. Being a proof-of-concept minimised procurement overhead, allowed data analysts to work side by side with Cloud Architects and Data Engineers, and, allowed then hands on day-to-day opportunity to learn. As training in Cloud technology is readily available, often for free, I stayed across seminars and industry run development and always provided it to team members with encouragement to attend. I also encouraged attendance at TMR Community of Practice meetings, user groups for analytical tools, and allowed people work time to attend even if early evening. I also communicate outcomes from D&BA Working Group meetings such as the establishment of the Cloud hosted Active Directory replica so staff can access and use to meet their analytical needs.

Continuing discussing the CoOD replacement project, government for this was established in identifying funding and documenting records for RTAC, IFE’s, sole supplier and engagement of AWS. Project governance was run in the form of a Teams Agile Wall. Every second day a 15-minute Agile scrum was held to discuss and record any blocks issues or risks; and assigned for follow up. By doing this, risks were recorded as action items alongside all other protect activity. Everyone had visibility of who was doing what and where work was up to. As the project manager I had oversight of the entire project for LTSR, CSB and AWS to advise management of progress and escalate any issues. The CoOD replacement is now live in the AWS Cloud, a first for TMR for the back end of a customer facing system to be Cloud hosted.

Applying the STAR Method

Looking at the selection criteria examples visually you can see the breakout of STAR Method (or SAO – Situation, Action, Outcome)

Once again, the focus is Action and telling the story of the example; what I did and how and why.

It is not about the STAR method itself, it’s about me and what I did.

That is what you need to supply from your examples in your selection criteria responses.