Increase your chances of successfully applying for your next position!

You've seen a job opportunity that you're interested in and want to apply, but where do you start?

Our experience shows that people who do some basic research about the job before submitting their applications achieve the best results. Before you apply, we suggest that you think about the job requirements and gather some information, so that you can focus your job application better.

Here are some basic pointers ...

• Understanding the job and Key Selection Criteria
  
• Find out about the employer
  
• Decide whether you are qualified to do the job
  
• Understanding the Key Skills and Attributes
  
• Responding to the Key Selection Criteria
  
• Interviewing
  
• Reference Checking
  

Understanding the job and Key Selection Criteria

If you don't fully understand the job requirements you may have difficulty demonstrating that you are the best person for the job. Study the Position Description, including Key Selection Criteria, along with any other relevant information you have collected. If you are unsure about any aspects of the job, call the Contact Officer (the name and telephone number will be in the job details) during normal business hours. They'll be happy to answer your questions.

There are three main parts to look at and review in a Position Description:

1. Values: These tell you about the way the organisation works and what it expects of its employees. The Values will also give you and indication of the attributes they are looking for in employees/candidates. Check that you are comfortable with these values and that they fit with the way you want to work.

2. Accountabilities: This is a list of the day-to-day responsibilities and tasks of the job. Each job has a key focus - for example some roles supervise staff, some manage resources or provide policy advice; others deliver support services. Your career background and interests should match the requirements of the job. You will need to be able to demonstrate that you have the capabilities - personal qualities, knowledge and skills to do the job. Perhaps you have worked in a related field or industry or have private interests that are relevant.

3. Key Selection Criteria: The Key Selection Criteria outline the qualities, knowledge and skills needed to do the job. You will need to write short statements that sell your specific capabilities for each of the criterion. It is important to include specific examples or situations where you have demonstrated the behaviour, knowledge, skills and personal qualities asked for.

Examples of Key Select Criteria:

• Well developed communication skills; the ability to speak clearly at an appropriate pace, convey information succinctly, present key points and write in an uncomplicated manner.
  
• Customer focused; the ability to quickly build rapport with customers to make a positive first impression, anticipate, identify, and meet customer needs through consultation and demonstrate patience and tolerance in dealing with customers.
  
• Upholding quality and standards; the ability to deliver accurate, high quality work in a timely and reliable manner, not compromising on the quality of work or breach organisational policies, ethical and legal standards and the ability to follow work instructions, procedures and business rules.
  
• Demonstrated decision making skills; the ability to present a confident and credible impression, anticipate potential problems, analyse all information available, make well-reasoned judgments and consider a variety of alternatives when making decisions.
  
• Resilience and achievement orientation; the ability to remain calm and objective when working under pressure, keeps emotions under control when dealing with difficult situations, shows enthusiasm, drives and maintains high levels of effort throughout the day and rapidly learns and applies new information to achieve work objectives.
  
• Working collaboratively; the ability to maintain good working relationships with team members and relates well to people at all levels, supports others where appropriate, shares information widely with others and adheres to work rosters
  
• Sound computer and keyboarding skills.

Find out about the employer

• It is important that you find out what the employer does - its' objectives and functions and how the job you are applying for fits in. A good starting point is to look at the corporate website. There may well be a question asked at the job interview to explore your understanding of the organisation / company. If you've done your homework, you will be able to impress your potential employer by describing what you understand the business does.
  
• The organisation structure - an organisation chart sets out the reporting arrangements and may tell you where the advertised job fits in. Usually the organisational context will be stated in the Position Description.
  
• Values - these vary for each business but can include responsiveness, integrity, impartiality, accountability, respect and leadership.
  

Decide if you are qualified to do the job

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do I meet all or most of the Key Selection Criteria of the job?
  
• Could I do the job with some training - formal or on-the-job?
  
• Do I have skills gained in other fields of work that may be transferable?

If so, then you are ready to apply. But before you start your online application, make a few notes on all the information you have gathered

• Summarise the background and skills you can offer
  
• Highlight your strengths and relevant experiences, achievements and capabilities.
  
• Address any obvious weaknesses and what training you are willing to do to address these.
  
• Address each Key Selection Criterion for the job.
  
• Prepare or update your resume
  

Talk to your referees about the job you are applying for and what they will say about you to a prospective employer.

Understanding the Key Skills and Attributes

From time to time you may be asked to demonstrate an understanding of the Key Skills and Attributes of the role you are applying for, here is some information to help you understand a Key Skill and Attribute.

A skill is the ability to perform a task well. It is usually developed over time through training or experience. A skill can be used to do work in many jobs or it can be used in learning.

A personal attribute is a characteristic, quality or behaviour. Organisational attributes relate to the company environment, vision, values and goals. An organisation may sell these attributes to attract a customer to a service or new product. It is essential that both the employee and company have common visions, goals and behaviours to contribute to the ongoing work environment and to provide both internal and external customers with the best experience and impression time and time again.

The best way to understand the Key Skills and Attributes is to have a good understanding of the role and consider the duties you will need to perform and the important characteristics you would need to be successful in this role.

For instance, if you are applying for a role as a Customer Service Representative in a Call Centre environment it is important that you understand your role and your environment. A Customer Service role in a Call Centre is predominantly telephone based and your number one focus is customer service. You then need to consider the attributes/characteristics of a Call Centre operator e.g.

• Clear communicator to exchange information easily over the telephone
  
• Team player. Call centres operate in teams and achieve team goals together.
  
• Friendly and approachable to build a rapport with the customer
  
• Self motivated to ensure each customer receives the best experience
  
• Resilient to deal with all types of customers and barriers
  
• Adaptable to deal with environment and organisational change
  
• Punctual and reliable at all times, when you are late you let your team down and that impacts on the team goals.

When addressing the Key Skills and Attributes draw upon situations in which you have demonstrated or applied them. Some of the areas of life experience that you may want to consider include:

1. Academic experience and results
2. Work experience - paid and unpaid
3. Extra curricular involvement

These three areas are ones most typically examined by employers when they recruit candidates. This is because they usually provide an employer with the best evidence of the skills they value and all employers are looking for the balanced candidate.

Other ways in which you can further understand and evaluate your skills and abilities is by discussing them with friends, colleagues and family members.

Your objective:

1. To understand the definitions of each of these skills and attributes
2. To think of some specific examples from your past or present life experience, in which you have demonstrated or applied these skills and attributes
3. To recognise any areas of strength, areas for improvement and gaps in experience
4. To evaluate how your skills and personal attributes might be of assistance to you in the workplace and in different occupations

Responding to the Key Selection Criteria (KSC)

Hint: No matter the how Key Selection Criteria appears respond to them the same way:

1. Read and reread the advertisement, KSC and Position Description
2. Print or save the Job Details, Position Description, so you can easily refer to it later
3. Highlight key words in the KSC and think about what the employer is asking for
4. List examples of how you meet the KSC. Describe relevant skills, experience, incidents, training, personal qualities, expertise and things you couldn't have done without all these
5. Review your list and summarise in 60-120 words. Your aim should be to briefly and concisely demonstrate and understanding of the KSC by drawing on firstly your own work experiences, if you don't have a work experience then draw on your life experiences (remember not too much information, be discrete).

Hint: The SAO approach can help:

Situation - Briefly describe the situation e.g. where and when did you do it?
Action - What did you do and how did you do it?
Outcome - What was the result of your actions?

Examples: How I demonstrated I met the Key Selection Criteria

1. Seeks all relevant facts. Liaises with stakeholders. Analyses issues from different perspectives and draws sound inferences from available data. Identifies and proposes workable solutions.

"Problem solving has been a critical part of my roles over the past five years. While working as Customer Complaints Officer at Acme Department Stores, I dealt with a variety of problems. While many could be resolved easily, 2-3 per week were more complex and required a detailed process to resolve. I had to investigate what had happened from the staff and customer's points of view, clarify the facts and work out what had gone wrong and why. I then had to propose suitable solutions and negotiate a mutually satisfactory outcome. I was often commended by my manager for my sensitive handling and speedy resolution of these problems. Less than 1% of complaints had to be escalated"

2. Skills Sound computer and keyboarding skills.

"As Personal Assistant to the Marketing Manager at SYZ Enterprises, about half my time was spent preparing letters and reports for clients using Word. I used detailed information in Excel spreadsheets to prepare graphs and tables to demonstrate the results of our market research and to analyse client company performance. I often prepared major PowerPoint presentations for my manager and maintained a database of her contacts. I also managed many daily emails and searched for information on the Internet to answer questions"

3. Sound communication, interpersonal and negotiating skills, including well-developed written and oral skills and the ability to develop and deliver interpretation and education services.

"In my 5 years as a teacher, strong communication, negotiation and interpersonal skills have been essential. I have dealt with a wide range of people, including parents, colleagues and students. I was involved in a community project where I co-wrote a booklet on helping children learn and have fun. As part of this project, I led successful negotiations with the Local Council and three schools in the area who agreed to run a series of weekend family science programs for kids in the area"

HINT: For more information on responding to Key Selection Criteria of KSC, jump on the Internet and search for information relating to this topic. Also, Government websites can be a major source of information!

Interviewing

You've been advised that have got an interview. Preparing for the interview may be a little daunting. Here are some basic interview tips to help you prepare:

• Dress appropriately for the interview. How formal this is will depend on the type of job
  
• Arrive at least 15 minutes before your allotted interview time - allow plenty of time for travel and to find the venue. Try to relax.
  
• Bring your application and relevant documents with you so you can refer to them. Focus on the job requirements- refer to the Position Description
  
• Introduce yourself to the interview panel members with a firm handshake. Look the panel members in the eye.
  
• Show interest and enthusiasm when responding to questions and answer in a clear and concise way. Think about your answer first
  
• Allow the interviewer to finish talking before you answer the question- don't interrupt. If you don't understand the question, ask the interviewer to repeat it.
  
• Be prepared to talk about your understanding of what the organisation does, and why you applied for the job - how your skills and achievements meet the criteria. These are common interview questions.
  
• Don't forget to mention any skills you have gained in another field of work, through projects at school, or as a volunteer. Sometimes we don't realise that we have transferable skills.
  
• The panel will give you an opportunity to ask any final questions. You could ask when you are likely to hear about the interview outcome.
  
• A thank you to the panel for inviting you before you leave would provide a good last impression.
  

What do employers look for?
Employers look for the following attributes in people they interview:

• Honesty and integrity - don't lie about your experience or achievements
  
• Good communication - be clear in your responses
  
• A good fit - they want to work with someone who can do the job and fit in with their culture

Behavioural Based Interviewing

Unless an interview question is looking for yes or no response or a specific figure or definition, the best way to answer an interview question is to try to recall recent situations that show favourable behaviours or actions, and present these experiences in story format for the selection panel. When telling a story, ensure each situation has a beginning, middle and an end. The process is similar to preparing your written application. The "SAO" method can be useful during interviews, with the Situation, Action and Outcome format providing a good structure for story telling during the interview.

HINT: For more information on Behavioural Based Interviewing or BBI, jump on the Internet and search for information relating to this topic. Also, Government websites can be a major source of information!

Reference Checking

Conducting a reference check is a prerequisite for all Government roles you apply for and for the majority of roles you apply for outside of Government, therefore keeping your referee's informed when you nominate them as a contact for a new role is imperative. Make sure your referee knows what role you are applying for and give them some indication as to when they will be contacted, it's normally best to do this once you have been called for a face to face interview or just after your interview.

Your reference check is normally conducted after your face to face interview with your prospective employer and is usually a sign that you have done well so far, however, it does not mean the role is yours yet! A reference check is conducted to verify your previous employment, position title, behaviour and responsibilities as outlined on your resume. Generally the questions asked will directly relate to the position you are applying for, keep in mind that our consultants are trained to run reference checks objectively and will contact you if unable to obtain an objective work related reference check.

Now you are ready to apply. Go to the Regent jobs page now!