addressing key selection criteria

Addressing Key Selection CriteriaCareer Development CentreDecember, 2012

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What are Key Selection Criteria (KSC)?

CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTRE | La Trobe University

KSC describe the personal qualities, skills, abilities, knowledge and qualifications a person needs to perform the role effectively

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How are KSC used by employers?

KSC are central to the recruitment process

• Short-listing

• Assessment of your capabilities / skills

• Comparison against other applicants

• Referee checks

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How are KSC assessed?

Typically by rating your response to individual KSC

However, may also be achieved through:

• Responses to interview questions

• Performance in assessment centre activities

• Responses to online application questions

• Sample of your writing (e.g., cover letter)

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Example KSC

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How to Respond to KSC

Check the method preferred by the employer:

• Document addressing individual KSC (traditional method)

• Summary response to all KSC(word limits may apply)

• Answer a ‘behavioural question’ in an online application or paper based application form

• No written response, assessed via other means

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Getting started

• Analyse each criterion to identify the skills & attributes being rated

• Think of scenarios from work, study, volunteering, sports and other activities that could be used to illustrate your skill

• Use a different example for each criterion

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Structuring your response

SituationTaskActionResult

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Example - Situation

KSC: Excellent organisational skills

“I have developed excellent organisational skills through my

part-time job as an event assistant at XYZ Events. In this role

I am responsible for booking staff to set up marquees at

private functions.”

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Example - Task


“To perform this job I need to identify all jobs booked for that

day, calculate how many staff are needed to set up each

event, and ensure that there is sufficient time to set up each

event by the time required.”

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Example - Action


“Last month I discovered that one of the sales staff had

booked an event, but forgot to enter the booking into the

system. As I had already created the schedule for the event

staff to follow, it was too late to make changes.”

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Example – Action (continued)


“I quickly made some phone calls to other event staff not

rostered on for the day and found two people who were able

to come to work immediately. I then arranged for a spare

truck to be loaded with the marquees, so that when the event

staff arrived, they were able to deliver the marquee to the

customer immediately.”

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Example - Result


“The result was that the marquee was set up in time, thus

avoiding a major disruption to the customers’ event. My

supervisor was very impressed with the work that I did to

resolve the issue and gave me some movie tickets as a small

reward.”

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Activity

• Read the examples (next slide)

• Think of a scenario to use

• Draft out your response

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What impresses employers?

• Responses that clearly and quickly demonstrate how you meet the criteria

• Written responses use formal language and are concise

• Examples given from wide range of situations

• All criteria addressed

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Tips

• Make sure you understand how the employer wants you to address the KSC

• Usually a response of ½ to ⅔ page is sufficient (unless a word limit is specified)

• Check document for spelling and grammatical errors

• Have you used the STAR method to construct your response?

• Allow plenty of time to prepare your application

Thank you

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