Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment
School of Natural and Built Environments
School of Natural and Built Environments
Hydrologist, River Murray; and Policy, Information & Infrastructure Directorate Department of Water Land and Biodiversity Conservation
I've found that people's applications let them down time and time again so this is where I have focused my advice.
The Advertisement
Read the job advertisement carefully: It may ask for 2, 3 or even 4
copies of your application, and the contact person is not always the
same person to whom applications should be addressed. If you can't count
and send your application to the right person you're not off to a good
start.
Job and Person Specification
Get the Job & Person Specification but don't let it put you off. To say
the least, some Job and Person Specifications are written better than
others, and they can appear daunting and leave you with an inferiority
complex. They are invariably written very broadly to try and cover any
eventualities of the position in a changing environment. Have a go even
if you don't think you don't think you meet every requirement of the Job
and Person Specification, it is rare that anyone does.
Covering Letters
Include a covering letter, even though it may not be an explicit
requirement. Don't start the letter with "G'day", "Hi", or "Saw the ad
in the paper" (all real examples!).
Addressing Selection Criteria
Address the selection criteria in a separate document. Use each
criterion as a 'heading' and then put your response underneath.
Addressing selection criteria can be hard if you haven't done it before.
It's a great help if you can look at someone else's previous
application, but make sure it is of a reasonable standard (i.e. they got
an interview or the job!)
It is important to use examples to demonstrate that you meet selection
criteria. Use the CARE model: Set the Context, describe your Actions and
the Results and then Evaluate. While it's important to be concise, err
on the side of detail rather than being too succinct. Dot points are
fine.
Try to use variety in your examples (i.e. not all from University), but
don't be overly concerned about repeating yourself if you have to. Often
some of the criteria are similar, and it’s more important that you
convince the selection panel that you meet the criteria rather than
assume they will remember you response from another section of your
application.
Address ALL the selection criteria. If you don't have the particular
skills/knowledge/experience asked for try to use a parallel example, or
state that you would be willing to undergo development in that area.
Resumes
Don't discount community experience and casual/part-time employment.
You have probably gained a lot more skills/experience from these than
you realise... Inter-personal skills, customer service, liaison,
communication, teamwork, time management, employer trust,
responsibility, appreciation of diversity, OHS&W etc...
If you have a university degree, there is no need to list your
high-school grades unless they are exceptional or you are really hard
pressed to fill your resume (any more than 3 pages for a graduate is
probably too much and you should consider carefully what you include).
Presentation of your
Application
Pay attention to spelling and grammar. Don't rely solely on Microsoft to
do this for you.
If a selection panel member has to sift through 30 applicants to
shortlist four for interviews, then the applications that are hard to
read, poorly presented, contain errors or don't meet the requirements
WILL be the first to go.
