Is Writing Your Own Selection Criteria Doing Your Head In?

You got the job ad. You read through the requirements. You thought, yes, I can do this — I've been doing this for years. Then you scrolled down and saw it. The selection criteria.

Suddenly, the job feels further away than it did five minutes ago.

You're not alone. Selection criteria for Australian government roles — at local, state and federal level — trip up even the most experienced professionals. Not because they lack the skills. Because the process of writing about those skills in the way government panels expect is a discipline entirely on its own.

What Most Applicants Get Completely Wrong

The most common mistake is treating selection criteria like a list of dot points. Applicants write things like "I have excellent communication skills and have worked in team environments for over ten years." That sentence tells a hiring panel nothing useful. It's a claim without evidence, and government hiring frameworks are built specifically to filter these out.

Federal government roles in particular use the STAR method — Situation, Task, Action, Result — embedded within the APS Integrated Leadership System (ILS) capability framework. Each criterion needs a structured behavioural response that demonstrates not just what you did, but the complexity of the environment you did it in, the decision-making process you followed, and the measurable outcome you achieved.

Get any one of those layers wrong and your application goes in the no pile, regardless of how qualified you are.

The Language Problem

Government selection panels use specific language. Words like "stakeholder engagement," "evidence-based decision making," "cross-functional collaboration" and "strategic alignment" are not corporate jargon — they are signals the panel is looking for to confirm you understand the culture and expectations of the public sector.

If your response reads like a private sector resume, it will feel out of place. Panels notice. It doesn't mean you're not capable — it means you don't speak the language yet. And unfortunately, they don't have time to translate.

Why "Just Being Yourself" Doesn't Work Here

Career advisors often tell people to "just be authentic" in their applications. That's good advice for interviews. For selection criteria, it's a disaster. Selection criteria are a structured writing exercise with specific conventions. Authenticity without structure gets you nowhere.

The framework matters as much as the content. You could have the perfect example — a project you led, a problem you solved, a team you turned around — and still fail to communicate it effectively if it's not presented in the right format, at the right level of detail, with the right language.

The APS Level Trap

Each APS level (APS 1 through SES) has a different expectation of complexity, autonomy and leadership. An APS 4 response and an APS 6 response about "stakeholder management" look completely different, even if the underlying experience is similar. Most applicants don't know this distinction exists, let alone how to pitch their responses at the right level.

Pitch too low and you look junior. Pitch too high and you look like you're inflating your experience. Either way, you don't progress.

What a Strong Response Actually Requires

A competitive selection criteria response at APS 5-6 level will typically be 300 to 400 words per criterion, structured around a specific example, written in first person, pitched at the right capability level, and free of vague generalisations. It will reference outcomes with numbers where possible. It will demonstrate judgment, not just task completion.

That's before you've even considered whether your resume, cover letter and referee statements are aligned with the same narrative.

Most people underestimate how much time and skill this takes. A single application for a mid-level government role can take a professional writer four to six hours to do properly. For someone doing it themselves, without knowing the conventions, it can take days — and still not be competitive.

Overwhelmed? Confused? You Don't Have to Do This Alone.

If reading this has made you realise there's more to selection criteria than you thought, that's completely normal. Most applicants feel the same way.

At All Résumé Services, we offer a free assessment and advice — no obligation, no sales pitch. We'll look at the role you're applying for and tell you honestly what your application needs.

Email us at enquiries@allresumeservices.com or visit www.allresumeservices.com.au to get started.