GUIDELINES ON PREPARING POSITION APPLICATION PITCH
Your position application pitch is a chance to tell us why you are the right person for the job. We want to know why you want to work at the Australian Consulate-General in Guangzhou, why you are interested in the role, what you can offer us, and how your skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications are applicable to the role.
Try not to duplicate information that can already be found in your resume, but do highlight any specific examples or achievements that will demonstrate your ability to perform the role.
You do not need to use a different example to demonstrate each of the skills required in the position overview. For example, if the position overview states we are looking for a confident communicator, the ability to problem solve and work as part of a team, you could use one example that demonstrates all of these skills. You could then use another example that demonstrates the remainder of the skills required.
Consider using the STAR Method when detailing your examples.
The STAR Method:
Situation What was the situation?
Task What tasks were involved in that situation?
Action What actions did you take?
Result What were the results of those actions?
The STAR Method enables the selection panel to determine the context of the situation, what the task was and what actions you took to achieve a result.
Situation: Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to complete. This should be a description of a specific event or situation, not a generalised description of what you have done in the past and should give enough detail for the panel of assessors to understand the context. This situation can be from a previous job, volunteer experience, university or any relevant event where you can demonstrate your skills against the position overview.
Task: What was the goal/objective you were you working towards?
Action: Describe the actions you took to address the situation. Ensure you include an appropriate amount of detail and keep the focus on YOU. What specific steps did you take and what contribution did you make? Be careful that you don’t describe what the team or group did when talking about a project. For example, the team may have achieved a good result however what part did you play, what specific things did you do to contribute to the end result?
Result: Describe the outcome of your actions. What happened? How was the issue resolved or how did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn and what would you do differently next time? How did the end result impact on the objective of the organisation or team
Tips on writing your Pitch:
Your approach to writing a pitch is similar to that of writing an expression of interest. It is a marketing document, promoting how you are a strong candidate for the opportunity on offer. This means:
• Researching the opportunity: read the job description carefully, research the department, talk to the contact person for more specific details.
• Pitch to level: decide what level you wish to pitch for.
• Know what you have to offer that is relevant: identify your relevant skills, knowledge, experience, qualities [i.e. mentioned in the job description]; map your relationships with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders to identify what experience is relevant; select examples that demonstrate relevant experience using your skills and knowledge, ones that are of a level of complexity to match the level you are pitching for.
• Make a persuasive case that what you have to offer will enable you to make a contribution, add value and deliver results.
• Try the three-part format as a way to organise your material, which is:
- Part 1: General statement about the criterion
- Part 2: Specific example/s to support the criterion
- Part 3: Link to job in hand
• Tailor your resume to the opportunity: Make sure the content is relevant to the role, appropriately pitched, and complements your pitch document.