Career Opportunities - Guidelines

GUIDE TO APPLYING FOR JOB VACANCIES

Applications must be submitted via email to the nominated address by the closing date and time specified in the advertisement.  Applications received after the closing date and time may not be considered.  The subject line of your email should include the Position Number and Position Title you are applying for.

Your application, written in English, should include:

• Completed ‘Application for Locally Engaged Staff Employment’
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) (maximum 2 pages) which outlines relevant personal information and career history
• Your application pitch telling us why you are the best person for this position.  We want to know 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. 

 

The ‘Application for Locally Engaged Staff Employment’ form

You should complete the ‘Application for Locally Engaged Staff Employment’ form attached to the job advertisement in full.  You must provide the details of two work-related referees we can contact during the selection process.  Referees should be able to comment on your work performance in detail and been your supervisor or manager, not your peer or co-worker.  One referee should be your current supervisor.  Ensure your referees are aware you have applied for the job and are willing to be contacted.

 

Preparing your CV

The quality of your CV creates the vital first impression we have of you. As a minimum, you should ensure that you include the following elements:

• Personal Details – include your name, contact email address and phone numbers.
• Education – provide details of any education and qualifications that relate to the job you are applying for.
• Work Experience – include all work experience and outline the main responsibilities and achievements that are relevant to the job you are applying for. Organise your employment history in chronological order, starting with the most recent, and indicate actual dates of employment. Make sure to explain any gaps in time.
• Other Experience – if relevant, briefly mention any extra-curricular activities, interests or volunteer/community work that you participated in and highlight what you gained from that experience.
• Layout – your CV should be a maximum of 2 pages in length. Use an easy to read font and a simple, consistent format. Use bullet points to break up text. Place key information on the front page where it can be noticed. Highlight important facts, and ensure that you can back them up with examples if asked at interview.

 

Writing your Application Pitch

Your application pitch is a chance to tell us why you are the right person for the job.  We want to know 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.

Your pitch is a marketing document, promoting how you are a strong candidate for the opportunity on offer.  This means you should:

• Research the opportunity: read the position description, key responsibilities, and required qualifications and experience carefully; and research the department and its role.
• Know what you have to offer that is relevant: identify your relevant skills, knowledge, experience, qualities; 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 position 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.

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 description 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.

Try not to duplicate information that can already be found in your curriculum vitae, but do highlight any specific examples or achievements that will demonstrate your ability to perform the role.

Try the three-part format as a way to organise your material, which is:

1. General statement about the criterion
2. Specific example/s to support the criterion
3. Link to job on offer

Consider using the STAR method when detailing your examples.  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 tasks were involved in that situation?  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?