Handy Hints

You can approach completing your application form in whatever way you feel most comfortable with, however the following handy hints may help with this.

Complete the factual information first. This includes: career history; education and training; personal details; references; monitoring information; and media information. As this is information that you know to be factually correct it will be the easiest to complete. Please note, the information you provide in the personal details, references, and monitoring and media sections of the application form will be separated from your application as soon as it is received. It will not be passed to anyone involved in the shortlisting, interviewing or appointment for the vacancy you are applying for.

Relevant skills and experience. The information you provide in this section will be used to assess your application and, along with your career history and education and training, will be passed to the shortlisting panel.

You should examine the role profile carefully, paying particular attention to the ‘job knowledge requirements’ and ‘key competencies’ sections. These indicate the minimum competencies, skills, knowledge and experience required for the job.

Analyse your experience. Ask yourself why you are interested in the job? Give evidence through clear examples that demonstrate that you meet the specific competencies, skills, knowledge and experience required for the job as detailed in the role profile. When providing evidence or examples ask yourself the following questions:

• what relevant experience do you have or relevant work you have been involved in or carried out;
• why and how did you gain that experience or carry out the work;
• who was the work for;
• what was the outcome and impact; and
• what feedback did you receive.

Also consider any experience you have acquired outside work, such as community, voluntary or leisure interests, or other experience you have gained through your daily life.

When completing your application you must remember that the shortlisting panel will have no knowledge of you whatsoever, they will not make assumptions or read between the lines where this is insufficient information. They will assess your application based solely on what you provide and therefore it must include information which gives clear evidence as to how you feel you meet specific requirements of the job you are applying for as detailed in the role profile. You can include this information in the Relevant Experience and Skills section of the application form, or if you prefer you can attach supporting statements.

If your application does not include information as to how you feel you meet the specific requirements of the job you are applying for it is likely to be unsuccessful.