A job application question

[robbygard]

1. tell em what you know. eg teamwork, (I've got a diploma in teamwork and i've worked as a teamwork consultant for 4 years)

2. tell em how about your general experience (In my current job I'm required to work in a team of 20 people, we are all part of a process that requires each person to function together)

3. give em a specific example of how you did it (When Mary left on maternity leave I helped out the team by taking on some of her work, I realised it needed to be done and worked with the other people to ensure no one was overburdened)

i think number 3 is good advice here ....

number 2 is ok but avoid the passive type of statements ... when i hear or read: "i am required" or "i am a part of a process that requires" , i am suspicious and somewhat dismissive immediately ... afterall, what I am really hearing with those sort of statements is that you haven't actually managed to DO those things

i am not vehemently opposed to number 1 but don't find it particularly useful either ... likewise for me the parenthetical comment against number 1 doesn't actually fulfil the "telling what you know"

i believe talorian's good advice also holds true for an interview ... think about the questions asked and try to relate them to one criterion (also consider that you may be able to display elements of other criteria as well) ... if the questions are hypothetical, begin your answer to the hypothetical situation but look to introduce a specific example as in number 3 above which can illustrate the claim being made


someone else's advice of getting feedback is a good one too ... interviewers do try to be objective but also accept that they can make mistakes or have pet hates and that doesn't make you wrong ... if the decision goes against you, just accept it and try again ... (speaking of pet hates, i always reckoned that someone who couldn't spell liaison obviously couldn't liaise)


good luck



regards david

[TP1]

Great advice so far and as an employer of professional people for over 20 years may I make a suggestion. This could be seen as hair splitting but I think the language style you have used could be improved a bit. The idea is to stand back and look at the application through the eyes of the employer and see what positives or negatives fall off the pages.

As an employer, I would be reasonably OK with what you have said but I would have a niggling question or two. ( Remember, this is me and it may or may not be reflective of what your future employer is like). Specifically, in your examples, you have made closed, judgemental statements about what was wrong with the previous situations. I have no doubt you are right but I would like to see a bit more objective evidence of what led you to that conclusion and why things were better after. Remember, employers are not only looking for employees who tick the boxes for the specific requirements, but those that stand out from other applicants.

For example:

1. In the co-ordinators role, the empirical evidence of what was wrong should be mentioned. eg. work output and/or quality being below target. Use meaningful measures and provide before and after comparisons to show that you made measurable differences to the output of the team. Employers are ultimately interested in hiring those that can get the job done and this will show you are committed to the same thing. The means to do that is only part of the story.

2. More evidence about the morale of the team, before and after.

3. Did you face any issues of discrimination or inequality between workers? Examples of what happened and how you dealt with that would be useful. In addition, any other instances of dispute resolution that you handled well should be included.

4. More evidence of how you empowered your team. You don't want it to look like you were just doing less. What did you do to monitor their performance and make them more accountable? Remember other applicants may also claim they "empower" employees and you want to stand out from them.

5. Provide details of any other positive feedback you received to demonstrate the success of your strategies.

[rrich]

In the US, applications for government jobs expect that the applicant confirm that they meet the qualifications.

The applications are evaluated by entry level clerks. They have a pass / fail sheet. If your answers do not show a pass on all of the posted requirements, your application is discarded.

Usually it is enough to merely list on the application how you meet the posted requirements.
e.g. BS degree at University, year
MBA degree at university, year
PHD Nuclear Engineering at university, year
Managed 14 expanding device specialists at Afghan Attitude Adjusters for 10 years
Managed 11 mayhem specialists at Pakistani Caves for 6 years

Then where they ask for any additional skills, start with "Please see resume attached" followed by a list of skills.

We are so PC (and stupid) that some government agencies will not permit the hiring manager to see anything except the official application on the official government form.

As one of our late night comics is fond of saying, "You always get the government that you deserve."

[dazzler]

Hey all,

There has been some good advice re selection criteria. I figured I may as well post one of my responses to the selection criteria and see what you think. I have XXXXXx out names etc to protect the guilty.

There still seems to be some debate regarding dot points. I used them this time and it seemed to work...

Here goes;


SELECTION CRITERIA

Experienced manager and supervisor of employees with significant management skills and expertise to lead a complex activity and build effective working relationships and achieve personal and organisational results.

I have demonstrated my ability to lead, manage and supervise team members in the following roles

Compliance Coordinator, XXXXXX Council
• In my current role I coordinate, develop, schedule and oversee the operations and activities of a team of Compliance Officers providing effective compliance services to Council and the residents of XXXXXXX
• I coordinate my teams response to customer requests in relation to Animal Control, Fire Abatements, breaches of Council By-laws and non-technical conditions of building and development applications
• I ensure team member requirements for statutory delegations, OHS, training and development requirements are maintained

Senior Member, XXXXXXXXXX
• As a Senior Investigator I coordinated, managed and supervised a team of investigators during the resolution phase of complex investigations including search warrant and arrest warrant executions
• As a Senior XXXXXXX I supervised XXXX performing XXXXXX duties in the XXXXXXXXX with a particular focus on deterring violent crime within the night club district of XXXXXXXXX

United Nations Station Commander, XXXXXXXXX
• Supervised a team of United Nations Civilian Police (UNCP) from diverse cultures providing policing services to the XXXXXXX District, a remote area within the militarized zone of XXXXXXXX
• Coordinated UNCP movement within the militarized zone and supervised foot patrols by UNCP into isolated villages to provide a policing service to the district
• Coordinated infrastructure repair to enable health care services to remote villages within the district

Training Coordinator, XXXXXXXXXXX, Olympics 2000
• I managed a team of trainers to deliver XXXXXXXX Training to members of the XXXXXX and client agencies in preparation for Olympics 2000
• Supervised members performing training delivery to trainees
• Managed an annual training budget of $XXX,XXX.00

My ability to build working relationships and achieve results at both a personal and organizational level was most clearly demonstrated as Station Commander, XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXX. As Commander of a team of United Nations Civilian Police I was tasked with providing security and a policing service to a remote region of XXXXXXX which had been without law enforcement following Independence riots that had severely damaged the community, both physically and emotionally. Most villages were accessible only on foot or helicopter due to infrastructure damage.

By meeting with local chiefs I gained an understanding of the mistrust that villagers had of authority due to a complex mixture of violence, intimidation and corruption that had occurred during XXXXXXX occupation. I determined that fostering trust and a sense of community between the UN and local villagers was critical to the team achieving its goal.

I coordinated and assisted my team to conduct extended foot patrols into the mountains to visit each village in order to meet with the community, gain an understanding of issues of concern and to respond to criminal complaints. During these patrols I met with the local chief and requested the assistance of his village to help my team repair the roads where possible in order for regular vehicle patrols to be conducted.

On a weekly basis my team would drive by 4wd to the first roadblock and together with the local villagers, begin to clear landslides and repair the road to restore vehicle access. This practice would continue until access to the village was achieved.

This collaboration between the UN and the local villagers created a sense of mutual achievement, trust and community, despite a language and cultural barrier. These relationships gained community support and enabled the team to achieve our goal of providing security and policing services to the region.

In my current role I have actively developed effective working relationships with members of XXXXXXX and XXXXX Fire Service, animal control and welfare centres and local community groups.

My ability to motivate and influence team members through contemporary management has been demonstrated in my current role as Compliance Coordinator with XXXXXXXX Council. Upon commencing the role I noted that the officers did not work together as a team and lacked motivation. The officers performed their roles not because they wanted to but because they had to. I investigated the reasons for this behaviour and found that historically the unit had been run by supervisors with little or no experience in management and chose to lead through intimidation. I also identified a lack of training in compliance and enforcement duties and a lack of appropriate resources to perform professionally. The lack of motivation resulted in poor work outcomes, a stressful work environment and a constant loss of staff.

Using knowledge I acquired through completing a Diploma in Management and skills gained during my previous career, I began a change process from the previous autocratic model to a democratic model. I met with the team members individually and as a group and scoped their strengths and weaknesses, expectations and suggestions.

I then divided the project into four components;

Training - Evaluated training providers and arranged training to Certificate IV level in Statutory Compliance.

Resources- Replacement of obsolete and unsafe work vehicles with those more suited to the task.
Supplied safety and specialised equipment.
Created and supplied investigations kit to each member to enable instant access in the field to investigation tools, legislation and forms.

Teamwork - Encouraged members to work together in the field and to give support where required.
Conducted weekly team meetings to keep members informed and provide a forum to make decisions, problem solve, innovate and celebrate team and personal achievements.
Allocated each team member with management of a particular aspect of the compliance role for a three-month period to ensure all members gained a complete understanding of the units’ complexity.

Coaching - Being new to a Council Compliance Unit I used the coaching phase as an avenue to get to know the team by working in the field with them performing the role that is expected of them. This presented an opportunity for the team members to provide me with instruction in the practical hands on work of their role and an avenue for me to coach and mentor them with the finer aspects of conducting investigations and inspections.

[RETIRED]

In my current role I have actively developed effective working relationships with members of XXXXXXX and XXXXX Fire Service, animal control and welfare centres and local community groups.

My ability to motivate and influence team members through contemporary management has been demonstrated in my current role as Compliance Coordinator with XXXXXXXX Council. Upon commencing the role I noted that the officers did not work together as a team and lacked motivation. The officers performed their roles not because they wanted to but because they had to. I investigated the reasons for this behaviour and found that historically the unit had been run by supervisors with little or no experience in management and chose to lead through intimidation. I also identified a lack of training in compliance and enforcement duties and a lack of appropriate resources to perform professionally. The lack of motivation resulted in poor work outcomes, a stressful work environment and a constant loss of staff.

Using knowledge I acquired through completing a Diploma in Management and skills gained during my previous career, I began a change process from the previous autocratic model to a democratic model. I met with the team members individually and as a group and scoped their strengths and weaknesses, expectations and suggestions.

I then divided the project into four components;

Training - Evaluated training providers and arranged training to Certificate IV level in Statutory Compliance.

Resources- Replacement of obsolete and unsafe work vehicles with those more suited to the task.
Supplied safety and specialised equipment.
Created and supplied investigations kit to each member to enable instant access in the field to investigation tools, legislation and forms.

Teamwork - Encouraged members to work together in the field and to give support where required.
Conducted weekly team meetings to keep members informed and provide a forum to make decisions, problem solve, innovate and celebrate team and personal achievements.
Allocated each team member with management of a particular aspect of the compliance role for a three-month period to ensure all members gained a complete understanding of the units’ complexity.

Coaching - Being new to a Council Compliance Unit I used the coaching phase as an avenue to get to know the team by working in the field with them performing the role that is expected of them. This presented an opportunity for the team members to provide me with instruction in the practical hands on work of their role and an avenue for me to coach and mentor them with the finer aspects of conducting investigations and inspections. __________________

I would move this up to where you finish your present role.

It shows how you gained the trust and respect of your team.

After the other bit about policing work makes it a little disjointed.

My opinion.

[dazzler]

Good point .

One thing I think I have learnt is to prepare a few of these in advance using the usual criteria. That way I can have the application drafted much quicker to free up more time for tweaking......