Almost every position advertised these days will have a selection criteria that wants you to demonstrate skills in prioritising your work. Even if the selection criteria is all about organisation, prioritising is an important sub-set of this skill. This article will help you to address these criteria more effectively.
On this page:
- What "kind" of criteria is this?
- Things to write about.
- Still stuck? Try answering these questions.
- Prioritising skills selection criteria example.
- More selection criteria examples.
What "Kind" of Criteria is This?
The first step in addressing one of these selection criteria is determining what kind of selection criteria it is. There are five kinds of selection criteria, and in this case, we are dealing with a skills and abilities selection criteria.
Skills and abilities selection criteria can include skills which are quantitative (or measurable) such as engineering skills, computer skills, mathematical abilities etc. It can also include more conceptual skills (which are harder to measure) such as interpersonal and negotiation skills, strategic planning abilities etc.
If a criterion asks about your ability to do something, you should describing your skills and giving an example of your level of ability.
For example:
- How can you prove your skill/ability?
- How have you improved your skill/ability?
- How much experience do you have in this area?
- What skills do you have that are transferable to the position and would support your ability?
- Provide a few examples of your skills/abilities in action.
Prioritising Skills; Things to Write About
Show that you:
Still Stuck? Try Answering These Questions:
- What sort of deadlines are you required to meet as both an individual and a member of a team?
- How do you go about managing your workload and priorities to achieve these required deadlines?
- What tools do you use to plan, prioritise and organise your workload?
- When there is an unexpected, extra important or special task to complete, how do you prioritise this with the rest of your work?
- How do you decide which tasks are the most important?
- Write about a time when you have had to adjust your work schedule due to a change in priorities. Why did you have to do this, and and how did you go about it?
Selection Criteria Example
My current position as Project Reporter is extremely autonomous. I am
responsible for identifying projects within the organisation that have
specific reporting needs, and completing project reports on an
independent basis. I am faced with tight time frames to complete these
exercises, write the reports and submit to relevant delegates, and I
work without supervision.
This position requires high level prioritising skills, and I regularly
use my strong negotiation skills to negotiate with different work areas
regarding competing priorities. I currently spend half of my working
hours in an office, and the other half consulting at various sites
around Queensland. This requires forward planning abilities, excellent
time management skills, and a solid work ethic.
Because I often work on up to four projects at one time, I use a
variety of tools to prioritise and organise my work, and schedule my
time. I use a smartphone as a mobile diary and task list, and I have
authored an Access database and Excel spreadsheet to assist with
tracking projects, which I also carry with me at all times on my
smartphone. The Access database contains details of each individual
reporting project and the Excel spreadsheet is used as a timesheet so
that I can track my daily hours against each project. Although these
are simple tools, the accuracy of the information contained is crucial
for tracking productivity information and reporting against personal
and team key performance indicators. It also helps me to prioritise
tasks against approaching deadlines and can highlight bottlenecks in
timelines. I have found that by identifying bottlenecks I am able to
prioritise the most important tasks to ensure that my timelines and
plans are not compromised. I have found that embracing IT tools and
automating a lot of general organisation has reduced the time needed
for general administration, allowing me to concentrate on the work at
hand.
I have the ability to prioritise tasks and continually re-assess work
flows and priorities in a busy and demanding environment. The key
factors I use when assessing priorities are deadlines and operational
implications. I have also demonstrated my strong prioritising skills in
my previous role as Project Manager where I organised my work between:
- Managing four contracts with a value of approximately $12 million dollars
- Supervising and coordinating the work of a team of five Project Assistants
- Participating on tender evaluation boards as an independent member
- Acting as subject matter expert on selection advisory committees for recruitment actions within my own team and other projects
- Taking on the role of Occupational Health and Safety representative for my building
- Acting as Project Manager when the permanent manager is on leave or working internationally
All of these tasks required different time inputs with varying and often conflicting deadlines. In addition, I reported to different people for most of these tasks and have found over the past four years in this role that I have gained exceptional skills in balancing different managers and stakeholders who invariably all want my attention at the same time. I think my excellent organisational skills and negotiation skills have made it possible to juggle these priorities and keep all parties satisfied that their task has my full attention.
More Selection Criteria Examples
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