More and more employers in both the private and public sectors are using your ability to address their selection criteria to assist them to short-list applicants for interviews. Each applicant is rated on how closely he or she meets each of the criteria and then ranked accordingly.

Regardless of the specific position you may be targeting, you will discover that there are a handful of criteria that tend to apply across nearly all graduate vacancies. Examples of these include:

• well-developed communication skills
• teamwork skills
• commitment to the delivery of quality customer service
• flexibility and a willingness to adapt to change
• enthusiasm and a positive attitude.

The employer will not necessarily be able to match information in your CV to the criteria. You should address each of them specifically and on an individual basis. All essential criteria must be included and it is recommended that you also address those described as "desirable" criteria.

Your task is to provide specific examples for each of the criteria to demonstrate that you meet them. Below is an example of how one person addressed a selection criterion specified by a government department:

"Demonstrated success in Change Management at a senior level I have facilitated more than 75 change workshops for organisations including Powerlink Queensland, Singapore Ministry of Defence, Southcorp and Australia Post. Most recently I led the development of the Change Charter for the Singapore Ministry of Defence (Mindef) for their SAP Upgrade project. This is the largest SAP project in Singapore during 2002/4. The program involved more than 25 representatives across six business divisions within Mindef. The Charter was a resounding success with ownership sign-off by all groups prior to the Project Blueprint. In addition to the charter I also led a team responsible for the planning, liaison and coordination of the Project Kickoff. I have also demonstrated experience in many facets of strategic change including performance auditing, environmental analysis, strategy alignment, strategy implementation and organisational control. Working within all phases of project lifecycles, specific change deliverables I have led include: Change strategy Change management plans Communication & stakeholder management Risk analysis and mitigation action Business process reengineering Protect team training System user training Examples of this include leading a number of project teams for Australia Post that designed and implemented new operational management systems within a cultural change programs. This included introduction of a Balanced Scorecard that was later leveraged by Australia Post HQ for introduction at a national operations level, installation of a work flow management system, negotiation of new Service Level Agreements, initiation of Corrective Action System, also well as training and coaching key stakeholders in the full utilisation of the above changes. I have also project managed the restructure of a multi-site outsourcing call centre operation. This included performance review of call centre staff scheduling, performance metrics, training, management reporting and the call quality system. Major Achievements from the project included the development of a standardised rostering platform and operational reporting system, installation of Business Reports, implementation of a Training Management System, and facilitation of a managerial skills and change management program. The project delivered a measured improvement in organisational culture and an efficiency improvement of $3.3M."

Use examples from your work experience, university and extracurricular activities, and other life experiences. Brainstorm as many examples as you can, identifying situations where you might have demonstrated the specific criterion - the more you can think of, the better!

Your CV can help you to focus on your experiences. You'll have a greater selection to choose from when you put together your final document. As you will note from the above example of a selection criterion, any examples you use should be preceded by a short overview statement which clearly indicates that you meet the criterion, and which reflects your understanding of the relevance/importance of that specific criterion.

The information can be presented in paragraph form, in point form, or in a combination of both - that's a personal decision. Here's how you could go about it:

• read all the information you have about the position: the selection criteria, the job description, information about the employer (e.g. from this publication, the job advertisement, the Internet).
  
• list the selection criteria and, referring to the examples you have brainstormed, note in point form all the activities that demonstrate your competence in each area
  
• include all the skills and abilities connected with all your work and non-work activities.
  
• when you are satisfied you have addressed each of the criteria, write a final draft in your preferred format (sentences, paragraphs or points).
  
• proofread it, then have someone else read it and give you feedback.
  

Don't be too concerned about any overlap of examples you use for the criteria, but try to provide a different slant in each case. When you come across a selection criterion that you cannot satisfy, don't just ignore it - your failure to address it will "stand out like a sore thumb"! Be prepared to write something about your understanding of the relevance of the criterion - convince the employer that you possess the potential to satisfy it.

Please note that when you first start to write your applications by addressing the selection criteria it will be incredibly time-consuming. So allow yourself plenty of time to get your application together. As is the case with most things, "practice makes perfect", and you can begin practicing right now by writing something about how your background matches the criteria which are presented at the beginning of this section!