From selection criteria to interview answers

Three kinds of written application

Government job advertisements ask for written evidence in different ways. The advertisement or information pack always decides, so read it first.

Format	What it usually looks like	Where you see it
Selection criteria response	A separate response to each listed criterion, often with a word limit	APS and other public sector advertisements
Pitch or statement of claims	One short piece explaining why your skills and experience suit the role	APS advertisements
Targeted questions	Answers to one or more specific questions linked to the role’s focus capabilities, alongside a cover letter and resume	NSW public sector advertisements

The APSC’s Cracking the code explains that a written application may be a response to selection criteria or a short pitch about your skills and experience, and that agencies may ask you to address several criteria separately or write one general statement. In NSW, role descriptions list focus capabilities, and application questions and interviews are usually built around them. Formats change between agencies and over time, so this table is a starting point, not a rule.

This guide does not cover how to write those documents in detail. It covers what happens to them next: the interview.

How the interview uses your application

Your written application gets you to the interview. Once there, the panel usually treats it as a starting point, not the final word.

• The panel may have read it closely. Do not assume they will skip it, and do not contradict it.
• Questions may come straight from it. “You mentioned you led the changeover to the new booking system. Tell us more.”
• The interview checks claims. The APSC notes that referee checks help panels validate claims made in your application or at interview. Anything you wrote may be followed up.
• Panels often assess the whole picture. The APSC describes panels combining your application, interview, any work sample test and referee comments.

Written evidence and spoken answers are different

The same example works in both, but it needs a different shape.

	Written (criteria, pitch, targeted questions)	Spoken (interview)
Time	You can draft, edit and get feedback	You have one go, in real time
Length	Set by a word or page limit	Usually around two minutes per answer
Language	Can be dense and formal	Plain, short sentences, clear signposts
Detail	Everything has to be on the page	You can add detail when the panel asks
Risk	Generic claims that do not stand out	Reciting the written version word for word

The most common problem is the first weak example above: reading the pitch back in the language of a role description. It sounds rehearsed, and it adds nothing the panel has not already read.

Turning a written example into a spoken one

1. Pick the example from your application that best fits the likely question.
2. Cut it to four points: the situation, your task, two or three actions, the result.
3. Rewrite it in plain words you would actually say. Replace phrases like “demonstrated strong capability in” with what you did.
4. Add one thing that is not in the written version, such as what you would do differently or something you learned. It shows the example is real and gives the panel something new.
5. Prepare for the follow-up. Ask yourself what the panel will want to know next (see the follow-up questions guide).
6. Say it out loud. This is the step most people skip, and it is the one the app is built for. It does not write or check your written application. It helps you practise the spoken version.

Follow-up questions about your application

Because the panel may have your application in front of them, expect questions that start from it:

• “You wrote that you improved the intake process. What was the problem with it before?”
• “Your pitch mentions working with external stakeholders. Who were they?”
• “Which of the examples in your application are you proudest of, and why?”
• “Is there anything you’d add to your application now?”

The last question is an opening. Use it to give an example the application did not have room for.

When the interview ignores your application

Some panels ask a fixed set of questions and never mention what you wrote. That is normal, especially in structured interviews where every candidate gets the same questions. It does not mean your application was not read. Answer each question on its own terms, and draw on examples from your application where they fit.

Common mistakes

• Reciting the pitch. The panel has already read it.
• Using only the examples in the application. Have a few more ready, because the interview questions may test other capabilities.
• Claiming more in the interview than in writing, or the reverse. Keep your story consistent.
• Forgetting the advertisement. If it says the interview will include a work sample or a presentation, prepare for that too.

Checklist

• I have reread my application the day before the interview.
• Each written example has a short spoken version.
• I have at least one extra detail for each example.
• I have examples for capabilities my application did not cover.
• My referees know which role I applied for and what examples I used.