Welcome back to learning with CV Editors. Our desire is to get you your dream job through our CV editing services and here we are with some new tips and tricks that will guarantee you the interview call. Key selection criteria are one of the most important documents when applying for a job.
There is no space for you to eliminate the document since any job application without the Key Selection Criteria is directly thrown into the bin. Which ultimately means no selection criteria is equal to no interview. Keep on reading to understand what is this document that is given so much importance.
While the Cover Letter shows your personality through your writing and demonstrates your passion, the Key Selection Criteria shows how you are the best fit for the position. What is Key selection criteria? It is a checklist of responsibilities, skills and experience that the candidate needs to possess in order to fill in the position. The candidate has to tick off the checklist and ensure the recruiter that you surely do fit well in the position and are the best choice. The right way to do so is in the form of short paragraphs of around 50-200 words that narrate a story and justify your claim of being the best candidate. Follow the guidelines below to answer your key selection criteria questions:
Step 1: Assess the Selection Criteria
Read the job requirements thoroughly and carefully to locate the important keywords that show what the employer is looking for in the candidate. Evaluate which requirements meet your capabilities and how suitable you are for the position. The basic rule is that you should at least meet 80% of the requirements and have concrete examples to validate them. If not, then there is no use of investing so much time in applying to the job where you know you have minimal chances of getting into given that there is very tough competition out there.
Step 2: Brainstorming
Next, use these requirements as a heading for each paragraph of no more than 200 words that will give a flashing image of how perfectly you fit this requirement. For each statement, look back into your career history and think about an example that demonstrates the particular skill you are being asked for and your abilities. You can refer to your previous workplace, your college assignment or the place you work part-time. Talk about how you learned this skill or implemented your already existing skills that are required for this job. This will assure the recruiter that you are well prepared for the tasks that will be allotted to you in the future in their organization and you are well aware of what is required of you at your new job.
Step 3: Drafting
While narrating your story keep in mind 4 questions that you have to answer.
- What was the Situation?
- What was your Task?
- What Actions did you take regarding them?
- What were the Results?
This is called the STAR method. In every event that you recount, make sure that describe what was the background of the story, what was your role in that place, how did you deal with the situation, and what was your take about it. And lastly, what was the outcome of your actions.
An example answer for ‘demonstration of quality customer service and management’ for a selection criteria can be:
Situation: While completing my studies, my 3-month internship experience in Sales Department had a major emphasis on customer service especially dealing with tricky customers who had complaints regarding our online shopping. It was during this time when I encountered a complaint by a customer who was upset regarding the size of the dress, she ordered online. Even though the size chart was mentioned on our website clearly.
Task: Since there was a no return policy it was my responsibility to deal with their complaint and satisfy her, making her feel important and valued, thus keeping intact our brand’s image and our customer service.
Action: I worked with her over a few hours calming her down and presented several alternate options that she could undertake. She was offered to take the same dress in the size ‘Large’. However, since she required an ‘extra-large’ size which was not available at our store. I offered her to choose a different dress from our new collection.
Result: The customer was very happy with our service and found a dress she liked even more than the original one. She gave positive reviews regarding our service on our social media page rating our service 5/5.
The above example uses the STAR model to describe a situation faced at work and how to deal with it using quality customer management skills and the benefit it brought to the organization worked for. Similarly, you are required to write such short statements against each criterion which outlines how your current skills, attributes, knowledge, and qualifications satisfy the criterion. Illustrating the situation through an example backs up your claims well and gives the recruiter an insight into your skills.
Here are some pro tips:
- Use of strong phrases such as Initiated, Implemented, Organized, or Executed helps you describe your role more specifically and presents you as an acting head of the situation. These words put you in the power position thus showcasing your leadership qualities too.
- Make sure you use short sentences or bullet points in order to make your answers more readable and interesting since the recruiters have to go through hundreds of applications. This saves the employers time and they do not get irritated while reviewing your key selection criteria document.
- Using words like ‘I think’ exhibits a lack of confidence in the candidate. Instead of using such words while telling your skills for example: ‘I think I am a highly organized person’. Own your skills by removing these unnecessary words and writing ‘I am a highly organized person. I reorganized my company’s files which improved the efficiency by 30% and made the files easily accessible’. This will help you sell yourself much better as you are not bragging about yourself but you are also justifying your characteristic.
- Go through each of the key selection criteria and list your relevant education, training, and past job experiences. Compare the list to your resume or CV so you do not miss out on any.
- Make sure you use more recent examples from your internships, volunteering works, college projects, and extra-curricular activities. Do not delve into past records of experiences such as high school.
- Quantifying your results such as ‘my training increased results by 44%’ will have a greater impact on the recruiter. And makes your claims more reliable and easier to measure your action’s impact.
When applying to a job, you are required to respond with three separate documents that are the Key Selection Criteria, Cover Letter, and the Resume.
Also Read: How A Free CV Template Can Ruin Your Chances in Getting Noticed!
Cover letter:
Through your cover letter, you can actually talk to the recruiter and reiterate your value as a candidate making him psyched up to meet you in person. This is a golden opportunity for you to communicate with your employer about your unique selling point. You have to convince them that you possess the skills required for the position, how you will add value to the company and how you will deal with problems the company may face as listed in the job description.
You can also address any concerns here such as the gaps in your employment or why have you been switching quickly from your previous firms. These are the kind of questions that might lead the recruiter to assume that you are a quick switcher and might as well not stay for the long term in their organization. But if that’s not the case for you and you have a genuine reason you can address it here. You can also mention if you are being referred by someone or are in contact with any of the current employees of the company. This will create a connection and the recruiter can take feedback from them about you. Other than that, you can talk about potential relocation if you are up for it, mentioning it here is a good idea than waiting for the interview.
Cover Letter VS Key Selection Criteria:
Length: Selection Criteria are statements that you have to answer based on the STAR model for each criterion mentioned. It may vary from six to twelve. While the Cover Letter is supposed to be a one-paged letter addressed directly to the recruiter.
Purpose: While Cover Letter is a letter tailored differently for each job, it talks about why you think you are the best candidate for the job and why the recruiter should consider you. You talk about how you will benefit the company with your skills and experience. The selection criteria are the answer to the recruiter’s questions. He/she mentions the important qualities he/she is looking for in the candidate and you have to prove to him/her that you possess these skills well through solid past records.
You can send the Key Selection Criteria as a separate document or fit in your responses in the body of your Cover Letter in several paragraphs listing the most important ones at the top. Either way is alright, just make sure not to skip this important document, or else you will lose your chance of getting to the interview no matter how good your Resume is since the employers check at the Key Selection Criteria before even going towards the Resume.
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