Applying for a Role in the NSW Public Sector

7/24/2019 Applying for a Role in the NSW Public Sector

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PublicServiceCommission

Public SectorReform

Reforming the Public Sector to deliver improvedservices to the NSW Community


Applying for a role inhe NSW Public ServiceA how o guide for candidaes

February 2014


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A how to guide for candidates | PAGE 2

Conens

1. Inroducion Working for NSW Governmen ................................................................................................3

2. Using he guide ................................................................................................................................................3

3. Meri he basis of recruimen ......................................................................................................................4

4. Finding NSW Public Service roles ....................................................................................................................4

5. Undersanding NSW Public Service roles ........................................................................................................4

6. How o apply for NSW Public Service roles .....................................................................................................5

6.1 Applicaion ..........................................................................................................................................................5

6.2 Profile (personal deails) ................................................................................................................................... 6

6.3 Essenial requiremens ...................................................................................................................................... 6

6.4 Cover leter and argeed quesions .................................................................................................................. 6

6.5 Resume / curriculum viae (CV) .........................................................................................................................7

6.6 Reerees ...............................................................................................................................................................8

6.7 Atachmens ........................................................................................................................................................8

6.8 Submiting your applicaion ..............................................................................................................................8

7. Undersanding NSW Public Service selecion processes ..................................................................................9

7.1 Sandard panel assessmen process .................................................................................................................. 9

7.2 Assessmen cenre process ................................................................................................................................11

7.3 Offer successul candidae(s) ......................................................................................................................... 12

7.4 Feedback unsuccessul candidae(s) ............................................................................................................. 12


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Applying for a role in the NSW Public Service

1. Inroducion Working for NSW GovernmenThe NSW Governmen is he bigges employer in Ausralia, wih jus under

400,000 employees, and provides some o he mos flexible and varied career

choices available. NSW Governmen employees conribue direcly o hewellbeing and produciviy o he NSW communiy in a variey o ineresing

and challenging areas, such as educaion, healh, environmen, jusice, ourism,

emergency services, ranspor and more.

There are exciing opporuniies or people a all sages o heir career - rom enry

level jobs, hrough generalis and specialis roles o managers and execuives. We

employ people rom diverse backgrounds, experiences and qualificaions, and

provide access o a range o developmen opporuniies.

Working or he NSW Governmen is no jus a job; i is a good career choice.

NOTE:The Governmen Secor Employmen Ac 2013 (GSE Ac)esablishes wo main employmen groups: he governmen secor and hePublic Service. This guide applies o he NSW Public Service.

2. Using he guideThis guide explains he applicaion and selecion processes or hose seeking

employmen in he NSW Public Service.

While he process can vary depending on he role, i ypically goes as ollows:

1. Find a role on jobs.nsw.

2. Creae or updae your profile (personal deails) in jobs.nsw.

3. Respond o he disqualificaion quesions.

4. Creae your cover leter (and responses o argeed quesions).

5. Creae or updae your resume / curriculum viae (CV).

6. Submi your applicaion.

7. Selecion and assessmen processes:

Sandard panel assessmen process; or

Assessmen cenre process.

8. Offer - successul candidae(s).

9. Feedback - unsuccessul candidae(s).

NOTE:This applicaion process can be ollowed or an individualspecialis role, such as a research analys, engineer or psychologis; oror he creaion o a alen pool or common role ypes, ranging romexecuives and managers o adminisraive, policy and projec officers.

Talen pools can be accessed by agencies when hey need o fill a vacancyor a common role ype.

Working for heNSW Governmen isno jus a job; i is agood career choice


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3. Meri he basis of recruimenThe NSW Public Service recruis employees based on meri. This means ha rom

a field o applicans he assessmen panel selec he person bes suied o he

requiremens o he role and he needs o he public service agency in which heperson is o be employed.

To do his he assessmen panel compare all candidaes skills, experience and

abiliies agains he capabiliies, knowledge and experience sandards se or herole. The assessmen panel uses differen assessmen mehods, such as writen

applicaions, capabiliy-based assessmens, inerviews and reeree checks, o

collec he evidence required o make a meri-based decision.

The NSW Public Service Capabiliy Framework provides a common oundaion orcreaing and recruiing o roles www.psc.nsw.gov.au/Secor-Suppor/Capabiliy-Framework, which can be supplemened by occupaion or proession-specificcapabiliy ses.

4. Finding NSW Public Service roleswww.jobs.nsw.gov.au(jobs.nsw) is he primary career board or he NSWPublic Service. I liss curren vacancies and is he poral or online applicaion

and racking. While some jobs may be lised on oher job search websies and / or

in newspapers you need o apply or all roles on jobs.nsw.gov.au.

Searching for roles

Vacan roles are displayed on jobs.nsw in descending order according o he daehey were adverised. However, candidaes can also choose o search by job ile,

locaion or work ype (or example, ull ime or par ime).

The quick search uncion allows you o search or a specific role using he role

reerence number, a keyword or hrough specific locaions. The advanced search

eaure can be used o refine he ypes o roles displayed.

Earmarking adverisemens o he job car will group roles you are ineresed in

and separae hem rom he ull lis. I is an easy way o ideniying adverised roles

ha ineres you so you can quickly navigae o hem on your reurn o he sie.

You can also acivae he new job aler uncion on your profile. This uncion

riggers an email o your regisered email address when a newly adverised role

ha maches your recorded preerences appears.

5. Undersanding NSW Public Service rolesDepending on he naure o he work o be done and wheher i is ongoing or or a

defined erm or projec, employmen as a public service employee may be:

Ongoing;

Temporary; or

Casual

Employees are assigned o a role wihin he Public Service and can be

reassigned o oher roles in he Public Service over ime or organisaional ordevelopmen purposes. This approach promoes mobiliy across he secor,broadens employees capabiliies and provides new developmen opporuniies.

I also allows agencies o respond quickly o changing governmen prioriies or

communiy needs.

Jobs.nsw is heprimary careerboard for heNSW Public Service
http://www.psc.nsw.gov.au/Sector-Support/Capability-Frameworkhttp://www.psc.nsw.gov.au/Sector-Support/Capability-Frameworkhttp://www.jobs.nsw.gov.au/http://www.jobs.nsw.gov.au/http://www.psc.nsw.gov.au/Sector-Support/Capability-Frameworkhttp://www.psc.nsw.gov.au/Sector-Support/Capability-Framework


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6. How o apply for NSW Public Service roles

6.1 ApplicaionTo apply, candidaes mus submi:

A one page covering leter, including a shor saemen in response o one

or wo argeed quesions (o provide evidence o experience agains

required role capabiliies).

A resume / curriculum viae (CV).

Undersanding he role, wha is required and wheher you have he righ skills and

experience are imporan in deciding wheher o apply.

Your applicaion will have a greaer chance o success i you ollow hese principles: Read he adverisemen carefully- All adverisemens include a

brie descripion o he role, inormaion on how o apply and a closing daeor applicaions. Keep a copy o he reerence number or uure enquiries.

Read he informaion package- The adverisemen gives you basicinormaion, bu i is imporan o read he inormaion package romhe link provided in he adverisemen. Documens in he package may

include a role descripion, organisaional char or oher maerial o help you

undersand he role and he organisaion.

Speak o he conac person- Afer you read he inormaion package,you will know more abou he role and may have some quesions. You can

phone or email he conac person named in he adverisemen o helpfind he answers. Talking o he conac person may also give you a beterundersanding o he role, wheher i is righ or you and wha o emphasise

in your applicaion.

Oher informaion- Ge as much exra inormaion as you can o helpyou presen a covering leter and resume wih relevan inormaion.

You could look a he deparmen or agencys websie, annual repor

or oher publicaions.

Online applicaion process The online applicaion process is presenedas a series o pages ha require inormaion o be compleed prior

o submiting your applicaion. Each page has a number o fields. All

compulsory fields are idenified wih a red aserisk (*) and mus becompleed prior o he page being saved.

Submi your applicaion prior o he closing dae Applicaions haare rushed may conain misakes and may affec he oucome o yourapplicaion. Give yoursel enough ime o complee and review your

applicaion in advance o he closing dae.

Privacy Saemen- The privacy saemen in jobs.nsw describes howprivacy principles are applied, how and why daa is colleced and how

i is sored. I also oulines circumsances when your inormaion can

be disclosed.

TIP:Remember o check spelling, puncuaion and grammar, and besuccinc. The applicaion isel indicaes how well you can communicaeand, i writen well, can make a posiive impression.

Read he adverisemenand informaionpackage carefully


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6.2 Profile (personal deails)You can creae your general profile on jobs.nsw a any ime. This includes

personal and conac inormaion, creaing a username and recording a password.

Your email address is your unique idenifier in jobs.nsw, so you can only creaeone accoun per email address.

This general profile can also be creaed as par o your firs NSW Public Service

job applicaion. Once his basic inormaion is capured i will populae any uureapplicaions auomaically, removing he need o reype he same inormaion.

I your conac deails change or you would like o include some addiional

inormaion, you can amend your profile a any ime and submi differen

inormaion or each applicaion i required.

Daa is also gahered on subjecs such as diversiy o assis wih workorceplanning. Oher inormaion, including how you learned o he job vacancy, is also

gahered o provide insigh ino he mos effecive ways o adverising. Some ohis inormaion is provided on a volunary basis and some is mandaory.

6.3 Essenial requiremensOne o he firs seps in he online applicaion process is o be screened or

essenial role requiremens. This is called disqualificaion quesions in jobs.nsw

and ypically consiss o a series o quesions designed o provide inormaionabou your eligibiliy o apply, or example having a drivers licence. I will no be

possible o progress wih he applicaion in he sysem i you do no mee one or

more o he essenial requiremens.

6.4 Cover leter and argeed quesionsYour cover leter should be shor and specific; highlighing he main poins o yourclaim or he role.

Your cover leter should be no more han one page in lengh and include:

Deails o he role you are applying or.

A brie inroducion abou yoursel.

A summary o your relevan skills, qualificaions and experience.

Shor saemens, based on your acual experience, in response o heargeed quesions*.

These quesions will usually sar wih phrases such as:

Give an example o a siuaion where....

Describe a scenario....

Your responses could ollow he STAR orma (by deailing he Siuaion,

Task, Acion and Resul).

A cover letershould be shor andspecific and includeshor saemensin response o heargeed quesions*


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* Targeed Quesions

The adverisemen will ask you o include a shor saemen in response

o no more han wo argeed quesions. These are capabiliy-basedquesions direcly relevan o he roles duies and are designed o provide

evidence o experience in a similar area. This is done by asking you o

describe specific siuaions and o give acual examples o when you have

used specific skills.

The jobs.nsw cover leter field can only accep simple ormating, so i you are

creaing your cover leter in a Microsof Word documen, sick o he basics.

NOTE:Depending on he role you are applying or, you may be asked oanswer he argeed quesions direcly ino he jobs.nsw pre-screeningquesions field. I you do his, you do no need o add hese argeedquesions o your cover leter.

TIP:When compleing argeed quesions in he pre-screeningquesions field in jobs.nsw, you should draf your responses o argeed

quesions exernally (or example - word documen) beore enering heresponses ino he defined field. This allows you ime o review andamend your responses prior o enering hem ino he sysem.

6.5 Resume / curriculum viae (CV)Your resume (also known as curriculum viae or CV) is a snapsho summarising

your qualificaions, experience, skills and qualiies. A resume needs o be clear,

concise and nealy organised wih conen relevan o he role you areapplying or.

Your resume should include your: Educaion, qualificaions and deails o any courses or areas o ocus ha

migh be relevan o he role.

Experience, paid and voluneer in reverse chronological order. For each

job, include he role ile, name and locaion o employer, and daes oemploymen. Briefly describe your role responsibiliies or each job.

Special skills, compuer skills, achievemens, and membership

in organisaions.

Reerences (reer o 6.6 Referees).

In jobs.nsw, he work experience and educaion fields capure radiional

resume inormaion elecronically.

A resume needs obe clear, concise andnealy organised wihconen relevan ohe role you areapplying for


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6.6 RefereesCapabiliies or a role are assessed a differen sages o he assessmen process

and panels will rea reeree inormaion as an equally imporan aspec o ac

finding abou your applicaion.

When he assessmen panel is making is final decision, inormaion obained

rom your reerees will be considered ogeher wih your applicaion, resume,

inerview and oher selecion ools used.

The assessmen panel may conduc a 360-degree check, which means alking o

people you have supervised, you have worked wih and who you repored o.

The panel may also ask you or addiional reerees i hey need more inormaion

han is available rom hose you have nominaed.

Like he work experience and educaion fields in jobs.nsw, reeree inormaioncan be capured online. Names, conac deails and inormaion abou your

working relaionship(s) can all be enered. You can add and remove reereeconacs or each applicaion and rearrange he reeree order a any ime.

6.7 AtachmensYou may be asked o atach some orm o documenaion wih your applicaion,

or example, a consen orm o do background checks, and his can be added in

he atachmen field.

Please do no use his uncion o atach lenghier versions o your applicaion

leter. The one page cover leter described in Secion 6.4is all ha is needed.

NOTE:I is imporan o noe ha your atachmen library in jobs.nswconains he atachmens or all your applicaions; however, only hosemarked as relevan will be submited or viewing wih your applicaion.

I you delee a documen you will be removing he abiliy or he assessmen

panel o view ha documen and hereore i will no be considered as par o

your assessmen.

Do no delee any documen unil you have inormaion on he oucomeo he recruimen acion. I you have any concerns, please conac

[email protected] advice beore you delee any documens.

6.8 Submiting your applicaionOnce all inormaion has been enered ino he sysem, you will be givenan opporuniy o review your applicaion prior o submiting i. Take his

opporuniy o ensure all deails are correc.

When you have successully submited your applicaion, you will receive an emailrom jobs.nsw acknowledging your submission.

More inormaion www.jobs.nsw.gov.au.

Review yourapplicaion prior osubmiting i
mailto:support%40jobs.nsw.gov.au?subject=Jobs%20application%20questionhttp://www.jobs.nsw.gov.au/http://www.jobs.nsw.gov.au/mailto:support%40jobs.nsw.gov.au?subject=Jobs%20application%20question


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7. Undersanding NSW Public Service selecion processesOnce he closing dae has passed, he assessmen panel ses o work o deermine

he mos suiable candidae(s) or he role(s).

The assessmen process can be conduced in one o wo ways:

7.1 As a sandard panel assessmen process.

7.2 As an assessmen cenre process.

The assessmen process seleced by he panel may depend on wheher hey areassessing or an individual specialis role, such as a research analys, engineer or

psychologis, or or he creaion o a alen pool or common role ypes, such as

adminisraion, policy and projec officers.

7.1 Sandard panel assessmen processThis process includes:

Review o your applicaion, i.e. your cover leter (including responses o

argeed quesions) and your resume /CV.

A leas hree capabiliy-based assessmens*, one o which is an inerview.

Rigorous fi-or-purpose reerence and background checking (which

may include 360-degree reerence checks o veriy your employmen and

perormance claims (reer Secion 6.6).

This approach allows he ull specrum o capabiliies or he role o be assessed

using differen ools or mehods, and a differen sages o he assessmen process.

* Capabiliy-based assessmens

The assessmen panel will use a range o appropriae assessmens odeermine he person who has he capabiliies, experience andknowledge bes suied o he requiremens o he role and he needs ohe agency. Capabiliy-based assessmens are a good predicor o youruure perormance.

The capabiliies or he role you are applying or are described in he role

descripion (par o he inormaion package). The NSW Public ServiceCapabiliy Framework provides a common oundaion or creaing andrecruiing o roles www.psc.nsw.gov.au/Secor-Suppor/Capabiliy-Framework, which can be supplemened by occupaion or proession-specific capabiliy ses, where appropriae.

Assessmen mehods can vary depending on he capabiliies beingassessed and may include personaliy profiling, cogniive abiliy esing,behavioural inerviews, work samples, group exercises, role plays andsrucured reeree checks.

Assessmen mehodscan vary dependingon he capabiliiesbeing assessed


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Common forms of assessmens include:

Online assessmens

Online assessmens are a common way o gahering imporan

inormaion abou candidaes capabiliies, wih minimal inconvenience

o candidaes. Candidaes do no have o ake ime away rom curren

employmen as he assessmens can be compleed ou o hours or a home.

By esing apiudes, such as absrac hinking and verbal and numerical

reasoning, poenial employers can ge measures o various abiliies such

as problem solving, criical hinking and apiude o learn cerain asks.

Cogniive abiliy ess are commonly used because o heir reliabiliy in

ideniying role perormance. Because hese assessmens are compleed

online in an unsupervised seting, a urher validaion es is compleed byhe candidae a inerview under supervision.

Work samples

Work sample assessmens may be se as a means o gahering inormaion

on candidaes experience and capabiliies. Work samples can be designedo es a number o skills. For example, a work sample ha involves

applicans analysing a documen and providing a summary o key issues

can assess concepual and analyical abiliy and communicaion skills.

Verbal presenaions simulae oher role requiremens and will give anindicaion o oher capabiliies.

NOTE:Work sample assessmens may be conduced jus prior o heinerview or underaken as par o an assessmen cenre (urher

inormaion relaing o assessmen cenres is deailed in Secion 7.2).

Behavioural inerviews

The inerview is one o he mos common orms o assessmen. A

srucured inerview allows inerviewers o rae candidaes in a consisen,

sandardised manner.

Behavioural quesions invie candidaes o give examples o like roles orsimilar siuaions rom heir own experience and how hey approached

hem, wha hey did and wha were he resuls; as well as any lessons

learned. The ollowing are examples o behavioural quesions:

?Quesion: Tell me abou a ime when you had o analyseinormaion and make a recommendaion? Wha kind o houghprocess did you go hrough? Was he recommendaion acceped?I no, why?

Work sampleassessmens can bedesigned o es anumber of skills


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?Quesion: Describe a projec or idea (no necessarily your own)ha was implemened primarily because o your effors. Wha wasyour role? Wha was he oucome?

Muli-mini inerviews

Anoher inerview orma is he muli-mini inerview (MMI). The MMI uses

many shor independen assessmens (behavioural quesions), ypically in

a imed circui, o assess candidaes skills, experience and abiliies againshe capabiliies, knowledge and experience sandards or he role.

The MMI usually consiss o approximaely six inerview saions, each

being a imed (six-minue) inerview scenario. Candidaes roae hroughhe saions, each wih is own inerviewer and scenario. The reviewers hen

mee as a panel o agree on an overall assessmen.

7.2 Assessmen cenre process

How hey work

Assessmen cenres usually ollow afer he iniial shor-lising sages o

he assessmen process, i.e. cover leter and resume review and any onlineassessmens. Each assessmen cenre is specifically designed or eiher a

paricular role or or a common role ype wih generic ranserable capabiliies in

order o assess candidaes skills, experience and abiliies agains he capabiliies,knowledge and experience sandards or he role.

A ypical assessmen cenre incorporaes a range o assessmens in which your

perormance is observed and raed by a eam o qualified assessors.

This approach also allows he ull specrum o capabiliies or he role o be

assessed using differen ools or mehods, bu ypically conduced in one session.

Wha o expec

A he beginning o he assessmen cenre, candidaes will receive an iniialbriefing abou he organisaion and he srucure o he day.

Common forms of assessmens include:

Group exercises

The group exercise (someimes called he group discussion) is a common

assessmen cenre aciviy. A group o candidaes are invied o workogeher o perorm an aciviy while being wached by assessors. The

assessors will make noes and score he candidaes based on heir

respecive conribuion o he exercise.

Job knowledge ess

Job knowledge ess evaluae echnical or proessional experise andknowledge required or specific roles or proessions. Examples o job

knowledge ess include ess o basic accouning principles.

Assessmen cenresare specificallydesigned for eiher aparicular role or for acommon role ype


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Role plays

A role-play exercise is an assessmen aciviy where candidaes ac ou animaginary scenario ha closely mirrors a siuaion ha could occur in he

role hey have applied or.

Work samples

As described on page 10.

Filling roles from alen pools

I he assessmen cenre is or he purpose o creaing a alen pool, hen here

may also be a subsequen suiabiliy inerview o ensure he candidae fis wih

he requiremens o he organisaion, eam and role (and/or addiional assessmen

or agency or role specific requiremens).

NOTE:Assessmens are valid or a 12 monh period.

7.3 Offer successful candidae(s)Once he assessmen panel has received approval o employ he successul

candidae(s), an iniial verbal offer will be made. This offer will hen be confirmed

in wriing.

7.4 Feedback unsuccessful candidae(s)Unsuccessul candidaes will be advised in wriing and offered an opporuniy o

receive eedback. This eedback is a useul way o undersand he areas ha could

be srenghened in uure applicaions.

Feedback is a usefulway o undersandareas ha could besrenghened in fuureapplicaions


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Public Service Commission

Level 14, Bligh House4-6 Bligh Sree

Sydney NSW 2000

www.psc.nsw.gov.au


Applying for a Role in the NSW Public Sector

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