A good application will provide us with a concise and easily graspable pitch of why you have the skills, experience and aptitude to perform in a role at the Office of National Intelligence and to contribute to our workplace and our culture.
Honing your pitch
As part of our selection process, you will generally be asked to provide a statement of up to 800 words outlining why you are suited to the position, along with a resume setting out your relevant recent experience, qualifications and achievements.
The statement is your opportunity to show how your knowledge, skills and experience make you a competitive candidate. The following tips can help with your preparation of the statement:
- The Candidate Information Kit for each position sets out the key attributes we are looking for, along with any essential criteria. These will be used by the selection committee to assess applications, so it can help to use these to structure your statement and make clear how your skills and experience align to each attribute or criterion.
- Provide specific examples of achievements to demonstrate your ability to perform the role and meet the key attributes. An example doesn’t have to be drawn from your professional life or set out in corporate management language. The key is to choose a relevant example that demonstrates your proficiency and explain it in simple terms.
- We place a strong emphasis on clear communication in our work. We write in a simple, direct and easily readable way. Describe your experience and skills in a straightforward manner and explain how they are relevant. Trim out irrelevant details and overly-bureaucratic language.
- We also value rigour and attention to detail. Take time to review your statement – or have someone else look over it – to ensure it reads as you intended and is free from obvious errors.
More information is available on the Australian Public Service Commission’s Cracking the Code(Opens in a new tab/window) site.