Selection criteria starter kit.

Part one: the STAR worksheet

For each criterion, answer these in order, in one or two sentences each. Situation: where were you and what was at stake, one sentence, no history lesson. Task: what were you specifically responsible for, not your team, you. Action: the three decisions or steps that were yours, each starting with a verb. Result: the number, the outcome, the consequence, and who noticed. If your result sentence has no number and no named outcome, the example is not ready; pick another or dig deeper.

Budget check: in a 250-word response, situation and task together deserve at most 60 words. Everything else is action and result.

Part two: the ILS altitude cheat sheet

APS4: answers sound like reliable delivery. I completed, I coordinated, I resolved. Supervision is nearby.
APS5: answers add independence. I planned, I prioritised, I liaised across teams, supervision is occasional.
APS6: answers add ownership and others. I led a small team or process, I improved how the work was done, I advised.
EL1: answers are about judgement and people. I decided under ambiguity, I developed staff, I managed stakeholders with competing interests, I answered for outcomes.
EL2: answers are about direction. I set priorities for a program, I owned risk, I influenced upward and outward, results are organisational.

Read your drafted answer and ask: which level does this sound like? Most near-miss applications are written one level below the job.

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