How to Address Selection Criteria: STAR and CAR Examples

If you are applying for an Australian government, university, health or not-for-profit role, you will probably be asked to respond to selection criteria. This guide shows you how to address selection criteria, with examples for the criteria that come up most often. Each example uses the STAR or CAR method, so you can see the structure and adapt it to your own experience.

One rule before we start: every example you write must be true. Selection panels often check claims at interview and with referees. If you lack experience for a criterion, the honest options later in this post will serve you better than a stretched story.

First, check what the employer actually wants

Australian employers ask for criteria responses in different formats, and getting the format wrong is an avoidable mistake. Read the job pack or position description carefully before you write anything.

Common formats include:

• Individual criterion responses: a heading for each criterion, followed by a short response. Often limited by words or characters per criterion.
• A one or two-page "pitch" or statement of claims: many Australian Public Service (APS) agencies ask for a single statement explaining why you suit the role, guided by the key duties or capabilities. You can browse current APS vacancies and their instructions on APSJobs.
• Online questions: text boxes in the application portal, usually with a strict character limit.
• Criteria addressed at interview only: some roles ask you to address the criteria in your cover letter and CV, then test them at interview.

If the instructions are unclear, the advert usually names a contact officer. A short, polite question about format is normal and worth asking.

STAR vs CAR: which structure to use

Both methods do the same job: they turn a vague claim ("I have excellent communication skills") into evidence.

Method	Parts	Best for
STAR	Situation, Task, Action, Result	Longer responses (around 200-400 words) where context matters
CAR	Context, Action, Result	Tight word or character limits, or online text boxes

Whichever you use, give most of your words to the Action. Panels want to know what you did, so use "I" rather than "we" when describing your own contribution. Keep the Situation to one or two sentences.

A reusable template

Open each response with a one-sentence claim that mirrors the criterion, then give your evidence:

Opening claim: I have [skill from criterion], developed through [role/context]. Situation/Context: In my role as [title] at [organisation], [brief background]. Task: I was responsible for [specific goal or problem]. Action: I [step 1], [step 2] and [step 3]. Result: As a result, [outcome, with a measure if you genuinely have one]. Link back (optional): This experience means I could [how it applies to this role].

Only include numbers you can stand behind. "Reduced the backlog from about 60 cases to under 20 in six weeks" is strong if true; an invented figure is a liability if the panel asks how you measured it.

How to address selection criteria: examples for common criteria

The examples below are illustrative. They show structure and level of detail, not wording to copy. Replace every detail with your own real experience.

1. Written communication

Criterion: Demonstrated high-level written communication skills, including the ability to prepare clear correspondence and reports.

STAR example:

I write clearly for different audiences, a skill I developed as a project officer at a regional council.

Situation: Residents were confused by a new green-waste collection schedule, and the customer service team was receiving many repeated calls.

Task: My manager asked me to rewrite the public information and brief councillors on the change.

Action: I reviewed common questions logged by customer service, rewrote the letter in plain English with a simple calendar, and had two colleagues outside the project test it for clarity. I then prepared a two-page briefing note for councillors summarising the issue, options and costs.

Result: Call volumes about the schedule dropped noticeably in the following month, according to the customer service team's logs, and the briefing note was used as a template for later service changes.

Notice the result uses a soft measure ("dropped noticeably, according to logs") because the candidate didn't have an exact figure. That is better than guessing.

2. Teamwork and collaboration

Criterion: Ability to work collaboratively within a team and build effective relationships with stakeholders.

CAR example (short format):

Context: As a ward clerk in a busy hospital unit, I coordinated information between nursing staff, doctors and patient families.

Action: When handover errors were causing delays to discharge paperwork, I suggested a shared checklist, drafted it with two senior nurses and walked each shift through it.

Result: The unit adopted the checklist, and the nurse unit manager noted fewer missing documents at discharge in her monthly review.

3. Organisation and competing priorities

Criterion: Sound organisational skills and a proven ability to manage competing priorities and meet deadlines.

STAR example:

Situation: In my role as an administration officer at a university faculty, the end of semester brought exam scheduling, enrolment queries and a staff recruitment round at the same time.

Task: I needed to keep all three moving without missing fixed deadlines.

Action: I listed every task with its deadline and owner, agreed priorities with my manager at the start of each week, blocked out time for the exam timetable (the least flexible deadline), and set up template replies for the most frequent enrolment questions.

Result: The exam timetable was published on schedule, recruitment paperwork reached HR on time, and the template replies are still used by the team.

4. Customer or client service

Criterion: Demonstrated commitment to high-quality customer service, including handling complex enquiries.

CAR example:

Context: Working at a bank call centre in Lagos, I handled escalated complaints from business customers.

Action: One customer had been charged duplicate fees for three months. I listened without interrupting, confirmed the details in writing, traced the error to a system setting, and followed up personally until the refund was processed.

Result: The customer stayed with the bank, and my team leader used the case in training on complaint ownership.

This example also shows that overseas experience counts. Australian panels assess evidence, not where it happened. Briefly explain any context that might be unfamiliar, such as the size or type of organisation.

When you don't have a perfect example

It is tempting to blur the line between what you did and what your team did. Don't. Instead:

• Use transferable experience. Volunteering, study projects, community roles, family business work and casual jobs are all valid evidence if they genuinely show the skill.
• Be honest about scale. "I supported the coordinator by..." is acceptable. Claiming to have led something you assisted with is not.
• Show partial experience plus learning. If you meet part of a criterion, say so, give evidence for that part, and explain any related training you have completed.
• Accept that some criteria are essential. If a criterion requires a licence, qualification or clearance you don't hold, an application is unlikely to succeed, and wording can't fix that.

For more on where the line sits, see how to tailor a CV without lying.

Practical writing tips

• Stick to the limit. If the job pack says 250 words per criterion, treat it as a maximum, not a target to exceed.
• Use the criterion's own language where it honestly describes what you did. If it says "stakeholder engagement", use that phrase rather than a synonym.
• One strong example beats three thin ones. You can add a sentence listing other relevant experience after your main example.
• Vary your examples. Avoid using the same project for every criterion; it can make your experience look narrow.
• Write in plain text first if the portal has text boxes, as formatting such as bullets may not paste correctly.
• Keep your CV consistent. Every role and achievement you mention should appear on your CV with matching dates and titles. See our guide on Australian CV referees too, as panels may contact referees about the examples you give.

How this differs outside Australia

Selection criteria are most common in Australia, but similar formats exist elsewhere:

• UK: NHS, council and civil service roles use supporting statements or behaviour-based statements against a person specification. The STAR approach transfers well; see how to write a supporting statement.
• Canada: Federal government applications often include screening questions asking how you meet each essential qualification, answered with specific examples.
• US: Federal applications typically rely on a detailed resume and an online assessment questionnaire, so criteria-style essays are less common. Check the instructions on each announcement.
• Nigeria: Criteria-style responses are less common in private-sector hiring, though some international organisations and NGOs ask competency questions. Nigerian applicants applying to Australian roles should expect to write them.

Processes change, so always follow the instructions in the specific job advert or on the official government jobs site.

Reuse your answers at interview

The examples you write now are excellent interview preparation, because Australian panels often ask behavioural questions tied directly to the criteria. Practise saying each example aloud in about two minutes, and prepare a second example for each criterion in case you are asked for another. If you'd like structured practice, the interview preparation tool can help you rehearse STAR answers, though your examples still need to come from your real experience.

Final checklist

Before you submit, confirm that:

1. You have used the format the job pack asks for (individual responses, pitch or online questions).
2. Every criterion, especially every essential one, is addressed.
3. Each response opens with a clear claim and follows STAR or CAR.
4. The Action section describes what you did, using "I".
5. Every result and number is true and you could explain how you know it.
6. You have stayed within word or character limits.
7. Your examples match the roles and dates on your CV.
8. A friend or colleague has proofread it for clarity and spelling (Australian employers use British-style spelling, such as "organisation").