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You've seen the job ad. It's the perfect role in the Australian Public Service (APS), the next step in your career. But then you see the requirement: "address the selection criteria." For many aspiring public servants, this is where the confidence ends and the confusion begins.

You've probably heard the stories. Thousands of applicants, brutal competition, and selection panels that seem impossible to impress. But here's a secret the best candidates know: most applicants are focusing on the wrong thing.

They try to prove they're qualified by listing their past jobs. They state their achievements, hoping their experience will speak for itself.

It doesn't.

In the world of APS recruitment, the panel doesn't want a list of your duties; they want proof of your skills. They need to see how you operate, how you solve problems, and how you will handle the specific challenges of their job.

This is where the STAR method comes in. It's a simple, powerful framework for structuring the examples that will form the body of your pitch/statement of claims, turning it from a hopeful resume into a compelling portfolio of evidence. Master it, and you will dramatically increase your chances of securing an interview.

This guide will walk you through, step-by-step, how to go from a blank page to crafting a winning STAR example that secures you an interview.

What is the STAR Method?

The STAR method is a structured way of presenting a concrete example of your past performance as a predictor of your future success.

Think of it as transforming your application from a list of promises into a collection of case studies—showing the panel exactly what working with you looks like.

Here's the breakdown:

S - Situation: Briefly set the scene. What was the context? Where were you working and what was the challenge?

T - Task: What was your specific responsibility? What were you asked to do?

A - Action: What steps did you take? This is the most detailed part of your story.

R - Result: What was the outcome? What impact did your actions have?

While the structure is simple, the strategy is what sets winning examples apart. The secret lies in choosing the right experience and framing it as a compelling problem-solving narrative. Let's break this down.

How to Choose Your Best Experiences to Use as Examples

Before you even think about writing, you need to think like a strategist. You are not documenting your entire career history; you are curating a collection of stories specifically chosen to prove you are the best candidate for this role.

Start with your career inventory. Sit down and list every significant achievement, project, or challenge you've tackled. Don't edit yet. Just capture everything that comes to mind.

Now comes the strategic part. For each potential story, ask yourself:

Does this demonstrate skills directly relevant to the role I want within the Australian Public Service?
Can this example address multiple selection criteria at once, showcasing a breadth of capability?

The best STAR examples are like Swiss Army knives — they serve multiple purposes. A single story about managing a complex project might simultaneously demonstrate your project management skills, stakeholder engagement capabilities, communication prowess, and ability to deliver results under pressure. This is highly valued in APS jobs.

This isn't just efficient—it's powerful. It shows panels that you operate at the intersection of multiple capabilities, exactly where senior public servants need to work effectively.

How to Frame Your STAR Example as a Problem-Solving Narrative

Once you've selected your most impactful experience, you need to frame it effectively. Don't just present a situation; present a problem. This immediately engages the reader and positions you as a proactive, high-value professional who makes things better.

Let's walk through this process with a detailed case study.

Case Study: Crafting a Winning STAR Example for an EL1 Assistant Director, Policy 📚

Imagine you're applying for an Executive Level 1 (EL1) role in a policy team. The selection criteria includes:

Demonstrated ability to shape strategic thinking and provide high-level policy advice
Proven capacity to build and maintain productive working relationships with diverse stakeholders
Highly developed communication and negotiation skills
Ability to manage complex projects and deliver high-quality outcomes under pressure

You've chosen an experience where you led the development of a new framework. Here's how to structure it.

Step 1: Situation (Establish the Problem)

Your goal here is to paint a clear picture of the "before" state. Compare the difference between a vague statement and a problem-focused one.

❌ Weak Example

My branch was responsible for managing industry grants, and the process needed updating.

✅ Winning Example

In my role as a Senior Policy Officer at the Department of Industry, I identified that the framework for assessing regional innovation grants lacked transparency and consistent criteria. This ambiguity was causing confusion among applicants, leading to a high volume of complaints and placing the program's reputation for fairness and efficacy at risk.

See how the winning example establishes a problem with real consequences? It creates tension and shows why action was necessary.

Step 2: Task (Define Your Mandate)

Now, shift from the general problem to your specific responsibility. Use a clear "I" statement.

❌ Weak Example

We were asked to fix the grants process.

✅ Winning Example

To address these issues, I was tasked by my director to lead an end-to-end review and redevelopment of the grant assessment framework.

Step 3: Action (Showcase Your Skills and Methodology)

This is the core of your story. First, a common but weak example is far too brief:

❌ Weak Example

I did some research, talked to people, and wrote a new framework. Then I got it approved.

This tells the panel almost nothing about your skills. For a winning approach, first plan your narrative. Think about the logical steps you took and break them down into 3-5 phases. For this role, the plan might be:

🗺️ Strategic Action Plan:

Phase 1: Strategic Analysis and Research
Phase 2: Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration
Phase 3: Project Management and Solution Development
Phase 4: Communication and Implementation

Now, flesh out each phase with detail, using strong action verbs.

✅ Winning Example:

Phase 1: Strategic Analysis and Research

First, I conducted a comprehensive analysis of the existing framework, mapping its processes to identify specific failure points. To inform our approach, I undertook a jurisdictional scan of best-practice grant management frameworks across other Commonwealth and state agencies.

Phase 2: Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration

Recognising that buy-in was critical, I initiated and facilitated a series of consultation workshops with key internal and external stakeholders, including program administrators, legal teams, regional industry associations, and previous grant applicants. Through these sessions, I gathered essential feedback on the pain points of the old system and collaboratively developed the guiding principles for the new framework.

Phase 3: Solution Development

Using the insights gathered, I drafted a new end-to-end framework featuring a weighted scoring matrix and clear eligibility rules.

Phase 4: Communication and Implementation

Once finalised, I developed and executed a comprehensive communication strategy. I personally drafted and delivered briefings for our senior executive, clearly articulating the benefits and successfully negotiating a implementation plan.

Step 4: Result (Prove Your Impact with Evidence)

Conclude by circling back to the original problem and proving you solved it. Quantify your achievements wherever possible.

❌ Weak Example

The new framework was much better and people liked it.

✅ Winning Example

The new framework I developed had a significant impact. Within the first six months of implementation, stakeholder complaints decreased by over 80%, and we received public commendations from key industry bodies for the framework's improved transparency.

The winning result is compelling because it is concrete, uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative data, and directly proves the value of your actions.

🚀 Taking Your Application to the Next Level

You now have the blueprint. You understand how STAR examples form the backbone of your application pitch, how to decode selection criteria, and how to structure a compelling, problem-solving narrative that provides undeniable proof of your skills. This method alone will put you far ahead of the competition.

But there's one more level to this game.

Selection panels aren't just looking for competence. They are subconsciously measuring you against a specific internal framework – the APS Integrated Leadership System (ILS). The strongest candidates don't just tell great STAR stories; they subtly weave the language and capabilities of the ILS into their narratives. Once you understand how to do this, your applications transform from great to truly irresistible.

That's a complete topic on its own.

Stay tuned for our next guide: "The ILS Integration Method: How to Speak Selection Panel Language for Maximum Impact."