Thank you for your interest in employment opportunities with Central Darling Shire Council.
Central Darling Shire's Mission Statement states we aim to "Promote the Central Darling Shire area by encouraging development through effective leadership, community involvement and facilitation of services".
The purpose of this guide is to provide you with practical assistance in preparing your application for employment. Please read these notes carefully as they are designed to help you understand Central Darling Shire Council's selection process and to put forward your best case for appointment.
Before a position is advertised, the requirements of the role are analysed and a position description developed. It is important that you obtain this document as it outlines the key responsibilities and skills required for the position as well as the required essential and desirable selection criteria.
The position description and further information about living and working in Central Darling Shire is available upon request to the contact officer in the advertisement.
To maximise your chance of obtaining an interview for the position you should submit:
Please do not attach original documents.
Be sure you read the advertisement, position description and selection criteria thoroughly. Addressing the selection criteria is your responsibility and an important part of your application. To maximise your chance of obtaining an interview you must explain and demonstrate how you meet each of the essential and desirable selection criteria.
The best way to set out your 'Statement of Criteria' is to make a separate heading for each selection criteria and then clearly describe how you meet them through your qualifications, knowledge, skills, abilities and relevant work experience by providing demonstrated examples. Do not simply state that you meet the selection criteria.
Our selection process is based on an assessment of merit, so when you put your application together, remember that all applications are assessed against the selection criteria using only the information supplied by you. Please try to keep your responses to no more than half a page per criteria.
If you are applying for more than one position with Council you will need to submit a separate application for each position. This is because the essential and desirable criteria for each position will be different. Additionally, Council does not retain your application for future position vacancies.
Please follow the application instructions on the advertisement.
Applicants are responsible for ensuring they meet the closing date. The closing date appears in each position vacant advertisement. Applications received after the closing date will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances and the onus of proof regarding reasons why the closing date was not met will be on the applicant.
Central Darling Shire Council is an equal opportunity employer and uses merit-based selection techniques. Our aim is to complete shortlisting of applications within two weeks of the closing date of the advertisement. You will be contacted by telephone or email if you are to attend an interview.
Should you have any special requirement(s) to attend the interview, (ie disabled access or communication assistance), please inform the contact officer in the advertisement
Our selection processes are based on an assessment of the relative merit of each candidate. We do this by examining how well your knowledge, skills and abilities meet each of the selection criteria.
A panel of a minimum of three people conduct the selection and interviewing process.
All interviewees will be asked the same set of questions. The selection panel will ask questions related to the job description and the selection criteria. Relax and listen to the questions. Do not rush your answers, take your time to gather your thoughts. If you are unsure of a question, do not hesitate to seek clarification from the selection panel before responding. Remember the questions directly relate to the criteria so focus your answers to the position description and the selection criteria.
Do not assume the selection panel knows what is in your mind. You are responsible for showing the strength of your skills, knowledge and experience so that the selection panel can easily assess your claims.
The panel assesses the interviews based on which interviewees best meet the selection criteria in terms of their strengths and weaknesses demonstrated on both the application and during the interview. The panel will then proceed to the next stage of pre-employment selection.
A number of separate selection techniques may be used to gather information in regard to your suitability for the position. The main sources used are your application, structured interview, referee reports and pre-employment medical examination.
The Working with Children Check is conducted confidentially with the NSW Commission for Children and Young People. Further information can be obtained from the NSW Commission for Children and Young People website.
Finally, thank you for your interest in our organisation. We hope you have found this information package helpful and look forward to reading your application.
Phone: 08 8083 8900
Fax: 08 8091 5994