vps grads candidate guide 2012 - graduates web viewcandidates must submit personal ... feedback...

State Services Authority VPS GRADS 2015 INTAKE

Candidate Guide

Contents1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................3

2. ELIGIBILITY....................................................................................................................................3

3. RECRUITMENT PROCESS AND TIMELINES......................................................................................5

4. SELECTION CRITERIA ASSESSED AT EACH STAGE OF THE PROCESS.................................................6

5. ONLINE APPLICATION...................................................................................................................7

6. ONLINE APTITUDE ASSESSMENTS.................................................................................................8

7. ASSESSMENT CENTRE...................................................................................................................9

8. ACTIVITIES AT THE ASSESSMENT CENTRE....................................................................................10

9. GRADS SHORTLIST......................................................................................................................14

10. DEPARTMENT AND AGENCY INTERVIEWS...................................................................................15

11. VERBAL OFFER PROCESS.............................................................................................................16

12. CANDIDATE FEEDBACK................................................................................................................16

13. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT....................................................................................................17

14. CONTACT....................................................................................................................................17

15. WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN OUR GRADUATE RECRUITS....................................................................18

Candidate Recruitment Guide for 2015 Intake

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1. IntroductionThe Victorian Public Service (VPS) Graduate Recruitment and Development Scheme (GRADS) recruits high potential tertiary graduates to the VPS. The State Services Authority (SSA) manages the scheme, including the GRADS recruitment process which is administered by HOBAN Recruitment.

The VPS GRADS gives graduates a great opportunity to establish a solid understanding of the VPS before taking up a specific role in their second year of employment. The scheme also runs specialist streams that build on the generalist VPS GRADS and enable graduates to develop further expertise in accounting and finance, business and technology, economics, education or law.

Each year VPS GRADS selection criteria are reviewed to ensure selection is in line with the purpose of the scheme and of individual recruiting managers. Applications for the 2015 intake of the VPS GRADS will be assessed on the following criteria:

shares the values of the Victorian public sector:

integrity

responsiveness

impartiality

accountability

respect

leadership

human rights

conceptual and analytical ability

teamwork

initiative and accountability

flexibility

verbal communication skills

written communication skills.

2. EligibilityCandidates must submit personal information and meet the eligibility criteria below in order to register interest in the 2015 VPS GRADS intake.

Australian working rights – Candidates need to be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or permanent resident at the time of application (anticipation of citizenship or permanent residence before the start of the program is insufficient).

Candidates must not have received a redundancy from the VPS in the last three years.

Candidates must have a minimum of a three-year undergraduate degree by the end of 2014 (diplomas or other non-tertiary courses of study are insufficient). If you have an Australian post-graduate qualification, or one recognised in Australia, you have met the minimum qualification requirement for the VPS GRADS.

You must provide transcripts of your degree:


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Overseas transcripts and qualifications – Recognition from Australian Education International (AEI)-NOOSR is required as evidence of eligibility for the VPS GRADS. This can take up to three months so candidates should commence this process early. For candidates who have not received NOOSR recognition at the time of submitting an online application, evidence is required that the process is underway (i.e. AEI-NOOSR letter of receipt of request).

New Zealand transcripts – Academic transcripts from New Zealand meet the eligibility requirement for the generalist stream. In order to be considered for specialist streams in addition to the generalist stream, candidates must provide recognition from AEI-NOOSR. Please note that AEI-NOOSR governs the implementation of the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement for Australia. AEI-NOOSR will advise whether your NZ qualifications are mutually recognised under the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement or not.

Candidates must agree to undertake a Police Criminal Records Check.

Candidates may be eligible to receive support through the reasonable adjustments policy or the Aboriginal Pathway to the VPS GRADS. Some of the personal information you are asked to provide with your Expression of Interest relates to these processes. Please consider whether you would like to receive this support. A member of the VPS GRADS recruitment team will contact those who have indicated interest in the first instance.


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3. Recruitment process and timelines

ROU

ND

ON

E

Timelines Recruitment process

Now – Thurs 27 February Expressions of interest received

Fri 28 Feb – midnight Fri 28 March

Online applications received (public holiday Monday 10 March)

Friday 4 April Unsuccessful candidates advised

Mon 7 April – Thurs 10 April Online assessments conducted. All online assessments must be completed by COB Thurs 10 April

Mon 14 April – Tues 22 April Assessment centres booked by phone (public holiday Friday 18 April and Monday 21 April)

Tues 15 April Unsuccessful candidates advised

Wed 23 April – Wed 7 May Half-day assessment centres (public holiday Friday 25 April)

Wed 14 May Unsuccessful candidates at this stage advised

Mon 2 June – Fri 6 June Department interviews scheduled by phone

Wed 11 June – Fri 27 June Round one interviews (public holiday Monday 9 June)

Mon 16 June – Fri 27 June Feedback provided to candidates who did not progress to the GRADS shortlist (if requested)

Wed 2 July – Tues 8 July Round one offer period

If you have not heard from the relevant department or agency within two weeks of advising the VPS GRADS team that you intend to accept a written offer of employment, please contact the VPS GRADS team on 1300 662 930.

ROU

ND

TWO

Fri 1 Aug – Thurs 7 Aug Department round two interviews scheduled by phone

Mon 11 Aug – Fri 22 Aug Round two interviews

Mon 11 Aug – Fri 22 Aug Feedback provided to candidates who progressed to the GRADS shortlist but did not attend a department interview and requested feedback

Wed 27 Aug – Tues 2 Sept Round two offer period

If you have not heard from the relevant department or agency within two weeks of advising the VPS GRADS team that you intend to accept a written offer of employment, please contact the VPS GRADS team on 1300 662 930.

AD H

OC

RECR

UIT

MEN

T September 2014 through to the end of January 2015

Ad hoc recruitment cycles as required.

January 2015 Feedback provided to interviewed candidates who were not offered positions and have not previously received department interview feedback from round one or two.


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4. Selection criteria assessed at each stage of the process

Online Assessment centre Department process

Application form

Aptitude testing

Case study

Role play

Behavioural interview

Technical questions

(economist only)

Department interview

Integrity X XAbility – abstract/ conceptual X X

Teamwork X XInitiative and accountability X X

Flexibility X XVerbal communication X X

Written communication X X

Education XTechnical skills X XDepartment/ agency values X

Additional personal qualities X

Additional skills or knowledge X


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5. Online applicationThe online application is your first opportunity to demonstrate that you meet the selection criteria. Not all candidates will progress past this stage.

The online application is primarily a questionnaire – the questions relate to the selection criteria. You will also be asked to provide any clear department or agency preferences you may have. You will be able to upload your latest resume and academic transcripts.

The following are some tips to help you do your best.

Start your online application well before the deadline. If you have questions or technology issues on the due date, you may not be able to resolve these quickly enough to lodge your application on time. Please note that online applications close at midnight on Friday 28 March. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

Set aside at least 1.5 hours to complete your application. Take note of character limits as information you provide beyond these limits will not be considered.

We recommend that you prepare your responses in a word processing program and then copy and paste them into your online application form. If you experience technical issues on the site, you may lose the information and need to start again.

Proof read your application. Your writing skills are assessed along with your responses.

If you are experiencing difficulty uploading documents, try saving the files in a different format or at a lower resolution. Only your resume and the transcript for your undergraduate degree or the qualification for the streams you are applying for need to be uploaded. If you have an overseas qualification, also upload relevant AEI-NOOSR evidence or a letter of receipt of request. We will collect other documentation, such as transcripts for further qualifications and proof of eligibility, at the assessment centre if you progress to this stage.

Once you have successfully submitted your online application, you will receive an email confirming receipt. We recommend that you check all spam filters on your email account as emails sent from an unknown address may automatically move to your spam folder. HOBAN Recruitment will later send you a contact email with your individual log-in details outlined. You will be required to use these log-in details for the duration of the process to ensure that your personal details are kept up to date.

Provide honest and accurate information as integrity is a value of the VPS. Your responses will be confirmed at other stages in the process.

Selection criteria assessed with the online application form are:

integrity

teamwork

flexibility

written communication.


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6. Online aptitude assessments If your application progresses to the next stage, you will be invited to complete two online aptitude assessments – Numerical Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning. These assessments use technology that adapts to your individual ability in these areas. If you respond correctly to an item, you will receive more challenging subsequent items. If you respond incorrectly, the system will present items that are better aligned to your level of challenge.

The benefit of this type of testing is that we are able to obtain an accurate estimate of your underlying ability without asking you many questions. It is important to keep the nature of these assessments in mind as you may find them more challenging than other assessments you have completed. This is because you will not be presented with items that are below your ability level. Strong candidates may tend to underestimate how well they have performed on these assessments.

These assessments help the VPS predict how quickly you will learn new information during the graduate program and how effectively you will use information, sometimes in ambiguous situations, to solve problems. The assessments have been used with thousands of other graduate candidates in Australia, allowing us to compare your performance to that of your peers. As such, we are able to set benchmarks for these assessments in line with the capability required in these areas on the VPS GRADS.

Benchmarks are currently set for each of these assessments at the 50th percentile. This means that only candidates who perform on both assessments as well as or better than 50 per cent of all Australian tertiary graduates who have done the assessments will progress in the recruitment process.

Each assessment is timed for 20 minutes. It is unlikely you will be able to complete all of the questions in that time. Please set aside at least 45 minutes to allow time for reading instructions and viewing sample items. You will want to be in a quiet place free from distractions with a high-speed internet connection. The timer does stop as each question loads so you will not be penalised for slower connection speeds. If you prefer, you may complete the assessments in HOBAN Recruitment’s Melbourne offices.

Online assessments are not designed to be completed by people with visual impairments not corrected with corrective lenses. If you are in this situation and you did not indicate this with your Expression of Interest, please contact the VPS GRADS recruitment team to make suitable arrangements.

Similarly, if you are unable to undertake online aptitude tests for a reason other than visual impairment and did not advise us of this in your Expression of Interest, please contact the VPS GRADS recruitment team to make suitable arrangements.

Selection criteria assessed with the online aptitude assessments are:

abstract and conceptual ability.


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7. Assessment centreIf your application progresses from online assessment, you will be invited to attend a half-day session at an assessment centre.

7.1 What is an assessment centre?GRADS assessment centres use three different activities to assess your capability against the selection criteria. We understand that each individual has unique strengths so our process is designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your capability.

You will be asked to complete the following assessment activities:

a role play

a case study exercise

a behavioural interview (incorporating technical questions for economist stream candidates).

You will also be able to chat informally with VPS staff and past graduates at the assessment centre.


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Tips for assessment centres The assessment centre is not designed to catch you out. Try to relax, be yourself and enjoy the

activities.

Listen carefully to the instructions you are given. If you are unsure what to do, ask for clarification.

Be enthusiastic. Plan to have a good night’s sleep so your energy level is high.

Address all the issues and questions outlined in each activity.

Know the time limit for each activity.

Consider the selection criteria when framing your answers.

Gather information about assessment centres: visit websites, read printed material, talk to previous candidates or career advisers. Your career adviser will be a great source of information for how to prepare for an assessment centre.

Familiarise yourself with the location and things like parking, public transport and security requirements.

Ensure you have the right start time.

Take the contact number in case of emergency.

If something goes wrong, call the VPS GRADS team to let them know.

8. Activities at the assessment centre 8.1 Case study

8.2 Sample case study


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What happens?During the case study exercise you will be asked to prepare a short written document on a personal computer.

Tips Read the case study carefully and make sure you know what it is asking you to do. Keep your response brief and to the point.

Selection criteria assessed with the case study are: abstract and conceptual ability and written communication.

The case study evaluates: abstract and conceptual capability, written communication skills, and your commitment to public

service.TaskYou have 25 minutes to prepare a one page written brief for the Premier.TopicChild protection in the Department of Human Services focuses on the health, safety, development, learning and wellbeing of children, young people and families in Victoria. Child Protection Services is asking for additional funding to address the issues they face retaining child protection workers who are leaving the job at a rate of up to 50 per cent. The Premier has asked for a briefing summarising the following:

current workforce retention issues surrounding the state of child protection services in Victoria risks to government of not providing the funding to address these workforce issues how government will know if the additional funding has addressed the issues.

In preparing your response to this case study, in-depth knowledge of the child protection area is not required.

8.3 Group role play

8.4 Sample role play


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What happens?In the group role play you will be asked to act out a work-based scenario both in a pair and as part of a larger group. Tips

Make sure you read and listen to all instructions carefully, and keep in mind which selection criteria are being assessed.

Take your role seriously and do your best to behave as you would if the situation were real. Selection criteria assessed in the role play are: teamwork, initiative and accountability, and verbal communication.

The group role play provides a means for us to evaluate your skills in:

verbal communication, teamwork, initiative and accountability, interpersonal communication and your commitment to public service.

The taskYou have been appointed by your department to an interdepartmental advisory committee. The role of the committee is to provide advice to the Premier.

As a group you have 30 minutes to be used as follows:

a maximum of 10 minutes to divide into departments and prepare in your department

15–20 minutes for group discussion, including preparation of a presentation about the issues and advice to Premier Napthine on how he might proceed

five minutes to present to the Premier.

Continued next page…


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Your roleYour role is to represent the needs and interests of a VPS department. There will be two representatives from each department.

Background informationThe Victorian Public Service has identified a number of issues facing Victoria over the next five years.

These are:

managing the diversity of the Victorian population

improving delivery of health services in Victoria

delivering quality education to rural and regional Victoria

Supporting Victorian communities to build safer environments.

The Premier has asked the VPS to consider these issues in relation to the public sector workforce and to provide a briefing that discusses the relative priorities of these issues and recommends the most appropriate way to address them during the current term.

The VPS has set up an advisory committee to:

1. discuss and evaluate the issues

2. recommend relative priorities for the current term.

8.5 Behavioural interview


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What happens?Your behavioural interview will be with one interviewer. (Economist candidates will have one or two additional interviewers present for technical questions.) You will be asked to respond to questions by describing things you have done in the past related to the selection criteria.

In responding to these questions, draw on examples from all aspects of your life, including work, volunteer and community work, and university.

Tips The interviewer wants you to do your best. During the interview s/he will ask you probing questions

to help clarify your responses.

Choose examples that highlight your strengths and focus on your own involvement in various situations (use ‘I’ rather than ‘we’). Use the most recent examples possible.

Before you attend the assessment centre consider past experiences where you have demonstrated the selection criteria to make it easier to provide examples during the interview.

Practice can be of real benefit. Engage in mock interviews with friends, colleagues, career advisers – anyone who is prepared to help.

Walk the interviewer through your response in a logical, sequential fashion. Structure your responses according to the STAR approach outlined below.

Candidates for the economist stream should refresh themselves on key economic principles and practice, applying these to topical issues affecting Victoria.

Using the STAR approachSituation A brief outline of the situation or setting, who was involved and what was your role?

Task What did you do?

Action How did you do it?

Result What was the outcome and what feedback did you receive?

Selection criteria assessed with the behavioural interview are: integrity, initiative and accountability, flexibility, and verbal communication.

Remember, departments will also conduct behavioural interviews should your application progress.

…

8.6 Sample interview question

9. GRADS shortlistIf you are assessed as meeting all of the GRADS selection criteria benchmarks after participating in an assessment centre, you will be placed on the GRADS shortlist. Candidates on this shortlist will be considered for department interviews for the VPS GRADS. Candidates can remain on the shortlist until the end of 2015. If your application progresses to the GRADS shortlist and you no longer wish to be considered for the VPS GRADS, please inform the GRADS recruitment team immediately and withdraw your application by logging on to www.graduates.vic.gov.au.


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Initiative and accountabilityTell me about a time you saw an opportunity and drove it forward.

How did you spot the opportunity?

How did you decide whether to pursue the opportunity or not?

What was the outcome?

Sample technical question for candidates applying to the economist stream

Can you explain what a public good is, why the government may provide public goods, and give an example?

Remember, the assessors want you to do well. They have spent considerable time screening applicants and have identified you as a potential employee. They will be looking for confirmation that you have the skills and values to be successful in their department or agency. Be enthusiastic and energised.

10. Department and agency interviewsDepartment and agency interviews are the final face-to-face step in the process and the point at which departments and agencies select candidates.

You may be invited to attend one or more interviews with individual departments and agencies. All department interviews will be held in Melbourne or surrounding areas.

Round one: Department interviews will be held between Wednesday 11 June and Friday 27 June 2014.

Round two: Some positions are not recruited until later in the graduate season, hence round two. The positions recruited in round two are not predetermined and vary each year. Department interviews for round two will be held between Monday 11 August and Friday 22 August 2014.

The duration of interviews can vary. Before each behavioural interview you will be contacted by a member of the VPS GRADS team and provided with the details of the position, including the criteria being assessed, expected duration, location and any other particulars. You will then be provided with a position description for the ongoing role to which the department or agency is recruiting, together with an interview confirmation email. (Please note that this is a VPS Grade 3 ($60,551–$73,521) position description and you will be engaged during your graduate year as a VPS Grade 2 ($50,075–$50,997).


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Tips for interviews Always consider the selection criteria when framing your responses.

Re-read the questions and your responses from your application before attending an interview.

Familiarise yourself with the position description.

Make sure you have examples of previous experiences and activities that demonstrate your capability against each criterion.

Make notes and bring them with you to jog your memory.

Find out as much as you can about the department or agency, including its role and responsibilities. A good place to start is the department website. Media archives are also an excellent source of information.

Use the STAR approach to answer questions: describe the situation (outline), the task (what you did), the action (how) and the result (the outcome).

11. Verbal offer processIf more than one department or agency wishes to offer you a place on the GRADS, you will be provided with all offers in that round in one telephone call from the VPS GRADS team. You will have up to 24 hours to indicate your intention to accept a written offer of employment.

If successful, you will be employed by that particular department. You will begin the GRADS with this home department before rotating to placements in two other departments or agencies. You will return to this home department to an ongoing role on completion of the 12-month scheme.

12. Candidate feedbackIf you do not receive an offer of employment for the 2015 VPS GRADS, you are able to receive feedback regardless of which stage of the process your application was unsuccessful. Feedback will be provided about the selection criteria where you met benchmark and also where you did not meet benchmark, at the step of the process from which your application did not progress.

There is no pass or fail in the VPS GRADS recruitment process. The process is designed to help us select applicants who best meet our selection criteria. Should you not meet all of our selection criteria, you may not find working with the VPS suited to your skills and values, or you may be better suited to other areas of the VPS where specialised skills are considered with a greater weighting than the general skills assessed for the VPS GRADS.

Feedback will take place in the following sequence.

Recruitment stages – feedback type Feedback schedule

1. Your application does not progress to the GRADS shortlist Mon 16 – Fri 27 June

If your application does not progress through the following recruitment stages you will be notified as follows:

online application – Friday 4 April 2014

online assessments – Tuesday 15 April 2014

assessment centre – Wednesday 14 May 2014.

At this time you will receive an email advising you of the outcome of your application and you will be invited to log a feedback request. Requests will be taken from Friday 4 April to Wednesday 21 May. The VPS GRADS team will contact you during the feedback period (Monday 16 June to Friday 27 June between 9am and 5pm) to provide you with feedback across the recruitment stages you completed. If you are unavailable at this time, please advise the consultant who will arrange another time during the feedback period.

2. Your application progresses to the GRADS shortlist and you do not complete a department interview (once all offers for positions from rounds one and two have been finalised)

Mon 11 – Fri 22 Aug

If your application progresses through to the GRADS shortlist and you have not been successful in gaining a department interview in round one or two, you will receive an email advising you of this and inviting you to log a feedback request. Feedback requests for this process will be received from 8 August to 9am 20 August. Should you choose to log a feedback request, a member of the VPS GRADS team will contact you during the feedback period (11 August to 22 August between 9am and 5pm) to discuss your application and provide you with feedback across the recruitment stages you completed. Should the VPS GRADS team make contact with you when you are not available, please advise the consultant who will arrange another time during the


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feedback period to discuss your application.

3. You attend a department interview in round one or two and do not receive an offer of a position

Wed 3 Sept – Tues 9

Sept

If you have not been offered a position after a department interview in round one or two, you will receive an email advising you of this by Wednesday 9 July and Wednesday 3 September respectively. This email will invite you to log a feedback request. Feedback requests for this process will be received from 3 September to 9 September by 9am. Department representatives will contact you to discuss your application and provide you with feedback from a department interview between 11 September and 17 September.

Please note that feedback is only provided where you have not been offered a role. If you request feedback and are subsequently offered a role before feedback is provided, then feedback will no longer be arranged.

4. You attend department interviews during ad hoc cycles and do not receive an offer of a position

Late December/early January 2015

If you attend an ad hoc cycle department interview and are not offered a position, you will be sent an email advising you of this which will invite you to log a feedback request. Feedback requests for this process will only be conducted if you have not received department feedback after rounds one and two. Feedback requests from ad hoc cycles will be provided once all ad hoc cycles are completed which will be between December 2014 and January 2015.

(Please note the above dates may vary slightly.)

13. Continuous improvementYour feedback is important to us. A survey will be distributed via email in September 2014. The feedback provided in your response to this survey will inform our process for the following year. We survey successful and unsuccessful candidates.

The VPS GRADS also participates in the annual graduate survey conducted by the Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE). The AAGE surveys graduates who obtain positions on graduate programs. A link to this online survey is sent via email by the VPS GRADS team in the second half of the year.

14. ContactPlease contact the VPS GRADS team with any enquiries.

Phone: 1300 662 930

Email: [email protected]

Please note that when calling the 1300 number you may need to leave a message for the team and your call will be returned within 24 hours (during business days).

Queries that are not related to the standard process will be referred to the Graduate Program Manager and will require a longer response time.


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15. What we look for in our graduate recruitsWe recruit high potential and high performing graduates who want to contribute to Victoria's future. Apart from your academic record, we consider your values, experience, involvement in extra-curricular activities (for example, as a volunteer or in sport), and other community interests. We are looking for graduates who want to contribute to the Victorian community with the values and capabilities defined on the following pages.

ValuesHuman rights

Public officials should respect and promote the human rights set out in the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 by:

making decisions and providing advice consistent with human rights

actively implementing, promoting and supporting human rights

Responsiveness Providing frank, impartial and timely

advice to the Government

Providing high quality services to the Victorian community

Identifying and promoting best practice

Integrity Being honest, open and transparent in

dealings

Using powers responsibly

Reporting improper conduct

Avoiding real or apparent conflicts of interest

Striving to earn and sustain public trust at the highest level

Impartiality Making decisions and providing advice

on merit without bias, caprice, favouritism or self-interest

Acting fairly by objectively considering all relevant facts and applying fair criteria

Implementing government policies and programs equitably

Accountability Working to clear objectives in a

transparent manner

Accepting responsibility for decisions and actions

Seeking to achieve the best use of resources

Submitting to appropriate scrutiny

Respect Treating others fairly and objectively

Ensuring freedom from discrimination, harassment and bullying

Using views to improve outcomes on an ongoing basis

Leadership Actively implementing, promoting and

supporting these values


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CapabilitiesAbstract ability

Deals with concepts and complexity comfortably

Uses analytical and conceptual skills to reason through problems

Has creative ideas and projects how these could link to innovations

Teamwork Cooperates and works well with others in

the pursuit of team goals

Collaborates and shares information

Shows consideration and concern and respect for others’ feelings

Accommodates and works well with others’ different working styles

Encourages resolution of conflict in a group

Written communication Uses clear, concise and grammatically

correct language

Organises information in a logical sequence

Ensures written communication contains necessary information to achieve its purpose

Uses appropriate style and format

Verbal communication Clearly explains information and listens

to feedback

Uses a polite and considerate manner when dealing with others

Confidently conveys ideas and information in a clear and interesting way

Understands and meets the needs of the target audience

Sees things from others’ points of view and confirms understanding

Initiative and accountability Proactive and self-starting

Seizes opportunities and acts on them

Takes responsibility for own actions

Flexibility Has strategies and mechanisms for

adapting to change and stress

Is open to new ideas

Accepts changed priorities without undue discomfort

Recognises the merits of different options and acts accordingly


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