How to write a Graduate Nursing Selection Criteria
Writing selection criteria as a graduating nurse doesn’t seem super fun, right? But it’s worth noting how important this skill is not only for your graduate nursing role, but for every job that you apply for in the future.
Mastering how to write graduate nurse selection criteria is essential, because when you learn how to communicate your nursing experience in writing, it helps you sell your skills during the interview!
Here are some actionable tips that we teach our graduate nurse career launch students to secure their first preference graduate nursing role in 2023:
1) Make sure your selection criteria document matches your resume and cover letter document. Your documents should be professionally branded and all look like they came from the save person!
2) Writing selection criteria is about showing them your experience through story.
3) Highlight the key buzzwords in the selection criteria questions and rewrite the selection criteria it in plain language for yourself to increase your understanding.
4) Using the STAR approach is the primary preferred method that helps you stay on track, cut the fluff, and stick to the point.
5) Keep your Situation to one sentence, paraphrasing the selection criteria, weaving throughout your example.
6) Your Task is short and succinct and linked back to the selection criteria.
7) Your Action section is where you tell them (don’t teach) what you did, why, how you did it, weaving through your buzzwords, topical terms, evidence base research, data to support and anything speciality focused to show them why you are an excellent fit!
8) Your Result is all about wrapping up the example, tying it back to the selection criteria and showing them the result of your work. It should confirm that you are capable and competent.
9) When writing your selection criteria, you want to develop the skills of telling the graduate panel what you did and why not teaching them. There’s a difference!
10) Find opportunities to use their words and language from their job description and weave it throughout your graduate selection criteria.
11) Get someone to review that is going to give you valuable feedback!
12) Make sure your examples are tailored to the job, the speciality, and the organisation. Sell them what they want!
Writing graduate nursing selection criteria is confusing, but with the right strategy, approach and support its easy and quite fun.
Mastering this skill will set you apart from your competition in your applications (the most important phase) and will help you significantly sell your skills during your interview!
Graduating as an enrolled nurse or registered nurse in 2023?
Download my FREE graduate career application guide here and learn from my experiences hiring graduate nurses and what to do to apply, land, interview for your first graduate role!
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PS: know a student who is graduating this year? Share this with them!
About the author.
Liam is an ex-Nurse Unit Manager, who has sat on graduate nurse panels across Australia and knows what panels are looking for! My vision is to make sure NO graduate nurse is without a job in 2023!
