Effective organisational and time management skills are essential in nearly every government job. You’ll often see organisational skills as a selection criterion you need to respond to in your government application. These 7 organisational and time management skills selection criteria examples in the STAR format will help you understand what sort of information to include in your own response.
Individual applications differ in how the specific selection criteria is written. The 7 organisational skills selection criteria examples below have been written for these variations:
- Skills in setting priorities and managing competing demands.
- Proven ability to meet deadlines under pressure.
- Experience in planning and scheduling tasks efficiently.
- Ability to manage long-term projects while balancing daily tasks.
- Proficiency in using task management tools and software.
- Strong organisational skills to manage complex workflows.
- Capacity to handle high workloads without compromising quality.
1. Skills in setting priorities and managing competing demands.
Having managed multiple overlapping product launches, I am experienced in quickly identifying critical tasks and organising them for maximum impact. While working as a project coordinator at NuvoTech, I had to simultaneously oversee three major product feature releases in a single quarter. Each feature required different resources: weekly code reviews for the development team, updated collateral for marketing, and new training materials for the support department. I created a priority matrix mapping urgency to launch impact and held short daily check-ins with a visual priority board. This ensured that essential steps, such as finalising the main release’s code freeze, were completed first. All three features launched successfully, receiving positive feedback from both internal teams and external users. In future roles, I will continue applying this structured approach to prioritise effectively, ensuring timely delivery of key projects despite competing demands.
2. Proven ability to meet deadlines under pressure.
Having navigated time-sensitive projects and unexpected roadblocks, I have developed a calm, focused approach to meeting tight deadlines. At AeroSpark Electronics, I stepped into a firmware update project three weeks before its release, when it was already behind schedule. The development team was overloaded with bug fixes, and QA struggled to finalise test cases. I organized a two-day “bug sprint” to tackle top-priority issues first, held hourly progress huddles, and temporarily reassigned QA resources from another product line. Despite the initial setback, we released on the original deadline without critical defects, giving customers a seamless upgrade experience. In future roles, I will employ the same decisive, results-driven strategies to ensure deadlines are met, even in high-pressure environments.
3. Experience in planning and scheduling tasks efficiently.
Drawing from my background in managing large-scale initiatives, I am adept at breaking complex projects into manageable phases. At Delta Innovations, I oversaw a six-month ERP integration that involved mapping over 200 internal processes, coordinating multiple vendors, and training 50 end-users. I established milestones, set realistic timelines, and created a Gantt chart to track dependencies between system configuration, data migration, and training sessions. By sharing these visual updates weekly and addressing potential delays early, we avoided bottlenecks and completed the integration three days ahead of schedule. In future roles, I will maintain this proactive planning style to ensure that tasks are clearly structured, dependencies are well-managed, and teams stay informed.
4. Ability to manage long-term projects while balancing daily tasks.
Having successfully overseen year-long initiatives while handling routine responsibilities, I excel at juggling long-term goals with daily operational needs. At Omni Data Services, I guided a 12-month upgrade to our data analytics platform, encompassing code refactoring, continuous integration setup, and phased user training. At the same time, I addressed 10–15 daily client support queries and reviewed weekly KPI reports. By setting monthly milestones for major upgrade steps and using a daily checklist for operational tasks, I maintained steady progress without neglecting immediate client concerns. In future roles, I will apply this dual-focus approach to ensure strategic projects move forward smoothly while day-to-day operations remain seamless.
5. Proficiency in using task management tools and software.
With a track record of coordinating remote teams across time zones, I have become skilled at leveraging task management tools to maintain transparency and efficiency. At Insight Analytics, I managed a data analysis initiative involving three teams on different continents. Using Asana, I created standardised boards, assigned deadlines, and added detailed instructions for each task. Everyone saw what needed to be done, which streamlined collaboration and allowed us to deliver a critical client report a week early. In future roles, I will continue employing such tools to ensure that all team members have clear visibility of tasks, deadlines, and priorities, accelerating project completion.
6. Strong organisational skills to manage complex workflows.
My experience handling multifaceted data streams has taught me the importance of a clearly defined organisational structure. At TerraSphere, I oversaw an initiative involving user feedback from four regional offices, two external research agencies, and multiple product lines. I implemented a consistent folder hierarchy, standardised naming conventions, and maintained a master index spreadsheet with source details and metrics. Analysts accessed key documents within seconds, significantly speeding up their reporting and improving decision-making. In future roles, I will apply the same meticulous organizational methods, ensuring that teams can navigate complex information quickly and accurately.
7. Capacity to handle high workloads without compromising quality.
Throughout sudden workload surges, I have kept standards high by streamlining processes and maintaining quality checks. At Orion Manufacturing, a sudden influx of customer orders doubled my usual workload in one month. I batch-processed routine tasks—such as invoices and shipment labels—to increase efficiency and used a quick-reference checklist to uphold accuracy. Despite higher volume, all orders went out correctly and on time, earning commendations from management. In future roles, I will employ similar strategies, ensuring that even under heavy workloads, quality and timeliness remain uncompromised.
Extra Selection Criteria Writing Tips:
- Make sure you adhere to the correct wordcount. Sometimes you may need more than one example to ensure the length guidelines are met.
- Use the STAR format to format your response (Situation, Task, Action and Result). You can also use the SAO (Situation, Action, Outcome) method.
- Use examples from jobs/ tasks at a higher level than the role you are applying for where possible. For example, if you have acted in higher roles, consider examples from during this time.
- Make sure you address all aspects of the question. I.e. if a criterion references both planning AND scheduling, you need to address both parts of this.
- Make sure your examples match the role you are applying for, and include similar tasks/ duties.
We hope these organisational and time management skills selection criteria examples have been helpful. If you would like further assistance with writing your application, please get in touch, our selection criteria writers are available to assist.
