Government of Western Australia Department of Health Nursing and Midwifery Office Graduate Connect application guide www.gnc.health.wa.gov.au Nursing and midwifery can take you anywhere.
What is Graduate Connect? Graduate Connect is an online recruitment system that is centrally managed by the Western Australian Department of Health. This easy and streamlined process provides a wider choice of employment opportunities for graduating nurses and midwives. Graduate Connect works collaboratively with hospitals and health services to facilitate the employment of students, into graduate nurse and midwife positions, within the Western Australian public health system and partcipating private hospitals. Graduate Connect allows you to: apply for more than one public hospital/health service, or participating private hospital using one application edit and save your application up until the closing date receive and accept your job offer online maintain your personal contact details. Application dates Please review www.gnc.health.wa.gov.au for full details on application dates for each program. Eligibility Applicants must be: 1. Eligible for registration as a registered or enrolled nurse for nursing positions and as a midwife for midwifery positions with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). The NMBA is responsible for the regulation of nursing and midwifery practice in Australia. Nurses and midwives must comply with the registration standards and be registered with the NMBA prior to the commencement of their graduate program. 2. Nurses a new graduate nurse who has not previously participated in a Graduate Nurse Program and has not been employed for more than 12 months as a nurse in Australia or overseas. Enrolled nurses converting to registered nurse who have undertaken an Enrolled Nurse Graduate Program in the past ARE eligible to apply for Registered Nurse Graduate Programs. 3. Midwives a graduate midwife who has not previously particpated in a Graduate Midwifery Program and has not been employed for more than 12 months as a midwife in Australia or overseas. Selection priority: Priority will be given to Australian citizens or those who have Australian permanent residency status at the time of application. New Zealand citizens in possession of a Special category Visa are considered permanent residents. 2
Employment conditions The terms and conditions of service are in accordance with the Registered Nurses, Midwives and Enrolled Mental Health Nurses Australian Nursing Federation WA Health Industrial Agreement 2010 and WA Health LHMU Enrolled Nurses and Assistants in Nursing Industrial Agreement 2011. You will also be required to be up-to-date with: Criminal Record Check Working with Children Check Immunisations and Health Screening Note: This is a guide only. Each successful applicant will be subject to specific employment requirements of each individual employing hospital and health service. Addressing selection criteria To be considered for a job you will be required to address selection criteria so that your knowledge, skills, abilities and experience can be assessed. Selection criteria: Provides an opportunity to highlight your suitability for a graduate position; Is important to help recruiters shortlist for job offers. Good applicants can be overlooked by hospitals/health services if they fail to complete the selection criteria. Should provide evidence and examples of your knowledge, skills and abilities. Many applicants use the STAR system to set out their statements. The STAR system stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. It allows you to provide an example of a situation where you have been able to demonstrate your abilities and knowledge, the actions you took and outcome of your actions. For example compare these two responses to the same selection criteria. Example 1: Good written communication skills particularly in the area of letter and report writing. I have good writing skills and have extensive experience in preparing letters. I also enjoy the process of writing reports. In the past I have received good feedback about my writing style and feel confident that I have the necessary skills to do the work. Example 2: Good written communication skills particularly in the area of letter and report writing. I have developed my written communication skills over the past 3 years in my current role as Secretary to the Director, Executive Services. In this position I am personally responsible for composing letters on a daily basis, to suppliers, members of the public and to Government Departments. Only on rare occasions does the Director need to make amendments. I am the author of a recent report to the Managing Director on Office Administration Procedures, which was accepted and implemented throughout the Branch. Currently I am preparing reports and assignments for my external unit on business studies at Curtin University. I received a distinction on my first assignment. The difference between the above examples is that by using the STAR approach the reader is given more evidence in example two, about how often the work is carried out and the positive outcomes of this work. It substantiates that the applicant has experience. If you need further assistance with writing your selection criteria statements please see your education provider careers advisors. Before applying for a graduate position, it is strongly advised that you read all the information contained in this guide. 3
How do I apply? Go to the Graduate Connect website at www.gnc.health.wa.gov.au and select the links to enrolled nurse, registered nurse or midwife applications (depending on your qualification) and then click the Access and apply to Graduate Connect link. Job advertisement Read the advertisement and attachments very carefully. If you believe you meet the selection criteria, apply for the position. Self assessment You are required to complete the self assessment question. The question allows you to determine if you meet the minimum mandatory requirements of the position and have applied for the correct job. Type in your email address Click: Continue There is no need to attach any documents to your application. You will be asked everything we need to know. Late applications will NOT be accepted. Helpful hints Remember to regularly save your work. The Save button is found at the bottom of each page. An active, reliable email account is essential as all correspondence will be via email. It is your responsibility to check your emails regularly during this process. If you experience problems accessing the job page please send an email to ramshelpdesk@bigredsky.com If you have not received your password within one hour, contact ramshelpdesk@bigredsky.com Fields in red are mandatory. If you wish to go back a page/s in your application, click back at the bottom of the page. Do not use the Internet browser back button as you may lose information. Decide on your hospital program preferences (for details on individual hospitals and health services, refer to the list available at www.gnc.health.wa.gov.au) Provide two current and relevant referees, including their contact details and email address. One of your referees should be a supervisor. Referees should be able to comment on your work as a student in a clinical environment or comment on your work in other employment. Character references are not required. There is no need to attach any other documents. Once you submit your application you will no longer be able to edit your application. If you do wish to alter your application before the closing date you will need to withdraw your application, update it and then re-submit it. See withdrawing application. 4
Registration If this is your first visit to the job board you are required to register. Click: Not Registered? You can edit and save incomplete applications at any time by accessing My Applications on the summary page. Summary Once you have logged in a summary page will be available. On the left vertical menu click: My Details Terms and conditions You will need to agree and accept the Terms and Conditions of use in order to proceed with your application. Click: Yes Register your email address Enter your personal details including a current active email account. A password will then be sent to your email account. If you do not receive your password within one hour please contact ramshelpdesk@bigredsky.com Complete all relevant details. Click: Save Once your personal details have been saved, you will be returned to the top of the page. Select job search. Edit and save If you wish to exit your application at any stage, remember to save and logout. All information entered will be saved to this point. Login Once you have received your password to your email account, you are ready to commence your application. Click: Login Type your full email address and password. Click Job Search and type in Graduate Connect or go to How do I apply? for further instructions. Click Login 5
Job application Step 1 Personal details Confirm your details are correct and edit if necessary. Click: Next Step 2 Application questions General questions regarding your application. Qualifications Information about where you are studying and your previous nursing or midwifery experience. Selection criteria You are asked to type a response to each of the selection criteria see Addressing Selection Criteria if you are not sure how to do this. Click: Next Graduate program preference details You are required to select your top employment preferences from the list of employing hospitals. The system will allow you to select the same hospital program more than once. Do not choose the same hospital/program more than once - it can potentially limit your chances of gaining employment, so it is best to choose different options for each preference. Step 3 Declaration Once you have completed your application, you are required to confirm that the information is true and correct. Tick I have read, understood and accept this condition Once you have completed the declaration, you are able to submit your application. Once you click Submit Application your application will be forwarded to the recruiters and you will no longer be able to edit unless you withdraw and re-submit your application before the close date. Step 4 Confirmation Once you have successfully completed all the steps and submitted your application, you will receive confirmation that your application has been received. This confirms the date your application was received and your application number. A copy of this confirmation advice will be sent to your email account. Please retain this for future reference. 6
Edit submitted applications or withdraw If you wish to modify or change your application you may withdraw it and resubmit prior to the nominated closing date and time. To withdraw an application please follow these steps. Job offers Offers are made in rounds and only on particular dates. See important dates at www.gnc.health.wa.gov.au How do I know if I have been made an offer? Offers will only be visible on certain dates. Please review the important dates document for the dates offers are made each round. To check if you have been made an offer go to www.gnc.health.wa.gov.au and follow the links back to the place where you first applied. Click: Login Enter your email and password 1. Click: Login 2. Click: My Jobs 3. Click: the underlined number in Active Applications 4. Change the application status from Applied to Withdrawn and click Save. Click: Login Click: My application Here you can view all offers made to you for this position. If you do not see Offer Made you have not been made an offer and will need to wait for the following round. If you have been made an offer you must accept or decline the offer before the closing date. Please take care not to accidentally withdraw your application when checking your offer. After doing this a link will be provided that allows you to resubmit your application. Note: all previous responses are available for editing. You will not receive another confirmation email for re-submitted applications. As a courtesy if you accept an offer and then later need to decline or withdraw your application please withdraw your application online and email gnc@health.wa.gov.au as soon as possible so that the job offer can be made to someone else. 7
Further Information: Graduate Connect www.gnc.health.wa.gov.au or email GNC@health.wa.gov.au or contact individual hospitals and health services This document can be made available in alternative formats on request for a person with a disability. Department of Health 2012 HP011241 MAY 12