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NSW Government targeted questions ask you to explain how your experience fits a role. For a question about something you have done, a useful answer describes a specific situation, your responsibility, the actions you took and what happened as a result.
This guide includes two complete fictional answers, followed by a writing process and further practice questions. Each worked answer uses an illustrative maximum of 300 words. Your own advertisement or application form sets the limit and tells you what to address.
Customer service worked answerCompeting priorities worked answerWrite your own responsePractical questions
Worked answer: customer service and problem-solving
Original sample question: Describe a time you resolved a customer problem when the usual process had not worked. How did you establish what had happened, choose a solution and keep the customer informed?
Fictional teaching example. Illustrative maximum: 300 words. Answer word count: 253. This scenario and question were created for this guide. They are not an actual advertisement, a client application or an official assessment exemplar.
While working for a furniture retailer, I handled a complaint from a customer whose replacement dining table had not arrived before a family gathering. She had contacted the store twice and received different delivery dates. I was responsible for finding out where the replacement was and agreeing a practical next step.
I let her explain what had happened, confirmed the order details and checked the delivery notes against the warehouse record. The replacement had been allocated, but its delivery booking had not transferred when the original order was cancelled. I contacted the dispatch coordinator to confirm its location and the earliest available delivery, rather than offering another date I could not verify.
The normal delivery run would miss the gathering. I checked whether a collection was possible, but the customer had no suitable vehicle. I then asked my manager to approve a local courier within our service recovery allowance. Once approval and the courier booking were confirmed, I explained the arrangement to the customer, gave her the delivery window and agreed to call if anything changed.
I recorded the booking and my contact details in the order notes so other staff could give consistent advice. The table arrived the following morning, and I called to confirm it was undamaged and the problem was resolved. I also reported the booking failure to my manager and suggested adding a delivery check when replacement orders were created. My contribution was to trace the failed handover, obtain an authorised solution and follow the matter through to delivery.
Why this answer works: The problem is concrete: conflicting advice and a missing delivery booking. The applicant checks two records, confirms the facts with dispatch and considers a practical constraint before proposing a solution. Seeking approval demonstrates the limits of their authority. The result is a completed delivery and a closed customer enquiry; the answer does not invent a satisfaction score or claim that the suggested process change was adopted.
Adapt it to your experience: Choose a real service problem you followed through. Explain which records you checked, what the customer needed, what you could authorise yourself and what required approval. Use the actual outcome, including any unresolved issue. Check whether your advertisement asks about service, problem-solving, communication or another requirement, then emphasise the relevant actions. Private-sector experience can demonstrate transferable skills; it does not replace a mandatory qualification or registration.
Worked answer: competing priorities and project support
Original sample question: Give an example of supporting a project while managing competing deadlines. How did you decide what to do first, handle a dependency outside your control and take responsibility for the quality of your work?
Fictional teaching example. Illustrative maximum: 300 words. Answer word count: 280. This scenario and question were created for this guide. They are not an actual advertisement, a client application or an official assessment exemplar.
As a project support officer for a training provider, I was preparing papers for a steering committee while coordinating venue confirmations for the next intake. On the morning the papers were due, a venue withdrew and the finance update arrived with an unexplained difference between the summary and supporting spreadsheet. I was responsible for compiling accurate papers and keeping the venue arrangements on track.
I checked the committee deadline and identified which venue decisions affected enrolment messages scheduled for that afternoon. I explained the conflict to the project manager and proposed dealing with the venue first, while finance checked its figures. We agreed that a routine attendance report could wait until the following morning.
I contacted the alternative venue already approved for the program and confirmed capacity, accessibility and availability. I sent the project manager the confirmed option for approval and updated the enrolment team once the change was agreed. I recorded the revised tasks, owners and deadlines in our shared tracker.
For the committee papers, I compared the finance files and identified the entries causing the difference. I asked the finance officer to confirm the correct version by an agreed time. When that response was delayed, I alerted the project manager and kept the unverified total out of the draft. After finance confirmed the correction, I checked it against the supporting figures and completed a final version check before distribution.
The papers went out by the deadline with the corrected figures, and participants received the confirmed venue details that afternoon. I completed the deferred report the next morning and closed the outstanding tracker items. This kept urgent work moving while preserving the approvals and accuracy checks each task needed.
Why this answer works: The applicant prioritises according to consequences and deadlines, agrees a trade-off and remains responsible for deferred work. The finance dependency is explicit. They identify the discrepancy, request confirmation and escalate the delay, while the finance officer remains responsible for confirming the figures. The outcome addresses both delivery and accuracy without claiming sole responsibility for the project.
Adapt it to your experience: Explain what was competing, which deadline was fixed, whose agreement you needed and what could move. Describe the check you completed yourself and the decision that belonged to someone else. If you missed a deadline, say so and explain how you managed the impact. Do not borrow the venue, finance issue or successful outcome unless those events happened to you.
How to write your own response
Start with the question and the application instructions. Note every part you must answer, the word or page limit and where the response must be submitted. Read the role description alongside the advertisement so you understand the work, essential requirements and relevant capability levels.
For a question asking about a past experience, choose an example you can explain accurately. Briefly establish the situation and your responsibility, then describe what you checked, decided and did. Finish with the outcome and any learning the question asks for. The written STAR examples for NSW Government applications show how to turn that evidence into connected paragraphs.
Online application questions do different jobs. A question about a licence, qualification or eligibility needs an accurate factual response. A question about your motivation needs a direct explanation of your interest and fit. A behavioural question asks for evidence from experience. Read the wording before choosing a structure; STAR is useful for behavioural evidence, but it does not need to be forced onto every response.
Check the capability level in the role description supplied for your vacancy. A Clerk Grade alone does not tell you which level applies to every capability. NSW introduced a revised Capability Framework in 2026, with agencies transitioning their role descriptions by 29 January 2027. Use the documents attached to your vacancy and ask the contact officer if the instructions conflict. See the official framework update.
Before submitting, check each part of the question against your answer. Make your personal contribution clear, remove background that does not help explain it and check the word count in the actual submission form.
12 further practice questions
These fictional practice prompts help you think of relevant experience. They are not copied from advertisements or assigned to particular grades. Use the question, responsibilities and capability levels in your own vacancy to judge whether an example is suitable.
Service and communication
- Describe a time you worked under pressure and still delivered good service.
- Explain how you handled a difficult customer or stakeholder.
- Give an example of communicating clearly with different people.
Planning and accuracy
- Describe a time you managed multiple tasks and deadlines.
- Explain how you checked accuracy in your work.
- Explain how you balanced competing priorities.
Problem-solving and improvement
- Describe a time you solved a problem without being told exactly what to do.
- Give an example of improving a process or workflow.
- Give an example of making a judgement call that improved the result.
Working with others and complexity
- Give an example of working as part of a team to solve a problem.
- Describe a time you influenced stakeholders to reach an outcome.
- Explain how you managed a complex issue with limited time or information.
Practical questions
How long should my response be?
Follow the limit in the advertisement, applicant information or application form. There is no single word limit for all NSW Government targeted questions. The 300-word maximum in our worked examples is a teaching constraint. If the instructions are unclear, ask the contact officer. Allow space for the actions and outcome, then cut background that does not help answer the question.
Can I use private-sector experience?
Yes, where it demonstrates the skills or behaviours being assessed. Explain the situation in plain language so someone outside your industry can understand it. NSW DCJ guidance encourages relevant examples from other jobs or contexts. You must still meet any essential requirements stated for the role. See DCJ’s targeted-question guidance.
Do I need STAR headings?
Follow any format the employer specifies. Otherwise, you can use STAR to organise your thinking and write the answer in natural paragraphs, as we have above. Headings can help during drafting, but the evidence should remain clear when you remove them. This is a writing recommendation; it is not a statewide rule about presentation.
Can I reuse an example?
You can draw on the same experience when it answers another question, but adapt the emphasis and check every part of the new prompt. Avoid repeating an identical response across several questions when it leaves important requirements uncovered. Using an application example again at interview can also be useful: be ready to explain your decisions and answer follow-up questions.
What if the question has several parts?
Underline each request before drafting. If it asks how you prioritised work, involved others and checked quality, your answer needs evidence of all three. One example may cover them; if it cannot, choose a better fit or use more than one where the instructions and available space allow. A strong account of only the first part is still an incomplete answer.
Before you submit, read your answer beside the original question. Check that your decisions, actions and outcome are clear, and that your CV and other written documents describe your experience consistently. For help preparing the documents for one role, see the Complete Government Job Application service.