“Nice to have” is not “genuinely required”
Inflated criteria don’t raise the bar, they bury the evidence.
Over-specified selection criteria look rigorous. They are not. When a role lists twelve “essential” qualities, the panel cannot assess all of them well in a one-hour interview, so the assessment becomes shallow on each one.
The merit principle requires the assessment to be based on the relationship between candidates’ work-related qualities and those genuinely required to perform the duties. “Genuinely required” is a filter, not a wishlist.
Three to five qualities, assessed deeply, beats twelve assessed in passing. It also makes the selection report easier to defend on review, because each quality has real evidence behind it, not a box-tick.
Cut your selection criteria list in half. For each surviving item, write one sentence on how the role fails without it.