Most executive assistant job ads waste your time before they tell you who you'll actually support. QUT's current Executive Assistant listing doesn't, but you still need to know what the university expects before you spend a Sunday night writing selection criteria.

This is a professional staff role at one of Brisbane's major public universities, and applications sit inside QUT's NGA.NET portal. The strongest candidates treat the position description as a checklist, not a brochure. Here's what to look for and what to prepare.

The Role, the University, and the Application Process

QUT advertises Executive Assistant roles when a senior leader needs a right hand. In practice, that means diary management, committee papers, travel coordination, inbox triage, and enough judgement to know what can wait until Monday. The exact reporting line matters more than the title. Read the position description closely: does it say Executive Dean, Director, Deputy Vice-Chancellor or something else? That tells you the pace, the audience, and how much confidential material will cross your desk.

QUT operates two main campuses in Brisbane — Gardens Point in the city centre and Kelvin Grove about three kilometres north-west. A role that spans both campuses changes your week in practical ways, from car parking to meeting logistics. Check the location detail before you build your application around it.

Executive assistants in universities sit close to decision-making that affects thousands of students and staff. A single committee cycle can involve agendas, minutes, travel briefs, and action logs across several weeks. QUT's size means the workload is structured, but not slow. If you like a role where the pattern changes each semester, this one fits.

Reading the job ad as a checklist. University job ads in Australia are written against a position description, and QUT is no exception. The selection criteria are the real advertisement. Typical criteria for an Executive Assistant include:

• Demonstrated experience supporting a senior executive or senior manager.
• Strong written communication, including drafting correspondence and minutes.
• Diary and inbox management in a complex organisation.
• Discretion and the ability to handle confidential information.
• Experience preparing committee agendas, papers, or reports.

If the ad asks for a written response, do not paste your CV into a paragraph and call it done. Give the panel evidence: what you did, for whom, and what changed. One concrete example beats a paragraph of adjectives, and that is exactly how panels sort the pile.

QUT as an employer. Professional staff at QUT work under the university's enterprise agreement, which sets out salary bands, leave and flexible work arrangements. The university's About QUT page gives useful context, but the real information is in the job ad's salary range and classification. If the ad doesn't name the HEW level, ask before the interview. You are entitled to know what band you're applying into.

Brisbane's university job market is smaller than Sydney's or Melbourne's, but Executive Assistant skills transfer well between universities, hospitals and government departments. QUT's Gardens Point campus sits in the centre of the city, which makes it one of the more central university employers in Queensland. For campus details, the QUT campuses and facilities page shows which teams sit where.

The application portal and timeline. QUT's recruitment portal is hosted on NGA.NET, a system used by several Australian universities. You create a profile, upload your CV and responses, and submit. Save your work as you go; the portal does not always time out politely.

Apply through the QUT's applicant portal once you have tailored your CV. Universities often set a closing date and may close early if enough strong applications come in, so don't wait until the final afternoon.

After you submit, expect a confirmation email. If you don't receive one, check your spam folder and then contact QUT's recruitment team. Panel shortlists can take a few weeks, but the portal should show your application status.

What to ask before you accept. Executive Assistant jobs vary more than the title suggests. Ask whether the role sits within a team of assistants or stands alone. Ask what software the office uses for committee papers and whether there's a handover plan. Ask how the senior leader likes to communicate, because that one detail changes your entire week.

If the role is based at Kelvin Grove, check parking and public transport options. If it spans both campuses, ask how often you'll need to move between them. These are not small questions after you've signed, and the best time to ask them is before the interview ends.

Mistakes that sink strong candidates. The most common one is treating selection criteria as optional. If the ad says address the selection criteria, the panel expects a separate document, not a CV with a skills table. The second mistake is writing in generalities: "I have excellent organisational skills" communicates nothing. Give one specific event, the volume, and the outcome.

The third mistake is waiting for the closing date, especially when you have no idea how long the portal will take to reset your password or accept a large file. QUT receives many professional staff applications, and a complete, early application is easier to review than a rushed one.

Your short list of steps this week. Here's the order that works for most applicants:

• Download the position description and highlight every selection criterion.
• Write one or two strong examples for each criterion, using the STAR structure you'd use in an interview.
• Tailor your CV to the role, not to every job you've ever had.
• Set up your NGA.NET profile before the due date.
• Ask one person you trust to read your response and mark anything vague.

Start the application today, even if you only upload your CV and save the draft. The portal remembers your progress, and a saved draft tells you exactly what documents the panel expects. That's the only way to turn a job ad into a job offer.