Student to student: How to get a student job with the Government of Canada

Apply, apply, apply

Even in high school, Anteia Organ was interested in working for the government. “I wanted to change things from the inside,” says Anteia, a 23-year-old Kaska and Tahltan woman from the Liard First Nation in the Yukon. So, when she started studying political science at the University of Saskatchewan, she took a friend’s advice and applied for the Government of Canada’s student job program.

Known as the Federal Student Work Experience Program, it employs around 10 000 post-secondary students across Turtle Island every year for summer and part-time jobs during the school year. To apply, students must submit an application to the Ongoing Student Recruitment Inventory.

Anteia’s application took about 30 minutes. She created an account in GC Jobs, the Government of Canada’s jobs website, and then filled in the online application on the Federal Student Work Experience Program page, answering questions about her studies, where she was willing to work, and choosing 5 general job types that she was interested in. She also chose to self-declare that she is First Nations, attached her résumé and submitted her application. Soon she was informed that her application had been placed in the student inventory, and that if her profile was selected, she would get an email from a manager.

That year, no one reached out to Anteia, so she applied again, every year for 4 years. But each year she heard nothing.

Use our PDF poster to share these stories and job opportunities: Indigenous student jobs at the Government of Canada

Published: 2023-06-01

Résumé revamp

“Then in January 2020, I took an Indigenous Career Readiness Program at my university. And after that, my résumé looked a lot different,” says Anteia. This time, her résumé got noticed by 3 different managers, and she got an interview at Employment and Social Development Canada.

The biggest change she made was adding a skills summary to her résumé. “Don’t be afraid to add non-work experience,” says Anteia. “Like if you fix cars or build computers in your spare time, or you help to plan community events, or tutor your cousins; those skills can add a lot of value.”

When writing about your skills, use keywords that managers might look for in a candidate, says Camille Forbes, a Métis student at the University of Manitoba. Camille has held 6 different student jobs with the Government of Canada.

The challenge for job seekers is to identify which keywords to include in their application, especially since they’re applying to a general inventory, not a specific job.

“One tip is to go to the GC jobs page and look at job descriptions for entry-level positions in the fields you’re interested in,” says Camille, who is studying environmental science. When you find in-demand keywords describing the skills you have, add those to your résumé. “My résumé got noticed for jobs related to environment and climate change because I added keywords like, ‘field readiness’ and ‘analyzing environmental policies,’” she explains.

To declare or not to self-declare?

You have the option to self-declare when you submit your application online. Candidates can choose to self-declare as Indigenous or as a member of 3 other designated employment equity groups. Some jobs are only open to Indigenous candidates, so self-declaring ensures that you will be considered for these opportunities.

Both Anteia and Camille said that they self-declared because they’re proud of who they are, and they knew it would increase their chances of their résumé standing out among a huge pool of candidates. “Also, the jobs that want to hire an Indigenous candidate tend to be more tailored to Indigenous values,” says Camille.

Ace the interview

Government managers are trained to look for candidates to answer questions using the “STAR” method, says Richard Loeppky, a Métis senior manager at Health Canada who hires new talent. “I recommend having 7 or 8 stories that you can use and modify for different questions. For example, if you have a good story about how you handled conflict with a colleague, you practise explaining that using the STAR method.”

At his interview for a student job with Canada Border Services Agency, Corey Mills, from Alexander First Nation in Treaty 6 territory, drew on his experiences working as a student at Wetaskiwin Probation and as a case worker with the John Howard Society. Corey was asked to write answers to 4 scenario-based questions like, “How would you handle an upset client?” He only learned of the STAR method once he was in government, but later used it in an interview that led to a permanent position.

Interviews can be done online or in person. Either way, says Camille, dress in something that makes you feel confident: “And dress one step above the position that you are applying for, so you look fresh.” A hockey referee in her spare time, Camille likes to rock the button-up dress shirt and pants she wears when she’s refereeing higher-end games.

Make the most of your work experience

For jobs where an Indigenous perspective is essential to the position, you may be asked to affirm your Indigenous identity by filling out a form. Affirmation is a tool that the Government of Canada uses to recognize the uniqueness of Indigenous identity, and to deter anyone who might think of falsely self-declaring to be considered for a job. But the process can feel uncomfortable.

Corey, who is about to graduate, recently started a full-time job with Transport Canada. “During the final stages of the hiring process, I was asked to fill out and affirm on a form that I was Indigenous. I was told that this affirmation would increase my priority status towards the job posting. It makes me question, am I being employed based on merit, skills and abilities, or is it because of my ancestry?”

Natasha Agnew, a senior human resources consultant with the Indigenous Centre of Expertise, says that a candidate must always meet merit to be appointed. “Sometimes being Indigenous is part of merit,” she says. “Experience and knowledge like having an understanding of Indigenous culture and family systems, or being raised in community, or being able to offer an Indigenous lens to a project, is part of what makes some people more qualified than others.”

When work begins, managers are encouraged to sign up First Nations, Inuit or Métis students for the Indigenous Student Employment Opportunity (accessible only on the Government of Canada network). The initiative provides a safe space for Indigenous students in the public service. It runs mentoring sessions for summer students, helps them deal with challenges at work, and collaborates to get them bridged into full-time public service jobs after graduation. Beyond these benefits, many departments have their own Indigenous employee networks to help foster connection.

Camille says not every student job is exciting or relates to your studies. In her first Federal Student Work Experience Program job, “I spent the first month and a half making electronic copies of physical files, but then the manager of my group caught wind of that and changed my work to include me more with the team. It ended up being an incredible position.”

For students feeling stuck: don’t wait for a manager to notice, says Samantha Prosper, a student who helps run the Indigenous Student Employment Opportunity. “Instead reach out to the Indigenous Student Employment Opportunity for help; the program is here to support you every step of the way.”

“Your student experience is largely what you make it, so be confident, let your manager know what your interests are, and ask to be put on projects so you can meet more people,” she says. And if that first job isn’t fantastic? Focus on building skills for that next student job, like learning to write a briefing note or managing an inbox.

Indigenize the future

Before working as a student in the Federal Student Work Experience Program, Camille imagined that her degree would only allow her to work in a consulting company. “Now I see that there are a lot of different opportunities; I could be an environmental health officer, a policy analyst or a project manager, all with different departments,” she says.

Corey has a big career goal: to become an intelligence officer for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. He says his student work experience at the Canada Border Services Agency helped to solidify that desire. “It’s important to have the work experience before you pursue a career in that field,” says Corey.

As for Anteia, she landed a job with that first interview and loved it. She joined a small team in the Office of Indigenous Initiatives at Employment and Social Development Canada. After graduation she was bridged into full-time work with her team where she helps recruit and support Indigenous talent through the hiring process.

“It’s important for Indigenous people to work in government. We were the original founders of Turtle Island, so why shouldn’t we be a good portion of the government that control everything? Together, we can Indigenize it slowly and have more say in the way it’s run.”

Go get it! Tips for getting your first student job in government

• Go to your college or university’s career centre to get résumé advice and interview coaching
• Find keywords for GC jobs you’d like to try and add those skills to your résumé
• To search entry-level positions on the GC Jobs website, look for positions that end in 01 or 02
• Consider self-declaring: it opens up more job opportunities
• Join the National Indigenous Student Circle’s Facebook group for networking and advice; it’s open to all Indigenous students, whether or not you’re working for the federal government
• Check out the National Indigenous Student Circle’s wiki page for job postings and a podcast
• New graduates and those graduating within the next year: contact the Indigenous Centre of Expertise at cfp.cea-icoe.psc@cfp-psc.gc.ca with your résumé, and ask about joining the Indigenous Career Pathways program, a gateway to jobs open to Indigenous peoples across the federal public service