Applying for Government of Canada jobs: How to apply

• Take it one step at a time
• Only apply if you have all the essential qualifications listed on the job posting; asset qualifications are beneficial, not essential, so apply even if you don’t have any of them
• Save, save, save: the GC Jobs system doesn’t save automatically
• Save your answers in a separate document, so you can:
• use it before you apply to get feedback from friends or mentors, and use tools to check your grammar and spelling
• repurpose your answers for other job opportunities
• You can make changes to your submitted application right up until the closing date:
• your application stays in the “Submitted job applications” section of your account until the closing date
• just select “Retrieve application” and make your change, but be sure to re-submit your application by the closing date, or you won’t be considered for the job
• Apply ahead of the deadline to allow for any technical issues on the part of GC Jobs or on your end

1. Create an unformatted résumé for GC Jobs (no bullets, underlines or bold), as the system will remove most formatting when you paste it into your online profile
2. Keep it up to date, and tailor it for each job you apply to
3. Watch Alex’s Tips and Tricks video

Create your best possible answer

• While applying, you may need to answer screening questions related to the qualifications on the job poster, such as experience and education
• Read the screening questions carefully
• Don’t just state that you have the experience or education; provide details or examples
• Avoid acronyms to ensure the person reading your application understands
• When talking about your work, describe your role and accomplishments
• If the question uses “and” you must demonstrate that you have all the skills or experiences required
• Example: “Do you have experience participating in and leading a team?”
• Write about your experiences as a participant and as a leader in the answer
• If the question uses “or” you need to demonstrate that you have at least one of the skills
• Example: “Do you have experience in planning meetings or events?”
• Write about your experience in planning meetings or events

Check out these model answers

• When answering “yes” to a screening question, write a full answer in the box below it to prove you have the experience in question
• Check out the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method to design an answer that pops
  

  S

  Situation

  Describe the situation

  T

  Task

  Give details on what you had to do

  A

  Action

  Give details on actions you have taken

  R

  Result

  Describe the result of the situation

• Review this example of a complete and an incomplete answer to a screening question:
• Question: Do you have experience in complex research, using archival documents, historical maps and databases?
• Complete answer:
  I have 3 years experience in complex research, using archival documents, historical maps and databases as a Master’s and undergraduate student in North American history at the University of Guelph in my senior years (1999-2001) and Dalhousie University (2003-2004). For various projects and major research papers, I pulled original archival research from local and national archives, searched newspaper databases digitally and via microfiche for small, independent publications, and used historical maps to track historical events across Canada. I built relationships with librarians and archivists who helped me unearth original, hard-to-find documents. As a result, I was able to pull original research and tell new stories about social movements, public memory and events that resulted in 2 articles in academic publications and an award for innovative research from York University.
• Incomplete answer:
  Yes, I did historical research and used archives as a history student in undergraduate and master’s studies at university. Please see the education section of my résumé for details.