Understanding the application process: Job opportunities

Executive positions (EX)

In the federal public service, senior management is referred to as the Executive occupational group. This group is divided into five levels: EX-01, EX-02, EX-03, EX-04 and EX-05.

• EX-05 and EX-04 are the assistant deputy minister levels
• EX-03 is the director general / executive director level
• EX-02 is the senior director level
• EX-01 is the director level

Non-executive positions

A non-executive position is a job in the federal government that does not involve executive leadership. These are the everyday roles that help keep government programs and services running smoothly. They are not the ones making high-level decisions but focus on doing the work that supports Canadians directly or behind the scenes. They include roles in the areas of, but not limited to:

• Administration
• Program delivery
• Information Technology and technical support
• Finance and HR
• Clerical and regulatory work

Creating staffing pools

A pool is a list of candidates who have successfully completed various assessments that demonstrate they meet the qualifications, or merit criteria, of the position as identified on the poster.

A qualified candidate’s results could be shared with other organizations so that they can use the pool for an appointment within their own organization.

At the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, pools of qualified candidates are valid until:

• there are no remaining candidates left
• the merit criteria listed on the advertisement no longer reflect the current duties of the position or the needs of the organization

You will be notified in writing of any changes to the status of the pool.

Types of pools

A fully assessed pool is a list of candidates who have been assessed and who meet the merit criteria of the position. This type of pool enables organizations to fill vacancies quickly.

A partially assessed pool is a list of candidates who have been assessed for some merit criteria, but who require further assessment before being eligible for a position.

If you are retained, your application has been shared with the department. They will contact you should they decide to proceed with further assessments.

Length of employment

Positions are either indeterminate (permanent), or determinate (specified period or temporary).

An indeterminate appointment is when there is no present end date to the appointment.

A term appointment is for a limited or defined period of time.

Appointments are based on merit

The Public Service Employment Act states that appointments to or from within the public service must be based on merit and be free from political influence. An appointment is made on merit when the person to be appointed meets the essential qualifications for the work to be performed.

Public Service Employment Act

Essential qualifications

To be qualified, candidates must prove they meet each essential qualification listed for the job, starting with the application screening stage.

During the screening stage, your application will be reviewed to decide whether you meet the essential education and essential experience criteria. Therefore, it is important to provide concrete examples when answering the experience questionnaire section of your application.

If you have been deemed to meet all the essential education and experience criteria, you will move to the next assessment stage to determine whether you meet the other essential criteria (such as knowledge, abilities and competencies, among others). This can be determined with the use of an exam, interview and references, to name a few.

If it is found that you do not meet all the identified essential qualifications, you will not be considered further for the position.

How to apply

You must answer screening questions to demonstrate how you meet the essential qualifications (education and all essential experiences).

When answering the screening questions, it is not enough to say that you have the required qualifications or to list your current or past responsibilities. Rather, you must provide concrete examples of tasks you have accomplished with significant details to explain the what, when, where and how you acquired each qualification.

For each experience criterion, provide the following information:

1. Name of the department or organization where the experience was acquired;
2. Title of the position occupied, level and the period(s) in which you performed the functions (M-Y to M-Y);
3. Specific details of tasks or projects demonstrating how the experience was acquired (situation/challenge, tasks, action and result).

If your responses to the screening questions do not have enough details to demonstrate that you meet the screening criteria, your application will not be given further consideration in this process. Candidates will not be contacted for incomplete or missing information.

Asset qualifications

Asset qualifications are other criteria that may be required for the job. This does not mean that you must have all these qualifications, but they may be a deciding factor in choosing the person to be appointed. Therefore, we strongly encourage that you prove all the qualifications that you have.

An acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience

Depending on the job and at the manager’s discretion, a combination of education, training and/or experience can be accepted to meet the education criterion. This combination may be:

• education and training
• education and experience
• training and experience or
• education, training and experience

The combination should mean that the candidate has similar skills or knowledge as someone who has completed the required minimum level of education. If used, it will be specified in the statement of merit criteria on the job poster.

Qualification standards

Unilingual and bilingual

Some positions are unilingual, so they require proficiency in only one language. It is listed as English Essential, French Essential, and English or French essential.

Some positions are bilingual and require proficiency in both English and French. The level of proficiency can vary between positions and are based on specific job requirements.

Imperative and non-imperative

An imperative appointment is when a candidate meets the language requirements of the position at the time of appointment. The candidate must have valid language test results at the levels required for the job or must be tested to confirm that they meet the requirements.

A non-imperative appointment is when the position is being staffed by a candidate who agrees to become bilingual through language training within two years.

Imperative appointments are standard; non-imperative appointments are the exception.

Bilingual Positions in the Public Service

The difference between ‘may’ and ‘will’

When applying to a process, it is important to pay attention to the words being used. The use of ‘may’ means management could decide to continue this way but it is not decided yet. The use of ‘will’ means that management has decided that they will proceed this way. For example:

• a top-down selection may be used: means that this approach could be applied, or not
• a top-down selection will be used: means that this approach will be applied

The difference between ‘and’ and ‘or’

When applying to a process or being invited to an assessment, it is important to pay attention to the word being used in order to be successful. The use of the word ‘and’ means that both elements will be required. The use of the word ‘or’ means that only one of the stated elements will be required. For example:

• “experience coordinating and leading”: means that you will have to demonstrate with concrete examples how you have experience doing both to meet the criterion
• “experience coordinating or leading”: means that you only need to have experience doing one to meet the criterion