Prince Edward Island Employment Journey

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General Tips for Applying to the Federal Government

Find the information you need at www.Canada.ca/gcjobs

photo from Government of Canada website
  1. Create an account and input your contact information, education, and your resumé.  Your resumé will be retained on file so that you can upload to each application.
  2. Log into your account to apply.
  3. Sign up for job alerts.  This program will automatically send an email to alert you to open positions that fit your profile.
  4. Check federal government and various department social media accounts using Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to promote job openings.
  5. Visit www.Canada.ca/gcjobs to find a list of available jobs, which can be searched by location.  Search Prince Edward Island to see all the jobs available on the Island.
  6. The job ad: Jobs are described as casual, specified period (for a set amount of time), or indeterminate (permanent).  Jobs are generally open to Canadian citizens, persons residing in Canada, and Canadian citizens residing abroad.
  7. Essentials for the job:  be sure to carefully read the whole job ad to see which skills are essential and which are considered assets.
  8. Language profile:  About 55 percent of positions in the federal government require English only, about 40 percent are bilingual imperative, and less than five percent are French only.  Bilingual imperative jobs are based on the reading, writing, and oral proficiency required for the position.  To get an idea of your level of language proficiency, sample tests are available online.  Search Public Service Commission Second Language Evaluation test. 
  9. Employment Equity – If you are an Indigenous person, a person with disabilities, a member of a visible minority group or a woman, you have the option of indicating that on your application.  Some jobs may be targeted to one of those categories.  When you apply, self declare and help us build a more diverse Public Service.
  10. Make sure the closing date has not passed.  However, some job postings have no closing date because there is ongoing continuous recruitment.
  11. Before you apply to a job ad, follow all the instructions and read the job ad carefully to make sure you meet all the essential qualifications listed. Be clear and precise in your application.  Provide specific examples to demonstrate how you meet the essential qualifications listed.  For example, if an essential qualification is proficiency in Microsoft Word, elaborate on how you used the program and avoid general terms.  Describe your work experience starting at the most recent and provide exact dates.  Do not use “we” – say what you did. Use action words such as developed, coordinated, produced, ran. When you cut and paste your information from the resumé into the job application, make sure that the formatting has not changed.
  12. Make sure you submit only what is asked for.  Submit a cover letter only if requested.  If you are asked to submit a cover letter, make sure the information on the resumé matches the information on the cover letter.  The cover letter should give detailed examples of how your experience matches each essential qualification listed in the job ad.  Applicants may be asked to complete an Unsupervised Internet Test, which is completed online at home.
  13. Submit the application before the deadline.  Don’t wait until the last minute to apply, because the application process is fairly lengthy.
  14. Screening questions can relate to both the essential qualifications and the assets listed on the application.  After answering the screening questions and submitting the application, the initial screening is done by computer.  If you answered no to any of the essential qualifications, you will be screened out.
  15. During the hiring process, you can ask for assessment accommodations.  For example, if you have a visual impairment, you could be given a test presented in a larger font.  This accommodation allows you to fully demonstrate the assessed competencies but will have no impact on your chances of being hired for that position.
  16. To find out about the status of your application and the jobs you have applied to in the past, visit your job profile.  It may say you have been screened out or that your application has been retained and you will be contacted if further assessment is required.
  17. The next level of screening will be done by an HR person or the hiring manager. They look at your application, check if you have the essential qualifications, and verify your answers against your resumé.  If you said you were proficient in Microsoft Word in your screening questions but there are no examples of that skill listed on your resumé, you will be screened out or you may be contacted for more information. It is important to align your resumé with the essential qualifications listed on the job ad.
  18. The next step is an assessment, which could include an interview, testing, and reference checks.  Very technical positions may require a knowledge test.  Assessments for administrative positions may focus on soft skills.  You could be interviewed by telephone or in person by a panel of at least two people who will be taking notes.  You will be asked questions about the qualifications, and your answers will be given a rating.
  19. At the bottom of the job ad, there will be contact information to use when inquiring about the progress of your application
  20. A job offer will be made to the successful candidate, or the competition may be used to set up a pool of candidates to be hired for multiple positions.  Make sure your e-mail service does not have a filter that could block emails from the public service. 

Programs for students to recruit new applicants to the Federal Public Service

Get valuable and meaningful experience working for the top student employer in Canada! Explore hundreds of career paths and thousands of jobs that the Government of Canada has to offer across the country. For more details, click here  

Check the website to find several student recruitment inventories that students can apply for, including inventories for Indigenous students and students with disabilities.   

Apply to more than one inventory to increase your chances of being matched to a job opportunity. 

What to expect after you apply 

  • Your application will be placed in the student inventory you applied to 
  • When there are job openings, managers will use the inventory to fill their positions 
  • You’ll be notified by email if you’re matched with a job opportunity, or if your application status changes 
  • If your application is selected for further consideration, you’ll be contacted by a manager for a test and/or interview 

Check back often for new opportunities and register for job alerts. 

Not all students who submit an application will be contacted. To ensure a fair selection process, a random selection of applicants meeting all job criteria may be used. 

Some federal departments with a presence on PEI

Government hiring during the pandemic

submitted by the Public Service Commission of Canada

Is more or less hiring being done right now?

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on hiring into the public service of Canada. Between April and November 2020, the total number of hiring activities into the public service decreased by 25.3 percent (-11,350) to 33,458 hiring activities compared to 44,808 for the same period in 2019. In Prince Edward Island, the total number of hiring activities decreased by 19.0 percent (-93) to 397 hiring activities compared to 490 for the same period in 2019.

How have hiring practices changed as a result of COVID-19?

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have certainly seen a shift in hiring practices – most notably a move from in-person to virtual assessments. For example, the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) now uses web conferencing and remote internet testing for second language testing, allowing candidates to take these tests from their home.

We have also seen a shift to virtual work, and are supporting this through a new feature on the Government of Canada’s recruitment platform, GC Jobs, that allows job posters to indicate when tasks can be performed remotely. The rise of virtual work offers a tremendous opportunity to increase diversity in the federal public service. The ability to bring jobs to employees, rather than employees to jobs, has the potential to open doors to Canadians from underrepresented communities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of modernization and spurred the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) to fast-track progress on certain initiatives and leverage technological advances. In particular, the PSC is working on modernizing GC Jobs by developing a more modern recruitment solution that is accessible, user-centric, and that provides Canadians with an equal opportunity to apply to federal government jobs.

The PSC also continues to participate in virtual job fairs to promote Government of Canada’s jobs and to share best practices with applicants as they apply for jobs in the federal public service.