How to get a government job in Canada

My current job is to provide free employment consulting services and assistance to immigrants at government-sponsored immigration service agencies, from employment consulting for new immigrants who have just arrived in Canada, helping immigrants to analyze and understand the local employment market information, to revising their resumes to assist in finding a job to survive. The tired neck worker is called labor job in English. I prefer to call it a surviving job; from in-depth discussions with immigrants about their short, medium, and long-term employment goals and career plans, to assisting immigrants in participating in various languages, employment training, and certification, To overcome language barriers and obtain professional certification; from holding various job search seminars for immigrants to in-depth job search training, the immigrants can smoothly transition from temporary survival work to professional work.

This is the job search journey most immigrants have gone through in Canada. The length of this process varies from person to person and is related to the immigrant's language ability, work experience, technical expertise, and expression and job search skills. I have walked this way step by step in Canada in the past ten years. Although I have never worked in a tiring job, I started as a volunteer in the community and started from a very low starting point. In fact, in a sense, that is also the foundation and transition of my current career. After several years of hard work, in my spare time working full-time, I completed professional training for employment practitioners and obtained two professional qualification certifications in Alberta, CSP (Certified Settlement Practitioner) and CCDP (Certified Career Development Professional), I have professional qualification certification, whether it is to help immigrants with career planning or job search training for immigrants, I have become more professional and confident.

In the process of assisting immigrants in employment, finding a government job is part of the desire of immigrants. I have helped guests and colleagues successfully find government jobs. Now I will share some of the concerns of immigrants applying for government jobs as follows:

How to apply

Canada has three levels of government, federal, provincial, and municipal governments. All applications for jobs in the three levels of government are applied on the government's website. Applicants need to register on the government website, then log in and apply online.

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Do you need bilingualism and citizenship?

Many people think that applying for a federal government job must be bilingual in English and French, and applying for a government job must be a Canadian citizen. These are not necessarily due to work. Unless there are bilingual or nationality requirements in the recruitment information, immigrants should not guess or be heard by themselves. Arrogantly underestimate the influence of Of course, if you are bilingual in English and French, it is recommended to include this language skill in your resume regardless of whether it is required by others. If other conditions are the same, you have one more skill and one more competitive cost.

Requirements for English in government work

Looking for a job in Canada generally requires different levels of English, and government jobs are not exceptions. The government's civilian and management work has even higher requirements for English. Some positions require a written test before entering the first round of interviews, and some positions require the second or third round of interviews. The application time for government jobs is slightly longer than other jobs, so patience is required.

Requirements for academic qualifications and certification for government work

To find a government professional or management job, you generally need a bachelor’s degree and a degree, some need a master’s degree, and if you do research, you need a doctor’s degree. Many professional jobs require relevant professional certifications. These are hard indicators and generally must be met, otherwise they will usually be eliminated when the human resources department selects resumes. Government clerks or administrative assistants are usually divided into three levels, with the first level being junior and the third level being senior. If you have good academic qualifications and experience, you can directly apply for a senior clerk. However, if the academic qualifications are low, such as a college graduate, it is recommended to apply from the first level. The government's first-level clerk usually only requires high school graduation, but the government requires local high school graduation, so there is no over-qualified problem in overseas colleges.

It is easier for people with Canadian work experience to apply for government jobs

When looking for a job in Canada, many employers hope to find people with Canadian experience, because these people not only don’t have to spend a lot of time training skills, but more importantly, they have an understanding of Canadian workplace culture and it will be easier to communicate and get along with others at work. . The Canadian government is no exception when recruiting. Many positions specify two to three years of work experience. This experience usually refers to Canadian work experience. People without Canadian experience do not mean that they are completely unlikely to find government jobs, but the relative opportunities and proportions are much less.

Therefore, for new immigrants who have just arrived in Canada, if they want to find a job in the government, it is recommended to find a relevant job to accumulate two years of experience, and then apply, so that the success rate will be much higher. Our center has changed many managers in the past ten years, and three of them went to the government after working for two or three years. This is the importance of experience. Xicheng has government-sponsored administrative assistant training, five-month classroom training, and a two-month government internship. If you perform well during the internship, you have the opportunity to be hired by the government. Such training programs and internships can help immigrants overcome some of the difficulties caused by not having Canadian work experience.

Don’t just stare at full-time and permanent positions, try to start with part-time and temporary positions

Many people want to find a job in the government because the government has stable jobs, good benefits, plenty of holidays, and enough for the prescribed number of years, and generous retirement pensions are all right. But because they want to find a stable job, some immigrants just stare at those full-time and permanent positions, and no matter how many resumes they send, there is no response. My former colleague had very good conditions. When I was looking for a government job, I also encountered this kind of confusion. I didn't have an interview on how to send a resume.

Later, with my colleagues’ confusion, I found a friend who worked in the government to ask. It turned out that the fastest and most effective way to apply for a government job is to start with part-time and temporary positions. These positions have great opportunities for external recruitment, while those within the government As soon as full-time and permanent positions are released, although they are also recruited externally, they have long been targeted by those who do part-time and temporary jobs internally. Internal applications will have priority over external applications. So after listening to a friend's suggestion, my colleague immediately changed his strategy and applied for some part-time and temporary positions. As expected, he immediately received an interview notice from the government. After the interview passed, he soon received a job offer from the government.

The same resume, the same qualifications, if you blindly seek stability and only focus on some full-time and permanent positions, you will lose confidence due to frustration if you fail to try for a long time. I have a deep understanding of this. My first job in the community was part-time, and I did it for two years. Later, a colleague took maternity leave, and I worked as a settlement counselor for another year, and that position was temporary. I can have the current full-time job, which I like, a professional job that combines well with my past human resource management background. I am very grateful for those part-time and temporary positions that I did that year.

How to transition from part-time and temporary positions to full-time and permanent positions

It took a long time for a former colleague of mine to find a job with the Federal Revenue Service. It was a temporary low-start position with only an eight-month contract at the time. When she received the notice, she hesitated to ask me if she wanted to leave, because there were only eight months, and she didn't know what would happen after eight months. I told her that as far as I know, most part-time and temporary jobs in the general government are likely to be postponed or converted to full-time and permanent jobs. As long as you enter the government, you will have the opportunity. Her qualifications are very good, and I asked her to have confidence in her abilities. So under my encouragement, she left the center and went to the Federal Revenue Service.

Eight months later, her temporary position was postponed, and soon an auditing position closer to her long-term goal came out and she could apply. But considering that the child is still young, she can better take care of her family and children during working hours, so she has not considered applying for the time being and is very happy in her current position. I saw her being invited to the center to give a lecture on tax declaration some time ago. She is very professional and confident. She is in very good working condition. I am happy for her! Another former colleague of mine, also under the guidance of my friend, gave up blindly applying for full-time and permanent positions in the government. Starting from a part-time and temporary position, he successfully entered the municipal government and successfully applied to the government two months later. Another full-time and permanent job.

A friend told her that after she got a government job, she had a government ID, and then she could apply for any position within the government. I once helped one of my clients apply for a job in the provincial government. There are two areas for internal application and external application on the provincial government’s webpage. It can be seen that finding a way to enter the government and then applying for transition internally is a very effective method. The two of them will be invited by me to participate in our next year's job hunting training class student gathering to share with you their experience and experience in finding government jobs.

Getting a government job also requires interpersonal relationships

It is much easier to find a professional job in Canada if it is introduced or recommended by a friend. As we all know, the same is true for government jobs. After my former colleague joined the city government, he tried to apply for some positions she wanted internally based on the suggestions of my friends, but there was no response. Later, my friend was promoted and her original position became vacant. She recommended my colleague to apply. She strongly recommended it in front of her boss. In the end, my colleague defeated all the applicants, and even one applicant from my friend’s department did not get this opportunity. , And my colleague got it unexpectedly and effortlessly.

At that time, she became more convinced of the power of friend recommendations. This is what we often say to immigrants, if you want to find a job, don’t shut yourself at home all day to write your resume and send your resume. That may not be effective. Go into the community more when you have time, participate in more activities, and make more friends, especially friends with you. You may have your nobles among the people you know. I have helped immigrants who successfully find professional jobs. Many of them are found directly through their relationships or my relationship profile or someone else's personal relationship profile. Of course, people in Canada are very enthusiastic, and friends are also very willing to help each other, but the performance of the person who is introduced or recommended will affect the reputation of the person who is referred, so if you are not particularly familiar with and understand the person, you generally don’t dare Easy to help recommend.

I remember that when I asked a friend from the city government to help my colleague recommend a job, my friend repeatedly asked me how I was with the referee. If it was a normal friend, let her apply online. If it is a particularly good friend, she will help recommend it. I patted my chest and told my friend that she is my colleague, my boss, and my best friend. Under this circumstance, based on the trust in me, my friend tried his best, from reading the resume to strongly recommending it internally, and telling her about the precautions in the application. During that time, he had been counseling her to apply. In the words of my colleague, that's a gangster! She was so touched that she didn't know what to say. Now they have become colleagues and have a great time working together.

This year our job hunting training class students gathered, I invited a friend from the city government and her husband named Zhuangzi who also works in the city government to share with you the skills of finding a government job. Their sharing inspired immigrants deeply. . Next year, I plan to ask them to join forces to share their one-on-one, one-on-one experience.

Of course, in addition to language, academic qualifications, experience, and other requirements when looking for a government job, job search skills are also necessary skills. Due to a large number of applicants for government jobs, the competition is also quite high. Even if you have a friend’s recommendation, it will be helpful, but if the resume is not well written or the interview skills are not strong enough, the chance of getting a job is not 100%. Therefore, immigrants must make full preparations for job hunting before applying for a job.

If you need to modify your resume or improve your job search skills through job search training and mock interviews to make yourself more competitive, welcome to sign up for free job search seminars and training offered by our Chinese Community Service Center. If you are not very clear about your future career plan, need consultation and help in this regard, or want to know more career information and government-funded employment training projects, you can make an appointment with me for one-on-one employment consultation. To make an appointment, please call the Chinese Community Service Center, Tel: 780-429-3111, ext. 315, and contact Jane Cheng (Career and Employment Counselor, CCDP Certified Employment Practitioner in Alberta), email: jane.cheng@assistcsc.org

Our center is a government-funded non-profit organization, and all services are free. Assisting immigrants in employment is my job. I, who can speak Mandarin, Cantonese, and English, am willing to accompany you on the immigration process to help you realize your career dreams and live and work in Canada.

I hope that the above sharing will provide some inspiration and help for those who want to apply for government jobs.

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