Assuming you make it past the application stage, written exams are common for many competitions, and your preps can be divided into two tracks — what to write and how to write.
TRACK 1: What to write
I noted in the previous chapter that a statement of merit (i.e. the job poster) has multiple elements including eligibility (already addressed), experiences (already addressed), knowledge, abilities and personal suitability. For a written exam, the focus is on testing approximately 5% of your essential experiences, 85-90% of knowledge, and 10% of abilities. How does it do that?
Let’s focus on the largest component, which is knowledge. I’ll use an EC example as it is the simplest to understand. Generally speaking, there are likely to be three possible knowledge “elements” in the poster:
- Knowledge of broad Government of Canada policies and priorities;
- Knowledge of the Department’s specific mandate or its current policy or program priorities; or,
- Knowledge of something specific to the policy area relevant to the position.
In practice, this might read like:
Knowledge:
K1. Knowledge of Government of Canada’s priorities;
K2. Knowledge of Canada’s labour market trends and issues;
K3. Knowledge of ESDC’s mandate, programs and priorities; and,
K4. Knowledge of the decision-making process in Government for policies and programs.
Assets:
AK1. Knowledge of process for policy consultations with stakeholders
Now, as you’ll recall from an earlier chapter, the competition process has a double-edge sword — the hiring manager has to test you on every element of the poster (for Knowledge, Abilities, and Personal Suitability) AND can only test you on those elements. Which means you know at some point in the process you are going to be asked about GoC priorities, labour market trends, ESDC’s mandate / programs / priorities, decision-making processes, and (potentially) policy consultation process. Preparations for this are a lot like preparing for a test in school — you study, you memorize, you spit it back on during the test.
While Knowledge can be tested at the interview stage, most EC competitions will test you through a written test. Partly for another reason — almost every EC position also will have a requirement in the Abilities section about the ability to “communicate in writing”, so they’ll test if you can communicate in writing i.e. give you a written test.
So let’s assume I wanted to give you a single question on the written exam to test K1-K3. How would I do that? How about:
Assume you have a new Director in your group. She has asked you to prepare a background memo for her to help get herself up to speed, and the current state of play of your files. Write a memo (aka Ability to communicate in writing) to her giving the current state of the labour market (aka K2), and how it relates to broad Government of Canada priorities (aka K1) and more specifically to ESDC’s current mandate, programs and priorities (K3). The maximum length for the memo is three pages and you have two hours to complete the exam.
If you were an AS applying for a finance-related position, the poster might say:
Knowledge:
K1. Knowledge of administrative procedures in ESDC related to financial approvals;
K2. Knowledge of broader GoC legislation and regulations related to finance;
In a written test, you might then see the following question:
Write a short email to your new Director outlining the procedures in the Department for obtaining approvals for at least three different types of financial expenditures (aka K1) and explain the relevant section of the Financial Administration Act that corresponds to the approval authority (aka K2).
Of course, the little clues (like aka K1, K2) wouldn’t be there, I just added them so you can see the links.
If you are not an EC and look at the first one, you might think “holy cow, that’s impossible!”. Except it’s the same thing ECs do every time they write a memo. Not quite so explicitly, but a lot of those elements are there every time.
Equally, if you’re not an AS dealing with finance, you might freak out with the reference to the Financial Administration Act, except anyone dealing with that type of file will know it’s a bit of coded language to say “tell me about s.32, s.33, and s.34 signoffs” (three standard signoff clauses for different types of expenditures).
Which is why I said above that the written test also partly informally tests your experience elements — if you haven’t done real finance before (i.e. you weren’t really a duck), you’re going to likely bomb that section pretty fast. If you are a duck, you’re going to simply say “quack, quack, quack” and swim merrily along.
How to prepare for a written exam
A lot of the jobs — AS, EC, PM — will have an element that basically says “knowledge of the Department” that is running the competition. Where are you going to find this information? The same place the hiring manager is going to find it.
Here’s the thing…if I’m running a test, I have to prepare that “rating guide” I mentioned way back in the early chapters about all the steps in the process. And in that rating guide, I will have a spot for “knowledge of the Department” and beside it, what I think a good answer will include. I have to write it down and share it with HR before I ever test anyone. Part of the whole transparency and accountability thing. Which means I, as the hiring manager, have to not only answer the question first myself, I have to have some pretty good sources that are defensible for a valid answer.
Let me explain that a little better. Suppose I ask you for the Departmental priorities, and I put down that I’m looking for the candidate to say A, B & C. Well, where did I get A, B, and C from? I got them from a document that says “The Departmental priorities are…”. I can’t just subjectively make them up. Is there a document or source that has that info?
Of course. Two of them in fact. The first is the Department’s website. The second is a corporate document that each Department has to send to Parliament each winter to say “Hey, Parliament, here are the Department’s proposed priorities for next year”. This document used to be called the “Report on Plans and Priorities”, but was recently renamed to be called the “Departmental Plan”. Every Department has one. And it’s publicly available.
Which means you KNOW in advance where the hiring manager is going to get his/her list of priorities from and can look at the same document. It’s almost like an open-book test. You know in the poster it said you would be tested on the Departmental priorities, and you know where they’re written down. Ergo, go read them. Study them. Memorize them somewhat. Cuz you’re going to be tested on them.
Similarly, if you want to know other info about the Department, the website will have sections on Vision, Mandate, etc. Easy to find, easy to see where the hiring manager will pull THEIR expected answer from for the test.
Special tip: One area that is rarely used by people preparing for exams is the speech section of a Departmental website. These are the formal speeches delivered by the Minister in recent weeks, months, etc. While some of them will be on very specialized topics, some of them are the equivalent of a standard “stump” speech where they talk about all the things that their Department is doing. Think of it like “Intro to my department”. Often, these are speeches given to general audiences like a Chamber of Commerce, for example. And in it, the Minister frequently will give a high-level description of all the priorities of the day. Crisp and clean, easy to read. So if you find a general one by the Minister, such as to a Chamber of Commerce, you’ll have a pretty good overview.
If you want to know the recent priorities of the Government of Canada, you’ll likely read the Budget announcements (each February or March), read the mandate letters from the Prime Minister to each Minister, or the Speech from the Throne by the Governor General (each fall). All three have the latest overarching priorities.
All of the above items are what I call “macro” documents…they are good for any high-level overview in any of the job categories. But what about more specific items? The “micro” documents?
For those, it’s impossible to tell you in detail what you need. If you’re going for an AS finance position, I can tell you that you’ll need to know the FAA. Or if you’re going to be working on Memorandum to Cabinet or TB submissions, you’ll need to know the decision-making processes of the Privy Council and Treasury Board (respectively). Or if you’re going to be a PM, you may need to know the latest approaches from the Centre of Expertise on managing Grants and Contributions (Gs&Cs).
If you’re qualified to apply, you’re qualified to figure that out for yourself. You know what the job needs, because you have experience in the area. You might add some info around finding out what the specific division does, i.e. it’s mandate or description, but that is usually a “nice to have”.
Just because you know a lot, it doesn’t mean you can pass the test
There is a huge incumbent trap for jobs. By incumbent I mean someone might be already acting in the job, or working in the same division, and they think, “Well, I don’t really need to study, I know this stuff, I do it every day.”
Except they don’t do it every day.
If you are working as an EC in the area, and someone says, “What’s the Departmental Mandate?”, you will go to the website and copy it over into the memo. You don’t have it memorized. You don’t need it for your job.
But you DO need it for the test. Most written tests do NOT have access to the internet or other source materials. So someone who doesn’t do it every day will study, and come up with short reusable modules to explain the priorities, or mandate, or a process, and they’ll pass the test. And the expert in the area who is already doing the job will bomb the exam because they didn’t study and they don’t have those short little modules / paragraphs memorized.
Under the old system where candidates had to rank first to get hired, 50% of incumbents did NOT rank first, and a hefty share of them didn’t even pass the exam. Someone from outside the group who didn’t know the job as well came in and wrote the exam, and explained the content better than the people in the division.
So, what is your goal?
Short reusable paragraphs or headings that you can throw into a memo or exam question to show you do know the priorities, or mandate, or process.
Even if you can memorize well, it doesn’t mean you’ll pass
Let’s go back to the EC example where the candidate has to write a three-page memo about priorities, etc. What’s the most important element? Most people will say “content” since they’re testing knowledge.
But they are not ONLY marking knowledge. A robot could regurgitate facts. Siri could find the departmental mandate. The test is whether or not you can feed it back in a useful, logical, clearly understandable memo. In other words, the marker has to understand what you wrote.
Which means the MOST important part is structure. Structure is King for written exams. A poorly constructed answer with great content will always get lower marks than a well-constructed answer with average content.
How do you ensure a good structure? You memorize those little modules that you need, and you figure out good headings to use when you feed it back out in the exam. In fact, the headings may get you most of your marks.
Every once in awhile, you’ll get a question in the written exam or the interview where you have no idea what to say. You might have a whole bunch of ideas bouncing around in your head, and you just can’t figure out how to structure a response. It happens.
But there’s a way out. If you prepare properly for the unexpected.
Expect the unexpected
I think it always a good idea for AS, PM, and EC candidates to have something in their back-pocket to use as a structure if they get a question where the appropriate structure to use is not evident. Essentially, you should have a generic structure to use in any situation. What is it?
- AS — Steps in a problem-solving cycle;
- PM — Steps in a project-management cycle; or,
- EC — Steps in a policy-development cycle.
Now, take a moment, stop reading, and go Google one of those three. Maybe even find an image instead of a web-page that shows the cycle. Now do it for the other two. Did you see the trick?
They’re basically all the same steps.
- You start with problem definition / research / identifying the issue.
- You do some research to make sure you understand it;
- You analyse some options / instruments / policy choices;
- You choose one;
- You implement it;
- You evaluate it and provide feedback back to the starting position again.
Six headings that you can use for just about ANY question where you get stuck. Which is often, as I said, most of your marks. A good structure.
Depending on the job, you also might want to research things like steps in creating teamwork, partnerships, consultations, etc. Again, they’re all about the same.
You ‘re ready to write, now what?
TRACK 2: How to write
Your second track for preparations is a bit more about the physical setup and the actual time period for the test.
Most written tests these days are going to be written on computers, it’s just easier to mark. The problem is that not all departments are well set-up with computer labs for you to come in, ten or twenty people at a time, and write an exam. Some departments decide instead to do a “take-home” test in that they’ll email it to you at a set time and you have a set amount of time to return it to them by email too. Or some will have you come into their office, but instead of giving you a computer, they have you write it out. By hand. Sometimes by pencil.
No, I’m completely serious. I was invited to an EX-01 exam where I thought I was going to be writing on a computer, and instead was handed a sheaf of pages and some pencils. It was BRUTAL.
So, you need to ask some basic questions if they don’t tell you right up front when they invite you to the written exam.
- Will it be take-home or will it be on-site?
- If it is on-site, will it be on computer? Will you have access to the internet during the test or not? That last question is a bit of a tricky one. If you know, for example, that you will have access to the internet, do you need to memorize the mandate? Or do you just memorize “where” it is on the website, and go to the website and copy and paste it? But what if they tell you yes and then you arrive and the internet isn’t working? Is it grounds to appeal? Probably not.
- How much time do you have to do the test?
- Which elements are being tested?
This last one is important. Almost every competition now will tell you in advance when you are invited, in this case, to a written exam that they are testing K1 to K3, Ability 4 (writing), Ability 6 (judgement) and Personal Suitability 2 (interpersonanal skills). However, not all competitions do. Sometimes you’re assuming it’s all the knowledge ones, but there’s a chance it could ask you something about the others.
But let’s focus a bit more on the actual writing and some basic tips.
- If you are writing by hand, write EVERY OTHER LINE on the page. It will be more readable, and if you have to change something later, you can without turning the page into chicken scratch.
- If you do have access to the internet, usually you are NOT allowed to simply copy and paste. Certain things, like the exact wording of the mandate, sure. An explanation from TBS about the steps in the policy development cycle? No, you’ll have to write that in your own words.
- If you have a bunch of short modules memorized for different things, spend five minutes just “dumping” them out of your head in some sort of short notation form. It’ll stop you from worrying that you’ll forget them as you write, and when you need them, you can probably use the short notes as your headings anyway.
- YOU NEED TO MANAGE YOUR TIME. If you do not finish the test, you are likely not going to pass. Part marks are possible, but not enough to pass. Even if a couple of elements are a bit “weak”, you need to finish completely. MANAGE YOUR TIME.
- If you are writing detailed information, outline your answer as you go to make sure you answer EVERY question. If it says “make a recommendation”, your note has to make a recommendation.
- If you are on a computer, SAVE OFTEN. If it crashes, and you lose stuff, there is no whining to the teacher to get an extension. This is the real world with real consequences. If you’re too stupid to save often, you’re too stupid to be given a job that pays $60-70K per year.
- If you are writing a take-home test where they send it to you by mail, make sure you have a good infrastructure in place. You will need a reliable internet connection to send and receive your exam. If you don’t have a reliable internet connection, that is not their problem. You are just done. If you are writing in your office, make sure you have no interruptions. Put up a sign at work saying “WRITING TEST, DO NOT DISTURB” or better yet, book a quiet room or a Director’s office where you won’t be disturbed. Put up the sign on that door too. If you are writing at home, this is not the time to decide your kids should stay home that day. You are writing a TEST for a JOB. You cannot be distracted as if you’re running a daycare and writing the test.
YOU NEED TO TAKE THE TEST SERIOUSLY. Unless you don’t really care if you get it.
Then relax. Keep your notes you made when you were studying. The test is over, but some of the prep is still useful.
Hi Paul,
I have been invited to take the PM-04 Senior Immigration Officer (DN-HMID) written and interview assessment and my question to you today is regarding the written component.
I will be tested on the following four competencies:
Judgment/Analytical Thinking,
Decisiveness,
Ability to Interpret Legislation, Regulations and Policies and
Written Communication Skills
I am studying the departmental plan, mandate, few broad speeches, a couple of news stories and few Govt. of Canada memo formats.
What kind of questions can I expect and how would you suggest I prepare?
Thank you.
Congrats Aashima,
For judgement, no different than in the guide examples — likely headings are identify key factors, weigh them, make decision, implement.
For decisiveness, not entirely sure what they’ll want, other than they’re likely to combine it with judgement and give you choices that are pushing you both left and right, and you have to choose (not sit in the middle on the fence).
I’ll jump over to comms skills, which will just be a global mark.
I expect given #3, ability to interpret legis, regs and policies, they will give you a situation with some leg, regs and/or policy and ask you to analyse it, weigh the factors, and make a decision/recommendation about what to do. Then explain it in writing plus orally.
Good luck!
Paul
Hi Paul,
I greatly appreciate the goldmine of information your site provides. It is tremendously helpful! I am reading through as much as I can.
I have a 4-hour written exam coming up and was hoping you can provide some advice. It is for an SR-03. There are a number of qualifications they will be assessing, but for one of the points, since it is not something I have actual experience in, I am not sure how to even start preparing.
It is:
“Knowledge of the requirements and processes involved in regulatory science or the administration of a science-based program within a regulatory framework”
I would greatly appreciate any insight you might have on how to go about preparing for this. Thank you in advance!
Hi Angela,
That is a tough question. It is an area that I only know a little about as I know a senior chemical engineer who works in a regulatory field and she has talked about some of her work at times. I know that they have a fairly established process for basically looking at the literature to know where the field is going, discussing issues with stakeholders extensively, proposing potential changes and discussing those propposals with stakeholders, frequently long transparent implementation regimes, etc. And that wouldn’t get me anywhere near able to help someone prepare!
My only advice is to either contact someone in the group to talk to them about how they work OR try to find a similar group at another dept or in your own dept and talk to them. It’s not an open type of world, pretty specialized, so finding out will take some digging. You could ask online on the Reddit forums to see if anyone has some suggestions, or even in the FB groups dealing with more scientific jobs (although that would open you up a bit more publicly than you might want if you go the FB route — you don’t want your future boss to see your name saying “hey I don’t know how this works”). NRCan or Envt or even Transport might be some places to consider, although PHAC has a fairly sophisticated area too.
Note though that some depts are a bit more “industry-leaning” while others are more “citizen-leaning”, so even a regulatory group dealing with one type won’t look like a regulatory group somewhere else dealing with the other type.
Sorry I can’t be more help. 🙁
Good luck,
Paul
Hi Paul,
Your website and the comment sections are a treasure trove of useful information. They are helping new immigrants like me immensely to navigate the cryptic government application process.
After much trial and error, I am being considered for two EC positions in PHAC.
A. I had applied to a pool at PHAC recently. I cleared the screening and got an invite yesterday to write an exam soon for the EC 5-6 level.
The exam is to be completed in a 48-hour period and will assess the following merit criteria:
-Ability to analyze complex information, develop options and provide recommendations to senior management;
-Ability to communicate effectively in writing.
I’d greatly appreciate your suggestions on what to expect and how best to prepare. I have no experience working in the government. I suspect I might be asked to write a policy brief. Despite searches, I am yet to find a good archive for federal agency policy documents that can serve as a gold standards. Can you recommend resources that I haven’t identified. There are some samples from non-profits and academia online, but I am not confident their formatting is similar to those in Canadian fed gov.
B. I also applied for a separate EC 3,4 PHAC pool last year. Over the year, I cleared the written exams and video interview to become partially qualified. They have asked me to submit an updated resume for a position that has opened up. Is detail king here? Yet again, while I have a reasonably good idea of the general content for a resume for the public sector, I haven’t come across good sample resumes that can serve as a reference.
I am a complete outsider and want to put my best foot forward, Your tips would tremendously help.
Thank you very much for what you do.
Cheers!
Hi Adam,
Congratulations on being screened in. That’s a huge accomplishment from the outside.
For your upcoming exam, the simplest explanation is they will provide you with a bunch of info or links to a bunch of information and expect you to analyze it, come up with some options, and provide some recommendations. I would agree that they are likely to be expecting some sort of memo, but since it is an external competition, they will be both more flexible on what they receive AND on what they provide. It would not surprise me if they send you a template to use. However, assuming they don’t send you one, the simplest format is:
DATE
TO
SUBJECT
SUMMARY (1-3 short paragraphs, almost bullet length, but usually in full sentences)
BACKGROUND (usually things like what a report says, or background of the tasking, a factual synthesis of the context)
ANALYSIS (this is where your part comes in, not the synthesis you put in background that states OTHERS facts, these are your “findings” of what is relevant and important, again in sentence form…it can include options OR options can be a separate heading…often the simplest options are one of two formulations — do less / do the same / do more than we’re doing now OR do nothing / do a bit more / do a lot more … depends on what they give you for a setup)
RECOMMENDATIONS (surprisingly this is often quite short because you already analysed the key factors in teh analysis, your rec section is often “Based on above … ” or “As X and Y are the key factors, it is recommended that we do A or B or C”)
SIGNATURE
For content, note that as per my guide, the most important part is a logical structure from beginning to the end. You cannot, for example, say in the background that the dept’s priority is oranges, in the analysis part talk about how apples are really important, and then in the recommendations say the option should be grapes. It sounds funny to say, but people will actually do that by accident. They don’t think about how the goal is a coherent story from beginning to end. So they write a REALLY good background section. A plus. Then a REALLY good analysis. Then a really good recommendation. Except they don’t have any link between them.
Secondly, you HAVE to finish. You have 48h, but it has to be a complete story. If you’re running short of time for some reason, or you’re way over the word length, know that they’ll stop reading at whatever length they have (if they have one) OR whatever you send. If it isn’t complete, you suffer greatly in marks.
Thirdly, if it says make a recommendation, you have to make a recommendation. And that can’t be a wishy washy “Well, we could do X or Y, and maybe some of Z, or a combination of all three”. You have to pick and be specific. The ability to make a recommendation is being marked, not whether you have the perfect recommendation. If they actually think Z was the best rec, but you wrote a good rec for Y, you’ll pass just as well as you could do a bad job reccing Z and fail. It isn’t about the rec, it’s about MAKING a rec that is supported by your memo’s story.
For your resume, I wouldn’t sweat it too much. They know you’re external, they know you don’t have govt experience, so at this stage, “faking” it to look that way isn’t as important. Yes, for initial screening, but now, you’re good to go.
Good luck!
Paul
Paul,
I can thank you enough for this sage advice. For an external candidate like me, this is very helpful. It gives an excellent sense of where to focus one’s time and energy and what not to dwell too much on. I will pay close heed and try to put in my best. Fingers crossed.
On another note, I saw the pictures of your Vermont travel pictures a couple of days ago. Used to live in the area a while back and loved it. Did you get a chance to visit the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory in Burlington?
Cheers.
Hi Adam, glad it’s helping.
We tried to do the factory tour near Stowe, but it was all booked up. I never thought to try the one at Burlington too, not even sure I registered it was in different locations. 🙂
Paul
Hi, Paul. I took the exam. I think it went well. Your tips were a life-saver for an external like me. Thank you!
Hi Adam I read from your post that you cleared the EC 3,4 exam. Pls can you help me as I have the same exam coming up in 1day time. You can reach me through rutheyo@yahoo.com. Pls I need your guidance.
FYI, all candidates to exams etc are barred from sharing the details from the exams they did with others still in the process until the process is done.
Hi Paul,
Thank you so much for all this very useful information, this is definitely one of my main sources of study to hopefully land a job.
I was wondering whether you had any idea what to expect from an exam for IS-03. I received an email that I am invited to do a take-home exam over the time of a week for the position of creative officer for the supreme court. They explain you would need to make sure you use your own computer with PremierePro installed, which makes me understand I would have to make/edit a video (the whole position is moreless about graphic design techniques). As criteria they mention:
The exam will assess the following merit criteria:
– Ability to research trends to identify graphic, multimedia or video options or solutions, and to provide advice to meet clients’ communication needs.
– Ability to apply graphic design or video production techniques and principles, including in the production of communications products to be published on corporate websites and social media platforms.
– Ability to communicate effectively in writing.
– Creativity
– Attention to detail
– Initiative
I just find it rather vague as I have no idea what to really prepare for this exam, other than making sure my softwares and techniques are up to date for whatever might be requested. Am I expected to be moreless free for a week to work on this or do they just have to give such a long time for it to accommodate busy schedules?
I can completely understand if you don’t go so far in detail but in case you are familiar with these kind of exams, I would love to hear!
Thank you!
Hi Virginia,
Glad the materials are useful. I must say I’m a little confused by them saying you need to have Adobe Premiere Pro installed. I’ve never used it, and I see there is a free trial, but it’s very weird to me that they would say you have to use a specific piece of software that is not a common tool AND costs money, unless the requirement was experience in using Adobe Premiere Pro AND they give you an option to do it on their computers. To put it bluntly, if someone didn’t have it, but was screened in, they couldn’t screen them out if the person said “While I don’t have it, how can I do the test?”. Not saying it’s wrong, but it is VERY odd, I must say.
However, let’s skip that part and focus on your questions. Let me reorder a bit for the test. Pre-pandemic, they used to do most exams in person. You would come in, spend 2-4 hours on a computer, all done. About 10% of the time, they did them as take-homes. And initially they would say, “Okay, we’ll send you the test at 1:00 p.m. EST and you have to submit your results back to us by 5:00 p.m. EST”. Same as the in-person test, at a specific time, with specific duration. Invariably, you’d get the messages coming back, “Oh, no the (digital) dog ate my presentation/homework” and they’d have to figure out what to do about it, which was usually to say “It sucks to be you.”.
Over time, people decided it was somehow more humane to say, “Okay, the test will take about 4h, but I don’t care when you do it exactly, so how about I give it to you for 2 days, and you can manage your own schedule to do it within the 48h period”. In this case, they’re giving you a week. They are NOT expecting you to spend a week doing it, they’re giving you the flex to figure out in your own schedule when you’re going to do it. Maybe you have kids, elderly parents, a new spouse, an active TikTok channel, who knows, you have a life and another job and will be able to juggle the test somewhere in the week.
While it sounds great, I can tell you that it often is insidiously bad for applicants. Cuz they start thinking, well if I could do a GOOD job with 3 hours, how GREAT a job could I do if I had 5 hours or 10 hours or 4 days straight without showering sleeping or eating? It’s potentially deceptive having more time…and almost worthless for me to say, but I will, that you should plan to spend somewhere between 2-4 hours on it in that week. If you’re going longer, my reaction is two fold — you’re probably focusing on the wrong pieces if it takes you longer, AND if they DO think that’s the way to test you, do you really want to work for someone who would use up a 10-20h period of your time in a week for something they will never use and for 90% of you who won’t get hired?
Treat it as a scheduling aspect, not a duration variable.
Now, for the actual exam, let’s remove “communicate effectively in writing” as it will likely be an overall score (and that I’ve covered in my guide). They’re basically seeing if you can write well, no major grammar mistakes, appropriate vocabulary, etc. Basically “does it make sense”.
For the remaining five, they are likely to ask you three types of questions. One type will possibly be something like “here’s a scenario for client X, tell me what you would do” and might be marking the second half of the first element (meet client’s communications needs) and the sixth (initiative). So maybe they’ll ask you for a project plan or something, steps to do X or Y, aka what would you do? You could research in advance the main elements of a project proposal, if you don’t have a list in your backpocket already from previous experience. Heck, googling “project outline” and clicking on images would give you a couple of 1000 options, any of which would likely suffice to tell you the main headings you could use. Or wait for the actual questions to see.
A second type will likely tie to the “research trends” and “attention to detail”. Just about every exam that says you have to “research trends”, they’ll ask you to tell them what the latest trends are in blah blah or blah. You can prepare your list in advance as you know it’s coming. Or wait to see what they ask you, since you have a week.
The third type is the “application” aspect, and will likely as you, as you said, to prepare a video. That would likely be marking the “ability to apply….” and “creativity” elements. But note that the ability to apply one is not simply to do graphic and video stuff, it also says “publishable on corporate websites and social media platforms”. So it isn’t likely to be an onboarding thing, it’s more likey to say “here’s some material, about the SCC, and make a video to go on the website as an ‘Intro to SCC'”. Or they may say, “take your answers in 1 and 2 and turn it into a video that you can post on the corporate website”. Maybe they want you speaking (although they don’t say they’re makring that, so probably not) or they just want pretty animation.
Again, you can prepare some thoughts on all of that in advance, or wait until you see the questions / scenarios and tailor. If you wait, i.e., less prep, then expect your time for the test will be longer as you’ll be doing more targeted research after the test starts rather than general research before it starts. I would NOT wait on the trends elements, you could do a list of 4-5 trends you see in that now so it’s ready to inform your approach when you get the actual questions.
Good luck,
Paul
Hello Paul,
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer me so in detail! My answer is a little late as I was trying to make something of the assignment, while, as you mention, juggling the other parts of life… I agree with you, it was a bit odd and definitely very different than all the other examinations I have heard about or experienced. However, in the email where they invite me for the exam they say I ”meet the criteria identified for the screening”, so maybe it is an exam sent to everyone that simply applied and you’ll only take the exam if you actually have the software installed. Anyway, I am trying and will see what comes out of it! You were absolutely right there was not really much to prepare before receiving the exam.
Thank you so much again!
Hi Virginia, it is possible, I suppose, that they invited everyone who applied who had the software, but I doubt it. I would read “meet the criteria” to mean they did screen people — some in, some out. You were screened in. 🙂
Let me know how it goes for the rest of the process…I admit the software thing puzzles me.
Paul
Hi Paul,
That sounds logical yes. I will let you know in case the story continues! Unfortunately haven’t heard anything yet since I handed in the assignment last week but I guess it might anyway usually takes a bit longer, if at all 🙂
Hi Paul, first of all I just want to say how thankful I am for all the work you’ve done and the tips and tricks you’ve provided. You must be responsible for helping so many people get employment, and all out of the goodness of your heart! So impressive. I am currently at GAC, going through the process of term after term, its been like this for 3 years and with recent budget cuts, not sure if they’ll keep on. I’ve applied to an EC4-5 pool for a position I’m very interested in and have been tasked with a written exam. I’ve never done one of these before and to be honest am quite nervous haha. I know they’re testing on ability to analyze data or policy information from several sources and formulate recommendations, knowledge of Canadian foreign, trade and international assistance policies and judgement. In the past, every interview I’ve done, I’ve fallen short on the judgement and knowledge part and I’m not sure why. I study the department’s mandate, strategies, and the departmental plan, but do you perhaps have any tips on how to best respond to some of the questions they ask. Once again, I truly appreciate all your help!
Hi Samara,
I suspect you’re right…almost all depts, and especially GAC, tend to cut casuals first and terms second when they have cuts, although often it is just “let them expire”, not true cuts.
For the written exam, I would pre-read the last Departmental Plan from last January, it’ll give you the broad trends, etc. The written will likely give you a scenario like “Here’s country X, write a note to your boss explaining what the current blah blah blah trends are for foreign policy, trade, international assistance”. Maybe in a memo format. One of the biggest things to remember is to manage your time so you finish every element. Lots of people get bogged down on Q1, sub element 3, and the next thing you know, thye don’t finish the test, missing all those extra marks. But instead of 7/10 on the first part, they got 8! Woohoo, they got 1 mark but gave up 30 and fail. Obviously, from my guide, I think structure is King for exams and interviews and that still stands.
For the interviews, missing on knowledge is usually either you didn’t study enough OR you aren’t using it properly when you go to answer. You need headings and easy ways to remember things. I may not be able to remember every element in a 40 page plan, but I can remember there are 3 broad elements, and that under 1 there are two main points, under 2 I can remember 2 of the 4, and under 3, maybe 1 of the 3. That gives me enough of a structure to draw upon, with some extra examples form knowledge, when I need to regurgitate it in an interview. Interviews are rarely about knowledge though. Judgement is always the same — are you identifying the key issues AND EXPLAINING WHY THOSE ONES (often forgotten), weighting the issues/variables to show which ones are key (AND EXPLAINING WHY), using those weighted variables to decide on a course of action (AND WHY), and explaining how you would implement (AND WHY). Lots of people say there are 3 variables, and they would do X, without any explanation of how that represents good judgement. What if I don’t agree with #2? How would I know? You didn’t demonstrate WHY. 🙂
Hope that helps…good luck!
Paul
Hi Paul, thanks for your in depth message. It seems that I unfortunately did not pass the written exam phase as I did not receive enough pass marks. I had enough time write the exam, but it seems that I must have missed some component. I did structure it well but in cases like this, where there’s no feedback available, what are some ways people can improve on these written tests? Thanks!
Hi Samara,
Well, it sucks that you didn’t make and there is no feedback. 🙁 Sorry to hear that.
Improving is very hard to do without feedback. With my own staff, I have a very methodical way of teaching “writing like a public servant”. It involves 3-4 steps with a document. Essentially, I have them:
a. Find a report from somewhere like the OECD or the UN about their area of work (labour markets, health, customs, whatever).
b. Write an executive summary of the document (as if they were the authors) — even if there already is one, I have them ignore the one that is there and do their own. If it’s a long report, I have them do a chapter or two.
c. Then I have them write a summary of the document as an outsider — so one step removed, i.e., instead of saying “our evidence shows…”, it says “The authors found…” or “The report argues that…”.
d. Then a background / information memo as if they’re briefing our director or director-general (this often entails focusing on 1 chapter way more than the others, as perhaps only 1 chapter is relevant to the division).
e. Then a decision memo doing the same.
The five steps aren’t always required, but it moves you from “academic writing” (b and c) to targeted background (d) and analysis (e). Often people find that some of the stuff they mingle in “c” as background or analysis / description or opinion are more clearly separated in government writing, more formal, less flowery.
But how one learns that from outside the govt without a mentor, I don’t know. There are some courses available, including from Apolitical on how to write a briefing note. I remember some good options from the LSAT too that had descriptive precis as part of it. And there is a written communication test (WCT) offered by the PSC that I believe has tips and tricks on how to do it well.
Sorry, not very helpful…I don’t often do this, but in this case I will. If you have a sample of the writing, I’m happy to take a look at it if you email it (thepolyblog@gmail.com). The problem is that often is not obvious why they didn’t accept it — maybe they were looking for more detail, or better structure, or whatever. But happy to take a peek…
Paul
Hello,
First of all, thank you for sharing all the information I really appreciate it! I’m taking the FI-01 written exam next week and I was wondering if you had any additional information regarding that exam for FORD.
Thank You
Hi Fex,
Sorry, I don’t. I don’t know what you need to get IN, although once you’re in, most of the FIs spend a lot of time on section 32, 33, and 34 of the Financial Administration Act in their job. But that’s not going to help much…
Paul
Hello Paul,
I am glad I found this webpage as I was struggling to find some resources that can guide me through this process. I have cleared the screening round for IT-03 – Project Management and Delivery Branch and my written test is scheduled for next week. The topics mentioned are – Knowledge of current IM/IT trends & Ability to communicate effectively in writing.
If you could share some tips about preparation, that would be really great. I am brushing my knowledge, and further guidance will help me for sure.
Hi Parag,
Welcome to the site! Let me start with communicating in writing. As you’ll likely already have seen from the materials and download, marking writing generally comes down to two things. Was it clear, was it understandable. From my perspective, 90% of that is “solved” through a clear structure to an answer without repetition. If you have 5 great ideas and your answer is all over the place, you’ll likely do worse than someone who says “I only have 3 ideas, here is the first, here is the second, here is the third, conclusion, done”. The other 10% is more like they’re looking to avoid bad writing. If your question is writen about the way you normally communicate in writing, you’ll be fine. Much of the time, they’re trying to avoid people who may be technical geniuses or fantastic texters on their phone but couldn’t really write a short prose email or summary of something.
For the knowledge of current IM/IT trends, I have almost nothing. Treasury Board has some broad stuff on Govt of Canada directions on IT, you could look through the last Budget or the last public releases from TBS, but I don’t really know the IT world well enough to suggest anything. They have views about Canada.ca, but that is about 1/50th of what they do. If you are going into a Project Management branch, there is one very small suggestion I have, just to have in your back pocket for headings. If you google Project Management Cycle, Govt of Canada, and look at the image page, you’ll get some samples where some depts have said “hey here are the headings we use”. There will even be some for TBS, etc. You want the IT-style ones, not the broader contribution projects with stakeholders but what I’m suggesting is you have in the back of your mind, 6 or 7 project management headings you might use. It wouldn’t be uncommon for them to say, “Hey, here’s the scenario. You have to brief a new boss on the “current IM/IT trends”. Write a memo to them and how it impacts project management.” Or “Here’s a project. Outline the steps in managing this project in a memo to your boss, taking into account the current IM/IT trends.”
Having some sample headings that you might use for a project management process is handy, unless you already have them in your head already. Just a thought.
Sorry I can’t be more help on the IT side.
Paul
Thank you so much Paul. This is very helpful. I am gonna work on the suggestions and see how it goes.
Good luck!
Hello,
I recently wrote a test for AS1 and your guide had helped me a lot. Just curious to know how long do you normally have to wait to heard back for the result? I have been anxiously waiting and doubting myself. Would I have another chance if I didn’t nail the written assessment?
Thank you so much.
Celine
Hi Celine,
For the first part — timelines — there is no good answer. If they need someone right away, they’ll push through quickly; if it is for one position and few people applied, they might go faster; if the hiring manager takes 2 months vacation in the summer? There’s no way to know. Under official HR rules, each step has to be completed within a year, that’s the only deadline. Bear in mind too that EVERYONE has to complete the steps before they move to the next step, usually. So if you were the first to write, and 200 other people are writing throughout June, it will take time for them to move to the next step.
For the second part — retrying — the bad news is no, you can’t fail a component and redo it, at least not as part of that process. If they run another one, or someone else does, you can do it again, but not within the same process. It’s “one and done”, unfortunately.
Good luck!
Paul
Thanks for your response.
Since it has been 10 days from my written exam, do you think it’s still okay to follow up or it is not a common practice when apply to a federal position?
Thanks again.
Celine
Hi Celine,
People are about 20/80 split on whether you should follow up or not, and I mean ever. There are a LOT of people who say “NEVER DO IT, HR IS OVERWORKED, ETC.”. I asked for feedback on my position on this awhile ago on Reddit, and it was about 4:1 split saying never do it. For me? I think it’s fair game. It is their job to manage processes, and part of that is answering questions from applicants. If I’m being harsh, those applicants wouldn’t HAVE questions if they ran their processes PROPERLY. I ran one a few years, PM-06, and when I invited people, I said, “Here’s my working plan for schedule”. After Round 1, I said, “Okay, written took a week longer, here’s my plan for interviews”. After interviews, I said, “Okay, here’s the plan for references”. At the end of that, I said, “Okay, here is the pool”. Then, even further, I sent updates every few months on the status of the pool, how many had been pulled, etc., and what the duration of the pool would be, when I extended it etc. Asked people if they wished to still be considered for future jobs or not, etc. I extended the pool twice so 18m of validity in total. I didn’t get ONE question the whole time because I answered their Qs before they even asked them. I know two people hired through that process who have volunteered and told others that it was the best run process they were ever in.
Now, most don’t do that, too many resources, etc. etc. etc. However, I still think it is fair to follow-up. On a written, or an interview, I wouldn’t ask until a month had elapsed though. Maybe 2 on an interview because you couldn’t have been first in the process or near the end.
Fingers crossed for you!
Paul
PM-05 Exam – Seeking Guidance
Hello Paul. Firstly, I would like to thank you in advance for your resources on Fed. Gov. staffing. It is very helpful! I have been invited to a PM-05 written exam in which the function is heavily focused on decision-making in a quasi-judicial, regulatory environment. I have been given study material containing multiple links to different sets of regulations, internal/external facing departmental guide documents as well as previously rendered decisions. There is so much study material I feel overwhelmed and have under a week to prepare. Do you have any recommendations on areas I should focus on? Areas being assessed in the written exam are:
· Knowledge of the legal standards applicable to air travel complaints
· Ability to analyze information, develop options and recommendations;
· Ability to communicate effectively in writing;
· Reasoning
Thank you in advance for any insight you may have! 🙂
Hi Mary,
Strange, I read your comment last week, and I thought I had responded, same with another post. But if I did, I don’t see my responses, and your comments weren’t “approved” until today, so I guess I didn’t. I’m getting old, I guess. Wait, what did I come into this room to do? 🙂
For your PM-05 test, if it isn’t too late, I wwould assume that they are going to give you a scenario where you have to apply some of the study materials to a specific scenario. Since you can’t memorize all of it in a week if you aren’t already working in the area, you would (I think) normally aim for general threads and strands in the materials about HOW decisions are rendered…is element A more important than B; is guideline 22 one that trumps everything else? If you thik of it from something like the Constitution and the Charter, there are parts that are more important than others…almost like a “trump” card that says, “Wait, if this element is present, you have to deal with THAT first.”
I expect it will be some sort of single scenario or perhaps 2-3, and you’ll be writing some sort of memo to a fictional boss on how to handle them. Knowledge will come form the materials, analysis is of the options and scenario, writing is just global score, and reasoning will generally be if what you say at the start (background) lines up with your analysis and your recommendations at the end. I generally tell people a good structure solves most of your reasoning and analytical needs because you HAVE to be logical to have a good structure. The rest will just flow naturally.
Good luck!
Paul
Hi Paul! Thank you SO much for your comment. I read it while writing my exam, so I had about an hour to look over my answers and make sure I was heeding your advice. P.S. – Your advice and analysis of what would be on the exam was SPOT ON. It was almost identical to what you explained. I cannot thank you enough. I can only hope now that my studying and preparation were enough as I await the results.
Hi Mary,
Hope it went well, and good to know my “guess” for the likely content was good…
Paul
Hello Paul! I wanted to touch base with you to say thank you for your advice – I passed my 4 hour long (yikes!) PM-05 exam!! I cannot thank you enough for helping me focus my efforts in the right direction.
I received word today that I am to do a pre- recorded interview, it will take about 170 minutes with 30 minutes preparation time included. Of this 30 minutes, I have 2 minutes preparation time, 5 minutes recording time and 2 attempts to record an answer. The interview will assess:
· Ability to communicate effectively orally,
· Ability to manage and prioritize multiple activities under tight deadlines in a high-volume environment,
· Effective Interpersonal skills,
· Showing initiative and being action-oriented,
· Judgment
Based on this information, do you have any advice on how I should approach the interview and perhaps any idea of what questions may be asked? Any information you may have to help me prepare is greatly appreciated.
With gratitude,
Mary
Hi Mary, congrats on passing. The five elements you mention are covered in the guide and throughout the comments, so most of them are pretty straighforward.
1. Ability to communicate effectively orally — likely to be an overall score, almost always starting with “did it make sense, etc.” hence why I recommend focusing on a good structure;
2. Ability to manage and prioritize multiple activities under tight deadlines in a high-volume environment — can either be “tell us when you’ve done this” or they’ll give you several possibilities and ask you to say which order you would do them in …if this is the case, remember they don’t care which order you do them in (although that’s the question), they care about WHY you would do them in that order, what variables are important to you, how are you weighing them, etc…the extra details of the question almost always represent a variable (say one is for a director and one is for the Minister)
3. Effective Interpersonal skills — either “tell us of a time when” or gives you a scenario and asks how you would handle it;
4. Showing initiative and being action-oriented — almost always “tell us of a time when”, it’s the easiest form
5. Judgment — as with prioritization, they don’t care so much about your choices as they do about WHY those choices, how you set priorities, which variables are you considering important, why those ones, which ones are more important.
Since you can have notes in your prep time, your focus will be to use your pre-determined main headings to fit that question.
Good luck,
Paul
Hi Paul! I wanted to express my gratitude for the amazing content and the awesome tips you’ve provided regarding written exams on this page. I have some exciting news to share—I have been selected to write an exam for an EG-04 position as a research technician at Agriculture and Agrifood Canada. This will be my first time taking an exam for the federal government of Canada, and I would greatly appreciate any tips or guidance you can offer in terms of its structure and what to expect.
Since the position is related to research, I’m particularly interested in knowing if your tips on preparing to write about the department’s mandate and priorities apply in this case as well. Thank you in advance for your help!
Hi Amanda,
I don’t know if mandate and priorities apply directly, as you don’t say if the poster mentions the need for Knowledge related to mandate or priorities, but having them in your pocket is always a good thing to know so that you can make cross-reference to them if/when needed. Good luck!
Paul
Hi Paul, thank you for your helpful response regarding the upcoming exam. Your guidance is greatly appreciated.
Glad it helped!
P.
Hello Mr. Paul,
Thank you greatly for all your hard work and dedication to this site. It is incredibly helpful. I am preparing for a process and want to make sure I am on the right path and will kindly ask for your input please.
I am just going to use a hypothetical situation that “ducks are depressed and don’t lay eggs”. While using the S.T.A.R. method in my answer, I have to improve the situation with the ducks. In my answer, I have to demonstrate the Mobilizing People competency. It has the following points:
• Creates a sense of common purpose and direction in the organization and among colleagues
• Sets clear expectations, monitors and evaluates performance
• Establishes learning and development plans and provides opportunities for continuous learning and development
• Gives honest feedback, recognizes performance and addresses non-performance
• Engages employees to gather ideas and input to build cohesive teams
• Sets challenging goals for self and models dedication and high performance
Could you please let me know how would you answer this efficiently using a clear example of your own?
Hi Jayesh,
Thanks for your question. There’s a small amount of vagueness in your question, “how do you help depressed ducks?” and it depends a bit on how you meant it. If you interpret it as “ducks are your clients” and you are mobilizing your staff to help clients, that’s one type of answer. If instead it means your staff are the ducks, and you need to mobilize THEM because of bad morale to lay more eggs, that’s a different type of answer. I’m going to go with the second, as that is more common to mobilizing people.
For me, I would probably group things for this question like:
A) Vision and Engagement
– Creates a sense of common purpose and direction in the organization and among colleagues
– Engages employees to gather ideas and input to build cohesive teams
B) Transparency
– Sets clear expectations, monitors and evaluates performance
– Gives honest feedback, recognizes performance and addresses non-performance
– Establishes learning and development plans and provides opportunities for continuous learning and development
C) Consistency and Modelling
– Sets challenging goals for self and models dedication and high performance
Note that this is just MY take on how I would answer. How you choose to group them is entirely up to you. You might not even group them at all, just have six headings, although I find that a bit repetitive for Key Leadership Competencies. Or you could use to the STAR method as you mentioned. I don’t use it as I think it is a poor substitute for answering the question using the KLC, and can lead you off in tangents that get you no marks. In my case, I would be more likely to say…
“Thank you for the question. In my experience, one of the biggest demotivators for staff is a lack of clarity in what they are doing, how it connects to broader issues, what they’re role is, why it’s important. That may be the case here, and I would start with vision and engagement. I never want my staff to be wondering why we’re doing what we’re doing or where we’re going. I want it to be clear for everyone. But while I can set the broad direction, I want them to have say in how we get there. I want to engage them early in the process, solicit their ideas and opinions, and clearly reflect that in the plans for the future. Part of that discussion and brainstorming will focus on some problem-solving without blame — what’s working, what’s not, what can we do differently, what do we WANT to be doing in a year…I’ve had a fair amount of success with this type of approach. When I was working at X, I led a team of y people. When I started, they were feeling less than optimistic about “where” we were going, and whether what we were doing was even valued by management. Over the course of three months, we did A, B and C, and were able to start working on some new areas like D that the staff themselves chose.
But I don’t believe that simple visioning is enough. I believe in as much transparency as a situation can handle. While there are always some aspects of our broader management function that we cannot share, I will always share everything that I can with them. And that includes when I’ve feeling frustrated about something and how I’m going to address it. I’ll even solicit ideas from the team, so they know that if I have a problem, I shouldn’t be shy about asking for input from the rest of the team. Nor should they. I believe strongly in lifelong learning, and that starts with transparency on all aspects of performance. How we’re doing as a team, how a team member is doing as an individual, with clear goals and expectations. In addition, I don’t want my staff seeing this as a check-box job where they clock in and clock out. I want them to see it as part of a long career…what are they learning today that will help us today, us or them tomorrow, or them five years from now. When I do learning plans, for example, I like to have a conversation about not only what they need to address the needs of their current job, but also if there are interesting or creative ways to do their job that may not be required but would help them improve in something. That could be as simple as them wanting to improve their oral presentation skills, so instead of asking them to just send me a summary of a report, we schedule a separate time where they will formally present the same material to me on a regular basis. Or if it’s normally oral and they want to improve their writing, maybe they can submit a written report with it. Of course, it can be more complex than that…perhaps they want to expand their knowledge of another area’s work, and we find ways to increase engagement with that other team as part of their core duties. Learning takes place in all forms — in the normal job, through courses, or in this case, in an expanded and flexible view of how we do the job.
Finally, I mentioned that if I have problems, I ask for help, to show them I face the same issues as them. And that if I need help, I’ll ask for it. But I also like them to know that in addition to being consistent, or explaining if something changes, why I can’t be consistent, I am going to model the same behaviour. I am going to be transparent with them, I’m going to help engage them with visioning, and I’m going to expect the same of them. It isn’t just talk. I want to both model the behaviour and consistently show them we should all be doing the same. Maybe that is small signs of recognition when they do. Other times it may be something more personal, like sharing my experiences from my career that might aid them. From the scenario, I know that morale is an issue, and some of the staff may be overwhelmed. And my coming into the team, trying to get to know them, setting new directions even with their help may be an added stressor. As an employer, we often encourage people to reach out to the Employee Assistance Program, but often employees don’t really know what to expect if they do want to reach out. So I share that I have used them in the past to find someone to talk to when I was overwhelmed after my son was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy or when I was struggling with grief after my mother passed. And so I share the simple mechanical aspects of calling them, what type of questions they’ll ask, how it’s anonymous, and the way a referral and the first conversation might go with a counsellor. Numerous times, I have had people tell me afterwards that they were resistant to making a call, feeling like it was going to be onerous or complicated, and after I walked them through the simple process, they called. My transparency broke down the friction around them being willing to call to get help when they needed it. I think that consistency and modelling of behaviour helps employees see that it is okay to struggle and for others to see it too. We can’t be a team if see ourselves as only individuals.”
Now, without more context, it would be hard to do a more precise targeting of what they are looking for. But I’ve used most of the six headings from the KLC, I’ve talked about how I’m going to mobilize them. With some more thought, I might bolster the part about clear goals and performance, or I might drop the lifelong learning elements. Note that I didn’t use the exact words of the KLC, although I could have. Not my style, but I’d be talking about the same things well enough that anyone hearing me would see the same “content” and know what I was saying without saying it. I didn’t spend time on non-performance, though, and that is deliberate — I can’t cover everything in one answer. It would start to look too buzz wordy. Ideally, I would have more details to allow me to directly respond to the problem of why staff aren’t producing egs.
If we went back to the original question I had, i.e., a client problem or a staff problem, and we made it a client problem, I might boost the “visioning” part to talk about how clients are struggling, research to help figure that out, info/intelligence gathering by the staff, etc. to clearly define the problem. It might look a bit more like a research or policy design/redesigh problem. But it might also then morph from mobilizing internal staff to more about mobilizing external clients, which might get into consults, stakeholder engagement, etc. Whatever the alternate scenario might be, it would give you more details than ducks aren’t laying eggs. The more details they give you, the more you put into your answer to tailor it directly to the situation. My answer is a bit too bland without the concrete links to embed.
Hope that helps…
Paul
Hello Mr. Paul,
Thank you very much for your sharing your very inspiring thought with me. I cannot thank you enough for your time and patience to provide your comments. Grouping the KLC’s points is the best idea and I would not have thought of it without your help. Your answers are so thorough and complete, your years of leadership experience shine through.
I made a mistake and not included the full requirement of this exercise. You were right to think that “I need to mobilize THEM because of bad morale to lay more eggs”.
I will add clarity. The exercise states that I am the new supervisor of 10 ducks and the ducks are depressed and don’t lay eggs. Then it asks what are the first 8 tasks I would do to introduce myself and develop my team? I have to answer in approximately 500 to 750 words. It also states that leaders inspire and motivate the people they lead. They manage performance, provide constructive and respectful feedback to encourage and enable performance excellence. They lead by example, setting goals for themselves that are more demanding than those that they set for others.
After sharing this context may I please ask how could I make sure I have a depth and a breadth to my answer, using the STAR answering method (the exercise asks me to use it) AND your suggestion to group the KLC’s points? If let’s say we take group “B) Transparency” – how would you answer what tasks you would do, using the STAR method, having a depth and a breadth?
Hi Jayesh, glad you found it helpful.
I can’t give you the answers and structure to an actual test that is in progress, in fact asking it violates the terms of the test. You have to rely on your answers, not someone else’s.
What I can tell you from the perspective of STAR in general, is you can either:
a. Do 8 mini-STARs i.e. for each sub-element that you’re going to speak about, you can apply the headings; or
b. Use one overall STAR approach
If you use B, the likely most common way, you would use
S to describe the overall scenario, what you might find important for example (for my example, I could talk about it being a lack of clarity or poor morale for example);
T to identify how you grouped it into tasks (for me, I would have used the three headings)
A could be the 8 actions you’re going to take; and
R could be the results you hope to achieve.
As I said, I don’t think it’s always a great way to answer a question, so I don’t spend much time on it.
Hope that helps…
Paul
Hello Mr. Paul, this is very helpful, thank you a millions for your help. Sorry about asking for examples, I thought you wanted to know more about the question I was asked at the test and that is why I gave more details. I have not shared the actual or full question of the test. The test is also over and now it’s the waiting game. I just wanted to know if I did it right, that is why I was asking you for examples. I do agree I should use my own examples and that is what I have done.
Thank you very much for all your help, it’s super helps me
Sorry, thanks Jayesh. I misunderstood the status. 🙂
All good!
Hello, I’m invited to write an EX 1 exam and a scenario that seeks to assess people mobilization and communication is provided. The department is a central agency and would be a dream position. I would appreciate any tips/guidance for a structure – I am an external candidate. Thank you in advance.
Hi Charles,
For EX-01, I tend to lean heavily towards “answering the question” semi-normally, don’t try to forcefit it into the headings for sub-EX-01 positions. But from the KEY LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES on the TBS website, I would pull those elements of People Mobilization and Communication that resonate with you to populate your answer (sprinkling the pieces into what you would actually do). While that might seem a little vague, think of it this way:
Look at the scenario, break your answer into say 4-5 things you would do (whatever number works for you). Suppose that leaves you with ABCDE. Suppose one of those elements is that you are going to set out a work plan with results, etc. Isntead of saying that, you might use the wording of the element from the MOBILIZING PEOPLE element such as “Sets clear expectations, monitors and evaluates performance”. Or perhaps you think of it more as setting a “vision”, but the KLCs say “Creates a sense of common purpose and direction in the organization and among colleagues”, so you’ll use that wording instead.
Hope that helps…
Paul
Hello!
I have applied and made it through the first round of screening and onto a written examination that will take place at the end of this week for a EC-02 position. I am an external candidate and am not very familiar with the examination process. I, however, have found this page very helpful in giving some insight into what can be expected of me during this examination. Much appreciated to say the least! I have studied and taken notes off the departments website, focusing on corporate information and new initiatives. I have also identified notable figures and their positions, along with their work. Is there anything else that I would do well to review and learn ahead of time?
Thanks so much!
Dana
Hi Dana, Apologies, have been tied up elsewhere.
You seem to have a good handle on what you’re doing, not sure you’ll need much on “notable figures”. Only other thing would be any specific “knowledge” areas identified on the original poster.
Paul
Hi Paul,
I hope you are doing great! I am writing to you regarding another EC05 process. I have received an invitation to do an exam, interview, and reference checks via the VidCruiter platform – all expected to occur on the same day. I am not sure how to read these instructions.
Could this be a new type of assessment where they evaluate everyone simultaneously, as opposed to only selecting the candidates who were successful after the exam to be interviewed?
I am a bit confused about checking the references, as it seems a bit excessive to use the time of the referees so early in the process. It seems like a misuse of the referees’ time and an unnecessary step for the candidates who will not be successful.
On a separate note, I have inquired about the status of my application for another EC05 process (after over 3 months from my exam) and I was told laconically that the process is undergoing. I was given no indication whether I passed that exam, so I have not learned anything new. I am pretty sure they will only inform everyone about the results in the end. Interesting. I am an external candidate, so it was very nice of them to respond, anyway.
Thank you so much!
Orchid
Hi Orchid,
A bit rare to do the exam and interview on the same day, but not unheard of…however, the reference checks are not to actually DO the references, it’ll be for you to submit the names of your references. They may only contact them if you pass the exam and interview.
In terms of the tool, it’s fast, efficient, and I hate it with a passion. During the exams, you usually cannot tab out of the program so if you need to look something up or have notes with you, print them or have another laptop nearby, unless they tell you that you can’t. For the interview, it is incredibly stale as a tool. Press record, give your answer, press stop. However, the challenge with it is more than you often ONLY get the questions one by one. So unlike a normal interview where you see all the Qs up front and decide to use Example 1 with Q1 and Example 2 with Q3 and Example 3 with Q4, etc., you have NO idea what the other questions will be about. Which means you might use Example 1 with Q1 and then you get to Q2 and it would be BETTER there, but you feel like you don’t want to repeat so much, etc. In short, you can’t plan as well as a candidate. Plus as you record, there is NO ONE on the other end. Just you recording a monologue.
It’s easy to say “relax”, but the principles are the same. Good structure, know the headings you want to use ahead of time, etc. And if you want to practice ahead of time, set yourself up in Zoom or Teams and record yourself doing a 5-7 minute answer to something. A REAL test, not just do 30s and think you have it nailed. Ignore how your voice sounds, nobody likes their own voice, but notice if you get flustered, wander off topic, start ad-libbing too much. The goal is to sound like a relaxed newscaster / interview subject giving an answer. You don’t want to sound like a politician or a commercial, you want to sound relaxed and confident, as close to having a conversation with them as possible.
In terms of the timing, I have no idea how many people their platform can handle at one time. They may have 50 on day 1, 50 on day 2, etc.
Good luck!
Paul
Hi Paul,
Thank you so much for your detailed and useful response, as usual! In a way, I am glad they decided to do the exam and the interview on the same day, hopefully this speeds up the process for the candidates and the hiring team.
I have also looked at the wonderful guide you prepared and I plan on using it to get ready for the interview. Thank you so much for sharing everything that you know about the process, it is so helpful for everyone and particularly for an external candidate who is not familiar with these procedures.
Have a nice rest of the weekend!
Best regards,
Orchid
Hi Orchid…good luck! Paul
Thank you so much!
Hello Paul!
I have a written test for an EA position, where I will be tested for;
1. Knowledge of Government of Canada policies and guidelines for travel, hospitality, conferences and event expenditures.
2. Ability to communicate effectively in writing.
I am very new to this process, if could help me with this, really appreciate.
Thanks!
Hi Tina,
For writing, it is a global score. As an EA, it will likely be a series of short answers that they’ll review to make sure it is clear, concise, appropriate, etc. In short, does it make sense? It’s usually a global score for your whole exam as opposed to a specific writing question. As I outline in my guide, structure is your friend.
For the travel, hospitality, conferences and event expenditures aka THCEE, I’m not sure where to point you to. I’m not in the AS category, and while there are general rules from TBS about THCEE, departments also layer on extra rules. Your best bet is to ask someone who is an AS in the department you’re going to although if you have access to their internal stuff, it’s likely on their intranet.
Good luck,
Paul
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the great work you are doing here. I recently got invited to write a 1hour online test for a position at Indigenous Services Canada. The competency to be tested is knowledge of project management principles. Please do you have any pointers as to how to prepare?
Thank you!
Hi Oke,
I don’t know if ISC has a specific internal PM model, but I generally create my own every time I need it. If you google “project management cycle”, and click over on the results to images, you’ll see thousands of diagrams of the PM cycle. Or if you search for PM principles, you’ll get similar headings. Some are written more “proactively” i.e., do these things to improve PM, but the cycle works well for me. Some will be as low as 4 headings, I prefer ones that have 6-7 so that it doesn’t group too many things into too large of bundles.
Paul
Hi Paul,
Recently I got invited to a 50min remote e-Skill test. I’m new to this and don’t know what to expect or how to prepare for this test. They said the purpose of this test is to assess the skills as identified on the competition poster & to make sure that you read everything carefully and are well prepared. It’s for the immigration office. In poster, they said language will be further assessed. Also, this role requires strong analytical skills to understand and
interpret complex legislation, and ability to apply that knowledge in decision-making.
Other key activities (may) include: composing reports, briefings and presentations; research and analysis of
application trends or other topics that may have an impact on Immigration; gathering and preparing statistics; explaining decisions, policies and procedures to clients, their representatives, partners and other
stakeholders; or participation in promotion and recruitment activities for permanent or temporary residence to Canada.
Some of the abilities are:-
1. Ability to use computer applications including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook
and internet browsers)
2. Ability to understand, interpret and apply complex legislation
3. Ability to set priorities, plan, organize work
Competencies:-
1. Thinking things through
2. Organization and Coordination
3. Initiative and Action Orientation
4. Working with Others and Horizontal Leadership
5. Intercultural Proficiency
6. Judgement and Discretion
7. Resilience and Adaptability
8. Values and Ethics
9. Effective interactive communication (oral and written) in English.
Any guidance on how to prepare will be much appreciated. The test is going to be conducted soon. Also, do you have an email id where I can contact you instead of posting here because of privacy reasons?
Thanks.
My email address is on the downloadable file https://polywogg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/HR-Guide-Deck.pdf that also answers generally how you prepare for any competency, as well as the entire process. If you’ve gotten this far, many of the questions you ask would have already been answered?
To recap, every competency on the poster will be tested:
– Experience in your application
– Knowledge in a test and/or interview
– Abilities in a test, interview and/or reference check
– Personal Suitability in a test, interview and/or reference check
Most knowledge is in tests, most abilities are in interview, and personal suitability is usually half interview and half reference check. Language will be tested through a separate language test, usually administered by the Public Service Commission.
I can’t tell from what you’ve posted which ones will be in the test, but it will NOT be all of them, not in 50 minutes. They’ll likely test analysis for decision-making. Normally that would be something simple like giving you a bunch of info and asking you to apply to a situation.
For the key activities, that seems pretty straightforward for your need to learn something about those areas.
For the abilities, computer apps are simple; understand/interpret/apply complex legislation will be some sort of text likely with a situation where you have some info and have to apply the legislation to the area. For priorities, plan, organize work, the usual way to assess that is to give you, say, three or four tasks and ask you how you would do them. They’re not asking you to actually do them, but to describe how you would choose which ones to do in which order. However, the answer isn’t about the order, it’s about WHY you are setting the priorities in that order, and how you are organizing the work. You need to talk about identifying the important factors, weighing the priorities, considering sequencing issues (i.e., if you need input for 1 item from 3 other people, maybe you’ll do that one first). Some people find it hard, but the laughable reality is that each time they describe the three activities, they tell you which variables are important for each one. So, it says ITEM A needs input from three other people and is going to the Deputy MInister, ITEM B takes time but you have all the info and it’s for the Minister, ITEM C is complex and you’ll need someone to review it when you’re done and it’s for the Director. Each of those little aspects are possible variables to weigh — different people, different amount of work, some sequencing with others, etc.
That last one — priorities — can sometimes be merged with the item on Thinking Things Through or organization and coordination or judgement.
Initiative and action-orientation is about NOT being passive and waiting to be told what to do…often they ask you for an example where you demonstrated initiative (something you weren’t supposed to do, something that took effort and planning, something that produced better results than if you didn’t do it).
Working with Others, Intercultural Proficiency and Values and Ethics are often grouped together and they’ll give you a situation where there’s a problem between yourself and coworkers and ask how you would handle it (hint: they’re looking for you to be open, listen to alternative views, show respect for others, etc.).
Communications is almost always the same “were they clear? Did they use appropriate language? Were they clear? Did it make sense? Were they clear?”
Paul
Wow, thank you for taking the time to provide such a detailed response. This is incredibly helpful! I appreciate the link as well; I have now downloaded and read it. I discovered your website on Reddit after I received the invitation to complete an e-Skill test which was a surprise in itself because I knew there would be steep competition and it was my first time applying to PSC.
The competition poster for the role I applied for doesn’t mention “knowledge of the Department” as its element. Do I still need to go through “departmental plan” & “Vision, Mandate, etc.” to prep for e-Skill test?
I also looked up IRCC Behavioural and Technical Competency Dictionary. Am I supposed to answer situation-based questions meant to test ablities & competencies in a way that hits maximum competency indicators & for that do I need to memories relevant competencies?
I would like to thank you for the helpful examples included in your guide. They have been very useful. Could you please provide me with a resource that offers additional examples to practice with so I can ensure I am getting them correct?
Thanks again.
Mimi
Hi Mimi,
If there’s no knowledge requirements specific about the dept, you don’t need to go through those. I still find it helpful to orient myself, but not required.
For the IRCC competencies, generally, yes, you need to memorize some of it. Not so that you can regurgitate it, it’s not a memorization test, it’s having it memorized so that you can make sure in your answer, you’re demonstrating those elements. So if the they have one for initiative, and they say challenge the status quo, produce results, be action oriented, etc., then in your answer, you want to make sure whatever examples you use, you are clearly demonstrating those elements.
Paul
Hi again Paul,
I wanted to update you on my progress since our last conversation. The test I took earlier focused mostly on MS Office applications, with an emphasis on Excel, and required me to perform various tasks. These tasks were designed to evaluate one of my proficiency out of three as mentioned in the job ad:
1. Ability to use computer applications including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, and internet browsers)
2. Ability to understand, interpret, and apply complex legislation
3. Ability to set priorities, plan, and organize work
Now, I have been invited to take another e-Skill test that will last for three hours. I’m wondering if this new test will evaluate the remaining two abilities, competencies, and assets? I should note that while I cleared the first test, they initially decided to select other candidates with specific asset experiences but later circled back to me. What does it mean for me?
In the email that I received, they also requested that I ensure that my laptop or computer has word processing software capable of creating .doc or .docx files. They provided a link to a document (https://www.tbs-sct.canada.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=25049) and asked me to read it before starting the assessment.
Given that this test will be three hours long, I was hoping that you could give me an idea of what to expect and any advice on how best to prepare for it. Thank you.
Hi Mimi,
Since your test already knocked off the first one, the next test will likely target the next two together. I suspect they will give you a scenario, the 3h is because you’ll have to do some reading / interpreting to apply that to the scenario. Easiest way to do it is two questions that are “here’s scenario 1, interprt it against the legisltation; here’s scenario 2, lots to do, how would you organize your work to do it”. In both cases, remember that less is not necessarily good…for example, if they ask you to set priorities, they don’t want you to say 1,2,3,4. They need to see WHY you’re saying 1,2,3,4. Most of the variables will be embedded in the scenario — some are for someone more senior, some are more urgent, some require input from others so you need to ask for their input early even if you’re not going to work on it until last.
In terms of the assets screening, that’s fairly common. Usually it means they have, say, 6 possible requirements but multiple jobs. All share pehraps 1-3; some only need #4, some need only #5, some need #5 and 6. So they do 4-6 as assets and might do a bunch of those first. But there are still jobs that only require 1-3, so as you say, they circle back. It doesn’t really mean anything for you — you wouldn’t have been qualified for those other ones probably anyway, they were “assets” but not necessarily REAL assets, more administrative assets to allow HR to merge a larger set of processes togehter.
In terms of prep, I don’t remember what they said in app about what legislation, but I would see if you can find the main type for the area of work and read through it so you know the major sections. The Departmental Results Report might have stuff about that area and might specifically mention which legis or part of the legis they care about the most. For the actual test, finishing is super critical. Do not get bogged down in minutiae and forget to FINISH the questions, all parts of it. Some people like to write a rough outline at the very beginning and stick to it against their time alotment, perhaps 90-120 minutes on the biggest one, 1h on the other. Manage your time and finish…if you don’t finish, there’s a good chance of failure. A less-than-perfect answer is better than an incomplete answer or no answer at all.
Good luck,
Paul
Hi Paul,
Thank you for your helpful response to my previous message. I appreciate you taking the time to provide me with guidance and suggestions.
I was wondering if you could answer a few more questions for me:
Regarding the priority order of tasks, are my reasons for each priority correct? Should I follow this order when prioritizing tasks?
1. Input from others: To avoid delays and to get others working as soon as possible.
2. For the Minister: They are likely to be time-sensitive and carry a significant impact. Therefore, anything related to the Minister should be given priority.
3. Urgency: The urgency of a task should be the third priority. Any task that is urgent and requires immediate attention should be handled with priority.
4. Nature of the file: If the file is complex and requires a lot of work, it should be prioritized higher than files that are relatively simple.
5. Frequency of the task: If it’s a routine task that is done regularly, it can be prioritized lower than other more pressing tasks.
During the application process, I wasn’t given any specific legislation to study. However, the job is with IRCC, and I have found some reports on their website, such as Audit Reports, Program Evaluations, Research Reports, Statistics and Data Sets, and Departmental Results Reports. Would these reports be helpful in preparing for the test? Additionally, the job advertisement mentions composing reports, briefings, presentations, and correspondence. Is there a specific type of report that I should focus on, and what’s the best way to structure these reports?
They also sent “Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector” for me to read in the email, can anything be asked from it?
Lastly, you suggested that they might ask me to provide an example of where I demonstrated initiative in your first message. Would I need to prepare examples for abilities and competencies in the STAR format, and if so, should it be around 250-300 words in length?
Thank you again for your help, and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Mimi
Hi Mimi,
I think your priority order is generally good, but note that prioritization cannot be programmed in advance, some of it will require weighing. So the input from others says do it first, but the MInister also says do it first. 🙂 Hence the need to use judgment, but the reasons you have are good. Small nuances to add…for Minister may not be time-sensitive OR high-impact, BUT there are hierarchical concerns too AND it has to go up through several levels of approval to get there. But it could be for DM or ADM or DG instead of Minister, the issue is simply one of hierarchy. People farther up the chain have more clout than those at the bottom. 🙂
Interesting that they sent the V&E code. It could mean that they’re going to give that to you as somethign to “apply” to a situation, it’s relatively fair game for anyone, they gave it to you in advance. I don’t know enough about IRCC’s process to know if they give it to everyone automatically, but I would presume not. I suspect they’re going to apply somethign based on it, but that’s just a guess.
And yes for prep. As you’ve seen, I don’t love the STAR approach, but if it works for you, go for it!
Paul
Hi Paul,
I have got a written exam request for Health Canada Inspector Position. It mentions there will be two questions assessing the ability to interpret and apply legislation, the ability to plan and organize workload according to priorities, and the ability to communicate effectively in writing.
Can you share any key pointers on planning and organizing workload according to priorities, and any tips on how to structure the answers (points vs paragraphs)?
This is my first written examination so little nervous about it. Thanks.
Hi Vikram,
I’ll start by wishing you luck too!
For planning and organizing, let me first start with the tips on the element. Whenever anyone asks you to prioritize, the goal is two fold — 10% is to actually set priorities, but 90% is HOW / WHY you set those priorities. Say you have Task 1, 2 and 3. And you come to the conclusion it should be done in order 3,1,2. Why? Was it because #2 was relatively routine and could be bumped downward, but #1 was for the Minister? Perhaps #3 needed to task out to get input from others so you dealt with the sequencing that way (aka you will launch #3 first to get others working, and then move to #1, and on to #2). They’ll generally give you a few variables to play with — level of the person the item is for, how urgent it is, the nature of the file, how frequently it is done, how much input you’ll need from others, etc. There is no perfect answer, although rarely is it just do them in the order they’re due. You’ll need to explain WHY you think #3 is more important than #1, etc. How are you planning them out? Part of that too may be consults with others, not just for input, but perhaps talking to coworkers and your boss to see how much work it is, whether it can be postponed due to the conflict, can you get more help? FYI, it is NEVER a good idea to suggest, “Oh, I’ll just work late to finish”. It sounds like a good answer, but it means you didn’t actually understand the task. You have to prioritize to get it done WITHIN the time you have, you can’t negate the question by giving yourself more time. YOu MIGHT ask for more time, discuss the deadlines, etc., but that’s not the same as just doing everything yourself.
The second aspect though is the writing format. There’s no right answer for how to do that question in advance, you’ll see the format they ask for — memo? work plan? GANTT chart? critical path? However, one thing I will flag is that the whole exam marks your ability to write. Rarely do point form bullets demonstrate that adequately. Unless they tell you to do it in point form bullets, I would assume you are writing full paragraphs somewhere. Depends a bit though too on the way it is worked AND what category…ECs are expected to write paragraphs, PMs/ASs are often expected to do more point form. The fact that you’re also being tested on interpreting legislation makes me think more policy-ish, so I would expect paragraphs.
Hope that helps!
Paul
Thanks Paul for the valuable comment. I appreciate your detailed response.
Good luck, let me know how it goes!
Hi Paul, it went well I guess. I got the email for a video interview through Vid Recruiter. Is that something a part of the process regardless someone failed in writing or only after passing the written one proceeds to a video interview?
Any tips for a video interview, they said they are going to assess me on the following and there will be 4 questions. I think it is a recorded interview talking in front of the screen.
Oral Communication
Respect for Diversity
Thinking Things Through
Initiative
Working Effectively with Others
Thank you,
Vikram
Hi Vikram,
Soooo, officially, you can get invited to a second phase without necessarily having the previous phase complete or it indicating that you passed. Often, for instance, HR will suggest completing reference checks on anyone who failed only a single element on the interview stage. But, it is very rare for anyone to waste time doing an interview on anyone who didn’t pass the exam. At the very least, it’s an absence of bad news, if not a guarantee of good news. 🙂
The guide and other areas talk about thinking things through, initiative, working with others, and a global score for oral comms, so I won’t repeat them here. Respect for diversity is usually a combination of respecting other opinions, active listening, trying to understand etc. AND soliciting other viewpoints.
For a video interview, I really should do a full post on it, as it is quite a bit different than an in-person interview in terms of managing your self. If it is recorded (and Vid Recruiter usually does), it can be very off-putting for the candidate — you are being recorded, which makes people nervous; there’s often no counterpart/interviewer on screen, so you’re just talking to yourself; there’s a propensity for repetition and self-consciousness, etc. However, if you ignore the fact that it is an interview, etc., the real “advice” is think about it more like being a newscaster. You are going to look directly into the camera, say your answer clearly and calmly, do a summary perhaps, and close out. Crisp, clean, less like a conversation and more like a video cast. You also want to look at the camera, not the screen, or your notes, or wherever else. Some people who use webcams will lower their camera to the middle of their screen so that you can look right in the centre of your screen rather than the little camera on top which seems unnatural. Most people will struggle, it’s not unique, but if you can present well in that environment, you’ll stand out from the crowd!
Good luck!
Paul
Hi Paul,
Thank you for your insights. Your advice on treating it like a newscast is wonderful and I am going to use that approach. Interviews are one of my strengths and I am going to utilize that by preparing well and removing any technical hiccups for any last-minute jitters. I think this is more like a piece of performance I have to deliver. Thanks a lot.
Glad to help, Vikram. Avoiding technical glitches is key, but “performance” might take you a bit far. You want to seem at ease, recording something into the camera, but as a small nuance to dial it back a notch, you also want to come across natural. Don’t go all TED talk on your performance or self-help guru. 🙂 Nor zany weatherman. The aim is professional communications without seeming stilted. Calm, collected, yourself. In an ideal world, it would come across like a professional interview on the Graham Norton show without the laughs.
Paul
Great advice, I will follow that. Thanks. Will keep you updated.
Hi Paul,
I have received email saying that I have been put into a partially assessed pool with an expiry in 2025. Just wondering, is that a common thing to put candidates in the partially assessed pool or I was not the priority to put in partially assessed pool vs fully assessed pool. Just to mention reference check was not requested for. Number of position were about 35, so I am wondering why I have been put into this group.
Hi Vikram,
In short, it’s a cost and workload thing. 🙂
Someone ran a comp, and they have gotten this far. Let’s say they did written and interview. That’s a fair amount of work. And they scored all of you. Let’s say they are at 100 people. Most people pass reference checks and so they COULD spend all that money on 100 people but that is a lot more work AND cost. So instead, they stop here for now.
Now, suppose Manager #1 wants to hire someone, they can go in and say, for example, “Okay, writing is super important in my area, MY pass mark for writing is 9/10”. Only give me those who are 9 or 10/10. Now they can then take that little group, maybe 5 people, and do the reference check and language testing on just them. There’s no reason to test everyone else, they’re not viable since their writing wasn’t good enough.
Manager #2 comes along and she wants someone with REALLY good comms skills for oral communication. So maybe she asks for those who were 8-10/10 on oral. She’ll then do those 10 people, perhaps 2 of which are already done by Manager 1 (and won’t need to be done again). So she’ll do the work for 8 people.
Manager #3 comes along and wants anyone with a background in Health. They go through, maybe that was an asset even, and choose those that meet that requirement, only 2 people, and they would process them BUT manager #1 already did person A and Manager #2 already did person B, so actually there’s no more work to be done on them. They can just consider A or B and contact for best fit.
Partially assessed pools get the bulk of the work out of the way and then leave individual managers to do the rest. Language testing is quite common not to finish, as is reference checks (as the hiring manager may want to talk directly to the reference, not just read the notes from the references checked by someone else).
And at this stage of your process, EVERYONE got put into that partially-assessed pool. Some might get picked to be more further assessed for specific sub-jobs of the 35, and some may already be continuing on, but it’s mostly sequencing. If someone wants someone who “looks” like your profile, they will do ref checks.
Paul
Hi Paul,
Thank you for the previous answers. They requested my education credentials about three months ago, and I submitted them all. I have not heard anything yet except for the acknowledgment of my email. They wanted to assess my education credentials per the SG group and mentioned that the manager would assess qualifications, which is their decision. I completed my bachelor’s outside Canada while my master’s in Canada. For my bachelor’s, I submitted grade sheets and educational assessments conducted by a third party. I also submitted my master’s degree from a Canadian University. I thought that would be enough to satisfy my education qualifications. However, I have not heard anything back. Is it okay to email back and confirm the progress on this posting?
Hi Vikram,
The Cdn MA is probably sufficient to meet their needs, in my estimation, although education can always be a wonky one depending on the hiring manager and department. However, after 2m of no news, emailing to ask if there is any news/update is fine, although you wouldn’t want to start emailing every week. Note though that with the Govt in a precarious position for budgets, many staffing actions have been frozen until at least April.
Paul
Thank you Paul, I will reach out to them just one time for any update they can provide. Appreciate the help.
How did it go? i have similar test coming up soon but there will be three question. i will really like to know the format to use on this case
It really depends on what they are assessing you on. Mine was actually more difficult than I thought. I had to write an email on priorities and another one was on writing inspection recommendations based on regulations. Practice a lot before your exam, and read the policies and mandates of the department beforehand. Luckily, that helped me.
Hello Paul,
Thank you for your valuable input on everything, I needed your guidance with something, so the test should include the knowledge and competencies mentioned in the email. I have an upcoming test GR-07 at NSERC, any pointers I should be aware of? I would really appreciate it.
Hi Freddie,
Not sure what exactly you’re asking. You know the test is on the knowledge and competencies in the email, the guide shows how to prepare for an individual competency (defining it, setting up headers) and the three types of questions (past experience, present scenario, future theory). I don’t have anything specific for a GR-07 category…did you have specific areas you want views on?
Paul
Hi Paul,
Thank you so much for this guide! I am invited to a PM-04 written exam next Monday. I will be tested on: Knowledge of relevant and applicable acts, regulations and policies in a regulatory environment. I was also given this link that I could use as a reference: https://tc.canada.ca/en/dangerous-goods/safety-awareness-materials-faq.
What type of content should I research/ memorize before the exam?
Much thanks,
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
The short answer is that the website they give you is a pretty good indication of what they expect you to know. Now, do you need to understand EVERY link off that page? Probably not. But you would be expected to know, for example, that while everyone is covered by the regulations, there are exemptions for personal transport. So you’ll see below that there are extensive regs for transporting gasoline, but if you’re carrying small (red) cans of gas, the total weight of the cans+gas together wouldn’t be allowed over 150KG in the example, and even says, “which is about six cans”. They have an exemption for BBQ cylinders…again, you might not need to know that the limit is 46L, but you might be expected to know that there IS a limit.
I will warn you however that while it might be “reasonable” to expect you to know that there are exemptions and generally how it works, they did send you the link and will expect you’ll read the links in depth. You’ll need to know the name of the act, major sections, etc. But they could even go further and ask “So, how many exemptions are there and what is the limit for gas and propane?”. It’s up to them to decide how granular they will go.
A very long time ago, I had an exam that was shared between people looking at environmental issues, with some computer and legal work built in. So the exam asked chemistry questions, computer programming questions, and legal regulation questions. It was ridiculous and I didn’t even bother writing, I just walked out and said it was a waste of everyone’s time. If they couldn’t figure out the exam was stupid, I didn’t want to work for them. None of the applicants could answer more than 1 of the questions, and even then, only partially. It was silly. But it was their choice of test. Some people are hiring technical specialists, others want strong generalists. You won’t know until you see the test. How much time and energy you want to put into studying and memorizing all those links depends on how much you want THIS job.
Can’t help much more than that, unfortunately.
Paul