Transcript
Transcript: Insights on Exploring a Career in the Federal Public Service
[00:00:00 A text appears on screen: Insights on Exploring a Career in the Federal Public Service]
[00:00:09 A text appears on screen: Thinking about a career in the federal public service?]
[00:00:14 A text appears on screen: In this video, you will hear from three public servants and the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) on exploring and building a career in the federal public service.]
[00:00:27 A text appears on screen: First, we will hear from Salma as she reflects on her experience as an early-career public servant.]
[00:00:41 A text appears on the screen: Salma Addas, Policy Analyst, Natural Resources Canada]
Salma Addas: My name is Salma Addas and I am 27 years old. I have been working in the public service for almost four years. I currently work as a policy analyst at Natural Resources Canada. I completed my Master's degree in Public Policy and Public Administration at Concordia University in 2023 and was also on the Concordia team in the CAPPA competition in 2021.
[00:01:10 A text appears on screen: What motivated you to pursue a career in public service?]
Salma Addas: So the public service has a good combination of two elements that I generally look for in my work. The first is that I am very much looking to solve problems in all the work, all the jobs that I'm looking for, plus the satisfaction of being able to help Canadians, whether in international affairs, natural resources, or with Health Canada. I'm very interested in helping all of Canada's diverse population in all kinds of ways.
[00:01:58 A text appears on screen: How did your education prepare you for this role?]
Salma Addas: My academic training has allowed me to improve, I think, many transferable skills. So for example, my critical thinking and analytical skills, I developed them in a really unexpected way. For example, I did my bachelor's degree in English literature and that really helped refine my analytical skills. That was really unexpected for me. But I think my education also taught me how to be a team player and collaborate, especially during my master's degree, in a way that I didn't expect and taught me how to juggle multiple responsibilities and projects at once.
[00:02:57 A text appears on screen: What were the biggest surprises during your first year?]
Salma Addas: The biggest surprise is honestly the difference among departments and the differences in culture among teams, even within the same division, the same branch. I'm currently working in my fourth department and it has been a bit shocking to realize that two teams working relatively close to each other can have completely different procedures or attitudes, even though they're working on very, very similar files. There's also the number of acronyms and how quickly you learn to use a language that's very specific to your team. It's a very quick integration to learn how to use this language and its acronyms when you work with your team for a long time.
[00:03:57 A text appears on screen: What skills have proven most valuable?]
Salma Addas: Writing skills or being able to write well is extremely important when you work with the government. Because if you're developing content, if you're writing a memo, if you're doing research, the ability to write concisely and clearly was, in my opinion, very important in all the internships I did. I think analytical thinking is really important too. A big part of your role when you work for the government is consulting and collaborating with other members of your team or other teams. These team members will send you their work and they will think or assume that if there are problems and you point them out, you are able to offer suggestions or alternatives to solve those problems. I also find that the ability, the fact that I am bilingual, is also a great, great asset because it means that you can communicate with anyone without language barriers.
[00:05:20 A text appears on screen: How did you overcome imposter syndrome or initial challenges when starting your role?]
Salma Addas: The truth is, I haven't completely gotten over my impostor syndrome yet. I'm still relatively young and early in my career and I often find myself thinking that all my colleagues are more accomplished or smarter than me. But what helps me is to look for people who have positions and experiences that resemble my own, and to see how accomplished they are and how hard they have worked to earn their place and to realize that if I am in a similar position, I have to work just as hard if I want to get to where I am today. So even though I haven't completely overcome the challenges yet, it has definitely made me proud of my accomplishments.
[00:06:26 A text appears on screen: Have any non-traditional experiences (e.g., volunteer work or internships) been particularly valuable in your career so far?]
Salma Addas: Honestly, I was asked a lot of questions about CAPPA in interviews. Participating in competitions was definitely something that managers were interested in, especially when I was still a student and maybe even the first year after I got my master's degree. Many interviews for public service jobs include questions based on real-world situations. I found it really helpful to be able to talk about some of the skills I developed during the competition, like collaboration and communication skills. I really had the chance to work on these skills while preparing for the competition. But I also find that in different periods of life you're not necessarily going to get the same value from different experiences. For example, while I was studying for my bachelor's, I worked as an editor for a student newspaper, and I don't talk about it much now because it's been a while since then. But 6 or 7 years ago, that was the kind of experience that allowed me to talk about other skills like writing and research. And I think that every experience, especially when you're a student, offers the opportunity to improve and hone transferable skills. I found value in some really unexpected places during these experiences.
[00:08:07 A text appears on screen: What advice would you give to students looking to join the public service, especially on leveraging both hard and soft skills?]
Salma Addas: It's really, really important to never underestimate the importance of networking. Even interviews for jobs you don't end up getting hired for can be extremely helpful in building relationships. For example, the first job I ever had in the public service was because I was competing for another position and came in second in the hiring process. However, the hiring manager recommended me to another hiring manager and that manager called me and they hired me practically over the phone. So I would say it's important to never underestimate informal discussions and it's important to never underestimate the importance of a good impression. Because hiring and connections like that can happen, again, in the most unexpected ways.
[00:09:20 A text appears on screen: Next, Priyanka will share more about the supports available for young professionals in the public service.]
[00:09:28 A text appears on screen: Priyanka Sharma, Co-Chair, GC Students Network, Federal Youth Network, Government of Canada]
Priyanka Sharma: Hello, My name is Priyanka Sharma. I am the co-chair of the GC Students Network. I'm happy to be here to answer a few questions. I am a federal public servant. I work full time at Immigrations, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. And I'm very fortunate to have this volunteer role to represent the Student Network that's out there to support all of those who are aspiring to be federal public servants one day.
[00:09:53 A text appears on screen: What is the GC Students community and what is its mission?]
Priyanka Sharma: The GC Students Community is a network which is the reference for students in the federal public service. GC Students is a network for students under the Federal Youth Network, also known as FYN. And our mission is to support the students with enriching work experience in the Government of Canada. Our role is to organise events, to provide them with resources, information and answers to any questions they may have.
[00:10:33 A text appears on screen: How does GC Students help new recruits integrate into the federal public service?]
Priyanka Sharma: The GC Students Network plays a vital role in helping new recruits by making sure we're providing information to help integrate them into the federal public service. We have many partnerships with other networks throughout the GC as well to ensure that students are getting a well-rounded community and support to make sure that they're supported in their professional growth. We host events to ensure that they feel integrated. We make sure that they have networking opportunities online as well as in person across Canada. We are partnered with the Federal Youth Network, who has resources on their YouTube channel. Our team has worked to answer many questions, many common questions students have on our GC Students wiki page. We really are the point of contact for students in terms of generic information about how to take advantage of a student contract within the federal public service. Therefore, we're really focused on ensuring that students are integrated, feel like they have a community, feel like they can ask any of the questions that they may have and have those support pillars with them so that when they have questions about their professional growth or what steps to take after completing one student contract, there is a community to help guide them.
[00:12:10 A text appears on screen: What opportunities does GC Students provide for networking and professional growth?]
Priyanka Sharma: GC Students offers a variety of opportunities for networking and professional development. Our key focus with the students is to ensure they understand the importance of networking. Our network focuses on providing in-person and virtual networking events to ensure that they're being exposed to all the students across the GC. It helps them connect with other individuals who may be in the same area of study or field of work that they are in to ensure they have that guiding step alongside them. We also partner with other networks across the GC to expand the networking opportunities available. It also provides them with that other aspect of finding mentors and opportunities that could be only found with other networks. So we're ensuring that we're providing them with all the opportunities to grow and expand their network. In terms of professional growth, our network focuses on publishing all the information necessary for students to be successful, find opportunities after their studies on our GC Students wiki page. We want to make sure that any questions that they have are answered via video lessons or events that we host or one pagers that we may post. So all that information is available on our GC Students wiki page and it provides that opportunity for students to feel as though they are supported in their professional development.
[00:14:03 A text appears on screen: What challenges do student recruits face, and how does GC Students help them?]
Priyanka Sharma: There are many challenges that students face when joining the GC. One of the main ones being that they don't quite understand how our recruiting system works, where to apply for opportunities, what opportunities might be best for them. And the way that our network supports that is by providing info session and hosting events on these topics. Our goal is to make sure that students are well prepared for what's to come next after their studies. We make sure we're integrating answers to all the main questions they may have, such as "How do I apply for an opportunity after my studies?", "What does student bridging mean?" that's a very common question. And we ensure that we're answering those questions via videos, video events or information on our GC Students wiki page. We also collaborate with other networks such as the Federal Youth Network, who have hosted many info sessions to support students in the challenges that they may face. And those resources are also available on their YouTube channel to make sure that they feel supported in the challenges that are to come. We want to make sure that students know that it's very natural to feel those challenges, but we also want them to know we're here to support them throughout their journey.
[00:15:36 A text appears on screen: How can students leverage social media for networking and finding job opportunities in the public service?]
Priyanka Sharma: Social media is one of the most powerful tools out there for students, especially when networking is one of the key ways to find an opportunity after their student contract. The main point we tell students is to build a professional profile on LinkedIn or on Facebook to connect with the relevant groups that could provide them with opportunities, or tips and tricks to finding those opportunities. We want to make sure that students are well connected, so really ties in with that networking aspect that we're always telling students to do. Our network is focussed on finding those relevant student groups and ensuring that they're available to join. We also provide information on how to build professional profiles, to write elevator pitches - is what I like to call them, to make sure that they're almost selling their capabilities and their skills to the professionals who are seeking an employee, whether it be full time, part time or as a student. So we really want students to ensure that they have a professional profile on platforms such as LinkedIn or Facebook and to use the groups that are relevant to their area of work or area of study to find relevant opportunities.
[00:17:15 A text appears on screen: How can young professionals create and leverage informal networking opportunities?]
Priyanka Sharma: Networking is one of the biggest themes in a student's federal public service career. It is a key skill to gain to ensure opportunities can be found in the future. One of the key ways for a student to leverage informal networking is by participating in community activities. It's important for students to look for networks within their department or agency. Or network such as ours, like GC Students or the Federal Youth Network, to connect with others and grow that network. It's important to find individuals who might be in their field of study or in their area of work to connect and potentially also find that mentorship aspect. We want to make sure that when students are building their network, they're well-rounded networks and they have that support that they need when they're looking for advice, guidance or even job opportunities for career growth. So really, the key message to having those informal networking opportunities is just really participating in activities that are around them. And to get that face time with other individuals, whether it be in their department or other departments or any sort of learning activity that they might be in.
To wrap things up, it's important to know that the federal public service has so many diverse working opportunities, regardless of your areas of interest or what you're studying. The federal public service is always looking for talented students like you, so we hope that you take the federal public service into consideration as an opportunity for your professional development. To find more information on the GC Students Network, you can Google us online and type in GC Students to find our wiki page as well as all the social media platforms we are on. It's important to stay connected with us to know what's coming up, opportunities that you might be interested in, or events that we might be hosting for networking or just learning in general. We hope that all the information you find will support you in all your career endeavours.
[00:19:39 A text appears on screen: Now, Nathalie will offer her perspectives on hiring new employees.]
[00:19:46 A text appears on screen: What qualities do you look for in new hires?]
[00:20:01 A text appears on screen: Nathalie Lévesque, Faculty Member, Canada School of Public Service]
Nathalie Lévesque: So, the qualities sought in new employees. I base this on my experience, the hiring processes I have participated in. I believe that for a manager, the important thing is to find the balance, because we want to maintain the balance that we have managed to achieve in a team. So we want to find the right person, for the right place, in the right position. But I think there are two essential qualities that stand out, especially at the public service level. It's really about being altruistic, wanting to help others. Because whatever position you hold in the public service, it's a position where, at the end of the day, you offer a program, you offer a service to a citizen. There is also the quality of being curious, I would say, because someone who is curious is going to be someone who wants to learn and wants to be part of a team, to outdo themselves, who wants to be challenged too. So these two essential qualities are often part of the many interpersonal qualities. They're also very, very important, I would say, for a manager.
[00:21:12 A text appears on screen: Can you explain the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for job applications, and how candidates can use it to demonstrate their experience?]
Nathalie Lévesque: The STAR method is one we can use in our interviews. It should be seen as a model. It keeps us on the path, on the right track. We mustn't forget that interviews are a communication exercise and when we want to communicate well, we must be succinct. So the STAR method requires us to be succinct, gives us tips, tricks and a formula for doing so. There are plenty of resources online, we just have to Google to find more information on the STAR method, which is something that can really help you with your hiring process.
[00:22:01 A text appears on screen: What pathways are available for recent graduates to join the federal public service?]
Nathalie Lévesque: So it's a given that there are several programs. You have to do a little research online to find out about the different hiring programs offered by the Government of Canada. There are programs that focus on internships, co-op terms, but there are also programs that target certain positions. I'm thinking particularly of positions in science, technology, engineering and math, but beyond the opportunities that are offered at the very beginning of your career, I also think we have to look beyond that, once we're hired. That's where the opportunities arise. In a sense, you can find yourself in a position at the very beginning of your career, but when you're in government and you're working as a public servant, you can start in a position for a few years and after a few little detours, a few little challenges, a few opportunities, you find yourself in a position that you never even imagined you could have. For example, I started in government after studying communications and political science, so I started as a communications expert. But little by little, I found myself becoming a reference, an expert in the fields of access to information and the protection of personal information and privacy. I never would have imagined that I would actually be teaching it later, at the end of my career. So I would say that we need to focus on our transferable skills to take us further in this career path offered to us by the public service.
[00:23:59 A text appears on screen: What distinguishes public sector work from private sector work in your perspective?]
Nathalie Lévesque: There are several elements that clearly make the public sector stand out from the private sector. Not to brag, but I think the great advantage of working in the public sector is working for the same employer but having access to tons of opportunities. You can work 10, 15, 20, 30 years for the same employer when you work in the public sector. But during these periods, you can hold jobs in the economic sector, science, social development. So there are a lot of opportunities that can present themselves to us. I don't really know of any other private sector employers who can offer these kinds of opportunities. But in the public sector, we also have the chance to work with people from all over Canada, to experience this real diversity too, this real Canadian diversity too. Also in the public sector, we're called upon to make a difference. We are called upon to make a difference to citizens, to our fellow citizens. So that's the nice aspect that stands out, I would say, from the private sector.
[00:25:28 A text appears on screen: How should students prepare to apply?]
Nathalie Lévesque: And I think that to be effective in your preparation, you must first learn more about your next employer. So if you want to work for the government, learn more about the federal department or agency that is presenting you with this hiring process. Show interest above all. Not only that, but also identify your knowledge, your skills and any interest that supports the position you're looking at, that you're targeting, because all this knowledge and these skills and even your experience, whether in volunteering or in student employment, have real value for the positions you are targeting. So make good use of it and demonstrate it through your preparation. Also, don't underestimate the value of your networks. Talk to your colleagues, talk to people you know. Perhaps you could even approach other public servants who have gone through these hiring processes and could tell you about their own experiences. The more information we can gather, I think the better we're going to feel, the more ready we're going to feel to go through this whole hiring process.
[00:27:05 A text appears on screen: How does academic excellence or leadership experiences at university make a candidate stand out in the government hiring process?]
Nathalie Lévesque: I believe that academic excellence and leadership experience are equally important, because soft skills are just as important as hard skills. So feel free to expand and prove that you have developed both. From experience, I would say that we see it when we have candidates who have developed some leadership skills. We see them as more confident; they know themselves better. Also, in the development of all your abilities and knowledge, you shouldn't underestimate everything you've acquired elsewhere either, if you've been part of decision-making committees, student committees. When we've gone through and when we have this experience, we're better able to understand decision-making processes, to acknowledge to what extent we must know how to listen, communicate well, and have influence at certain stages. All of this comes with the experience we've acquired, especially in terms of developing our leadership.
[00:28:30 A text appears on screen: Finally, David will highlight the resources and opportunities provided by the Institute of Public Administration of Canada.]
[00:28:44 A text appears on screen: David Fulford, Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Public Administration of Canada]
David Fulford: Hi everyone, my name is David Fulford, and I'm the CEO here at IPAC. And I'm joining you from Toronto, where it's a snowy day, and I've got my coffee, and I'm really happy to be joining you here. A little bit about myself: just before I answer some of the questions that the School has asked me to address, I spent over 30 years in the Ontario government, 16 as an ADM. And so I have a good appreciation for what government is all about, the challenges, and of course the exciting positions that are available within government. I also teach at the University of Waterloo in their master's program, so I have a good sense of what students are thinking, also the interests that they have, and the challenges that they're facing. And I provide students with lots of advice and lots of opportunities to talk about what it's like to work within government at various levels. And I also just want to share that I've been at IPAC for four years, and we've seen big changes both within IPAC and in government. And I'm really happy to be here today to answer these questions, and I'm also happy to have you reach out if you have any questions after this. IPAC is here to help you navigate your public sector career.
[00:30:02 A text appears on screen: How does IPAC support the development of young professionals in public administration?]
David Fulford: So there's a number of things that IPAC does to help young professionals, certainly the students getting ready to join their public sector career. One of them is access to regular events. So we do provide free registration for students to attend most of our events. Another key thing that we do is to provide membership. So if you are a graduate student and you're one of our CAPPA schools, we do provide membership to those students because we know they're the future leaders within government - it could be at municipal, local, provincial or federal level. You also get access to our journal, which I highly recommend you read and attend the sessions that are written by authors within the Journal. I think you'll find it very helpful. We also have a job board and so you can check out IPAC's job board for potential positions within government. And finally, we have regional connections. So all across Canada we have 18 regions. And I would strongly encourage you to join one of those.
[00:31:18 A text appears on screen: What trends are shaping public service today, and how can graduate students prepare themselves to be part of these changes?]
David Fulford: Well, I think the one thing you need to acknowledge about working in government is change is a constant. Because there will always be demands on the environment, the economy, international issues, change in government. I can go on. But that's actually one of the great things about working in government is it's so interesting and things are constantly changing. So the one thing that I would encourage you to get yourself to be prepared is learning about the importance of collaborating with others. It's something that is key within governments. Collaboration has to take place between different departments, different levels of governments across the country, even internationally. But collaborating with others is really important. A second skill that I'll just mention is problem solving and problem solving could be as simple as helping people at work with artificial intelligence that you might have knowledge with that others don't. But problem solving is the ability, again to think differently on how you're approaching a particular challenge. I know you're all going to join government with certain skills, but you're going to have to pivot and you're going to have to use those skills to solve those problems because the problems will keep coming and I view them as opportunities and challenges. The other thing that I see within government is obviously artificial intelligence is going to have a huge impact upon our society. Government needs to get ready and we're providing support to public servants across Canada by offering a four part series to prepare public servants and to spark their interest in the area of artificial intelligence. And lastly, I'd say the one skill that will make you so valuable is the ability to pivot, the ability to quickly change and go in another direction. The ability to change, to implement a different policy, the ability to, you know, take an operational issue and figure out how to solve it. Those are all key things. If you've got those skills, you'll be in demand within government and people will come looking for you and they won't let you go. So I would focus on those key things of collaborating, problem solving, being able to pivot and knowing what are the key things that governments are going to be facing, like artificial intelligence and educating yourself.
[00:33:57 A text appears on screen: How can students get involved with IPAC to learn more about public administration?]
David Fulford: Well, you can get involved with IPAC simply by going to our website and looking at all the resources that are there. As I mentioned earlier, you can join one of the programs that we offer. I think it's really important that you participate in these. IPAC has all these regions across the country. I would strongly encourage you to join one of those. As I mentioned earlier, we do provide free membership for master students of our CAPPA partners. We encourage them to take advantage of this. It's also a great way for you to network, to build your network, to eventually look for a mentor who might be able to help you with your public sector career. But as I said, by participating in these events, IPAC is there to help you navigate your public sector career. We're the only organisation in government that brings all three levels, sorry, all four levels now of government across Canada together on a regular basis. We're bringing public servants together to collaborate, to solve the wicked problems that exist, but we also bring them together in a safe environment so they can exchange the challenges they have, they can share their stories, and they can hopefully solve some of the problems that we have within public administration, so that they have better outcomes for citizens. So those are some of the ways that you can get involved, and I would strongly encourage you to take advantage of it.
[00:35:34 A text appears on screen: What initiatives has IPAC taken to support effective public administration?]
David Fulford: So, IPAC has national awards. We have an Emerging Leader award and that might be you in a few years. That's for individuals within the first five years of their career. We have an established leader. We also have awards for innovation and for mental health. And then beyond that, we have our Vanier medal named for the former Governor-General. And this year's recipient was Peter Wallace, former deputy minister with the Federal Government, secretary of Cabinet in Ontario and city manager in Toronto. So we have all these awards to celebrate excellence within public service. We also offer programming that really addresses the needs within public administration. We do updates with the Bank of Canada on our financial situation, so public servants are aware of the challenges that they're facing. We have a course on human learning and social administration in partnership with other organisations. So there's all kinds of programming that we have that really helps to show the effective public administration challenges and how we're actually helping public administrators. In addition, we hold sessions on key issues like immigration, the housing crisis that Canada is facing. So we're trying to pick up on the big issues that public servants are facing and bringing experts to the table. So you can ask questions and you can also learn. In addition to that, we have regular regional events, and I would encourage you to participate in those. One of the upsides of the pandemic was that we learned how to offer these through different venues, and so many of them, of course, are offered through Teams or Zoom. So by joining, say, the National Capital Region, you won't be restricted. You can also join sessions that happen in Halifax or in Victoria or in Toronto. So again, lots of different programming that we're offering to help public administration.
[00:37:47 A text appears on screen: How can IPAC's resources benefit students before they even apply for government roles?]
David Fulford: So again, as I mentioned, we do offer free membership for graduate students. I do strongly encourage you to take advantage of our Journal and read that there's lots that you can learn. Participate in the sessions where the author from the Journal is talking about theirs. Get involved with the local region so you can build your network, potentially find a mentor. Learn from the events that are taking place, come out and listen to key leaders like Christine Fox. Come out and listen to the governor general who participated in our recent event, or U.N. Ambassador Bob Rae. So we have leaders from across Canada that are supporting excellence in public administration. And the best way for you to learn is to participate in these events. And as I said, they are free for students. We strongly encourage you to take advantage of this. And then once you start your public sector career, join your local chapter. It's a great way to meet other public servants at all levels, to participate in events and, as I said, build your network and let IPAC help you navigate your public sector career.
[00:39:09 A text appears on screen: Thank you for joining us. We hope you found the insights valuable and inspiring.]
[00:39:16 A text appears on screen: A special thank you to our speakers for their thoughtful contributions and perspectives.]
[00:39:27 The CSPS animated logo appears onscreen. Text on screen: canada.ca/school-ecole]
[00:39:34 The Government of Canada wordmark appears, and fades to black.]
