Careers

Ask me what it's like to work for the Government of Canada (Policy Analyst)

Newbie
Mar 6, 2011
16 posts
6 upvotes
Ottawa

Ask me what it's like to work for the Government of Canada (Policy Analyst)

I've been working at the Government of Canada for a few years now.

If you want to know more about my recruitment process, what interviews look like or what the everyday job is like. Feel free to drop me a line here and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Although I never worked as an AS or PM, I can also speak about what a typical day looks like for them since we all work together.
25 replies
Sr. Member
User avatar
Jun 1, 2012
791 posts
51 upvotes
Hey there,

I know this question has been posed numerous times before, but I thought i'd ask anyway.

I've been placed in a pool of qualified candidates for a CR-03 position with CIC vegreville, I was wondering if you would have any idea what are the chances of getting hired from a pool?

From what I understand, being placed in a pool doesn't really mean much.

Thanks.
Newbie
Mar 6, 2011
16 posts
6 upvotes
Ottawa
Hey,

I've seen internal competitions take as long as a year and a half to be completed. So if you were recently placed in the pool, there is still hope.
Given that a couple of letters are still going out. I'm assuming that recruitment this year might be a little slower. In many of the collective agreements, employees can remain in their positions for up to 16 months after they received their "surplused" letter (that includes the 120 opting day period). That being said, in certain shops, people are already starting to feel the consequences of the people who have been let go and/or leaving. Let's hope in your case that they will go through the pool soon.

You can also email the person on the competition and ask them about timelines.

Good luck!
Sr. Member
Jul 22, 2012
535 posts
104 upvotes
What agency are you with and what is your academic background?

Did you get hired through post-secondary recruitment or did you get there by some other avenue?

What was the interview/screening process like for you?
Newbie
Mar 6, 2011
16 posts
6 upvotes
Ottawa
I started with HRSDC. I have a bachelors and masters in political science.

I got in through PSR.

The process that I did took 5 months but that is not usual. Usually processes take a lot longer.

Screening process was three stages all including interviews of various lengths. I also had to do two written pieces. The first was part of the initial screening process. The second, was a briefing note.
Sr. Member
Jul 22, 2012
535 posts
104 upvotes
Thanks! Can you describe what a typical day consists of for you?
Sr. Member
Jun 3, 2012
645 posts
260 upvotes
Scarborough
1. Are there many Policy related jobs in Toronto?

2. Is the job interesting? Can you see yourself doing it for 30+ years?

3. What the work environment like?

4. Are UK university degrees (Bachelor's and/or Master's) looked upon disfavorably compared to Canadian degrees?
Deal Addict
Dec 8, 2008
1887 posts
225 upvotes
GTA
airmax95 wrote: 1. Are there many Policy related jobs in Toronto?

2. Is the job interesting? Can you see yourself doing it for 30+ years?

3. What the work environment like?

4. Are UK university degrees (Bachelor's and/or Master's) looked upon disfavorably compared to Canadian degrees?
I'm not the OP but my 2 cents:

1. OP is talking about Fed jobs. There are very little fed. policy analyst jobs in Toronto, you're better off looking into the provincial gov't (OPS).

2. I am not a Policy Analyst, but I work with lots of them. Some people are happy doing that for 30+ years, some are not. It's really up to you and what you value in life. If you want stability, you will like it. If you are a risk taker, you might want to move around or go off and do something else after a few years. turnover is obv higher for people who entered through PSR.

3. Work environment can be very different from one department to another.. for me, the pros: civilized, educated colleagues, good hours (most of the time), support for training, flexible work hours. cons: constantly being told to dumb things down, being asked to do things and then nobody really pays attention or it goes nowhere, and you have to pay out of your pocket even for christmas party lunches and things like that (when i worked in the private sector briefly, this was never the case!)

4. UK university degrees are not looked upon disfavourably, i don't think so. I've met a bunch of people in my dept who came from all sorts of UK institutions.
Newbie
Mar 6, 2011
16 posts
6 upvotes
Ottawa
thunderchunky wrote: Thanks! Can you describe what a typical day consists of for you?
First, scan my bb or email for any urgent requests.
Second, check my outlook calendar for meetings.
Third, scan the news on themes relevant to my job and flag any important items( this takes about 10-15 min)

After that, I work on the urgent tasks for the day. If I manage to get through those ( including the several levels of corrections that eed to be made), I advance on my work for the next day. Most analysts don't usually get to advance our work. Depending on the shop one works in, the workload varies.

Hope that helps!
Newbie
Mar 6, 2011
16 posts
6 upvotes
Ottawa
leoben wrote: I'm not the OP but my 2 cents:

1. OP is talking about Fed jobs. There are very little fed. policy analyst jobs in Toronto, you're better off looking into the provincial gov't (OPS).

2. I am not a Policy Analyst, but I work with lots of them. Some people are happy doing that for 30+ years, some are not. It's really up to you and what you value in life. If you want stability, you will like it. If you are a risk taker, you might want to move around or go off and do something else after a few years. turnover is obv higher for people who entered through PSR.

3. Work environment can be very different from one department to another.. for me, the pros: civilized, educated colleagues, good hours (most of the time), support for training, flexible work hours. cons: constantly being told to dumb things down, being asked to do things and then nobody really pays attention or it goes nowhere, and you have to pay out of your pocket even for christmas party lunches and things like that (when i worked in the private sector briefly, this was never the case!)

4. UK university degrees are not looked upon disfavourably, i don't think so. I've met a bunch of people in my dept who came from all sorts of UK institutions.
I have to agree with you but I will give my opinion on two things:

Question 2) I think that there are people who enjoy their jobs not only because of the security, but because they founf something that they love to do. It may take a lot of fishing around before finding it.

Question 3) You do pay for parties etc. in the Government because it's tax payers money. Many citizens have a bad image of Government officials, the last thing they need is to take employees out on an all expense paid christmas or birthday dinner sponsored by the Canadian public. I've also worked in the private sector and while the companies are generally more generous that is not always the case. I had one boss who preferred to take a larger bonus and do potlucks for christmas parties...
Sr. Member
Jul 22, 2012
535 posts
104 upvotes
Do most of your colleagues have a political science background? I have two undergrad degrees: one in commerce (finance and international business) and one in hispanic studies. I've never taken any poli sci courses. Do you think I still have a shot at a policy analyst job? Would a master's degree increase my chances?

What are the entry level salaries like?

What kind of security clearance do you need in your position?

Thanks again for answering all these questions!
Newbie
Mar 6, 2011
16 posts
6 upvotes
Ottawa
thunderchunky wrote: Do most of your colleagues have a political science background? I have two undergrad degrees: one in commerce (finance and international business) and one in hispanic studies. I've never taken any poli sci courses. Do you think I still have a shot at a policy analyst job? Would a master's degree increase my chances?

What are the entry level salaries like?

What kind of security clearance do you need in your position?

Thanks again for answering all these questions!
A lot do but not all of them. Your chances at obtaining a policy analyst job (based on what you told me) depends on two elements:

1) Your marks in your degrees.
2) Your experience in the private sector.

Most of my colleagues have masters degrees. Most of those who don't either started over 10 years ago or have experience in the private sector.

Entry level salaries are found here:
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/hrpub ... eng.asp#ec

Note that we just negotiated a salary increase but TB hasn't updated yet so you can check it here:
http://acep-cape.ca/pdfs/General/files/ ... 7_12_e.pdf

I have secret clearance. A lot of analysts have reliable. Depends on what you work on. Most people will eventually get secret clearance if not higher soon or later in their careers'.
Deal Addict
Dec 8, 2008
1887 posts
225 upvotes
GTA
Thanks! Last page very helpful :-)
Newbie
Mar 6, 2011
16 posts
6 upvotes
Ottawa
leoben wrote: Thanks! Last page very helpful :-)
Pleasure! Also keep in mind that the bilingual premium of 800/yr is added to those salaries.
Deal Addict
Dec 11, 2007
2419 posts
177 upvotes
Honestly speaking, would someone without any special skills or education be able to do your job if they were trained?
Sr. Member
Nov 15, 2008
800 posts
227 upvotes
umop wrote: Honestly speaking, would someone without any special skills or education be able to do your job if they were trained?
I would say yes. Anyone with half a brain and a BA can work as a "policy analyst" in government. These are not demanding jobs and a lot of the time you're working on pretty dull and pedestrian tasks.
Deal Addict
Dec 11, 2010
1700 posts
137 upvotes
anon666 wrote: I would say yes. Anyone with half a brain and a BA can work as a "policy analyst" in government. These are not demanding jobs and a lot of the time you're working on pretty dull and pedestrian tasks.
True, but in general unless you got in over ten years ago, you need a master's degree for entry level jobs.
Sr. Member
Jun 3, 2012
645 posts
260 upvotes
Scarborough
I know you briefly touched on this, but what does a normal day usually consist of? i.e. what do you actually do? Can you give an example of an assignment/project you've had in the past?

And can the OP answer my previous question about how UK degrees are perceived by federal human resources managers?

Anyways, from my experiences with the federal government, it usually comes down to three things...1) hitting the key words and getting screened in, and then 2) scoring well on the tests/assignments. If you do both then it comes down to the interview which is usually just common sense type questions where you answer using the same strategy as in part '1', which is hitting the key words in the interview. Unfortunately I've seen some extremely experienced and capable people being screened out of these competitions but the HR managers always say the same thing..."these competitions are designed to make things as fair as possible". I mean, I've literally seen people with 20+ years experience in 1 department get screened out because they did not hit the key words. I guess it's "fair" but at the same time you'd hope common sense would prevail at times.
Newbie
Mar 6, 2011
16 posts
6 upvotes
Ottawa
umop wrote: Honestly speaking, would someone without any special skills or education be able to do your job if they were trained?
Without special skills probably. Depending on what you mean without education. There is more to the job than writing (which in itself is a challenge being concise, explanatory, yet brief is always a challenge). A lot of other skills are necessary to survive on the job that are natural (such as interpersonal skills). You cannot be trained on these things, you either have it or you don't. I've seem lawyers apply for competitions and reach to the final interview and not get in because it wasn't the "right fit" ...

Top

Thread Information

There is currently 1 user viewing this thread. (0 members and 1 guest)