2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 1

Summer Employment Opportunities

2014 Student Application GuideJanuary 2014

Table of Contents2014 Ontario Public Service Summer Employment Opportunities...................2

The Key Things You Need To Know...............................................................2

How to Read a Job Advertisement................................................................6

How to Submit Your Application using the Online Application Form.............8

Job Information and Your Personal Information.........................................8

Applicant Profile Questions......................................................................10

Additional Questions (Pre-Screening Questions).....................................10

Privacy / Collection of Information Consent and Submit Button..............12

Confirmation of Successful Application...................................................12

Rating Scale................................................................................................13

Knowledge-based Questions...................................................................13

Experience-based questions....................................................................14

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 1

2014 Ontario Public Service Summer Employment OpportunitiesThank you for your interest in the Ontario Public Service.

The purpose of this guide is to help you submit an application to Summer Employment Opportunities with the Ontario Public Service and to familiarize you with the job advertisement and online application form.

The Key Things You Need To Know Eligibility Requirements – All applicants must meet the following

eligibility requirements on the first day of employment to be considered for Summer Employment Opportunities.

You must be a minimum age of 15 years. Some positions require you to be aged 15-24 years or 15-

29 years for students with a disability. You must be a resident of Ontario – having a current or

anticipated Ontario address for the duration of the work term. You must be eligible to work in Canada.

You must be enrolled in a secondary or post-secondary institution (currently or for the fall semester), or within 6 months of graduation upon the first day of employment e.g. if you graduated in December, you could apply for and start a summer student position in the Ontario Public Service until June the following year.

No Cover Letters or Resumes - Cover letters and resumes are not accepted as part of your application for Summer Employment Opportunities. Students are required to fill out the online application form and answer questions related to their skills, experiences and interests. Hiring managers will review and screen student applications

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 2

and determine who is selected for an interview based on these responses.

Please disregard any references to resumes or cover letters on the Summer Employment Opportunities job ad and or on the online application form. This is standardized text that appears on all Ontario Public Service job ads but does not apply for the summer student positions.

Key Dates - There are two distinct posting periods with different jobs being posted during each period. Eligible students can apply to as many different job ads as they are interested in. If you submit multiple applications to the same job ad, only the most recent will be considered and duplicates will be removed. Student job ads will only appear during the periods provided below:

Posting Period 1: February 14 to March 2, 2014

Up to 16 week contracts which may begin as early as May 1, 2014

Posting Period 2: March 21 to April 6, 2014

Up to 10 week contracts which may begin as early as June 1, 2014

Finding Student Job Ads – Job ads will be posted on the Ontario Careers website at www.ontario.ca/careers. To access Job Ads search the job category drop down menu and look for positions which begin with “Student”.

Job Ads represent Multiple Positions and Locations – You can identify the cities you are interested in working in the online application form.

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 3

Pre-Screening Questions – You will be required to answer several pre-screening questions in the online application form to demonstrate your skills, knowledge, experience and interests.

Questions with a red asterisk * are mandatory. Review the Rating Scale at the end of this guide to determine your skill

level.

To select multiple answers where applicable, hold the CTRL key and make your selections.

Open Text Questions – You will be required to answer four open text questions which provide the hiring manager with key information about you to make their interview selections. You may use information or paragraphs/sections from your cover letter or resume and copy and paste them for your responses. There is a 2000 character max for each question you can use a word processing program to ensure your entry does not exceed the 2000 character max.

Confirmation of Successful Application – After submitting your application, you will receive a confirmation of submission via:

Splash page will appear indicating submission of your application. Email confirmation: If you provided an email address you will receive

a confirmation email directly (check your junk mail folder if the confirmation email does not appear in your inbox).

If you are not directed to the confirmation splash page and you do not receive a confirmation email please contact SEO@ontario.ca regarding the submission of your application.

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 4

Interview Timelines - Only those applicants who are selected for an interview will be contacted by the hiring manager – approximately 4 – 8 weeks after the closing of the job ad.

Further Assistance – contact the Summer Employment Opportunities team at SEO@ontario.ca for assistance. We can only provide assistance with your application during the posting periods. After the job ads are closed, we cannot assist with any application submission issues.

Additional information is also available on the Summer Employment Opportunities website .

Continue to the detailed step by step instructions for submitting an application.

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 5

How to Read a Job AdvertisementJob Advertisements will be available only during the two specific posting periods. You will be able to find the student job advertisements by searching under the job category, starting with “Student”.

The Job Advertisement provides several pieces of information to help familiarize you with the opportunity available and to help you determine if you would like to submit an application.

Information on the Job Advertisement includes:

Position Title - All summer student positions will start with “STUDENT-”.

Apply By Date - This is the last day that applications will be accepted.

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 6

Figure 1 - Image of a Summer Employment Opportunities Job Advertisement

Position Information - This section includes information such as the organization (ministry names), cities, number of positions, salary levels, etc.

What can I expect to do in this role? - This section provides a general description of the work, duties and responsibilities of the position.

How do I qualify? Mandatory Requirements –This section describes additional mandatory requirements, specific to the position, such as:

Specific age requirements Security Screening check

French-English Bilingual skills

How do I qualify? Qualification Requirements – This section lists the skills and knowledge required for the job. You will be required to demonstrate these skills in your previous school work, paid work and/or volunteer experience.

Pre-Screening Questions - This section lists questions that you will be required to answer when you submit your online application.

Additional Information – This section includes specific details about the number of positions available at each work location, the compensation group and schedule, the posting category, the date the job advertisement was posted on, etc.

Did You Know? If you submit multiple applications to the same job advertisement your most recent application will be the only one considered.

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 7

How to Submit Your Application using the Online Application FormThe Summer Employment Opportunities online application form includes four sections:

Job Information and Your Personal Information

Applicant Profile Questions

Additional Questions (Pre-Screening Questions)

Privacy / Collection of Information Consent and Submit Button

Each of these sections is described below:

Job Information and Your Personal Information

Prior to submitting your online application be sure to take a moment to review the Job Information to verify that you are applying to the correct job advertisement.

Figure 2 – Image of a Summer Employment Opportunities Online Application Form

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 8

Job Information details include:

Position Title

Ministry or Ministries

Job ID #

Apply-by date

Did You Know? You can enter the Job ID number into the search field on the main page of the Ontario Public Service Careers website to check the status or to generate another copy of the job advertisement.

First Name (Legal Name)

Last Name (Legal Name)

Address 1

City

Phone

The following fields are not mandatory in order to submit your online application:

WIN ID – include your WIN ID number if you are a previous or current Ontario government employee. If you are not a previous or current Ontario government employee, please disregard this field.

Address 2

Country

Postal Code

Other Phone Number

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 9

Email Address

Did You Know? Your email address must be provided in order to receive the confirmation email. You will not be added to any distribution lists by providing your email address.

Applicant Profile QuestionsThere are five questions / fields that you are required to complete as part of the Application Profile section including:

Please tell us how you first heard about this job

Field of study – You will be required to indicate up to 3 current or past fields of study.

Level of education – You will be required to indicate your level of education at the time of application

Computer software / languages – You will be required to indicate the computer software/languages that you have at an intermediate level.

Ministry preferences – You will be required to indicate up to three ministry preferences from the list provided.

Did You Know? In questions where you can select multiple values, you can do so by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking on your answers.

Additional Questions (Pre-Screening Questions)

There are several questions / fields that you are required to complete as part of the Additional Questions section including:

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 10

Eligibility Questions – You will be required to meet all of the eligibility requirements to be considered for Summer Employment Opportunities.

Location Preference – You will be required to select up to a maximum of five city / location placement preferences as listed on the job advertisement from the drop-down list provided.

Security Screening Consent – You will be required to indicate your consent to be considered for positions that require a security screening check.

Open Text Questions – You will be required to complete four open text questions demonstrating your skills, knowledge, abilities and experience. Your response can be in either bullet point or paragraph format and you may use information or paragraphs/sections from your cover letter or resume and copy and paste them for your responses. There is a 2000 character max for each question. The questions are:

Tell us why you are interested in this position. Describe all relevant skills, knowledge and/or experience

(volunteer/paid work) which would contribute to your success in this role.

Continue to describe all relevant skills, knowledge and/or experience (volunteer/paid work) which would contribute to your success in this role, or enter "nil".

List your academic activities including achievements, awards, recognition, etc.

Did You Know? Your responses to the open text questions will be reviewed by the hiring manager to determine your suitability for the position based on

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 11

how you demonstrate your knowledge, skills and experience.

Did You Know? If you don’t have a response for a mandatory text box question, enter NIL or N/A to be able to submit your application form.

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 12

Privacy / Collection of Information Consent and Submit Button

To successfully submit an online application you must review and consent to the collection of your confidential personal information. Please review the disclosure statement carefully and then select the check-box next to the statement to indicate acceptance.

Did You Know? If you select the “Remember my Information” box, the online application form will retain the information completed under the “Personal Information” section for any future applications submitted using the same computer.

Confirmation of Successful Application

If you provided your correct email address in the email address field you will receive an automated confirmation email if your application was received successfully.

Even if no email address was provided, you will still be redirected to a Splash Page confirming the successful submission of your application.

If neither of these confirmations occurs, follow up with the Summer Employment Opportunities team at SEO@ontario.ca before the closing date of the Job Advertisement as assistance with resubmitting can only be provided prior to the application deadline.

Kindly note that you will not receive a copy of your completed application as part of the confirmation email.

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 13

Rating ScalePrior to applying to a summer student job advertisement please familiarize yourself with the detailed rating scale. You will be prompted to provide information within the Pre-Screening Questions section of the online application form using this four point scale:

Basic

Limited

Intermediate

Extensive

Knowledge-based QuestionsSample Question: Knowledge and experience conducting research and performing analysis (e.g. environmental scan, quantitative, qualitative, statistical analysis etc.); compiling, synthesizing and summarizing information.

Select “Basic” if you have limited course work (knowledge) and/or no experience (paid work or volunteer).

Select “Limited” if you have performed these tasks briefly, for example taking a few courses related to the subject (knowledge) and /or conducting research for a small scale school/work/volunteer project (experience).

Select “Intermediate” if you have performed these tasks occasionally, for example a specialized focus through course work with some practical application (knowledge) and/or an on-going project or multiple short-term projects for school/work/volunteer (experience).

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 14

Select “Extensive” if you have performed these tasks regularly, for example a specialized focus through course work with extensive practical application (knowledge) and/or on-going and multiple large-scale projects for school/work/volunteer (experience).

Experience-based questionsSample Question: Experience performing customer service and front counter duties (e.g. assisting/responding to public in person/phone inquiries, performing cashier and accurate cash handling duties, handling customer service complaints to successful resolution)

Select “Basic” if you have never performed these tasks.

Select “Limited” if you have performed these tasks briefly, for example assisting for a weekend event (fair or fundraising event).

Select “Intermediate” if you have performed these tasks occasionally, for example a regular part-time retail position or volunteer work with a few shifts per month.

Select “Extensive” if you have performed these tasks regularly, for example a regular part-time retail position or volunteer work with a few shifts per week.

Remember to assess yourself truthfully against the scale!

2 0 1 4 S t u d e n t A p p l i c a t i o n G u i d e | 15