What is a pool in the Public Service?

When hiring is being done in the public service, the notification poster that is published includes information about what the intended purpose is of the poster. This information is helpful because it lets you know how many positions there are and what you can expect, but only if you understand what it is trying to tell you.

Here is an example of an intention statement.

Anticipatory means that the hiring manager believes there will be positions for this group and level in the foreseeable future. There is no current vacancy. Since hiring can take months or even years to complete it makes sense when there is a reasonable expectation that an employee may leave/retire, or that the demand for services may increase in a certain area requiring more staff. 

Next you need to understand pools. On any given day there will be between 200-500 positions advertised, equating to thousands of positions a year. However many of these are the same type of position, perhaps just with a different title or in a different location. Instead of posting individual jobs, pools of qualified candidates are grouped together so that a hiring manager from a different region or department can simply select from qualified individuals. This saves a lot of time for the manager but as an applicant you may not realize you should be applying to a position.

If you read the example posted, the job is in Calgary or Regina, but they may use this poster to staff similar positions at locations all across Canada!! So if you were thinking the job is out west (or east if you are in BC), I won't apply, there is a good chance this job won't be posted for Ontario or New Brunswick because they will simply use this poster to hire for those locations.

Always carefully read the Intent of Process. If the intent is to establish a pool you want to be included in that pool. 

How are pools managed?

You have to be found qualified to be in a pool. In order to do this you need to be assessed on your experience, education, knowledge, skills/abilities, and personal suitability. 

If your resume screens through the Public Service Resourcing system for education and experience, you will get a notification telling you that:

• Your application has been retained. You will be contacted directly if you are to be assessed further.

This does not mean you are in the pool. The only thing it means is that you have screened through the online application process. In order to be placed in the pool you will need to go through an interview and reference check.

You file can stay in this state for months, so don't panic if you haven't been contacted. See future posts on why hiring takes so long. 

Priority Hiring and Work Force Adjustment

                In 2013, the Government of Canada directed by the governing powers of the time, went on a mission to reduce the budget. Since the largest single cost in government service is wages, jobs were on the line. The program was called Work Force Adjustment (WFA) and for some it was an opportunity to be paid to break away from a job that they no longer loved, but for most it created fear and anxiety. As an HR Specialist I was tasked with training managers and employees about the rules and regulations but also working with employees who were in the midst of this process.

                I didn’t need much training to do this because in 2006 I had been work force adjusted from my position at National Defence Headquarters.  Three days after I got my notice, my husband was laid off from his job with a Bell Canada subsidiary. I know from personal experience that with preparation and knowledge that being a priority can be an opportunity if approached properly.

                At the time of my layoff, I didn’t work in civilian human resources (HR), but military HR.  I wasn’t especially knowledgeable or trained in WFA, but I was observant. I am a big believer in trusting your gut and paying attention to change. By the time my manager sat me (and my colleague) down  to tell us she was effectively moving us to another sections, I had already read the National Joint Council Directive on Work Force Adjustment. Instead of being grateful I was being offered a job, I challenged what exactly she meant. Understanding the language of work force adjustment allowed me to leverage what I knew.

                My colleague came out of the meeting shaking and in tears, until I sat her down and explained how this was going to lead to our “escape”. She was skeptical of what I was telling her, but since we were both analysts we pulled up the directive and went over it. After an hour of reading, we called our HR Officer and asked him to put our Workforce Adjustment “offer” on paper. He had no idea what we were talking about, since HR hadn’t been consulted, and told us he would call us back. In the mean time, we contacted our union and told them we wanted the WFA and wanted them to prevent our manager from taking her offer off the table. The offer was “If you don’t like it, we can fire you since we no longer need your services.” He was a little surprised since most people want the union to help them keep their job, not help them get out of the job!

                As I said I had done my homework and I knew that a WFA meant that I would become a statutory priority within my department any where in Canada or around the world and a regulatory priority for any other government department so long as I fit the statement of merit. I was confident that within the year I would be able to find a job. I also wanted to get out of Ottawa. Not being bilingual made my chances of promotion narrow. At the time, I was living in the small town I was raised in, and commuting almost two hours everyday. With a two and a four-year-old I was barley seeing them.

                When you do the paperwork related to becoming a priority you get to select the area where you want to work. Knowing this I picked areas where the cost of living was low, French wasn’t required and I would have a small commute.

                Within three weeks of officially becoming a priority I was interviewing for a job in my field, in a location that was ideal, and represented a promotion. I am happy to say I got the job and have spent the last 10 years managing the operations of a Learning & Career Centre for National Defence.

                This blog will provide you with stories of people who have gone through the priority hiring process, who opted not to enact their priority status or who were workforce adjusted. It will provide you with resources related to priority hiring and workforce adjustment and frequently asked questions to help you navigate your way through the process. 

Getting LinkedIn Before a Job Loss

Ten years ago, when I started working at a Learning & Career Centre on a military base,  the average Canadian military member resembled a Bell or GM employee. That is, a long term ‘employee’ who planned to stay on until retirement. Policies like Imposed Restriction and Separation Expense were used to entice members to stay in, when families got tired of moving around.

However, there is a new crop of military members who aren’t necessarily looking for a long term commitment, especially at the expense of family. These members see the military as a first career and have their eye on a second career, when the time is right for them. Others see a medical release on the horizon and want to start planning ahead. Unfortunately, they often don’t build the external connections they will need, when it comes time to release.

LinkedIn is a simple and effective way to build external connections that will be essential in order to transition from military to civilian life.

Most CAF members I meet have a very limited understanding of what LinkedIn is, or does. Here is just a snapshot of what it is.

What is it? LinkedIn is the largest professional networking and job search site in the world. It is where professionals maintain a profile so that current and former business colleagues, university classmates and people whom you have professional contact can stay in touch.

What it isn’t – Facebook or Myspace.

Who is on LinkedIn? 330 million users, and over 3 million Company Pages, including mine.

How popular is it?  Two new people sign up to the site every second. In case you are like me and are wondering what that translates to in a day… 86,400 each day!

But do people use it? 40% of LinkedIn users log in daily.

How does it help you get a job? There are a number of ways. First there are job advertisements posted inside LinkedIn, so you can access jobs this way. Next the system pushes jobs to you once you set your preferences. As well your connections to others can give you an ‘in’ with a company who is hiring. Lastly recruiters can head hunt you from within the system.

Military members do have some unique challenges when it comes to LinkedIn related to security. The Department of National Defence asks its members not to identify themselves in social media, so that they don’t become targets of those who might harm or manipulate them. This is a very valid security issue and one members should consider regardless of the platform they use.

You can mitigate your risk when setting up your profile.

• Instead of listing where you are, select Canada as a whole.
• Instead of listing DND as an employer, list the employer as government of Canada.
• Obviously you won’t use a profile picture in uniform  
• All job titles should be in civilian not military terms.

For more tips on how to get started with LinkedIn.