Familiarize yourself with the requirements for the position
Re-read the job description and ask your human resources contact for additional information if needed. Make sure you understand the responsibilities, skills, certification and knowledge required and that you're able to meet the job requirements (for example, location, hours of work and wearing a uniform) and conditions of employment (for example, security and medical clearances, driver’s licence and first aid certification).
Review your work experiences and history
Examine each skill and qualification in the job posting, then review your own work and volunteer history as it relates to the posting. Prepare examples of experiences or successes that demonstrate each requirement.
Prepare for specific questions
You'll likely be asked questions about your teamwork skills, your interpersonal relations, your management style or your ability to work in a diverse environment. Review the job posting again and try to anticipate other likely areas of questioning. Prepare honest and concise answers that highlight relevant aspects of your work history and life experience.
On the day of your interview
Dress in work-casual attire and arrive early. Be calm and mentally prepared and be yourself.
When you arrive, you'll meet your selection board. This is usually 2 to 3 people, including the supervisor of the position and a human resources representative. The team leader will tell you what to expect, and will explain that the board will be recording your answers for later review. Don't let this recording process distract you – it’s a normal part of the interview and necessary to make a complete assessment later on.
The board will begin asking you a series of questions to assess your knowledge, abilities and personal suitability. These can include the following.
- Closed questions that demonstrate your knowledge by requiring a specific factual answer.
- Open-ended questions that are broader in scope and require you to work through the answer.
- Situational questions that describe a hypothetical situation and ask how you would proceed in those circumstances.
- Behavioural questions that ask you to describe a time in your own history when you dealt with a certain situation and explain how you dealt with it.
- You may also participate in a set of exercises that will demonstrate your abilities and suitability for the role. All candidates for the same role will go through the same testing process. These may include the following.
- Tests that demonstrate your ability or knowledge of specific relevant tasks, such as keyboarding, accounting principles or writing a memorandum. These may be written or performance-based tests.
- Situational exercises that use hypothetical situations to demonstrate your ability to solve problems or make decisions.
You can ask any questions you still have about the position, the selection process or any other aspect of working for the Yukon public service once the questioning and testing phases of the interview are over.
The selection board scores and ranks all candidates, then contacts each person with their results.
If you're the successful candidate, you'll be asked to provide two recent and relevant references, from someone who has had the opportunity to observe your work experience (usually a supervisor or manager). We will not conduct references without your prior consent.
An online or social media check may also be considered for some positions in Government of Yukon. If required, you will be contacted by the Public Service Commission. An online/social media check will not be conducted without your written consent.
If you are not selected for the position, you can ask the human resources representative responsible for the competition to explain the reasons you were not successful. This is called a "post-board" meeting, and the feedback can be a great help in your next job search.
For questions about the interview process email [email protected] or phone 867-667-9501.
If you're an employment equity candidate such as an Aboriginal or Yukon First Nations person, person with a disability or a woman, email [email protected] or phone 867-667-8264.