A Career in Administration
When you arrive in a new country to make it your home, your knowledge of the local labour market and how you can use your talent can be limited. That was the situation of newcomer Nassima. She had been employed in various administrative support roles prior to emigrating to Ottawa. Now settled in the city, Nassima wanted to learn about the recruitment process involved in applying for local jobs, and the best way to make a resume, and an application, stand out.
Nassima’s career goal was to find a job working for the City of Ottawa. She wanted to know also how to best present herself as a job applicant if she had no employment experience in Canada. Nassima speaks English but her first language is French so she wanted to learn as well if she could request a job interview in French.
To answer these questions and more, Nassima participated in PPRC Connect, a mentoring service offered by Performance Plus Rehabilitative Care Inc. (PPRC). PPRC Connect focuses on pre-employment support. The service connects job seekers with barriers to finding employment, like Nassima, with mentor guides who can help them solidify their career goals and engage in individualized knowledge exchange, what we call a mentor match.
To assist Nassima to learn more about working for the City of Ottawa PPRC Connect Coordinator Susan Forster reached out to Stephanie Bordage, Director jointly of Employment and Social Services, Community and Social Services at the city who agreed to act as a mentor because she has extensive experience supervising those in administrative assistant and related support roles and she is bilingual. She agreed to conduct the mentor match in French.
When Nassima met with Stephanie they were able to have a wide-ranging conversation, and Stephanie provided Nassima with helpful tips about applying for jobs at the city of Ottawa. As Nassima put it herself, “Today, I had a very enriching meeting with a Director at the City of Ottawa to get more information about the position of administrative assistant and providing administrative support. She was extremely kind and encouraged me to apply, giving me practical tips on how to make my application a success. She explained to me the key skills required for this position, such as organizational and communication skills.”
Mentor Guide Stephanie’s key tip was that job applicants must create an account with the city and set up a profile (https://jobs-emplois.ottawa.ca/city-jobs ). She stipulated to be sure to keep your profile up to date and customize it for each application because when you apply for a specific job competition your profile will be scrutinized as much as your resume and cover letter.
One disappointing piece of information that Stephanie had to give Nassima was that currently the city has cut back on hiring and that every job that is advertised receives hundreds of applications. This makes it paramount to keep your profile up to date, to look for jobs on a regular basis (weekly), and to be flexible in what you apply for. For example, consider applying for casual, temporary, or contract positions.
Once, you do become a city employee you can apply for internal competitions that are not open to external candidates. Think about getting your foot in the door and then developing your career as opportunities arise.
Concerned about her lack of Canadian work experience, Nassima learned from Stephanie that there is a section in the city profile to include volunteer experience. This activity can serve as a valuable asset. Stephanie advised Nassima to make sure to include the skills that she was learning as a volunteer to thereby demonstrate her overall abilities. Nassima is currently volunteering but she did not know about the value of including her volunteer experience in her profile. It was therefore helpful for her to gain this information.
Her mentor was also able to inform Nassima that she could, in fact, request an interview in French. It was also important, though, that Nassima continue to increase her skills in English because she would require them on the job.
After the mentor match Nassima commented on her experience learning about administrative roles from Stephanie, “Her advice gave me a lot of motivation to continue my efforts and apply for this kind of position. I hope I can showcase my skills and find a way to integrate into the city of Ottawa.
Stephanie had this to say about her mentor guide experience, “ It was a very fulfilling opportunity to meet with Nassima. It was a privilege to learn about her interests, goals and lived experiences. I appreciated the opportunity to share information about the City’s hiring process and job opportunities so to support Nassima in her journey. I wish her the best of luck!”