The Application Process
Are you eligible for a GNWT position?
To begin or continue working for the Government of Northwest Territories, you must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident.
If you have a valid work or study permit you may also be eligible.
For information on obtaining a work permit or to check the status of your eligibility to work in Canada, please visit Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Hiring decisions within the GNWT are based on merit and the Indigenous Employment Policy. The GNWT is committed to a competent Public Service representative of the people it serves. To achieve this, the GNWT established the Indigenous Employment Policy which offers priority hiring and career advancement to Indigenous applicants . It is the Applicant’s responsibility to identify and declare their priority at the time of application or prior to a verbal job offer to receive priority consideration under the Indigenous Employment Policy.
Please identify your priority on your resume or cover letter during the eRecruit application process.
Applications and resumes are accepted through our online eRecruit system. All applicants must first register with a valid email address.
Click the “Apply Now” button on the interested job posting to sign in to eRecruit and submit your application.
Screening
Preliminary Screening Phase
Once the job posting closes, the Human Resources Representative completes the preliminary competition file screen. During this phase, the GNWT confirms the applicant meets the statutory requirements of the position. Statutory requirements are specific education, training or certification for the position (e.g.: Registered nurse, Journeyman electrician, Class 1 Driver’s license, 4th Class Stationary Engineer, Professional Engineer, etc.). If the applicant answers no to any of the preliminary screening questions, their application status is changed to reflect this information.
Resume Screening
Once the preliminary screening is complete, the Selection Committee reviews applications to determine who meets the requirements listed in the preapproved screening criteria and who will be invited for an assignment and/or interview.
The preapproved screening criteria will include predetermined combinations of education and related experience that would be considered equivalent to the required qualifications. These predetermined combinations will act as a guideline for the Selection Committee when reviewing your application.
GNWT practice is for one year of education to equal one year of experience, and one year of related experience equals one year of education. For example, if the position requires a degree and two years of experience and you have a two-year diploma and five years of experience, you could screen in based on equivalencies (equivalencies are considered on a case-by-case basis).
In reviewing your application, the Selection Committee will determine if you meet the screening criteria or possess an equivalent combination of education and related experience.
Once resume screening is complete the Human Resources Representative updates the applicants’ application status in the eRecruit system. If you would like more information on the current status of your application process, please reference the status update on eRecruit. What Do Each of the Statuses Mean helps provide more detailed information for each status code.
Assessment Phase
After the Selection Committee completes the screening phase, the competition moves to the assessment phase, which assesses the candidate’s suitability for the job through possibly an assignment and an interview.
Assignment
Assignments may be completed during or after the applicant’s interview to help identify the most suitable candidate for the position.
Assignments are evaluated based on a predetermined answer key approved by the Selection Committee. Assignments may include but are not limited to:
- Proof reading;
- Typing tests;
- Drafting a letter;
- Presentation; or
- Drafting a briefing note.
Do you require an accommodation during the assessment phase, assignment or interview? Please inform the Human Resources Representative that you are a person with a disability and be prepared to provide substantiation.
If you do not indicate that you have a disability, Human Resources will not know to ask if you require an accommodation.
An applicant’s application status is updated in eRecruit once assignments are complete and marked. If the applicant is proceeding to the next competition phase, a Human Resources Representative will contact them to invite them to an interview.
Interview
The purpose of an interview is to determine an applicant’s personal and technical suitability for the job posting. Interview questions may be a combination of technical and behavioural or all behavioural.
Technical questions help the Selection Committee determine if the applicant has the education, training and technical knowledge required to perform the job. Behavioural questions help the Selection Committee determine if the applicant has the competencies required to perform the job.
Each question in an interview is awarded points based on the provided answer. Information provided for a previous question does not count toward a later question in the interview. Points are awarded for each question and are based only on your responses for that specific question. If you do NOT say it, it will not be considered toward your interview score, so it is important that you take time to prepare before your interview day.
Interview Tips
- Listen carefully to the question;
- Be sure you understand what is being asked;
- Ask to the interviewer to repeat the question, if necessary;
- Write down questions with multiple parts so you can ensure you answer each part of the question;
- Watch your time;
- Make a note of questions you may wish to add or return to if you have additional time at the end;
- Focus on your strengths and how they relate to the position; an
- Demonstrate how your past experiences relate to the position.
Reference Checks
The GNWT conducts reference checks for the top candidate based on merit and priority in accordance with the Indigenous Employment Policy. If you are the successful applicant on the competition, the Selection Committee will contact you to request a minimum of three references. One of these references must be your current or most recent direct supervisor.
Before the Selection Committee contacts an applicant’s reference, the applicant should:
- Ask the reference person if they can use them as a reference;
- Ask the reference person if they are willing to provide a positive reference;
- Ensure the references provided are available and the contact information is accurate; and
- Advise their references of the specific position they have applied on.
Staffing Appeal Process
The staffing appeal process determines if a procedural error occurred in the application of applicable legislation, guidelines and procedures during the competition process that adversely affected an appellant’s opportunity for appointment.
The staffing appeal process gives an unsuccessful candidate, who feels a procedural error occurred, the opportunity to appeal the staffing decision. A hearing may be conducted to review the process to ensure that procedural fairness occurred in the application of applicable legislation, guidelines, directives and procedures.
The staffing appeal process is only available to an unsuccessful candidate who applied on a position up to and including Director level and who:
- is eligible for priority consideration under the Indigenous Employment Policy and who declared that priority eligibility prior to the proposed appointment (which means prior to the verbal offer being provided to the proposed appointee); or
- is an employee (indeterminate, term or casual) of the Government of the Northwest Territories and/or was so at the time of applying on the competition.
An applicant who is eligible to file an appeal must do so within the following limits:
- Four (4) working days after the day the unsuccessful applicant was verbally notified of the proposed appointment; or
- Five (5) working days after the date written notification of the proposed appointment was emailed or faxed to the unsuccessful applicant; or
- Ten (10) working days after the date written notification of the proposed appointment was mailed to the unsuccessful applicant.
An applicant must appeal in writing to the Deputy Minister of Finance. Appeals must be filed within the prescribed time limits noted above and must include the procedural error the applicant believed occurred during the hiring process that adversely affected how they were considered.
Deputy Minister
c/o Staffing Appeals Administrator
Department of Finance
P.O. Box 1320
Yellowknife, NT X1A 2L9
Fax: 867.873.0414
Email: staffing_appeals@gov.nt.ca
Click here for more information on the Staffing Appeals Process.
Applicant Feedback
Feedback provided to applicants helps them learn how they did during the hiring process, ways they can improve in that process, how they can improve their cover letter and resume, and also helps applicants prepare for future competitions.
Unsuccessful applicants are encouraged to ask for feedback from the Human Resources Representative once the competition is complete. In addition to being well prepared to screen in, Human Resource Representatives can help applicants with feedback from their interview and assignment, as well as work through a mock interview with them.
It is recommended that feedback be provided as close to the competition as possible to ensure feedback is meaningful.