Creating Effective Applications for Government Roles

Government applications often require you to fill out a specific questionnaire. To make sure your application meets the requirements, follow the instructions and format very carefully, aligning the text of your resume and responses specifically as required by each application.

Have the job description in front of you. You may need to collect and provide additional information that is not currently on your resume. Plan to dedicate an hour or two to each application, always checking that you fulfill the requirements from the instructions. Save your application in a separate document on your computer in case there is a technical issue and it is not saved properly in the online system.

For instance, the government questionnaire may request the following:

“Using specific example(s), describe how you meet this criterion. Indicate what you did, why, for who and when.”

You can structure your response using sections with clear titles that reflect the structure of the question and the original instructions:

►Type of work (what):
►Rationale (why):
►Audience (for whom):
►Dates (when):

Include a narrative statement of your achievements under each criterion. Instead of simply copy-pasting the content of your resume, ask yourself if it matches the logic of the questionnaire and the expected sequence of responses. Present your experience in the format defined by the instructions. This may mean trimming the text where applicable or adding more information where necessary.

 

About the author:

 

Tanya Mykhaylychenko is a professional resume writer with a background in content writing, university teaching, and IT staffing. She is a member of Editors Canada and Career Professionals of Canada. For more information, please visit https://tm-editorial.com/about/ and contact her to schedule a free introductory consultation.