Text Size
A
A
A
  • Home
    • February 2000 (Text Version) Volume 1

Disability Employment Programs and Services

February 2000 (Text Version) Volume 1

CAREER LENS
A Publication of the
Opening Doors Career Development Centre for Persons with Disabilities
5th Floor, West Block, Confederation Building, P.O. Box 8700, St. John’s, NF A1B 4J6
Telephone: 709-729-5881 • Fax: 709-729-5446 • TTY: 709-729-5441 • Toll Free: 1-800-950-4414
Email: openingdoors@gov.nl.ca   Web Site: http://www.exec.gov.nl.ca/openingdoors

Manager’s Message

by: Jim McDonald

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the new Millennium and to introduce you to The Career Lens. The Career Lens is a new publication aimed at assisting clients of the Opening Doors Career Development Centre for Persons with Disabilities in their employment search by providing up-to-date career related information.

“What seems like only a ripple today...can become the wave of the future.” This phrase describes the changes Treasury Board’s Opening Doors Program has experienced since its debut in the early 90's. From its beginnings as a recruitment program offering a limited number of employment opportunities in only the Provincial public service, Opening Doors has joined partners in recent years with the Public Service Commission of Canada, Human Resources Development Canada, the Department of Human Resources and Employment and the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work to become the Opening Doors Career Development Centre for Persons with Disabilities. In the past several years the centre has:

  • provided referrals of qualified clients to provincial positions through Opening Doors and to federal government positions through JEEPS;
  • implemented a wage subsidy initiative encouraging public sector employers to hire persons with disabilities in positions related to their training;
  • developed and implemented a high tech Enabling Resource Centre for clients;
  • established regional partnerships with community agencies providing services to persons with disabilities, thereby forging a province-wide network;
  • designed an in-depth and informative web site, and;
  • developed an efficient computerized client registry system.

In this new millennium persons with disabilities have more employment opportunities than ever before in a wide variety of occupations throughout both levels of the public service. Given these changes in the workforce, you should make it a priority to be registered with the Opening Doors Career Development Centre and improve your employment prospects.

For more information on the Centre and its programs and services you may contact the Centre or watch for upcoming information sessions to be held in your area.

^ Top of Page

WORKink Newfoundland and Labrador

by: Jennifer Lake

I would like to introduce to you WORKink Newfoundland and Labrador - an Internet resource for job seekers with disabilities. It is a project of the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work and is partnered locally by the Opening Doors Career Development Centre for Persons with Disabilities.

WORKink Newfoundland and Labrador is aimed at providing local information and resources to people with disabilities who are seeking employment. On the site you will find event and job postings, articles about job searching, local news releases related to employment, an agency directory, and much more. One of the main features of WORKink is its online counselling. You can simply go to the web site, create a user account, free of charge, and set up an appointment to speak to an online employment counsellor in real time chat. The newest feature of WORKink is its brand new resume database – the Web Access Employment Network – or WAEN for short. You can create a profile on this database, post your resume and check for job postings. Employers will also have access to your resume when searching for qualified applicants to fill vacant positions in their companies. There are also a number of features within the WAEN to help you with your e-resume and links to online counselling to further assist you.

Be sure to check out WORKink Newfoundland and Labrador at http://nf.workink.com to read the articles, get your profile on the WAEN, and enjoy the site. We are always looking for new content to publish on WORKink so if you wish to write an article about employment, disabilities, or any other pertinent topic, please feel free to do so and send it in. For further information or if your agency is interested in becoming a community partner, please contact the Provincial Coordinator, Jennifer Lake by phone at 729-2296 or email at jlake@mail.gov.nf.ca. See you Online!

^ Top of Page

Did You Know???

WORKink Newfoundland and Labrador now has local online counsellors ready to meet you online for employment counselling in real time chat. Visit the WORKink chat room today to get your FREE user account and to make an appointment!

COMING SOON......

  • Client Workshops on the Provincial and Federal Recruitment Process.
  • Internet based, computer software training available for clients in February.
  • For more information, contact Chris.

NOW AVAILABLE...

More than 150 new Occupational Profiles for Newfoundland and Labrador. Planning a career? Need help to decide which is the right occupation for you? These profiles provide provincial information on wage rates, training availability, employment potential and other information specific to an occupation. The development of these profiles was a joint initiative under the direction of the Federal/Provincial Labour Market Information Committee and funded by the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Agreement on Labour Market Development. For further details, contact Chris at the Centre or visit the What’s New section on the NLWIN web site.

^ Top of Page

Interviews: The Importance of Effective Interaction

by: Chris Moyse

Being well prepared for an interview is just one step towards being successful in the interview process. Performance - the way you act and communicate during an interview - can be the “straw that breaks the camel’s back.” Adequate preparation provides the background information needed to communicate your answers in a professional, yet conversational manner. However, over-reliance on pre-interview preparation and practice can cause more harm than good as it may prompt you to provide answers that are “rehearsed” rather than well “thought out” and articulate.

Once the interview begins, concentrate on how you are interacting with the interviewer(s). Your actions in an interview can be as influential as your qualifications. A positive attitude and pleasant manner can be very important factors to a potential employer. Here are a few helpful hints:

  • Be sure to smile when you enter the interview room. This displays self-confidence and helps make everyone feel more comfortable.
  • Your tone of voice can tell a lot about you - try not to be “monotone.” Stress positive characteristics such as confidence, enthusiasm, dependability and resourcefulness. Keep your tone conversational and respond to questions calmly and confidently.
  • Participate in “small talk”. Interviewers often make small talk at the beginning of an interview to help relax the interview candidates.
  • Be cheerful - people generally like to be around happy people, both socially and professionally. Never say anything negative about yourself, or any of your past experiences.

The most important thing to do is communicate your qualifications and skills in a manner which will leave the employer with a positive impression of you. How can you achieve this? Be prepared for the interview, relax, think positively and be yourself.

^ Top of Page

Keep Us Posted

by: Sandra Mitchell Cooney

When clients submit their applications and resumes to the Opening Doors Career Development Centre for Persons with Disabilities, the information provided in their applications, i.e., address, telephone numbers, education, areas of work experience, etc., is entered into the Client Registry System. Until the Centre is advised otherwise, this information is assumed to be current and is referred to each and every time referrals are sought for competitions.

However, it has been the experience of the Centre’s staff that the information contained in the Registry System is often inaccurate, not because it was entered incorrectly, but because changes in the information were not reported. The results for you, the client - lost job opportunities and unwanted calls for interviews.

To ensure you are considered for every job for which you are qualified, or if you do not wish to be considered for positions at this time due to the fact that you are working or are currently unable to work, you should keep the Centre updated of any changes in your address and telephone number(s), employment status, educational qualifications and your ability to work. All you need to do, whenever there is a change in either of these areas, is contact the Centre and request the change(s) be noted on your file.

^ Top of Page

Insight into the Federal Public Service Competition Process

by: Kevin Walsh

Being screened into a competition means you have made it through the initial phase of the competitive process and have met the basic requirements for the position. To increase your chances of success in the competition you will need to do a lot of preparation and research.

Once you receive notification that you are going to be further assessed for a position, you should contact the departmental Human Resources Division to request a Statement of Qualifications (S of Q) and a work description. For every position advertised with the Public Service there is an S of Q which outlines the “Qualifications” i.e., the attributes or accomplishments that equip a person for a specific job or group of jobs. This S of Q contains the Job Title and the classification and will also state the education, occupational certification, language, knowledge, aptitudes, abilities and skills, personal suitability, and enhanced reliability requirements for the position. All of the qualifications that appear on an S of Q will be assessed in the competitive process.

The work description is a detailed account of the skill, effort, responsibility required in the performance of the work and the conditions under which the work is performed.

A variety of methods are used to assess your qualifications. These methods may include one or more of the following: interviews, written examinations, presentations, simulations, role-plays, skill tests and reference checks.

When the competitive process is completed, the hiring department will send you a letter containing the results of the competition. If you were successful the letter may make reference to an “eligibility list” which lists the successful candidates in order of their scores from highest to lowest. Not all successful candidates will necessarily be placed on this list. The hiring department determines how many candidates are placed on the eligibility list based on the number of possible appointments to be made within the period for which the list is valid. (An eligibility list could possibly be valid for a maximum of two years).

This article is the first in a series on the Federal Public Service competitive process. If a department notifies you that you are going to be further assessed for a competition, be sure to contact Kevin Walsh, JEEPS, Human Resources Officer at Opening Doors for assistance.

^ Top of Page

For Your Information...

Under the Opening Doors Targeted Wage Subsidy Initiative, from April 1, 1999 to January 31, 2000, the number of persons with disabilities hired in Provincial Government departments was 14, and the number hired in Federal departments was 6.

^ Top of Page

Web Sites Worth Surfing

opens new window Note: all links will open in a new window.

^ Top of Page

Announcing

by: Yvonne Hollohan

The Opening Doors Career Development Centre for Persons with Disabilities is pleased to announce the launch of its brand new web site at http://www.gov.nf.ca/openingdoors .

Work seekers are just a click away from accessing insightful information on employment for persons with disabilities in the provincial and federal public service. Site visitors can access instant and up-to-date information on the Centre’s various programs and services, view a comprehensive resume guide, receive notices on upcoming local community events, as well as check out a multitude of links to careers, disability and other related web sites. In short, the Opening Doors web site is a one-stop “workshop” aimed at assisting the clients of the Opening Doors Career Development Centre in their job search.

The site also features a Managers Page designed specifically for public sector managers. Here, managers can learn how to utilize the Centre’s programs and services to meet their human resource needs and can read informative articles relating to employment equity, adaptive equipment for the workplace, and job accommodation. In addition, the Managers Page provides testimonials from government managers who have hired persons with disabilities in their departments and a sampling of client profiles that focus on the skills and abilities of registered Opening Doors applicants.

Be sure to check out the Opening Doors web site often as the Centre is constantly updating and adding to the site to serve its clients better and to provide a resourceful employment tool to meet both the needs of the employer and the work seeker.

^ Top of Page

Meet Our Staff

Sheena King is the Receptionist for the Centre. She is the first person you speak to when you call us and the first person you see when you walk in the door. Sheena can answer most of your general questions about the Centre and its programs.

Yvonne Hollohan is the Human Resources Assistant at the Centre and has been associated with the Opening Doors Program since 1992.

Kevin Walsh is the Human Resources Officer and representative of the Public Service Commission of Canada at the Centre. If you are being referred on a Federal open competition, it will likely be Kevin who will call you.

Chris Moyse is the Career Counsellor. If you visit the Centre for employment related counselling or to utilize the Resource Centre, you will be working with Chris.

Jennifer Lake is the WORKink Provincial Coordinator. WORKink Newfoundland and Labrador is a virtual Employment Resource Centre which features information for work seekers, employers and practitioners, and a whole lot more.

Sandra Mitchell Cooney is the Coordinator for the Federal aspect of the Opening Doors Program, the JEEPS Project.

Jim McDonald is the Manager of the Centre and has been responsible for the Opening Doors Program since its introduction to the Public Service in 1990.

^ Top of Page

Look For Our Next Issue in May 2000

WORKink Insert

Learn It Online Insert

 
Last Updated:
This page and all contents are copyright, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, all rights reserved.