Application and Interview Tips and Tricks
We know that looking for your next job can be a time consuming - and let’s face it, often a stressful process. Our hope is that this page will help you prepare for a role here at BC Transit from the minute you see a job posting, to when you’re having a chat with our hiring teams. As one of BC's Top Employer we want to set you up for success and help you get ready for the next steps.
Below you will find the following topics:
- Resume's
- Before your Interview
- During your Interview
- Potential Next Steps
Resume's
Tailoring your resume: This may seem like a lot of work, but it is often they key to getting noticed!
Tip 1: We want to hear about your latest accomplishments, your strengths, and how specific skills might be applied to a position here at BC Transit. Be sure to highlight your accomplishments in previous jobs—not just your duties.
Tip 2: As you look at our job postings, try to tailor your cover letter and resume to the top 4 items highlighted under our “What you’ll be doing” and “What you’ll bring to the table” sections. We’re not trying to trick you, we try and put the most important things first!
Tip 3: While soft skills are extremely important and something we are always looking for; don’t worry about listing things like strong collaborator, excellent communication skills or dynamic leader on your resume. These are all things we’ll assess throughout our competitive process. Use the space on your resume to focus on the specific accountabilities or accomplishments you feel are related to the role you’re applying on.
Tip 4: Do everything you can to make sure your resume is as polished as possible. We know that after you’ve worked on something for so long it can be easy to miss things! We recommend having a friend or someone you trust review your resume to look for spelling, grammatical and format errors. You never know what they might catch!
How long should your resume be?
A two page resume is a great goal to have! Just be sure your summaries are succinct and relevant to the role you’re applying on. One way to do this is to have the skills and experience that are the most relevant to the role you’re applying on highlighted first. This can be done using a “Career Highlights” section or something similar.
Should I list extracurricular and volunteer work?
Yes, all of those things play a part in making you, you! Telling us a little bit about what gets you fired up both at work and away from work helps us to get to know you a little bit better.
I’ve applied. Now what?
Our Talent Team reviews job applications for each role and will reach out to those who appear to be a strong match with the position.
But even if you're not contacted for the job you applied for, your information will go into our Talent Team’s shared candidate database, which means you may be contacted for other opportunities within BC Transit at a later date.
Will I be asked to complete an assignment?
Some of our competitive processes may include testing or assignments. These assignments are developed based on the skills or experience required to be successful in a role, which you’ll always be able to find in our job postings. An assignment may be sent to you as a first step prior to any potential interview or after interviews are completed to gain further understanding about your skillset. We do our best to let you know if and when an assignment is part of our competitive process by including a note in the “What next steps could look like” section of our job postings.
I’m having a hard time applying online. Can I get help?
Yes! We host in person application days where you can meet with a member of our Talent Team who can assist you with our application process. Information on when our Job Application days are scheduled can be found on our website
You can also reach out to our Talent team by emailing careers@bctransit.com if you are running into issues and we would be happy to support you.
Before your Interview
Do your research
Don't stop at understanding the position you’re interviewing for. You should understand what's happening in the transportation industry, what we do well, and what we’re trying to do to move our business forward. Make sure to prepare questions to ask during your interview. This is also a chance for you to make sure that the opportunity is what you are looking for. Take a look at our Careers Page to learn more about who we are and what we do. Our YouTube Channel also has some awesome videos on it that tell our story.
Practice, Practice
When preparing for your interview, review the things we list under our “What you’ll be doing” and “What you’ll bring to the table” sections of our job postings. We also always provide a link to the full job description for you to look through, but the things we list in these sections are the ones we’re really focused on. Start brainstorming about your experience in those areas – write down examples! Use those examples to start practicing answering questions about each.
Help us get to know you by explaining how your prior experience and successes have prepared you for the role you’re pursuing at BC Transit. One of the first questions you’ll often get asked in an interview with us is to tell us how your education and experience relates to the role and what prompted you to apply to join BC Transit. Think of this question as your elevator pitch, or as what sets the table for the rest of the interview. Walk us through, specifically how the education and experience you’ve gained matches what we’ve included in our job postings. This is where your preparation based on what you see in the “What you’ll bring to the table” section can pay dividends.
Come with a few examples in mind that demonstrate your strengths, any questions you have about the opportunity, and a healthy dose of curiosity. It’s always a good idea to get plenty of sleep and to have a snack prior to your interview as well.
Accommodations and our commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA)
Like we mentioned earlier, we know looking for a new role can often be a stressful process and it can be even more so if you are in a situation where you need an accommodation. As an organization with a vision for a “People First” culture, we strive to embrace differences, value diversity and inclusion, and support the notion that not everything has to be perfect the first time around. Safety, physical, mental health and wellness are prioritized - and putting people first means we consider people in every business decision we make.
With that in mind, if you have a need for an accommodation during any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know how we can assist you by contacting careers @bctransit.com. To learn more about our “People First” approach you can look through our People & Culture Plan.
BC Transit is a member of the President's Group, meet one of our recruiters by watching this video.
During your Interview
Be yourself
We value authenticity and unique perspectives. We’re interested in you and invite you to come as you are. We want to get to know you, but just as importantly, we want you to get to know us and to get a feel for whether we’re the right place for you. You spend a great deal of time at work and with your colleagues, so we invite you to use this time to get to know us just as much as we’re trying to get to know you. We’ll always look to hold time at the end of the interview for you to ask questions and we’ll touch more on this a little further down this page.
Right now, most of our interviews are conducted online via Microsoft Teams. We know it can feel difficult to let your personality shine through a screen. But trust in the preparation you’ve done and the experience you bring. If you do that, we promise that you will shine. Some tips for virtual interviews and making yourself comfortable:
Tip 1: Test your setup. You can do a “test call” in Microsoft Teams prior to your interview if you download the Teams app by following the instructions sent to you with your interview invite.
Tip 2: Whenever possible try to have your computer connected to the internet using a cord as opposed to Wi-Fi. This is called being “hard lined” and will provide you with a better connection than Wi-Fi.
Tip 3: Don’t worry if you get interrupted or if something happens! We’ve learned over the years that things happen when you’re meeting virtually. We don’t sweat it, and neither should you!
Be specific
We’ll generally ask you a couple of different types of questions. Behavioural based questions are ones where we’ll ask you to tell us about how you’ve handled something specific in your past. We may also ask you how you’d handle a certain scenario based on the job posting, this is meant to get a sense of your thought process. Finally, we may ask you specific skill-based questions where we’re looking for you to demonstrate your understanding or skills in a specific area. All these questions will be based on the accountabilities or experience you’ve prepared for above.
We recommend you use the STAR Method when answering questions wherever possible and especially when you are asked a behavioural type of question. This will help you create clarity and provide a structured response; this is one of the areas where your preparation is helpful!
The panel can only assess the information that you provide during your interview to ensure objectivity and fairness. Even if the panel knows you and the work you do, you need to be as detailed as possible when answering questions. You may bring notes to your interview to support you, but please don’t read from them. Use them to remind yourself of accomplishments and situations you want to mention.
What if I don’t have an example?
We don’t expect you to know everything! If you don’t have a specific example that you can relate to a question, tell us about how you would approach the situation and explain what you would do. This demonstrates your critical thinking and adaptability. These are two skills we’re always looking to learn more about!
Ask questions
As mentioned in previous sections, throughout the interview process we look to assess fundamental knowledge, capability, and learning potential. We don’t expect you to know everything. When you get stuck or don’t have experience with the something we ask about, we encourage you to ask clarifying questions that show your critical thinking, collaboration, and ability to be resourceful.
We hold time at the end of our interviews for you to ask us any questions you may have. This is another place where your preparation from before your interview can pay off! Don’t be afraid to ask us what success looks like in this role to us, how the position fits into our overall organization or anything else you can think of. This is another opportunity for you to get an even better sense of whether we’re the right for you!
Potential Next Steps
The final step in our recruitment process consists of reference checks. A member of our Talent Team or of the hiring panel will be in touch to advise you of this next step. You will also receive an email from us outlining what to expect. Ideally, we are looking to connect with your most recent employers/direct supervisors. If you have been self-employed, we are happy to accept references from long term clients or customers. However, we understand there may be circumstances where you are unable to provide either of the above. If that is the case, please let us know and we can discuss alternatives.
Once references have been completed, we’ll move on to the offer stage and welcoming you to BC Transit! One thing to note is that all our offers of employment are conditional on the completion of a Criminal Records Check (CRC). Some positions may also require a Vulnerable Sectors Search (VSS) to be completed prior to your start date. Specific details about this will be included in your offer of employment and will be discussed with you prior to an offer being made.
We hope you’ve found these tips helpful. Best of luck and thank you for your interest in joining BC Transit!
