City of Toronto Assessment Tests, Hiring Process & Interviews Online Preparation – 2024

What Is the City of Toronto?

The City of Toronto is a government administration in Toronto, Ontario. They are committed to public service and ensuring that the city of Toronto is an excellent place for its 2.9 million citizens to live. The City of Toronto has several agencies that house nearly 36,000 employees.

With 44 different operation divisions, the City of Toronto has job openings in numerous fields. They have won multiple awards and strive to foster an inclusive and accessible environment for all employees. The City of Toronto works hard to build a workforce that reflects the community’s diversity and in which members of the public and employees feel valued, respected, and supported.

Online Application

To begin the hiring process with the City of Toronto, you must create a candidate profile and submit an online application. Your contact information will be required when creating your profile, so be sure that you enter this information accurately.

The application will also require you to submit an updated resume. This resume should be a maximum of three pages long and should highlight your relevant experience and skills.

You will also have the chance to upload a cover letter. This letter should represent your personal style, express your interest in the position, and highlight any other details that are not present on your resume that you’d like the hiring team to know.

Phone Interview

The first interview you will complete is the initial phone screening. This interview will be with a member of human resources and will take place after you submit your application. The purpose of this interview is to ensure that you are a qualified candidate and to confirm details such as your educational history and work experience that you provided in your resume.

City of Toronto’s Assessments

If the hiring manager believes you have potential as a candidate, you will graduate to the assessment portion of the recruitment process. The psychometric tests allow the City of Toronto to measure your workplace competencies and capabilities and compare you with other candidates.

These assessments you take will vary depending on the role you are applying for, but all candidates can expect to take a version of the following exams:

• Aptitude Tests: Aptitude tests allow the hiring team to assess your ability to perform the basic job functions required for your role. For example, if you apply for an administrative position, you may take a clerical aptitude test that examines your efficiency, time management, organization, and self-discipline.
• Skills Tests: Candidates will also take skills tests related to their specific roles. An example of a skills test is the Microsoft Excel software test which assesses your ability to complete tasks in Excel at various levels.
• Reasoning Tests: Applicants may also take a verbal reasoning test to assess their ability to understand written language.
• Situational Judgement Test: The situational judgment test (SJT) is a psychological assessment that presents you with a hypothetical workplace scenario to which you must respond. This exam allows the City of Toronto to assess your behavior, values, and cognitive abilities.

Final Interview

If you do well on the assessments, you will have the opportunity to complete a face-to-face interview with the recruiting team. They will likely ask you competency-based questions and questions to better understand your personality.

When responding to questions in this interview, try to draw upon previous examples and use the STAR format when formulating your answer:

• Situation: Describe the context of the situation.
• Tasks: Explain the tasks that you had to complete.
• Action: Detail the actions that you took to complete the tasks.
• Results: Describe the results that came from your actions.

Verification

The last step of the City of Toronto recruitment process is identification. If the hiring team decides that you are the best candidate for the role, you will receive a job offer. However, because this is a government agency, all job offers are conditional pending:

• Reference check
• Driver’s license check
• Occupational health assessment
• Educational verification
• Police reference check

After passing all checks mentioned above, you will receive an official written job offer from the City of Toronto and complete any necessary paperwork.

How to Prepare for the City of Toronto Assessment?

Being a government agency, the City of Toronto looks for honest people who can perform their jobs well. To receive an offer from the City of Toronto, you must do well on all portions of the recruitment process, including the various assessments.

The assessments are a crucial part of the hiring process because it allows the City of Toronto to compare candidates without any bias. You must do well on these tests to stand apart from the other applicants and prove you are the best person for the position.

Online resources are available to help you prepare for the different assessments, including practice tests, study guides, and tips. Be sure to take advantage of all of the preparation tools so you can perform to the best of your ability on the exams.