5 ways to grow in the public service beyond your job description

This post is written by Diana Smyth, Interpretation Officer/Coordinator, Rouge National Urban Park, Parks Canada, Toronto, Ontario

• The problem: Putting up boundaries by asserting that you do your prescribed job and nothing more means you lose out on myriad opportunities for professional growth and development.
• Why it matters: Those self-imposed limitations can result in professional stagnation and a disconnection from your identity as a public servant.
• The solution: Saying yes to even one invitation or opportunity to be part of something outside your substantive role is the first step to an immediate awareness of and exposure to the wider life of your workplace and your place in the public service.

Being more than your job does not have to mean that you are stretching yourself thin, taking on too much or feeling 'voluntold'.

It's finding opportunities that:

• Have affinity (things you are already comfortable with or match your interests)
• Develop growth beyond your function and within your function
• Develop your professional profile and expand your connections
• Apply skills which you don't get to use in your regular function

When you open up your sense of yourself beyond 'I do this job', 'I do my job and I go home', or 'that's not part of my job', you open up the door to all kinds of potential.

It doesn’t have to be a huge leap and it can be within a frame that you can manage. At the same time, make sure you honour the commitments you make and engage authentically and honestly.

At the very least, what happens next will serve the objective of expanding your skills beyond your substantive role.

At most, who knows? Once you get going, you could be asking yourself why you hadn’t started sooner.

Try any or all of these five ideas to start being more than your job.

Join a committee or working group

• This could be an affinity opportunity or call on your professional expertise. For example, my interest in reviving my French language skills is a perfect link to being part of the Parks Canada Official Languages Employee Network - actively promoting the use of Canada’s official languages, French and English, in the workplace
• Meet and collaborate with colleagues you’ve never met before
• Find out how your area of expertise can advance the group’s objectives
• Gain a fresh perspective on issues from a wider scope
• Raise your profile and become more widely known for your contribution

Add a new element to your work experience

• Take advantage of free or employer-paid training and learning. For example, Canadian federal public servants have access to the Canada School of Public Service.
• Apolitical’s email bootcamps, webinars, and articles like this one target a specific area of professional interest
• Do your learning pretty much whenever you want with more options for ‘on-demand’ access

Be a champion, ambassador or mentor

• Leverage your talents or areas of interest and represent your team in a larger context. For example, I am the Microsoft 365 transition champion for my Parks Canada field unit, linked to other champions from across the Parks Canada network and the National Office transition team
• Mentoring takes the same idea but directs it to a smaller audience - your knowledge base and years of workplace experience can be of immense support to someone starting out

Showcase skills you don’t get to use in your substantive role

• Whether it’s a hobby or a passion, or just something you’re naturally good at, there could be a place for your unique talent. For example, I was able to leverage my prior life in broadcasting to coach my colleagues on presentation skills when we went 100% online at the onset of the pandemic

Get involved in labour union-employer relations

Whether you are represented by a labour union or are in the employer ranks, understanding how unions work will serve you immeasurably in the long run.

Do you know…

• Which union represents your workforce?
• Who are your union local representatives?
• What’s covered in your Collective Agreement?
• What are the latest collective bargaining topics?

Being active in labour union-employer relations does not automatically mean there is something wrong! You can…

• Support your union local by running for a position on its Executive or joining a sub-committee
• Extend your employer role by joining your Labour Management Consultation Committee (LMCC) or similar ‘collegial’ engagement opportunity. For example, I was my union local Executive Vice President for 2 years, and during that time, I advanced our member communications by using MailChimp and building a Google website, and with our President, strengthened our relationship with the employer through respectful and informed LMCC sessions
• Both employees and employers comprise the membership of bargaining teams. Another place to make a contribution!

So - are you ready? There are so many ways to start, but the quickest way is to let your colleagues know ‘I want to be more than my job!’ and take it from there.

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(Image Credit: Unsplash)