Halifax Fire forced to review over 400 career fire applications because of attachment issues
Posted Feb 8, 2016 08:44:15 AM.
Last Updated Feb 8, 2016 08:44:16 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – Officials with Halifax Fire and Emergency worked some overtime last week after confusion from applicants to the Municipality’s most recent recruitment blitz for career firefighters.
Problems with applications were noticed after some applicants received notices last week that said their application would not be considered because the proper documentation was not attached.
Officials with Halifax Fire and Emergency, with the help of the Human Resources Department with HRM, were forced to manually review over 400 applications on Friday after the issues were first reported.
HRM said most of the problems arose from applicants not submitting credentials to the proper place in their online application portal, as there were separate places to upload a resume, cover letter and education transcripts. Most, however, uploaded them all to one spot.
Phil McNulty, executive fire officer with HRM, said paying closer attention would have helped mitigate these problems.
“Sometimes mistakes are made, sometimes we make them, sometime applicants make them,” McNulty said. “I would ask that people look in the mirror and hold themselves accountable.”
McNulty said at first, officials looked into the human resources software, which he said they’ve used without a problem since 2013, but it was quickly found that many of the applicants were attaching high-school transcripts to their cover letter or resume, leading to their eventual rejection.
“If the transcript isn’t where it’s supposed to be, then it’s flagged as having been not included,” McNulty said, adding after problems were noticed, 2,100 emails were sent out on two separate occasions to remind applicants, but still problems persisted.
He said if applicants received a message saying their application wasn’t accepted after this weekend, it won’t be counted going forward.
McNulty said the current hiring effort is considered a multi-year one, so for those who missed out this time, he said they will have an opportunity to apply as soon as next year.
