To be eligible to work in Canada post-graduation, you are required to apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) if you graduated from a Designated Learning Institution (DLI). You typically have 180 days to apply after receiving your final grades or before your study permit expires. If your study permit expires before you receive your final grades, you may either apply to extend your status as a student or leave Canada and apply for your PGWP.

For more information on DLI checklist and PGWP eligibility, refer to the Government of Canada’s website.

When requesting accommodation, you’ll be disclosing your disability to someone in the organization and providing additional information as needed. You need to ask yourself two main questions: 

To whom should you disclose to receive accommodation?

• This depends on the company. You’ll need to figure out who within the organization is in a position to assist you with your accommodation request. For example, this could be HR staff, or your manager/supervisor.

How much information do you provide?

• You are obliged to give sufficient information in regards to your disability in order to support your request for accommodation and in order for your employer to properly and promptly fulfill the duty to accommodate. Otherwise, your request for accommodation could be rejected for lacking sufficient information.

Your Office of Experiential Learning/Education can also be a resource in helping you disclose the necessary information.

There are three circumstances in which you are legally obligated to disclose your disability:

• You are in need of accommodation in the workplace. You can disclose during the interview, at any other time in relation to your employment, or at any time during the process of applying for employment 
• It is likely to affect your work performance, attendance, or your ability to fulfill the essentials duties of your job. As a general principle, if you choose not to disclose your disability, it is important that you be able to complete all the essential duties of the job before accepting it.
• There are health or safety risks for yourself or your co-workers.

If your circumstance does not apply to any of the three cases listed above, you can choose whether you would like to disclose your disability or not, depending on the situation and your comfort level.

Employees with disability have the following rights and responsibilities:

• Disclose it if legally required to do so (see “When should you disclose?”)
  • If you’re not in a situation where you are legally required to disclose, you have the right not to.
• Provide sufficient information in regards to your disability in order to support your request for accommodation 
• You may be obligated to cooperate in undergoing assessments in order to support your request as your employer is entitled to receive accurate and relevant information in regards to your disability. 
• For the employer rights and responsibilities, see “What are my rights & responsibilities as an employer to an employee with a disability?” in the employer FAQ. 

International students registered in study programs which require work experience as part of their curriculum may need to apply for a co-op or intern work permit. To be eligible, you must:

• Have a valid study permit
• Have a letter from your school confirming that students in the program need to complete a work placement as part of their degree requirements, and
• The co-op or internship totals 50% or less of your study program.

You are not eligible for a co-op or intern work permit if you are taking one of the following:

• English of French as a second language,
• General interest courses, or
• Courses in preparation for a study program.

For more information on how to apply for a co-op or intern work permit, check out the Government of Canada’s website.

You can share information regarding your pronouns and name in whichever way feels the most comfortable to you. Some general options are to add your pronouns and name to your email signature as well as your resume. You can also meet with your supervisor to co-create a communication plan.

Some things to remember:

• Be your own advocate and connect with allies in your workplace to support you.
• Make it known that your pronouns and name are not just “preferences”
• Remember that you have multiple avenues that you can use to share your name and pronouns, such as your resume, cover letter, email sign off. 
• Be confident in who you are, whether or not you decide to share your pronouns and name with others.

You can use your preferred or chosen name on your resume and on the application form. However, you will have to provide your legal name to your employer to set up payroll and your employment profile, so it will be important to differentiate between the organization’s administrating internal processes and your introduction to the team. Your employer may require documentation with your legal name on it, such as identification and social insurance number. But in day-to-day practice with the team, you will be able to use your preferred or chosen name. 

For more information, see UBC’s Resources for LGBTQ+Students.

Students who have to work from home require different skills than working within an office. Working at home means less oversight from your direct supervisor, which requires you to have good time and self management. Demonstrating your ability to work under little supervision as well as manage your time effectively to reach deadlines. Communication also becomes very important; your supervisor needs to trust that you can clearly communicate when you need help or when you’d like more work to be assigned to you.

For more information, see STU’s Working from home: A guide for STU interns.

After an interview, try to write down all the questions that were asked and how you answered them. Take time to consider how you would answer them differently, and things to note for future interviews. Also, within the first 24 hours of the interview, send a detailed and genuine email to the person who interviewed you to thank them for their time and reiterate your interest in the position. If you haven’t heard back from them by the date they specified, feel free to send them a polite email to check-in on their progress and reiterate your interest.

Just like an in-person interview, you’ll want to research and prepare your answers to the interview questions. Check out our “How should I prepare for an in-person interview?” question. 

Ensure you know how to use the equipment needed for your virtual interview and that you test out the sound ahead of time.

For a live interview (where you interact with the employer)

• Speak clearly and make eye contact with the camera
• Feel free to ask them to repeat the question
• If you have notes, keep them out of the view of the interviewer and check them as little as possible 
• Speak slowly to allow the interviewer to take notes 

For a recorded interview (where questions are pre-loaded and you record your answers)

In addition to the “live interview tips”:

• Read the question carefully 
• Check the clock periodically (if one is available, otherwise try to set one up yourself) to make sure you stay on track 
• Take small breaks in between each question (wait to hit the ‘ready’ button)
• If given the opportunity, practice the questions once before submitting the final response.