ESP/IESP Facilitators Application FAQS

Use our online application form. If you have any difficulties with the form, please email us at esp.facilitators@carleton.ca.

Yes, you may apply. Occasionally we hire outstanding candidates whose CGPA falls a little below the cut-off, particularly if your CGPA in the discipline is at least 9.0 and/or if your CGPA has been improving. Use your cover letter to explain any unusual circumstances that resulted in a lower CGPA.

Yes, you can. We are generally looking for candidates who have experienced the “typical” student life, which means being enrolled in a degree program. However, we do sometimes hire Special students if they are exceptional candidates in other ways.

Yes, you can. You have to be taking at least one course at Carleton to be employed as a facilitator.

Yes! We strongly encourage former ESP/IESP students to apply. Your experience as an ESP/IESP student provides valuable insight into the facilitator role.

Yes, you can. We suggest that you read the facilitator qualifications carefully to make sure you are eligible.

The number of applications we receive depends on the course, but usually it ranges between 10 and 40 applicants. We encourage you to apply – many of our successful facilitators have said they didn’t think they had a chance!

Your cover letter should showcase the skills, qualities, and experiences that you think would make you a good ESP/IESP facilitator. You can draw on employment, volunteer, student, and other relevant experience. Your letter should also draw attention to the parts of your résumé that matter most for this position and point out exactly how they are relevant to the facilitator role. For additional guidance, download our cover letter template and advice.

Yes. If there is a delay in obtaining a transcript from the institution, please include a note with your application and email the transcript to us as soon as possible.

Yes, please upload your CCR with your application. To access your CCR, please follow the directions posted on the Student Experience Office website: carleton.ca/seo/ccr.

Yes. You will need to submit an updated letter, résumé, audit, and application form.

Definitely! Most of our facilitators have no prior experience with the professor whose class they facilitate.

Yes, you may apply for as many courses as you like. List all courses you are qualified to facilitate on your application form.

No, please don’t submit references with your application. If you are invited for a group interview, we’ll ask you to provide contact information (phone number and email address) for one academic reference and one employment reference. You may want to think about whom you’d ask in case you are invited for a group interview.

First, read our web site thoroughly and ensure that you demonstrate a strong understanding of the ESP/IESP in general and especially the workshops. Second, make sure that your résumé is up to date and complete – it’s confusing for us if you mention relevant experience in your cover letter and/or your application form, but not on your résumé. Finally, review and edit your application carefully to ensure that everything is correct and complete. For additional guidance, check out our resume and cover letter templates.

Our team is continuing to work from home during the closures. All parts of the application and hiring process will be conducted online.

Candidates who are selected for a preliminary group interview will be contacted 2 to 3 weeks after the application deadline. For specific dates, please refer to our facilitator hiring timeline.

A group interview brings together about twenty candidates applying for various facilitator positions. Staff and former facilitators observe candidates as they engage in group activities similar to those used in ESP/IESP workshops. If you are invited for a group interview, you will receive additional information about the interview process and how to prepare.

Please see the facilitator hiring timeline for this year’s dates. Each group interview lasts approximately two hours and is held at Carleton University or online if required. We’ll provide you with the times and locations if you are invited for a group interview.

Yes, but preference will be given to candidates who participate in a group interview because it’s our chance to see candidates engaging in groups, which is vital to the facilitator role. In exceptional circumstances, we can conduct group interviews online instead. 

Within a day or two following the last group interview, we’ll begin contacting applicants we want to meet with individually. If selected, you will be interviewed by the facilitator coordinator. A staff member will also be there to take notes.

No, please do not send letters of reference. We prefer to contact your references ourselves.

Most interviews take 30 – 60 minutes, but we suggest you plan for 90 minutes just to be safe. We like to take our time and get to know candidates as much as possible.

You can provide a reference from any type of paid or unpaid work you have done. If you have any experience with childcare, casual landscaping, volunteer work, and so on, ask for a reference from the most senior person who is familiar with your work.

Consider asking a lab instructor or a PASS or ESP/IESP facilitator whose workshops you attended. If none of these is available to you, please bring a note to the group interview explaining why you have not included an academic reference. Do not substitute a personal/character reference.

Send us your references as soon as possible after your group interview. We begin contacting references only after we begin individual interviews for a given position, so you have a few days after group interview.

For each position, we phone the successful candidate and email the other candidates we interviewed. This takes about two weeks after the last interview. For quicker information, check our web site. Beside each available position, we’ll note if we’re still interviewing or if the position has been filled.

Yes, ESP/IESP facilitators are required to attend the in-class lectures. This is mandatory. It is important that students and professors see the facilitator in class every week.

Facilitators must attend all the training sessions. Most of the training cannot be completed at other times, as it involves participating in group activities similar to those facilitators lead in their own workshops. If you are unable to attend the mandatory training dates, your application will not be considered.

Submit a tentative schedule based on the exact classes you plan to take in fall and winter, even if you have not yet registered for them.

Each week, facilitators attend the class lecture, plan their workshops, conduct their workshops, hold office hours, and attend a team meeting. Facilitators also participate in frequent professional development activities including training and workshop observations.

COVID update: In Fall 2021, we are planning for most facilitators to hold two 2-hour workshops per week, which is a slight increase in the usual contract. In Winter 2022, most facilitators will hold one 2-hour workshop.

Planning involves reviewing relevant course material and selecting workshop activities to help the students study the material. Most workshops include lecture/reading review, frequent mock quizzes, and preparing for assignments. With the guidance of a Team Leader, facilitators select/adapt activities to suit their course, plan the timing and sequence of activities, and incorporate academic skills. Sample activities and templates are available, but we encourage facilitators to be creative and develop their own as well.

No, the facilitator role does not include evaluating students. Facilitators are not permitted to assist professors or TAs with marking of any kind.

Not at all. Facilitators do not evaluate students. More importantly, facilitators do not teach the course material. Instead, they help students to work together to effectively review the course material. The focus is on developing students’ academic skills and habits and applying these to the specific content of the course. Finally, facilitators are employed by the CIE, not the academic department offering the course.

Don’t worry, most facilitators have no experience before they start with ESP. Training covers everything you’ll need. Topics include: learning and memory, motivating students, guiding discussions, Universal Instructional Design, educational games, encouraging participation, and fostering student autonomy. You’ll also have a Team Leader, an experienced facilitator who’ll provide support and feedback throughout the year.

Actually, facilitators are taught techniques to avoid answering students’ questions! Instead, facilitators guide students to find their own answers by consulting their lecture notes, readings, and their peers. This way, students develop the skills they’ll need in future courses. Facilitators need to be familiar with the course material to do this well, but are not expected to know every answer.

As of April 2021, we are planning mostly for in-person workshops with physical distancing. Psychology and Law will each have one fully online workshop. We’ll update this FAQ as soon as we have more information.