Department of National Defence Employer Reviews

the employees i work with were very knowledgable and willing to teach. Each day consisted of performing work that the base supervisior gave us through purchase orders. Most purchase orders involved servicing of jetties( military vessels are docked at jetties).i didnt relize how much maintence was involved on the jetties. Management seemed to keep the – more... eveything going smoothly. Most enjoyable part was being involved with our national defence and the guys i worked with. – less

A typical day at DND consisted of inputting travel requests into a database to be approved by the Director General.
Also, assisting Psychologists by reviewing documents and verifying references.
Assisting the financial assistant with payroll files and updating charts.

Most of the guys I worked for in the Industrial Engineering Division were great. I learned some things.

Got a chance to work in a new field.
Great group of co-worker that were very helpful and supportive.

Accommodating to employees
Excellent working environment
Great Benefits
Excellent hours

This was my very first full time employment job and I couldn't have been happier witht he results. I was fortunate to work here for two summers as a full time coop student. The staff around me helped in any way they could and was happy to provide thier services. The work environment was very intense at times but very exciting. I personally took care – more... of any technical information system issues that may have arised. This thaught me more than I could have imagined and gave me the opportunity to actually put into affect all my education. Definitely a really great bunch of people that just made the work days that much more enjoyable. – less

Learned how to work with different personalities and dispositions. Time management skills, leadership and computer skills to the extreme in several positions. You learn alot about yourself along the way and how to adapt to difficult or stressful situations.

Show up on time and things will go well for you. Each base is different, but generally the workplace depends on your personality, willingness to adapt and accept change, and that of your co workers.
A poor attitude = poor workplace
A sense of humor and easy going-ness is not required but it will make things infinitely easier.

Due to cutbacks you find there is no balance between work and home life. Everyone is expected to do more with less and unfortunately each member is stressed to the maximum.
I worked with a great team who would stab you in the back at the drop of a hat to make themselves look good or to save their face. I have been with DND for 12 years. In that time – more... I have been bullied, abused, harassed and court martialled and then told I was not qualified to do the job I have been doing for the past 10 years yet, I have all my course reports that say I was doing an incredible job, I was an asset to the office etc.
Best part of the job was working with the Cadets. They are our future and if you could spend a small amount of time with each individual you would find that we are going to be okay. They are bright, intelligent and have incredible ideas about how to save our planet.. They are the reason I stayed in the military as long as I did. – less

I have truly enjoyed my service n the Canadian Forces but have chosen to move on and concentrate on my electrical career.

I really enjoyed workind for Department of National Defense! They are a wonderful employer, with EXCELLENT support networks, and flexible hours to cater to life. The only downfall was that I was stuck with contract positions, that were not subject to renewal.

I had no issues with Department of National Defence or the trade in general.

Helping others is the most rewarding part of the job. Deploying away from my family is the hardest.

Applying General Office procedures with particular emphasis on the receipt, analysis, classification, processing and retrieval of correspondence.
Perform clerical duties: filing, sorting and distributing mail.
Basic computer skills, windows, OutlookExpress electronic mail.
Operate all kinds of office machines.
Answer, screen and forward telephone calls, – more... take messages.
Schedule, confirm and make new appointments.
Prepare routine correspondence and or preparing standard responses to military personnel and families.
Maintain and prepare reports.
Knowledge of Word, Excel, Power Point and Microsoft office.
Receive and record payments in ledger.
Helped Administrative Assistant make travel arrangements, like booking flights, hotels and transportation in Claims X.
Arrange meetings and conferences for the project.
Distributed all office supplies as well as ordering them.
Greet customers at the office and direct them to the appropriate contact.
Schedule, confirm and make new appointments for customers.
Some Bookkeeping
Prepare contract and forward to potential clients. – less

A typical day at work involved dealing with staff, other government departments and contract files. I learned how to manage people and how to deal with clients. I worked with many levels of management and found most to be very helpful. My co-workers were fun, dedicated people who worked hard and helped each other. The hardest part of the job was the – more... constant changes in software and policies and regulations. The most enjoyable part of the job was the people and how they worked as a team. – less

• Install, configure ,troubleshoot and maintain network and workstations
• Maintain PC through Remote Connection and on-site support
• Use of Help Desk Ticket System
• PC Hardware maintenance
• Database management
• Software maintenance
• Excellent attention to detail
• Ability to organize own workflow

Ensured administration was completed accurately and on-time for senior staff in an organization of 300 military and civilian staff. Dealt with sensitive and confidential info on a daily basis.
The hardest part was dealing with difficult staff or patients. This required a lot of tact, empathy and diplomacy.
The most enjoyable part was interacting in – more... a multi-disciplanary team setting consisting of doctors, nurses, and other medical professional staff. – less

For all of the outstanding opportunities to develop a well-rounded balance of skills, there is a lot of time spent away from home for training and operational deployments, and you will be moved across the country to Canadian Forces Bases and detachments.

Worked on contract that was extremely challenging and rewarding.
Interacted with National Defence for several years in a Sales capacity and thoroughly enjoyed it. Consider it the best years of my career.

Typical days are like any other job with the exception of deployment away from home which constitutes most of a year. One works very closely with highly trained and skilled people with enormous amounts of experiences. The most difficult part of this job is the time spent away from family however the benefits are seeing the world that most people could – more... only dream of. – less