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Coaching for the Provincial Corrections Exam: What You Need to Know


A career as a corrections officer in Ontario can be a rewarding one, with additional perks like benefits, an excellent salary, and a decent pension. A corrections officer has significant responsibilities—to the people in their care, the government and, ultimately, the public. The potential for threats and confrontations from inmates is high, and anyone hired as a corrections officer must be able to withstand occupational stress and a rapidly changing environment.

Therefore, to be hired as a corrections officer, you must pass a series of tests and clearances.
 
You will need to be prepared to answer questions regarding your mental health, behavioural questions, aptitude, and cognitive ability test. You will also need to pass a physical fitness test to ensure that you can carry out some of the tasks that come with the job.
 
To put it simply, you must be physically and mentally able to work in a correctional facility to be considered for a career in corrections.
 
The provincial corrections exams can be intimidating, but you will be adequately prepared for the exam with some practice and coaching. Read on for our best tips and what you need to know to help you get ready for the provincial corrections exams.

What is Required to Become a Corrections Officer
Corrections officers are responsible for the custody, control and care of offenders in correctional institutions, psychiatric facilities, and detention centres.
 
To become a corrections officer in Ontario, there are a few requirements. These are as follows:  
Some of these tasks are simple, like providing a copy of your high school diploma, while some require some work and preparation.
 
The process takes six to nine months to complete, and you will only move on to the next task if you are successful in the previous.

How to Get Hired as a Corrections Officer
Like most jobs, you need to apply for a job as a corrections officer with a resume and cover letter. Along with this, you will also need to complete a pre-employment questionnaire.
 
Even though the hiring managers base the bulk of the hiring process on your aptitude, fitness and abilities, you will still need a high-quality resume and cover letter to even get to the point of testing.
 
The resume should be free of columns, headers and footers and use targeted keywords to suit the corrections job. Aside from the format, your resume and cover letter should be well-written and show the hiring manager that you are worth hiring.
 
If you are not comfortable writing a resume or lack the confidence that your resume will stand up to the hiring process, consider hiring a professional resume writer. A professional resume writer is skilled at creating a resume with keywords that fit the job description and highlight your job skills. Hiring a professional resume writer to create your resume for your application to become a corrections officer will show a hiring manager that you are qualified and serious about getting hired.
 
Police Test Tutor offers a resume writing service that will give you a professional-looking, powerful resume and cover letter that you can use in your application to be a corrections officer. 

How to Prepare for the Corrections Hiring Process
A provincial corrections officer will work with offenders serving less than two years; anything over two years is served in federal prison. The federal government does the hiring for federal officers. Provincial corrections officers are not limited to provincial jails. You may also work with youth correctional centres and remand centres.
 
An Ontario corrections officer does not just lock and unlock cell doors. They are tasked with keeping order in a fast-paced and sometimes volatile environment as Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services employees. There is direct contact and communication with inmates, and employees may find themselves in many different roles, such as controlling inmates’ movement and supervising activities.
 
When you are confident that a career in corrections is for you, the next step is preparation. After you have your affairs in order, you should begin to understand what the testing will ask of you by researching each test.

Practice Tests
Candidates are administered each testing section in the hiring process to become an Ontario corrections officer to determine whether you meet the position’s cognitive, behavioural and aptitude requirements.
 
Corrections officers must be resilient enough to maintain security and work towards the rehabilitation of offenders. Hiring managers will assess your behaviours to determine your ability to work as a corrections officer.
 
A few behaviours that a corrections officer should possess are:
 

 
For the cognitive and aptitude tests, you will need to be proficient in math, problem-solving, word problems, syllogism, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, grammar and spatial ability.
 
If these subjects seem intimidating to you, it is understandable. Depending on your circumstances, it may have been some time since you were tested on your math or language skills. 
 
Police Test Tutor can help. You can purchase a package that offers lessons and practice tests for math, language, grammar, Wonderlic (cognitive and problem solving) skills practice, and more.
 
If you are determined to study and practice the test questions every day, you will vastly improve your chances of doing well on the hiring process's testing portion.
 
Do you suffer from interview jitters? Or has it been a long time since your last interview? Police Test Tutor can also help with interview coaching. Police Test Tutor offers top-notch expertise in the law enforcement industry. If you require a professionally crafted resume, a coach will prepare you to interview for a position, study materials and practice tests, and contact Police Test Tutor.
 
If your goal is to become a corrections officer in Ontario, you will receive the practice you need to be prepared for the hiring process from Police Test Tutor.