As part of the Level UP experience, it is essential that you submit detailed and accurate worklogs for the hours you work on your projects. Your worklogs help us track your progress, evaluate your efforts, and ensure that you are compensated appropriately for the work you’ve done.
Since Level UP stipends are funded in part by Government of Canada funds for your work experience, it is crucial that your worklogs accurately reflect the time and effort you’ve put into each task. This not only ensures that you are paid for your hard work, but also guarantees compliance with funding requirements.
A general worklog reminder:
Students may not work more than 10 hours per day
Students may not work more than 30 hours per week
Worklogs should be per task work, not per day
Why is it important to submit detailed worklogs?
Accuracy of Payment: We need to ensure that the hours you submit are justified. If the worklog entries are vague or lack detail, it becomes difficult for us to determine how your time was spent. This may result in delays in processing payments.
Transparency and Accountability: Detailed worklogs ensure transparency and help us maintain the integrity of the process, especially when handling government funding.
Tracking Your Progress: Your worklogs allow you to reflect on the tasks you've completed, track your personal development, and see how you are contributing to the project.
What makes an effective worklog entry?
When logging your hours, the goal is to provide a clear description of what you worked on and how long it took. A general “work” or “surveys” entry with just the hours is not sufficient. Instead, follow these guidelines:
1. Be Specific
Provide a clear and descriptive account of the task you worked on. For example:
Instead of: “Work” or “Surveys”
Write: “Conducted research on the impact of social media marketing on brand engagement for the new product launch. Spent time collecting and analyzing data from 5 different sources, reviewing relevant articles, and summarizing findings.”
2. Break Down the Tasks
If your task involved multiple steps, break them down and log each part individually. For example:
Instead of: “Worked on surveys for 5 hours”
Write: “Created a survey with 10 questions, including designing the questions (1.5 hours), testing the survey on a small group (1 hour), and analyzing the data from 50 survey respondents (2.5 hours).”
Breaking your work into smaller tasks will help us understand how you spent your time and ensure the hours are well-accounted for.
3. Explain the Time Spent
If a task took longer than expected, explain why. For example:
Instead of: “Worked on surveys for 5 hours”
Write: “Spent 5 hours conducting an in-depth analysis of survey results. The time was extended because I needed to review each survey response individually and provide detailed feedback.”
4. Use Clear, Professional Language
When writing your worklogs, use clear and professional language. Avoid vague terms like "worked on" or "did surveys." Be specific about what you did and how you accomplished it.
5. Reflect the Work Completed
Your worklog should reflect the work you’ve done, not just the time you’ve spent. For example, if you spent time troubleshooting a technical issue, provide details on what the issue was and how you resolved it.
Instead of: “Fix technical issue for 2 hours”
Write: “Spent 2 hours troubleshooting a bug in the survey tool. Identified that the issue was caused by incorrect user inputs, fixed the code, and ran tests to ensure the tool was working properly.”
6. Include Any Milestones or Deliverables
If your task involved completing specific deliverables or hitting certain milestones, make sure to mention them in your worklog. This will demonstrate that your time was spent productively and that your contributions are aligned with project goals.
Example: “Completed the first draft of the marketing campaign strategy. This includes objectives, target audience analysis, and potential platforms to use for ad placements. The draft is now ready for review by the team.”
7. Mention Any Collaboration
If you worked with others or sought feedback, make sure to mention it. This shows how you contributed to the team effort and the collaborative nature of the task.
Example: “Collaborated with two team members on brainstorming ideas for the upcoming webinar. Contributed to the content outline and agreed on the key points to highlight. Spent 3 hours in a Zoom meeting and additional time refining the presentation.”
Example of an Effective Worklog Entry:
Additional Tips for Writing Worklogs:
Date and Time Consistency: Log the date and the exact hours you worked. This helps us track when the work was done and ensures your time is logged accurately.
Avoid Generic Entries: Phrases like “work,” “help,” or “attended meeting” are not specific enough. Always provide context and detail.
Use Action Verbs: Start your entries with action verbs like “created,” “analyzed,” “reviewed,” “designed,” etc. This makes your worklogs more engaging and clear.
Proper time format: Worklogs are logged in (hh:mm) format — so if your kickoff meeting was 15 minutes, enter it as 00:15.
Why This Matters:
As mentioned, we are distributing Government of Canada funds for your work experience. These funds are intended to compensate you for your time and effort. By submitting detailed, accurate worklogs, you help ensure that your work is in compliance with the funding requirements and that you are paid fairly for the time you have worked.
Need Help?
If you’re ever unsure about how to fill out your worklog or need assistance with any task, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Our student success team is here to support you in your learning journey! Reach out to us using the avocado in the bottom right corner of the screen while using the platform!