Civil Service Clerical Officer Campaign 2017 (Dublin)

Periplectomenus

Claireyy wrote: »

Yes exactly! Just keep using examples and you’ll be fine! I’m not sure on the other stuff but I’d like to think so! Obviously it’s wherever have vacancies but I do think they try to place you where they think you’ll be suited! I’m starting with Justice next week and I still don’t know which section as HR told me that they’ll look through my skills and experience and see where is best so here’s hoping you’re right!

This is great news for you - congrats and best of luck with it. Justice definitely sounds interesting

Starlady7

Claireyy wrote: »

Yes exactly! Just keep using examples and you’ll be fine! I’m not sure on the other stuff but I’d like to think so! Obviously it’s wherever have vacancies but I do think they try to place you where they think you’ll be suited! I’m starting with Justice next week and I still don’t know which section as HR told me that they’ll look through my skills and experience and see where is best so here’s hoping you’re right!

Congratulations and thanks for the info. What is your oom if it's ok to ask?

Periplectomenus

I'm in the top 200 so fairly optimistic

Claireyy

Starlady7 wrote: »

Congratulations and thanks for the info. What is your oom if it's ok to ask?

I can't remember, I think it was late 300s.

I applied for this campaign because I didn't think I'd get placed on the 2016 one but I'm actually starting in just over a week now! I was Batch 11 for Dublin on that campaign and circa 4000 on OOM.

It was a looong process. I think I applied mid-late 2016 and was only interviewed in December just gone and then offered a placement two weeks ago.


I suspect you won't be waiting that long though, there isn't as many on this campaign and I'll be taking myself off when they get to me so that's already one less person!

Starlady7

Claireyy wrote: »

I can't remember, I think it was late 300s.

I applied for this campaign because I didn't think I'd get placed on the 2016 one but I'm actually starting in just over a week now! I was Batch 11 for Dublin on that campaign and circa 4000 on OOM.

It was a looong process. I think I applied mid-late 2016 and was only interviewed in December just gone and then offered a placement two weeks ago.


I suspect you won't be waiting that long though, there isn't as many on this campaign and I'll be taking myself off when they get to me so that's already one less person!

Yes I think this campaign will move more quickly. I'm 363 batch 1 and trying to estimate when I might be placed, all going well in the interview of course. A little nervous about the interview but fingers crossed!
I think you wil like Justice - I worked there as a tco before and it was fine. Best of luck with the new job and thanks for all the info!

peatsee

Hi,

I've been called for interview and I'm a little nervous of the format as i have never attended a competency based interview. Does anyone know what level of experience they expect from us or how much detail we need to include in the answers.

Claireyy

peatsee wrote: »

Hi,

I've been called for interview and I'm a little nervous of the format as i have never attended a competency based interview. Does anyone know what level of experience they expect from us or how much detail we need to include in the answers.

Hey, first of all, stop worrying! The interview is absolutely grand and it flies by! The whole thing is based around the 5 or 6 competencies listed in the familiarisation material that was sent to you. There’ll be two interviewers and they will take turns asking questions based on the competencies. The questions are very straightforward: How do work under pressure? Was there a time that you failed at something? Do you consider yourself a team player? What is your biggest achievement to date etc The important thing is you must use an example in every single answer that you give. It could be an example from a previous job, school, college, sports club etc, but you must have one. As long as you do that, you’ll be fine!

peatsee

Thanks for that, I really appreciate any help

colfah

Got called for stage 2 yesterday oom 2426

Pat Dunne

colfah wrote: »

Got called for stage 2 yesterday oom 2426

I thought that Stage 2 is the in-house exam.

Starlady7

Pat Dunne wrote: »

I thought that Stage 2 is the in-house exam.

It is.
People on this thread are at different stages of the process, so will often reference accordingly.

plibige

Any idea what number has been called for interview at this stage? I'm oom 682 and am wondering when I could roughly expect to be called for interview

Starlady7

plibige wrote: »

Any idea what number has been called for interview at this stage? I'm oom 682 and am wondering when I could roughly expect to be called for interview

It's hard to tell alright. I'm 363 and haven't been called yet, if that's any help.

isabella5

I'm 308 and haven't heard yet

hdowney

I got called for Stage two also. Don't remember my OOM but in the 2000 I think!

ladywawa

Hey everyone. I got an invitation to stage 2, but I'm apprehensive about the numerical reasoning. Does anyone have any advice on what to expect?. I failed it before Christmas, and I would appreciate any heads up. Even if someone knows any good books on this?.

Thanks alot

Starlady7

ladywawa wrote: »

Hey everyone. I got an invitation to stage 2, but I'm apprehensive about the numerical reasoning. Does anyone have any advice on what to expect?. I failed it before Christmas, and I would appreciate any heads up. Even if someone knows any good books on this?.

Thanks alot

Hi there, I empathise - the numerical was always the part I failed in before. I was given a good tip a few months ago by a clerical officer who had been successful in the exam and interview, and that was career services.ie. It's an online tutorial which you purchase. It takes you through the exam formats and shows how to do the questions and there are timed tests to help you. Well worth it. The other thing I would say is that you have to be really quick during the exam and get as many questions attempted as possible. Even if this means guessing randomly! Please see my earlier post about this. I hope this helps.

peatsee

Hi, I've just returned from my interview (my oom 171). The interviewers make you feel quite relaxed but it wasn't as straight forward as I thought it would be. They asked about all four of the competencies and wanted examples for the answers you give. So, my advice is research all the competencies, have plenty of examples and use the sheet from the end of the familiarisation material as they quoted extracts form that. Best of luck

dreadlymm

peatsee wrote: »

Hi, I've just returned from my interview (my oom 171). The interviewers make you feel quite relaxed but it wasn't as straight forward as I thought it would be. They asked about all four of the competencies and wanted examples for the answers you give. So, my advice is research all the competencies, have plenty of examples and use the sheet from the end of the familiarisation material as they quoted extracts form that. Best of luck

Hey well done, and thanks so much for the info, it's really helpful!

This might be a stupid question, but when you walked into the interview room did you shake hands with the interviewers?

peatsee

Hi,
One of the interviewers came out to get me from the waiting room and I shook hands with her and when I went into the interview room I was introduced to the second interviewer and I shook hands with him. Don't worry about remembering their names as they had name cards on the table in front of them. Best of luck

dreadlymm

peatsee wrote: »

Hi,
One of the interviewers came out to get me from the waiting room and I shook hands with her and when I went into the interview room I was introduced to the second interviewer and I shook hands with him. Don't worry about remembering their names as they had name cards on the table in front of them. Best of luck

Thanks for that, much appreciated

Sharon2017

Does anyone remember which competencies they asked about? Or which questions? And did they give any indication when you'd hear if you passed? Mine's tomorrow and I haven't exactly prepped lol

rachaelworld

I would read through the appendix on the competencies on the Familiarisation Material link on the Invite to Interview message. It gives a break down of the sort of the things they want hear from you for each competency

Don't forget there is a whole form of supplementary info they want you to fill out as well, that took me ages

rachaelworld

Phew! 😅 I think that went well, very friendly interviewers who were also quite helpful.

The questions on the competencies were not exactly what I was expecting which was what I found for the PIAB interview, however I was able to still use the examples that I had prepared as I had specifically picked ones that would cover a number of things on the competency breakdown, so I just adapted them.

There were a couple of things where I just had to wing it. I did take a minute to think once and asked them to repeat the question but I wasn't stressed about doing that this time as I knew that was OK. I hope I was reasonably coherent 😄

The one thing I would say is there isn't as much time as you think there will be even though it's about 30 minutes, they had a timer (for themselves) for each competency so that you get enough time for each one, and the woman absolutely ran through the instructions in the beginning at such a clip that it was almost hard to follow what she was saying. Anyway, the point is to try to keep your answers to the point and brief when you prepare your examples.

Anyway, it's a relief that it's over, fingers crossed I won't be waiting too long for a placement and get somewhere good.

Starlady7

rachaelworld wrote: »

Phew! 😅 I think that went well, very friendly interviewers who were also quite helpful.

The questions on the competencies were not exactly what I was expecting which was what I found for the PIAB interview, however I was able to still use the examples that I had prepared as I had specifically picked ones that would cover a number of things on the competency breakdown, so I just adapted them.

There were a couple of things where I just had to wing it. I did take a minute to think once and asked them to repeat the question but I wasn't stressed about doing that this time as I knew that was OK. I hope I was reasonably coherent 😄

The one thing I would say is there isn't as much time as you think there will be even though it's about 30 minutes, they had a timer (for themselves) for each competency so that you get enough time for each one, and the woman absolutely ran through the instructions in the beginning at such a clip that it was almost hard to follow what she was saying. Anyway, the point is to try to keep your answers to the point and brief when you prepare your examples.

Anyway, it's a relief that it's over, fingers crossed I won't be waiting too long for a placement and get somewhere good.

Thanks a mill for the info and it sounds like you did very well! Can I just ask how about how they framed some of the questions? E.g. from the material one of the competency questions involves "delivery of results" and just wondering how to answer that or if it came up directly. Many thanks!

rachaelworld

Thanks :-) It's a little bit hard to remember exactly but generally it seemed they would refer to something they had read on my supplementary form and mention one of the competency areas and then talk about something else and then say "but can you think of one area where you were proud of the result you delivered?", it was slightly meandering in approach sometimes and it felt like they were trying to find an angle that wasn't necessarily covered on my form but referencing the experience on there. In some regards it seemed like they were just checking to see if what I had written on the form was actually true if that makes any sense, like was I able to talk about my experience in a way that showed it was actually MY experience and not someone else's.
I think the best advice I can give you is to make sure that you really take the time to remember in vivid detail the example's from your experience that you are going to use, try to play them back in your head like a movie over and over again so that they are really fresh and think about them in reference to all the aspects on the appendix. That way you'll be more able to adapt them whatever they ask you. Because you will probably get a couple of curve balls.
And Data Protection guidelines stuff, they want to know if you have any experience with it and you understand how important it is because of the new legislation coming into play soon. So figure out a way to work that in there if you can.

Sorry, not sure if that's any help. The adrenaline is wearing off now and my brain is crashing :-D

Starlady7

rachaelworld wrote: »

Thanks :-) It's a little bit hard to remember exactly but generally it seemed they would refer to something they had read on my supplementary form and mention one of the competency areas and then talk about something else and then say "but can you think of one area where you were proud of the result you delivered?", it was slightly meandering in approach sometimes and it felt like they were trying to find an angle that wasn't necessarily covered on my form but referencing the experience on there. In some regards it seemed like they were just checking to see if what I had written on the form was actually true if that makes any sense, like was I able to talk about my experience in a way that showed it was actually MY experience and not someone else's.
I think the best advice I can give you is to make sure that you really take the time to remember in vivid detail the example's from your experience that you are going to use, try to play them back in your head like a movie over and over again so that they are really fresh and think about them in reference to all the aspects on the appendix. That way you'll be more able to adapt them whatever they ask you. Because you will probably get a couple of curve balls.
And Data Protection guidelines stuff, they want to know if you have any experience with it and you understand how important it is because of the new legislation coming into play soon. So figure out a way to work that in there if you can.

Sorry, not sure if that's any help. The adrenaline is wearing off now and my brain is crashing :-D

Thats brilliant! Thank you so much. An extremely comprehensive reply ☺. And thanks about the data protection guidelines - I wouldn't have expected that but of course it makes sense!
You deserve a nice break after all that! 😊

rachaelworld

You're welcome, and good luck with your prep :-)

Starlady7

rachaelworld wrote: »

You're welcome, and good luck with your prep :-)

Thank you ☺

Sharon2017

Had mine too and I didn't really have time to prep so I sort of winged it. I think I would have proven from my answers that I have the competencies so if that's what they'll base passing on hopefully I have.

They told me I should have an update in 10 days so people who had their interviews last week might hear soon - keep us posted! I'll be interested to see what kind of response they give as I don't know what to expect

Aimon

Hi,
Can anyone tell me what oom number they are up to in calling people for interview. Thanks.

DMcL1971

Aimon wrote: »

Hi,
Can anyone tell me what oom number they are up to in calling people for interview. Thanks.

The highest I have seen called here so far is around 270.

Throwdown

Hi guys, thanks for all the info so far. Excited to get the interview done and dusted. I'm in the 600's and still haven't heard anything.

Just have one question for any lads that have done the interview so far, may be a silly question I know, but did you wear a suit for the interview or just dress smart? Only reason i ask is i dont own a suit so would need to get one if it's essential.

DMcL1971

I have put on a lot of weight recently so I don't fit into my suit any more. I just wore neat dress. Slacks, shirt, tie and a sports coat if you have got one.

Aimon

DMcL1971 wrote: »

The highest I have seen called here so far is around 270.

Thanks for the reply.

Throwdown

DMcL1971 wrote: »

I have put on a lot of weight recently so I don't fit into my suit any more. I just wore neat dress. Slacks, shirt, tie and a sports coat if you have got one.

Cool, thanks for your reply! Will need to suss out daycent shoes,

Sharon2017

Throwdown wrote: »

Hi guys, thanks for all the info so far. Excited to get the interview done and dusted. I'm in the 600's and still haven't heard anything.

Just have one question for any lads that have done the interview so far, may be a silly question I know, but did you wear a suit for the interview or just dress smart? Only reason i ask is i dont own a suit so would need to get one if it's essential.

I'm not a lad but I did observe that all the men I saw were wearing suits except for one person who I had thought to myself looked a bit untidy. I'd say if you can pick up a cheapo suit in Penneys or somewhere it would be worth it in case they are watching for things like that!

rachaelworld

Sharon2017 wrote: »

I'm not a lad but I did observe that all the men I saw were wearing suits except for one person who I had thought to myself looked a bit untidy. I'd say if you can pick up a cheapo suit in Penneys or somewhere it would be worth it in case they are watching for things like that!

I think it's fairly safe to say that they are not going to mark you down for not wearing a suit seeing as the dress code in pretty much every department is smart casual and they specifically say to new people DON'T wear a suit on your first day. The most important thing is that you are wearing clean clothes and shoes that are presentable for a work environment and that you are comfortable in. I would imagine if you bought an ill fitting and cheap suit and felt uncomfortable, it would work against you more as you need to be relaxed. I don't think you'd even need to wear a tie.

Sharon2017

rachaelworld wrote: »

I think it's fairly safe to say that they are not going to mark you down for not wearing a suit seeing as the dress code in pretty much every department is smart casual and they specifically say to new people DON'T wear a suit on your first day. The most important thing is that you are wearing clean clothes and shoes that are presentable for a work environment and that you are comfortable in. I would imagine if you bought an ill fitting and cheap suit and felt uncomfortable, it would work against you more as you need to be relaxed. I don't think you'd even need to wear a tie.

Yeah I didn't really mean full on suit or waistcoat or anything! But trousers and shoes and a shirt type of thing should do.

Blondie 18

plibige wrote: »

Any idea what number has been called for interview at this stage? I'm oom 682 and am wondering when I could roughly expect to be called for interview

I'm a bit worried, I've the exact same oom as you, how did that happen?

Kamu

Blondie 18 wrote: »

I'm a bit worried, I've the exact same oom as you, how did that happen?

You two got the same marks on the tests that they held, very common occurrence.

peatsee

Hi, does anybody else think it's a bit odd that they can contact your current employer. What if they ring your current employer and then they don't give you a job, how awkward would that conversation be. What if your current employer doesn't want to lose you and gives you a bad reference, would pas tell you this. It just seems a little unconstructive. I was just wondering if anybody has any thoughts or even first hand experience of this issue. Thanks

Sight808

peatsee wrote: »

Hi, does anybody else think it's a bit odd that they can contact your current employer. What if they ring your current employer and then they don't give you a job, how awkward would that conversation be. What if your current employer doesn't want to lose you and gives you a bad reference, would pas tell you this. It just seems a little unconstructive. I was just wondering if anybody has any thoughts or even first hand experience of this issue. Thanks

They only contact your employer after offering you a position. You are informed beforehand that they will contact someone, they give you time to tell your employer before sending in the reference. The reference form is literally just about punctuality..sick days.. etc.

bookworm66

peatsee wrote: »

Hi, does anybody else think it's a bit odd that they can contact your current employer. What if they ring your current employer and then they don't give you a job, how awkward would that conversation be. What if your current employer doesn't want to lose you and gives you a bad reference, would pas tell you this. It just seems a little unconstructive. I was just wondering if anybody has any thoughts or even first hand experience of this issue. Thanks

Personally I wouldn’t mind because I’m on a rolling temp contract anyway.

I think it’s very bad professionalism on an employers part to give a bad reference out of spite though, and can’t imagine there are very many who do it!

Sharon2017

Has anyone who had an interview in the last 2 or 3 weeks heard an outcome yet?

Moving2017

Sharon2017 wrote: »

Has anyone who had an interview in the last 2 or 3 weeks heard an outcome yet?

Generally you won't hear until the current batch of interviewees have completed.

This is as the OOM will change depending on the interview outcome (eg. Some will not be successful, and successful people after them will move up)

Sharon2017

In the interview they advised me around 10 days and I also did some research by I taking a look back at what happened last year (by looking at old forum threads) and seemingly back then people were getting word less than a week after their interviews! So I figured it might be around time for people who had their interviews the week before last

Moving2017

Sharon2017 wrote: »

In the interview they advised me around 10 days and I also did some research by I taking a look back at what happened last year (by looking at old forum threads) and seemingly back then people were getting word less than a week after their interviews! So I figured it might be around time for people who had their interviews the week before last

That may have been down to a timing alignment, generally in these campaigns you hear about a week/fortnight after the last person who is being interviewed in that interviewing session has completed their interview. Its easier for the results to be sent in bulk than individually, as they use the PAS System to send out results.

Sharon2017

Moving2017 wrote: »

That may have been down to a timing alignment, generally in these campaigns you hear about a week/fortnight after the last person who is being interviewed in that interviewing session has completed their interview. Its easier for the results to be sent in bulk than individually, as they use the PAS System to send out results.

Makes sense! I was just being impatient :pac:

rachaelworld

So I just called and spoke to someone who explained that it works like Moving2017 said. This window of interviews was 2.5 weeks long, they are finishing up the last of the interviews today and tomorrow and so will start processing all of them this week and then contact everyone at the same time. She said it will be 3 to 4 weeks max (although thinking about it now I'm not sure if that refers to from now or from the beginning of the cycle, my hunch is that it is the latter) but we may hear sooner than that.

She said she cannot give me an idea of how long before one gets a placement after passing the interview but that there is a real need for people and that they are expediting this process. Once we get notice that we have passed the interview we should call PAS and ask for Clerical Officer Clearing and they can tell us how many people are ahead of us.