2020 Executive Officer Civil Service

Furious-Red

Dublintigger wrote: »

It also looks like there are different questions for each participant.
I'm not looking forward to doing my assessment either but I'm just going to give it my best shot. I think that's all we can do.

Yea for me at this stage im not gonna think about it till im logged in, by the sounds of its seems universally they are tough. Tbh this kinda tests are never my strongest points but just gonna give it my best and try not to rush it just because of the time but at the same time if keep looking at a question and im going blank ill just pick a random one.

Dalio

jaffa20 wrote: »

Well that went terrible. I forgot to scan the room and desk before starting the verbal but did do it before the numerical. I guess i will fail on that alone

I hated the graphs with colour in the numerical because i'm colour blind so it took me extra time to figure those out. I don't even think i did that well in the verbal. Sometimes it's difficult to choose between "cannot say" and "false".

Sorry to here it didn't go well, do you have to scan the room twice I didn't get that from the booklet.

newbraces

It went terrible for me too and I did really well in numerical for the revenue EO competition (got 5 for my city, didn’t get an offer tho). It was awful and I was asked to verify twice during the test. So before the verbal I scanned the room and held up passport beside my face then during verbal was asked once to verify and held camera to my face with passport. Then during the numerical they asked me to verify so again I held camera to my face with passport and thought they might mean the room too so I scanned the room but in doing so I turned the phone around and back to me so I guess I’m technically disqualified now coz I took the camera off myself to scan the room? Anyways if it helps anyone the numerical was a nightmare even the ones I should have got right I was sure were correct (%’s) were wrong. As in the ans I had wasn’t one of the choices so I ended up guessing so coz redoing the sum gave the same ans and was taking too much time. Did verbal in 10mins numerical tool 30mins and ended up guessing 2 Or 3 of em???? Disaster!

jaffa20

Dalio wrote: »

Sorry to here it didn't go well, do you have to scan the room twice I didn't get that from the booklet.

I was never asked to scan the room but i did show my ID at the beginning. Then before the numerical, i scanned the room because i thought maybe it was required at the beginning.

newbraces

acbar wrote: »

Has anyone completed this on their iPhone?

I did on an old SE and it was fine questions appeared better than on the practice questions I used safari

newbraces

briancummins79 wrote: »

From the sound of everyone's experiences of the test , they were more difficult than usual. Does anyone know if the supervised tests will be going ahead? Or will they be called off because of covid, and thats why the aptitude was so difficult ?

I assumed this was the supervised test hence the verification and scanning the room etc.

Dalio

newbraces wrote: »

Ir

assumed this was the supervised test hence the verification and scanning the room etc.

Yes thats what the booklet says I think your correct

farmer2018

How do you scan the room or do the record part? I can see the little circle for the camera on my laptop but that's about all I know about it.

newbraces

farmer2018 wrote: »

How do you scan the room or do the record part? I can see the little circle for the camera on my laptop but that's about all I know about it.

Click on the circle and click when finished I’d say. I just touched the circle on my iPhone and recorded like any video. It didn’t start / stop automatically and the first recording went over by a second so I kept the rest at about 15-18 sec. dunno if it’s correct or not tho. I also turned the phone around 360 and back to my face (to scan room) taking me out of view for a couple of seconds so I might be disqualified? I’ve no idea but that what I did... I think a lot of ppl did the same but that doesn’t make it correct either? It seems like this may be the first time they’ve tried it this way - Using recordings instead of someone at the other end observing in real time - so who knows, but I won’t be surprised if I’m disqualified for turning the phone around when asked to verify and not just keeping it on my face alongside my id

DarkKnight

jaffa20 wrote: »

Well that went terrible. I forgot to scan the room and desk before starting the verbal but did do it before the numerical. I guess i will fail on that alone

I hated the graphs with colour in the numerical because i'm colour blind so it took me extra time to figure those out. I don't even think i did that well in the verbal. Sometimes it's difficult to choose between "cannot say" and "false".

Same with me. I emailed both the support team and Large Volume Recruitment about it and if it can be rectified somehow. It says that once you finished your recording to click anywhere on the screen but the recording just finished automatically

Dublintigger

Furious-Red wrote: »

Yea for me at this stage im not gonna think about it till im logged in, by the sounds of its seems universally they are tough. Tbh this kinda tests are never my strongest points but just gonna give it my best and try not to rush it just because of the time but at the same time if keep looking at a question and im going blank ill just pick a random one.

I think you have the right attitude - taking our time and doing our best.

Dublintigger

Can I ask - is it verbal first and then numerical?
Do you get prompted to scan the room at the beginning with ID and once again during the 1st/2nd assessment?
Just prepping my mind.
Thanks

Aceandstuff

I was planning to do the assessments Friday morning, but the laptop crashed a few times in the early hours and I decided it wasn't worth the risk of that happening again in the middle of a test. Anyway, I'm going to try it on Monday morning if I can get some time alone, and this time I'll have a desk with WHEELS! I can just turn the desk instead of carrying the computer around!

Madelyn

Well done to everyone who has complete it. Im doing mine tomorrow. Is the numerical anything like the practice ones we got from public jobs? Is it still eight needed to pass or has this changed now ?

Blarney_man

Madelyn wrote: »

Well done to everyone who has complete it. Im doing mine tomorrow. Is the numerical anything like the practice ones we got from public jobs? Is it still eight needed to pass or has this changed now ?

I found numerical way harder than the test ones... But these things are personal view, don't get terrified just because someone found it very hard, I'm sure there is someone here who found them OK

StevenToast

Blarney_man wrote: »

I found numerical way harder than the test ones... But these things are personal view, don't get terrified just because someone found it very hard, I'm sure there is someone here who found them OK

Well, I wasnt one of them that found them ok!!!

Madelyn

Blarney_man wrote: »

I found numerical way harder than the test ones... But these things are personal view, don't get terrified just because someone found it very hard, I'm sure there is someone here who found them OK

Numerical is not my strong point. I got all the practice ones correct .. I know how to do them.. Majority are saying they are difficult. We still don't know if it's 8 correct to pass or if this has changed.

Blarney_man

Madelyn wrote: »

Numerical is not my strong point. I got all the practice ones correct .. I know how to do them.. Majority are saying they are difficult. We still don't know if it's 8 correct to pass or if this has changed.

Probably changed, everything seems to be changed, there was no mention of any pass point, only that accuracy and speed is taken into account to get average result, something like that. I did the ones for Revenue EO campaign last year, these were way harder than the Revenue ones

MagaBot

When we have to show ID and show around the room, is it a bot that is reviewing this or a human? I'm somewhat nervous of having someone looking at my when doing the questions too.

Nekarsulm

MagaBot wrote: »

When we have to show ID and show around the room, is it a bot that is reviewing this or a human? I'm somewhat nervous of having someone looking at my when doing the questions too.

Don't worry about that, if you are successful and get a job there'll be lots of people looking at you as you work!
Both below and above you!

Connected99

Dublintigger wrote: »

Can I ask - is it verbal first and then numerical?
Do you get prompted to scan the room at the beginning with ID and once again during the 1st/2nd assessment?
Just prepping my mind.
Thanks

Yes verbal 1st and then numerical
Once you click on the link you received on your message board from PAS
Just follow the instructions
It is pretty straight forward IMO/in my experience

MagaBot

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Don't worry about that, if you are successful and get a job there'll be lots of people looking at you as you work!
Both below and above you!

So does this mean it is human-monitored and not automated? And I don't mind people watching me per se in that sense, it's just the fact that I mightn't be able to see them and especially when required to think in an exam-like situation.

newbie18892

MagaBot wrote: »

So does this mean it is human-monitored and not automated? And I don't mind people watching me per se in that sense, it's just the fact that I mightn't be able to see them and especially when required to think in an exam-like situation.

You won't be able to see them. From my understanding the prompts are automatic but the video is human monitored either at the time or after to verify you didn't cheat.

MagaBot

Hmm alright, thank you for the info.
In other news, I was testing rotating my webcam, it's a physical one mounted on top of a monitor, and I can't rotate it 360°. Guess I'll have to use a different device now.

TommyGun2017

Apologies if I'm covering old ground but can the assessment be done after normal working hours? I was thinking of doing it tomorrow evening/night when the house is relatively quiet. Thanks in advance!

Blarney_man

TommyGun2017 wrote: »

Apologies if I'm covering old ground but can the assessment be done after normal working hours? I was thinking of doing it tomorrow evening/night when the house is relatively quiet. Thanks in advance!

Whenever you want

EB_2013

I hope I did mine correct. I showed my id on the first one and then scanned the room while holding the laptop directed at my face. And then had to do this again between the verbal and numerical and then at the end.

Got a error message trying to connect the webcam through Firefox so switched to Explorer and it worked okay. Just in case this happens to anyone else.

Bobby2004

Cirrus Incus wrote: »

What exactly does the job of executive civil service entail? Is it just office work? Why is there so much competition for it? Is it job security that attracts people?

Wel I think when u get to the top of the scale your on over 50k a year. Flexi time, office hours, more hols den alot of companies give and the chance to upskill by doing courses that the service pays for. I come from a retail background. The assistant manager above me pulls 50k a year for doing 45 to 50 hrs a week. People don't realise how lucky they are when they get a gov job.

blondeonblonde

Just finished the test there. Numerical test was tricky! Did anyone else have trouble with the room scan? I kept my I'd showing for too long & expected a prompt to scan the room. Only ended up getting 3 quarters of the way around... Hopefully won't be a disqualification...

Green farmer

For showing I.d, would something like your driving licence do ? Being a small card does the system accept it ?