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Higher Executive Officer 2024

1679111226

Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 23 prin2023


    Found the Verbal okay I think? I feel like there was a lot of trick Qs in it though which resulted in a lot of cannot says as answers. I found the Numerical very difficult. Don't think i have a chance of passing based on the numerical. I think the sample sova assements were much easier



  • Registered Users Posts: 19 sambo_forever


    Spoke to a few people in my department applying for this and they found some of it quite difficult. Makes me feel better about my performance and it being possible that the curve might be quite low for progressing through the competition.



  • Registered Users Posts: 46 Aabbccdd


    At least we will have our results in the next two weeks!



  • Registered Users Posts: 511 ✭✭✭gestappo


    My laptop is now not working, I cannot figure out the issue, I’m guessing it’s water damage from my kids. I can use my sons’ PC with a webcam.

    I don’t have access to the familiarisation material here, but does anyone know if the webcam is sufficient for the assessment?



  • Registered Users Posts: 511 ✭✭✭gestappo




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 293 ✭✭JennyZ


    States built in or web camera both fine to use. You will know at the verification stage whether all ok.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 293 ✭✭JennyZ




  • Registered Users Posts: 511 ✭✭✭gestappo


    thanks a million! Of course leaving it until the last minute as usual is never a good idea!!



  • Registered Users Posts: 54 ✭✭Pickysue


    I hear ye - I found the numerical had far more “can’t say” responses. I found the numerical v unclear. Answer me this - how do they calculate the pass mark? I heard today if the overall is low they have to lower the pass mark - is that right?



  • Registered Users Posts: 16 Trips


    Just done mine.

    I went into it with the idea that I'd try focus on accuracy and let the speed just be whatever it is.

    I found the verbal straight forward and finished it in surprisingly reasonable time... as in, under 20 mins.

    I'd say I was a half hour on the numerical.

    The first block of 5 questions was straight forward enough.

    The second block of 5 questions was really tough. The numerical grid and the questions of it were doing my head in and I spent way too long at them.

    Third block went quicker.... I guess the adaptive questions got easier as I spent so long on the second block 😄

    Fug it, it's done now.

    Good luck everyone!



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  • Registered Users Posts: 82 ✭✭Totally Red




  • Registered Users Posts: 63 ✭✭coffeesiphon


    d

    I got 9/15 if I had to guess, the same for verbal, time wise I spent a horrible 35 minutes on numbers and 13 minutes on the verb, I think if points get taken off for time that'll give me the boot out of this one.



  • Registered Users Posts: 16 Trips


    Sounds like we're in the same boat! :)

    Good luck to u Coffeesiphon!



  • Registered Users Posts: 187 ✭✭CivilCybil


    Same here. Took well under 20 minutes for the verbal but definitely at least half an hour on the numerical. It wasn't intentional. I just sort of lost track of time trying to figure it out



  • Registered Users Posts: 212 ✭✭blondie007


    In the Stage 1 Familiarisation Booklet, in the Next Steps paragraph, before Data Protection -

    4. It is anticipated that results of Stage 1 will issue to your publicjobs messageboard by
    beginning of August 2024. In the event of any unexpected delays, you will be notified.



  • Registered Users Posts: 46 Aabbccdd


    I seen it in the familiarisation booklet😊 We will have results before the beginning of August. At least we won’t be waiting months like usual



  • Registered Users Posts: 16 Trips


    I also did the Interdepartmental 2022 comp.

    A wee rundown of how that went, with some info others may find useful, or may not....

    The Numerical/Verbal tests were Stage 1:
    These had a score of 20 to pass, with a max of 80.

    I got 36 and 44 in the two tests and got placed low 60s in OOM for my nominated county (not Dublin).

    The written application was Stage 2:
    The written application score was 21 to pass, with a max of 50.
    The scores were based on how you answered each competency.

    Those were:
    1.Team Leadership Experience.
    2.Managing Projects & Delivery of Results.
    3.Judgement, Analysis & Decision-Making.
    4.Interpersonal & Communications Skills.

    I just scraped by with a score of under 25 in each of those.

    Surprisingly this jumped me up to under 30th in OOM for my nominated county.

    I contacted PAS a few times over the 2 years to see if I had moved in OOM and the last check I did I was told that I was still on the same place in OOM.

    Then the announcement for this year's interdepartmental HEO came out, and I applied for that, this comp, and thought nothing more of the 2022 comp.

    Then, boom! I got a contact for interview for the HEO 2022 comp... Couldn't believe it.

    Anyway... I didn't get it.

    I came very, very close though, having passed 9 out of the 10 criteria.
    Those criteria split as follows:
    6 competencies for the interview part, and I passed all.
    And 4 criteria for the presentation q&a, but passed only 3.

    I know what I messed up in so I won't be making that mistake again.

    My point for this long post....

    Even if you don't do great (see my scores above for Numerical/Verbal above), you're still in with a chance of making it to interview :)

    That's that, hope someone gets something out my sharing this.

    Good luck again, everyone!

    Post edited by Trips on


  • Registered Users Posts: 59 ✭✭JacenSolo


    Ok I done the tests yesterday and here is my feedback…

    WHAT. THE. HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL. WAS. THAT!!!

    Unless I am going for a specialist maths or finance role, those question were COMPLETELY unsuitable for a general intake! If getting top marks in higher level Leaving Cert maths is a requirement say it. If you want an intake of HEO who a math wizz's fine, but say it! Don't expect people to try to remember formulas they haven't used in years. I don't know what PAS is expecting.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 67 ✭✭MaryKaye79


    is it jobs as rocket scientists we applied for or HEOs? 😫 and was it just me or was some information that you needed to get the answer missing from the table?


    one set of questions came up in a previous EO test so at least I got them right 😮‍💨


    best of luck everyone, we can relax now til results are out. anyone for a gin on a school night 🥂



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 683 ✭✭✭Get In There


    Just done both tests; to echo some of the sentiments on here - the numerical test; goodness me, I was feeling most deflated halfway through trying to come up with answers to them. Reading the replies here, I take solace in knowing I'm not alone :-)

    Did the verbal reasoning afterwards; not too sure how I felt I scored but one thing I know for sure was that it was nowhere as stressful!



  • Registered Users Posts: 2,234 ✭✭✭MOR316


    Same as you guys.

    Verbal was fine (Or least I thought and hope so)

    The numerical…That was ridiculous! Took me about 25 minutes to do it and majority of it was guess work. As someone said above, unless this is for a finance or accountant role, I did not get the point of that at all.

    Hope for the best for all of us



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 430 ✭✭lucat


    Info was missing from most tables and charts for me.



  • Registered Users Posts: 951 ✭✭✭furrybones


    I was away until tonight and will have to do the tests in the morning .. not ideal but this is the hand I've been dealt. Just a quick question please..

    Can we skip questions and go back to them at the end? Or is it a case of once you move on you're stuck with what you've selected?

    "Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts"



  • Registered Users Posts: 16 Christmaschris


    Pretty sure you can't. It either tells you in the familiarisation material or when you're reading through the test information before you take the test.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 430 ✭✭lucat


    Unfortunately you can't. You're stuck with your selection.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 123 ✭✭Mr lebowski


    You can't skip I remember reading in the information. I believe as it's adaptive assessment your answer to the question determines the next question you get.



  • Registered Users Posts: 58 ✭✭Inmate2020


    let’s just say I’ll be chalking this one down to experience 🙈



  • Registered Users Posts: 54 ✭✭Pickysue


    can’t go back - ye have to keep going once you’ve given your answer



  • Registered Users Posts: 511 ✭✭✭gestappo


    Well that was a 💩show.

    Numerical was a complete disaster. Very demoralising tbh.



  • Registered Users Posts: 97 ✭✭kittyc2018


    Found the numerical incredibly difficult….not holding out much hope for a pass.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 109 ✭✭EduKate


    Numerical was fine for me, just took longer than expected. They were definitely harder than the Aon/Cut-e tests used in the 2023 EO competition

    I found verbal more difficult. I probably answered 'can't say' too many times.

    Post edited by EduKate on


  • Registered Users Posts: 951 ✭✭✭furrybones


    Similar experience for me in regards to the numerical. They got progressively harder so I'm hoping that means I was answering them correctly. Then again, progressively harder for me might have been easy for someone else, it's hard to tell. I did throw a guess at 2 because they were taking me too long to try to decipher what exactly I was supposed to do.

    I would imagine we all got randomised verbal questions so it's hard to judge by someone else's comments on what they selected. For me, I had a mix of true, false and cannot say. Again, I might have gotten them all wrong 🤣

    "Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts"



  • Registered Users Posts: 6 PooAtPauls


    Did anyone else find the info wasn't very clear?



  • Registered Users Posts: 16 Christmaschris


    Yeah I found that on a couple, I was looking around the screen thinking I was missing some of the information. Overall I found the numerical really difficult and I normally do quite well on them.



  • Registered Users Posts: 6 PooAtPauls


    As a few have said, numerical is usually my strongest and I was stumped by a few. Felt like I was missing data



  • Registered Users Posts: 951 ✭✭✭furrybones


    Yes. Definitely. I gave feedback on it all, and I didn't mince words.

    "Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts"



  • Registered Users Posts: 951 ✭✭✭furrybones


    Now that that's all over, when do we expect to get results? 🤣

    "Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts"



  • Registered Users Posts: 23 prin2023


    As bad as I found the numerical, I dread the presentation 😂 If I get that far😂



  • Registered Users Posts: 23 prin2023




  • Registered Users Posts: 35 ShrimpTech39
    Nell


    Those tests were bleeding brutal.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 430 ✭✭lucat


    I don't know wtf they were thinking giving us (or anyone) numerical tests like those. The blurry images, the absence of data labelling, the nonsensical questions, the redundant information, the over reliance on estimation regardless of the type of answers available, the list goes on. Not to mention that fact that "estimating" data is a huge no-no in the real civil service! It's the public sector version of "creative" accounting.

    What farce, and I think it's a shocking disrespect to us as candidates.



  • Registered Users Posts: 44 Ahem123


    Well that was the square root of me granny's hole!! I didn't know I was applying to re-programme the James Webb telescope.

    It's done now, the universe will decide 😂



  • Registered Users Posts: 511 ✭✭✭gestappo




  • Registered Users Posts: 158 ✭✭2016claire


    Hello all,

    Well everyone, what's done is done. there's no point in thinking about it now. I wish everyone very good luck. when are the result expected to come out? Does anyone know? I never red the booklet before l applied.

    Thank you,



  • Registered Users Posts: 212 ✭✭blondie007




  • Registered Users Posts: 212 ✭✭blondie007


    Booklet says before the beginning of August !!!



  • Registered Users Posts: 951 ✭✭✭furrybones


    Best laugh I've had all day…. was badly needed. 🤣

    "Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts"



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 422 ✭✭skidmarkoner


    Well considering that used sova that allready know the results but it'll take 2-4 weeks for them to click the button that says publish



  • Registered Users Posts: 51 ✭✭Dubjane


    It's to allow for any complaints to be checked out



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  • Registered Users Posts: 51 ✭✭Dubjane


    They also issued an error message saying they changed the minimum score for the tests from 20 to 34



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