First Civil Service Interview - what to expect?

Glowing · 12-09-2008 11:56am #1

Hi,

I've got an interview lined up for next month. I'm in IT but will be moving into something completely different.

Since this is my first Civil Service interview, what should I expect? Are they quite structured? Is there normally an interview panel as such?

Thanks in advance! I REALLY want this job so any advice is much appreciated!

penexpers · 12-09-2008 12:54pm

What level is it for?

usually there's three people interviewing you (one of them takes notes). They generally tend to be very structured and they stick pretty rigidly to the format.

Glowing · 12-09-2008 1:16pm

Just 'officer' level?

jd83 · 12-09-2008 2:06pm

Hi Glowing,
Is this for the clerical officer comp that had an exam last month?

I had a co interview around 3 years ago and it wasnt too bad. A lot of give an example when you showed teamwork, or had to deal with a difficult client, those type of questions. I think its a panel of 2 or 3 people.

Glowing · 12-09-2008 6:48pm

Thanks but its not - more along the techincal side of things.

Don't have to sit an exam either .... i'm hoping against all hope that I won't have to do a presentation, that alone will flunk it for me!!

spinaltap · 12-09-2008 6:52pm

Hi and well done on getting the interview, I am working for the civil service and remember the interview well.
The way it usually works is that there will be 3 interviewing, 2 of them will be experts in there field and the other will be either a independent or someone from HR.
I always tried getting some info on the background on the job I was going for and some history on it.
Another tip is if they ask you a question about your present or past jobs, make sure you can talk about it for a few mins confidently.
If I can help you in any way please feel free to PM me, best of luck mate

the_syco · 12-09-2008 7:29pm

Have lots of examples for any samples they gave you. 10 examples per sample, all different, each sample 3 minutes long. Had a normal CO interview there a few weeks back. Man. So many questions. Didn't get it, though. Will find out why, in the next few weeks.

Glowing · 13-09-2008 10:22am

Thanks syco - though what do you mean by 'samples' in that context?

the_syco · 13-09-2008 8:51pm

Glowing wrote: »

Thanks syco - though what do you mean by 'samples' in that context?

When I applied, they gave me a "what to expect" thing. Well, it was called a "

[FONT=&quot]As a Clerical Officer in the Civil Service, you would be expected to deal in a friendly and helpful way with a variety of people. You would need to be able to manage your work in an organized way and, with all the change in the Civil Service today, it would be important to be open and flexible to new ways of doing things. There would be opportunities to your own initiative and work to a high standard in a modern Civil Service[/FONT]

In the box, you'd provide your answer. During the interview, I was asked about the answer I gave. And for other examples. And more examples. And.... well, you get the drift. Now, it could be that me answers weren't good enough, but man, they kept asking for example after example, after example.

frantic franny · 17-09-2008 9:45pm

hi guys did any of you do the co aptitude test for dublin or provincial in august last. got my result - didnt make it - was wondering what the level was.

First Civil Service Interview - what to expect?

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