Garda Recruitment (Archived)

8bi1ctzegfouva

Just wondering if anyone else has applied for the Gardai? i have my aptitude test tomorrow morning nine in croke park and i'm ****ting it.

anyone doing it tomorrow, or are there any gards on here who did it recently?

just thought i'd check.

RicardoSmith

No but best of luck with it!

Our man in Havana

Read the book they sent you. Its the very same as it.

8bi1ctzegfouva

did it, cheers ricardo for the good luck. went like a dream it was piss easy.
bond have u done it before? if so did you get called to an interview? and if you did what was it like?

mmm12

hey,i got the course from Kilroys college ,its very helpful,i passed the interview etc with it
bit pricey though,check it out...http://www.kilroyscollege.ie/course.php?courseid=31&source=kc0075&ac=59

i might still have the course i got back in 2003 if u are interested.

FGR

I'm also after sitting the Aptitude test (Feb 4th Neptune Stadium, Cork) and thought it to be 'alright'.

Be warey when you think it was "Piss Easy". Sometimes the Job Simulation catches you out..And the negative marking in the first section can really put you astray.

From what I've heard there's a minimum pass mark and all those who exceed it will be put into the recruitment pool whilst the top 500 or so will be brought forward for immediate interview.

Any idea what this minimum pass mark is?

Gah @ waiting a whole month for results.

This is my second time applying, and I'm sceptical as I didn't have enough time to answer four questions on section two.

EDIT: I also ordered Kilroy's package. It's very useful!

Our man in Havana

I dont think you are meant to answer all the questions in section 2 I don't know of anyone that has managed to do it. They are psyhcometric tests and they show how you little mind works. I am convinced there are no right answers to some of them.

Triangle means one thing, Square means another etc.

FGR

If that's the case I may have a chance of getting in. Hopefully. If not however..I suppose third time might be lucky.

cheekycheeks

just to say there that i did the test as well on sat and i thought it was very difficult. i know you never really know with an appitude test but coming out of it i said for sure i had failed it. never give up hope though. my best friend went for it as well and he seemed to think it was very hard too! just to let ye know how i got on anyway!

8bi1ctzegfouva

was speaking to an inspector who i know, and he is one of the ones who interviews you, he told me the other day that they are setting up interview boards for early march, so you will have a very short space of time to prepare for interview after you get your results. that is if they only arrive at the end of feb, i am hoping they will arrive before that. i applied for the PSNI last year, and after the aptitude test we were told it would be 3 to 4 weeks, i got the letter 4 days later saying i had passed, and it was the same with the interview. they said it would be a couple of weeks, and 3 days later i got the letter saying i had passed. decided to turn the job down though, it would be **** living up there, getting grief all the time.

what did people say for the one in the job simulation about you having a student garda with you, and the gang about to damage the car?

FGR

That was a torrid question - It's really a matter of opinion and the capabilities of the Student Garda.

I chose the option to advise my colleagues about the trainee and to call for immediate backup.

How about you?

Another question I disliked was the one in regards to your supervisor spewing out overexagerrated statistics to a very-aware community who isn't happy with the Gardai in general. Whether you should correct him or not.

I opted to interrupt the meeting and give the correct details. The way I see it is that the Gardai is a service to the community; and they come first. Besides, they could have done their research into the stats and if they knew the Supervisor was making them up as s/he went along then there would have been hell to pay.

Maybe I'm wrong, who knows.

Did you decide to call around to the old lady and inform the neighbours to keep an eye on her home after she was broken into?

That's what I did.

Our man in Havana

They are still using the same old tests they used when I applied about 7 years ago! Don't they get with the times?

8bi1ctzegfouva

i said the same thing about the student garda. can't remember about the old woman though, what was her story?

and as for the superior talking ****e, i think i opted to interupt too.

what did you put for the riot at the stadium? i said give him medical attention and radio the discription.

also, the one about the young guy in the cell and the drunken father and friend turning up?

i put down the one about telling them to get out or else you'd call for the car to come back, not sure if it was a good one though, 'cuz you are telling them that you are alone. but i didnt like the look of the other ones.

bond, are you a garda now? if so, any chance you get tell me what the rights a garda says to you when you are arrested are? as i only know the ones they use in the Met.

cheers

Our man in Havana

"You are not obliged to say or do anything but what ever you say or do will be put into writing and may be used as evidence.

8bi1ctzegfouva

nice one cheers. its pretty similar to england then.
any news on if and when the new uniform will be being issued? it was on trial there ages ago, but have heard nothing since.

8bi1ctzegfouva

also. to anyone who is in the gards now. were you on any sports teams when you applied? and did you have any community involvement ie charity work etc? just wondering if it would help for the interviews.

FGR

New Uniform was tendered to a Northern Irish company for €5 Million (Or so I believe) so any prospective Gardai right now could end up wearing it by the time they pass out.

Retractable Baton and the chance of Mace being issued. Not bad. The baton in particular is pretty lethal judging by it's weight and portability.

In regards to the Stadium I tended to the photographer, nothing else. The way I saw it was that he was the priority while you hope for the best that CCTV could catch the guy running out of the stadium. Most of the other Guards would have been too busy trying to sort out the bigger disturbance anyway.

I can't remember that particular question about a drunken father..Could you tell me about that one?

The one about the old lady went along the lines of her home being broken into one night but nothing was taken..Yet she was severely traumatised. What do you do?

Inform local Garda to keep an eye on the house.

Arrange with the neighbours to call into the house while you pop in from time to time to see how she's doing.

Inform the Community Watch about the break in and ask them to keep aware of the situation.

And the final option...You just tell her to be more careful when locking up her home in the evening and inform her of the proper security measures which should be taken.

8bi1ctzegfouva

well unless i blacked out i don't think i saw the old lady one. maybe i did, and just can't remember.

the one about the youth in cell was something along the lines of you are in a rural station on your own one night, and you have some young gouger in the cells for criminal damage, i think it was. and at some time during the night, the youth's father and a friend of the father arrive in the station and are very drunk and agressive.they demand to see the youth,

the options were

tell them to get out or you will arrest them

allow the man to have a supervised visit if he calms down

tell them to get out or you will ask the car to return to the station.

and i can't remember the last one.

about the uniform etc. i assume you are mates with lads who were trying it out are you?

with regards to the mace and asp batons, they are all good ideas, but i think the first thing that should be dealt with is getting stab vests. its a joke how in this day we have unarmed guards with no stab vests.

i heard from a few people that the batons the guards were trying out, weren't the good ASP ones, but ****ty cheap ones which supposedly broke very easily.

mace would be a good idea though, but you can tell if and when it is used the guards who do use it will get fierce grief about it from the public.

FGR

Remember that quite biased anti-Garda edition of Prime Time last year? That's what the Gardai have to put up with..So imagine the uproar if the Mace is used on someone who took a dive at you with a knife? They'd probably demand your resignation from the force just because you didn't use it after being stabbed!

You're right about stab vests. In essence the UK model should be taken into account seeing as the difficulties over there are so reminiscent of our own (Public Order in particular). Uncle's a Garda in Cork, so he's gotten a look at the trials taking place up north in the country. The baton was ...acquired... through other means. The one I held was quite sturdy.

I can't believe I don't remember the question you outlined to me there..Unless I chose the answer you can't remember.

I could vaguely remember something about calling back a car..Now I'm dreading that I missed that question altogether.

EDIT: Now that I think of it..I told the man he could speak with the person through supervision. I'm not sure however. It's interesting how they play at your discretion; just to see whether you'll be smart with what you do.

What did you answer to the question about the man caught speeding with 'connections' to the force?

Our man in Havana

Proceed as normal, prosecute the speeder.

FGR

Damn Right. I sent him to court!

8bi1ctzegfouva

yeah i said prosecute him

madmorphy

was speaking to an inspector who i know, and he is one of the ones who interviews you, he told me the other day that they are setting up interview boards for early march, so you will have a very short space of time to prepare for interview after you get your results.

Depending where you get ranked on the aptitude test you could be waiting a long time for interview,there was around 13,000 applications i think.

Our man in Havana

6 months to a year is the typical waiting time.

8bi1ctzegfouva

yeah but hopefully it will be quicker than that, was talking to somone else last night, they told me the first 500, will be starting interviews march 1st.

madmorphy

I'm not trying to burst your bubble,but the first 500 ranked in the aptitude test is the top 4%.do u reckon you where in that group ?

I'm only goin on what i can remember but i'd say 2 interview boards x 6 people per day x 5 days a week,that's 60 people a week.

So we'll say people ranked up to 500 is 2 months
1000 is 4 months
1500 is 6 months etc.

Now i think i read that there was 13,000 applications,they won't all pass the aptitude test but of those that do most people will sit the interview even if they don't want the job just for the experience.

edmund_f

Garda ... aptitude?...

you not talking about the Irish police force are you?

that would imply the Garda already in the force have passed a test?. Really?

8bi1ctzegfouva

well i never said i was in the top 4%. but that is out of the total applicants.

i think the number was something like 10 and half thousand applied. supposedly 3 out of every 10 that apply don't turn up, due to other obligations, changing their mind etc.
but lets be generous, and say only 2 out of every 10 didnt turn up.
so about 8,750 people turned up.
out of them i say about 1,000 are complete idiots, who can't spell their own name.

so we have about 7,750 people who could possibly pass the aptitude test.

these figures are all just guestimates, but id like to think i'd be in the top 1000.

8bi1ctzegfouva

mmm12 wrote:

hey,i got the course from Kilroys college ,its very helpful,i passed the interview etc with it
bit pricey though,check it out...http://www.kilroyscollege.ie/course.php?courseid=31&source=kc0075&ac=59

i might still have the course i got back in 2003 if u are interested.

if you can find it i'll buyt it off you, just pm me with how much you want for it.

FGR

They're taking in 1,000 Gardai so chances are they'll have 3,000 brilliant performers to choose from. That is, the 3,000 most successful candidates in the aptitude tests.

Civil Service was onto me. Told me there's a minimum mark but it doesn't mean anything; just to filter out those who aren't suitable to be a Garda. Those who do exceed the minimum are put into a pool, but even then that doesn't guarantee an interview.

8bi1ctzegfouva

ForegoneReality wrote:

They're taking in 1,000 Gardai so chances are they'll have 3,000 brilliant performers to choose from. That is, the 3,000 most successful candidates in the aptitude tests.

Civil Service was onto me. Told me there's a minimum mark but it doesn't mean anything; just to filter out those who aren't suitable to be a Garda. Those who do exceed the minimum are put into a pool, but even then that doesn't guarantee an interview.

were they saying you had passed or something?

also, are they not taking the 3,000 gardai from this recruitment?
i have been told so many things by different people, some saying they are only taking 1000, while others say they are taking all 3,000 in one go.
either way has its benefits, but i think a load of people just talk ****e, and don't really know what is happening.

FGR

It was a reply to an e-mail early this week - I wish they were telling me how I did as it's better than waiting an entire month for it.

There's a lot of speculation about the numbers too. Officially it's "1,000 per year over the next three years" yet that could mean either 3,000 are accepted now and taken in over the next three years..or three individual campaigns will be held between now and 2007.

It's hard to tell, really. Financially it would make more sense to select your 3,000 in the one go as opposed to holding 3 seperate campaigns.

It's only a matter of time.

FGR

E-mail's sent. I'm not sure if they'd be willing to disclose that kind of information but it's worth a try.

8bi1ctzegfouva

let me know what they say.
they are never really too eager too give out information. like when i asked how much was taken away for the negative marking, the woman said there was none, then when i informed her there was, as it said so in the booklet, i got her to ask somone else, and they made up some **** about it being different for each question,
not sure if they didn't want to answer, or couldn't, but they are not forthcoming with info.

does anyone actually know how much was taken away in the verbal reasoning part?

FGR

In regards to the marking.

If you get one right, you gain a mark.

If you get one wrong, you lose a mark.

So. Say you answer all of the questions in the Verbal Reasoning section (Say, 50) - yet get ten wrong. That means you got 40 right; though you'll only get 30 marks.

Yay?

8bi1ctzegfouva

yeah i knew about the way it work, its just i had heard different things from different people, i was told it was either 1/3, 1/2 or 1 mark, and then i was told by the civil service people it was different for each question.
they are clearly all idiots.

FGR

Either way..I'm looking forward to seeing how I did. I don't think my current job would be too impressed with my going for interviews halfway down the country after only been with them a few weeks .

Our man in Havana

ForegoneReality wrote:

Either way..I'm looking forward to seeing how I did. I don't think my current job would be too impressed with my going for interviews halfway down the country after only been with them a few weeks .

Develop a mystery illness my good man! Always works for me:D

FGR

Mystery illness sounds good.

I just got quoted for car insurance. 2,600. Lol. Looks like it's the bus for me.

Hopefully (if I succeed) the interviews will be held in Dublin, as I'm currently working in Wicklow; whereas at the time of application I sat my aptitude test in Cork.

FGR

Any updates Detective?

8bi1ctzegfouva

none so far, was talking to a local garda today, turned out he is the community garda for the area, so i am going to the station tomorrow to have a chat with him, will let you know anything important.
also, not sure if you already are, but i reckon its a good idea to join a local gaa club. the gards love gaa - community involvement and all that, i joined the local hurling team today, havent played in years, and am probably ****e, but it will be good for the fitness too.

talking about fitness, was looking up the nypd website today, they have to do a mile and a half in 15.30 secs, while we have to do it in 11.45. talk about lazy fat americans.

FGR

Woo. Army Standards.

The physical competency test is the only thing I'm concerned about at the moment..

The running isn't until our time in Templemore..where we'd be two attempts at passing it. Fortunately I'm at a pretty decent fitness level..Though I probably deserve a kick in the backside for all of the steaks I've been eating lately.

8bi1ctzegfouva

yeah i have done the new physical competency thing. they were trying it out when i was down in templemore a few years ago doing work experience. i passed it then, and i am much fitter now than i was then, so hopefully it'll be no problem,
as for the mile and a half, i am comfortably doing it in 10.30ish at the moment, so unless anything drastic happens, like my leg falling off or something of that nature i shouldn't have a problem with it.

is your bmi(body mass index) under 25? i.e are you not overweight? i hear they are real strict about it nowadays. i am just under 25 so i should pass, but im gonna lose a bit more before i do the medical.
its a bit odd, for the psni you had to have a bmi of under 30 (above 30 you are obese) but for the gards you have to be under 25, also, there is no physical competency test for the psni.

seems like the gards have quite a strict fitness level, but you wouldnt be able to tell by some of the fat ****ers you see out there.

WhiteWashMan

lol.

indeed. its obvious the standards are applied only to new recruits

but i think the time limit onthe mile and half is good. i know nothing about the gardai or law enforcement to be honest, but it seems like a good idea to have a half way decent physical target, and even at nearly 12 minutes, you should be able to walk a mile and half in that, let alone run it!

but good luck to all those interested in going for it.

8bi1ctzegfouva

yeah if you jog at a decent pace you can do it easily.

FGR

8mph isn't a decent pace for most people.

8bi1ctzegfouva

you mean its slow or fast?

FGR

Fast.

A lot of people are sweating after they walk a half mile at 2mph.

8bi1ctzegfouva

ah yeah, but a lot of people are fat and/or very unfit. i used to be really unfit. but in the last few months have improved my fitness hugely. just healthy eating and going to the gym a ****-load.

FGR

Two weeks left until the results arrive. Somehow..I'm sceptical about that. Two weeks? Civil Service? Naa.

8bi1ctzegfouva

two weeks?
where did you hear that?
we were told we'd know before the end of feb, also, interviews are supposedly starting on the 1st of march, so if they were, people would be being interviewed before others had their results.

also, did anyone see that mcdowell has claimed that the first 300 from this recruitment drive have just started training? i saw it on the eircom website some day last week. what a crock of ****! either he has is facts mixed up, or he is just plain lying.