Garda Recruitment - Stage 2 - The Interview

Shield

Post all Interview related material here such as Report Writing, Verbal Reasoning and the Fact to Face interview. Keep in mind that you may not post any details of the video that you see for the report writing exercise.

LeSurfer

:cool:

first one to put up a post here!

onthebeat

Guys the new minister for justice is Dermot Aherne for anybody that is doing an interview and didnt hear.:cool:

LeSurfer

onthebeat wrote: »

Guys the new minister for justice is Dermot Aherne for anybody that is doing an interview and didnt hear.:cool:

thanks for that,when is your interview?

onthebeat

i am waiting to reapply, i failed the interview in february,unfortunately!!:o

soundlad

onthebeat wrote: »

i am waiting to reapply, i failed the interview in february,unfortunately!!:o

well lads. this thread been put into sections is much handier. just wondering does anyone know how long it takes to get feed back from public jobs if u request feedback from ur interview. i passed it and all but failed the medical so im back to the very beginning just waiting for them to call now

ojewriej

Here you will find some usefull info about the interview, written by people who went throught it over the last two years. Hope it will help you.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055257415

quirkek2

Hi all, just a quick post to let ye know that I just got a letter this morning to say that I passed the interview so delighted about that! Only did it a week ago so that was pretty fast. I got asked about a recruitment freeze during the interview..not sure why but i just said that if they wern't hiring that I would just get another job and wait till they were hiring again provided i passed all the various stages.

If I can help anyone out wiht any questions etc on the interview just let me know.

ojewriej

quirkek2 wrote: »

I got asked about a recruitment freeze during the interview..not sure why but i just said that if they wern't hiring that I would just get another job and wait till they were hiring again provided i passed all the various stages.

They asked me about this during my interview as well, back in December.

I don't think this means that there is a freeze planned, they are just looking to see if you are considering all your options and have any Plan B prepared.
It's just a variation on "What will you do if you'll fail" question imo.

LeSurfer

ojewriej: being as helpeful as ever! are you still waiting for that call? do you know what's holding you back?

and quirkek congruats again! hopefull i'll be joining you in the waiting room soon.:cool:

LeSurfer

onthebeat wrote: »

i am waiting to reapply, i failed the interview in february,unfortunately!!:o

just keep on trying,one of lad from my local station applied 6 times!!!:eek: but im sure you'd pass it the next time

punchestown

If you fail at Stage 2 process, how do you go abouit receiving feedback?

Cheers

ojewriej

punchestown wrote: »

If you fail at Stage 2 process, how do you go abouit receiving feedback?

Cheers

The official version is that you have to write a letter to PAS, and request feedback. But I failed the report writing twice, and each time they sent me detailed feedback without me asking for it. I suppose it might be different with the interview part, but I don't really see why would it.

@ le surfer - I'm still waiting for my background check to clear, apparently it's just one agency left.

LeSurfer

punchestown wrote: »

If you fail at Stage 2 process, how do you go abouit receiving feedback?

Cheers

you can request a report from PAS in writing.

punchestown

Cheers for that.

Its not very clear in the letter whether failed the interview or the report writing/verbal.
Will send a letter off to PAS.

Thanks lads

onthebeat

soundlad wrote: »

well lads. this thread been put into sections is much handier. just wondering does anyone know how long it takes to get feed back from public jobs if u request feedback from ur interview. i passed it and all but failed the medical so im back to the very beginning just waiting for them to call now

Soundlad, write to mary keaveney and ask her for feedback, mine took 6 weeks to arrive so do it asap if you need it for the next drive:cool:

onthebeat

LeSurfer wrote: »

just keep on trying,one of lad from my local station
applied 6 times!!!:eek: but im sure you'd pass it the next time

Thanks le surfer, i intend to pass this time, i have a good bit of work to do, and i really have to change my scenarios fromt the last time.hope all goes okay for you:cool:

LeSurfer

soundlad wrote: »

well lads. this thread been put into sections is much handier. just wondering does anyone know how long it takes to get feed back from public jobs if u request feedback from ur interview. i passed it and all but failed the medical so im back to the very beginning just waiting for them to call now

which part of it did you fail if you don't mind me asking? i have a big scar on my left foot,i injured it 11 years ago and received 9 stiches.its my bigges worry for med:(

onthebeat:no bother at all,i'd recommend you to do a prep course,that would definitely help. best of luck.

soundlad

LeSurfer wrote: »

which part of it did you fail if you don't mind me asking? i have a big scar on my left foot,i injured it 11 years ago and received 9 stiches.its my bigges worry for med:(

onthebeat:no bother at all,i'd recommend you to do a prep course,that would definitely help. best of luck.

Failed on my weight. i wudnt worry about scars they asked wen did i have any scars which i did case i had operation on my foot 3 months be4 hand and the doctor didnt even look at it. each doc could be different thogh. they wil be calling very shortly its up on public jobs about it woo

Sunkissed12

Hi there everyone,

I have to say that all of you are mighty in the support and advice that you give to each other and to anyone that comes on boards.ie and asks for it. I've read some of the posts and it has helped me a lot. So thanks guys and galls for that

I have my interview on Monday (12th) and to be honest I'm really stressing about it but the really stresser I feel will be the Report Writing Exercise !! I'm not very confident about it at all Could someone please help me and pm me with some help on this.

Thanks a mill,

SK

kaizersoze1980

Sunkissed12 wrote: »

Hi there everyone,

I have to say that all of you are mighty in the support and advice that you give to each other and to anyone that comes on boards.ie and asks for it. I've read some of the posts and it has helped me a lot. So thanks guys and galls for that

I have my interview on Monday (12th) and to be honest I'm really stressing about it but the really stresser I feel will be the Report Writing Exercise !! I'm not very confident about it at all Could someone please help me and pm me with some help on this.

Thanks a mill,

SK

do you know the structure of the report that you should write?

One very good tip i can give you , is to ignore the telephone numbers the first time you hear them. concentrate on getting the address etc down fully cos they say the phone numbers twice, directly after the first time they say them.


there are example structures for report writing, including an example structure i posted in the big thread...have a read through the last 100 or so pages and you ll pick up some excellent advice

Sunkissed12

kaizersoze1980 wrote: »

do you know the structure of the report that you should write?

One very good tip i can give you , is to ignore the telephone numbers the first time you hear them. concentrate on getting the address etc down fully cos they say the phone numbers twice, directly after the first time they say them.


there are example structures for report writing, including an example structure i posted in the big thread...have a read through the last 100 or so pages and you ll pick up some excellent advice

Thanks for replying Kaizer, I'll remember your advice on Monday . I'll be honest I don't know much about the report writing as this is my first time.

kaizersoze1980

Sunkissed12 wrote: »

Thanks for replying Kaizer, I'll remember your advice on Monday . I'll be honest I don't know much about the report writing as this is my first time.

it was my first time too and i passed.
thats no excuse :pac:
read through the last 100 pages of the big thread and you ll pass the report writing no problem

ojewriej

Sunkissed12 wrote: »

Thanks for replying Kaizer, I'll remember your advice on Monday . I'll be honest I don't know much about the report writing as this is my first time.

My main advice for the report writing would be one I got on my preparation course: Focus on listening rather than watching, as all the important info will be told.

It's just an advice though, I know that some people here on boards don't agree with it.

Format should be something like that:

I arrived at the scene of an incident in Garda car No... with Garda .....

Describe the incident in one sentence. (or you can combine the last two)

Victim - Full name, address and number - his/her side of the story

Witness 1 - Full name, address and number - his/her side of the story

Witness 2 (if applicable) - Full name, address and number - his/her side of the story

Then any info supplied by the other guard.

Finish with "This concludes my report" and sign it.

Try to aim for 1 - 1.5 page.

This is what worked for me.

Sunkissed12

Ojewriej, fair play to ya & thanks for that. Its exactly what I needed to know Getting myself in a spin about Monday..but sure can only do my best ! Thanks again for your help.

Sunkissed12

kaizersoze1980 - Got your PM. Thanks for that and again all the best with whatever stage your at

quirkek2

ojewriej wrote: »

My main advice for the report writing would be one I got on my preparation course: Focus on listening rather than watching, as all the important info will be told.

It's just an advice though, I know that some people here on boards don't agree with it.

Format should be something like that:

I arrived at the scene of an incident in Garda car No... with Garda .....

Describe the incident in one sentence. (or you can combine the last two)

Victim - Full name, address and number - his/her side of the story

Witness 1 - Full name, address and number - his/her side of the story

Witness 2 (if applicable) - Full name, address and number - his/her side of the story

Then any info supplied by the other guard.

Finish with "This concludes my report" and sign it.

Try to aim for 1 - 1.5 page.

This is what worked for me.

Sunkissed dont stress about the report writing. Follow exactly what ojewriej says here....that's exactly what i did aswell and it worked for me too. its the structure they're looking for and the content aswell. I agree with the view that you should only look up at the screen from time to time ...you need to listen more than anything. I also did 1.5 pages. I didnt sign it but did structure it the way ojewriej says to.

Best of luck and make sure you know your stories and back up stories like the back of your hand for the verbal part of the interview! Very important!

Let us know how you do...

all the best

Sunkissed12

quirkek2 wrote: »

Sunkissed dont stress about the report writing. Follow exactly what ojewriej says here....that's exactly what i did aswell and it worked for me too. its the structure they're looking for and the content aswell. I agree with the view that you should only look up at the screen from time to time ...you need to listen more than anything. I also did 1.5 pages. I didnt sign it but did structure it the way ojewriej says to.

Best of luck and make sure you know your stories and back up stories like the back of your hand for the verbal part of the interview! Very important!

Let us know how you do...

all the best

Quirke2 - thanks to you too for the advice. Like I said in my original post - you guys & galls on this thread are so helpful and supportive. This girl really appreciate's the help. Keep me updated on your progress too and I'll let you now mine. Best of luck with it.

LeSurfer

lads doing my interview on wed the 14th,thinking of wearing something really comfortable for the writing excerise in the morning,like tracksuit and jersey,would that be too informal?i don't care what others might think but i fear i would get kicked out as the staff at the chapter house would see that very disrespectful. cheers

@sunkissed,i did 2 separate prep courses,both told me not to look at the screen,just write furiously. take all the names and addresses,descriptions etc. watch your spelling and grammar and you'll be grand,best of luck.

ojewriej

LeSurfer wrote: »

lads doing my interview on wed the 14th,thinking of wearing something really comfortable for the writing excerise in the morning,like tracksuit and jersey,would that be too informal?i don't care what others might think but i fear i would get kicked out as the staff at the chapter house would see that very disrespectful. cheers

You'll be grand. There was someone in tracksuit each time I did it. People working there are dressed pretty casual too.

punchestown

LeSurfer wrote: »

lads doing my interview on wed the 14th,thinking of wearing something really comfortable for the writing excerise in the morning,like tracksuit and jersey,would that be too informal?i don't care what others might think but i fear i would get kicked out as the staff at the chapter house would see that very disrespectful. cheers

@sunkissed,i did 2 separate prep courses,both told me not to look at the screen,just write furiously. take all the names and addresses,descriptions etc. watch your spelling and grammar and you'll be grand,best of luck.

I would stick with the suit regardless. Its your hand that takes the brunt of strain in the report writing exercise not your crotchal area from the trousers you are wearing. You are hoping to join an organisation where uniformity is key. Do you want to be the one who turns up on Parade on a Friday morning in t-shirt and shorts because you saw the sun shining in your window and thought it looked like too fine a day to be wearing uniform?? Wear the suit for the whole writing/interview part and forget about Batman style changes of clothing between parts.

manaka

i'd go for the suit too. You don't have that long to wait either between your written test and your interview. Presentation is everything. Id my written test and interview on wed past there and the sun was scorching! Inside it was confortable enough as they had the air con set correct.
Make sure you know your examples and a couple more and how you can apply these to the guards. Best of luck to you

Sunkissed12

LeSurfer wrote: »

@sunkissed,i did 2 separate prep courses,both told me not to look at the screen,just write furiously. take all the names and addresses,descriptions etc. watch your spelling and grammar and you'll be grand,best of luck.

LeSurfer, thanks for that. I'm up tomorrow morning for my interview ! Getting nervous now. Good luck on Wednesday

quirkek2

Sunkissed12 wrote: »

LeSurfer, thanks for that. I'm up tomorrow morning for my interview ! Getting nervous now. Good luck on Wednesday

Best of luck Sunkissed, hope it all goes well today!

LeSurfer

i'll let ye know how i get on when im back from Dublin.

quirkek2

LeSurfer wrote: »

i'll let ye know how i get on when im back from Dublin.

Best of luck LeSurfer, hope all goes well tomorrow.

Sunkissed12

quirkek2 wrote: »

Best of luck Sunkissed, hope it all goes well today!

Thanks for the well wishes The interview went ok I think..but then again ya never know. The report writing...well what can i say its fast !!

Glad it's all over but they told me the results wouldn't be out for 4 weeks ! I think thats a very long time as other people were getting there's within 7-10 days so maybe there just covering themselves so that people won't be ringing up after a week saying where's my results ya said they'd be out in a week !?

ojewriej

Sunkissed12 wrote: »

Glad it's all over but they told me the results wouldn't be out for 4 weeks ! I think thats a very long time as other people were getting there's within 7-10 days so maybe there just covering themselves so that people won't be ringing up after a week saying where's my results ya said they'd be out in a week !?

I'm glad to hear it went well for you.

As for results - you are right, that's their standard answer, you should get them quicker.

Sunkissed12

ojewriej wrote: »

I'm glad to hear it went well for you.

As for results - you are right, that's their standard answer, you should get them quicker.

I'll have no nails left by next week !! I don't know if I did enough to pass especially in the report writing - you know yourself what it's like ! Got one part of address wrong - placed road instead of drive in address. Just felt I could have done better but I'm a bit of a pessimist anyway - expect the worst, then if it happens your not too disappointed !!

ojewriej

Sunkissed12 wrote: »

I'll have no nails left by next week !! I don't know if I did enough to pass especially in the report writing - you know yourself what it's like !

I know how it is al right. And I know that there is nothing I can say to make you feel better. But i know from my experience that venting here, and especially seeing many people going through the same stuff really helps.

Sunkissed12 wrote: »

Got one part of address wrong - placed road instead of drive in address.

I wouldn't worry about that too much. Remember, you only need 2 points ou of 5 for accuracy of content, so it's only 40%.

quirkek2

Sunkissed12 wrote: »

Thanks for the well wishes The interview went ok I think..but then again ya never know. The report writing...well what can i say its fast !!

Glad it's all over but they told me the results wouldn't be out for 4 weeks ! I think thats a very long time as other people were getting there's within 7-10 days so maybe there just covering themselves so that people won't be ringing up after a week saying where's my results ya said they'd be out in a week !?

You're welcome mate, glad it went well for you. I know how nerve wracking it is and how nervous you must have been. It's good to have more people in the same boat now....waiting for the medical. I only found out i passed last week so probably a bit early to be ringing them but i hate the waiting game. Then again there's people waiting a lot longer than me and august is only around the corner so it has to happen soon.

They told me I'd get my results in 8-10 working days....it only took 5 working days.

As ojewriej said its only 2 out of 5 for accuracy so i think you'll be grand.

Sunkissed12

quirkek2 wrote: »

You're welcome mate, glad it went well for you. I know how nerve wracking it is and how nervous you must have been. It's good to have more people in the same boat now....waiting for the medical. I only found out i passed last week so probably a bit early to be ringing them but i hate the waiting game. Then again there's people waiting a lot longer than me and august is only around the corner so it has to happen soon.

They told me I'd get my results in 8-10 working days....it only took 5 working days.

As ojewriej said its only 2 out of 5 for accuracy so i think you'll be grand.

Thanks boys I hope your right Congrats on passing Quirke I can imagine how happy you are. Now its the waiting game !!
I tell ya I was shaking when I came out of the room - shaking !! Gave up the smokes over a year ago but I felt like smoking about 10 after that interview.

Sunkissed12

LeSurfer wrote: »

i'll let ye know how i get on when im back from Dublin.

LeSurfer; Best of luck tomorrow Let us know how ya get on and I know its hard but remember to relax !!

Ward21

Hey people. I did my Interview on 6th of May still waiting on the results. I rang up public Jobs and they said that i should have my results today or tomorrow. Friday by latest i guess.

Finger crossed!!

quirkek2

Ward21 wrote: »

Hey people. I did my Interview on 6th of May still waiting on the results. I rang up public Jobs and they said that i should have my results today or tomorrow. Friday by latest i guess.

Finger crossed!!

Best of luck mate, hope it goes well for you.

Sunkissed12

Ward21 wrote: »

Hey people. I did my Interview on 6th of May still waiting on the results. I rang up public Jobs and they said that i should have my results today or tomorrow. Friday by latest i guess.

Finger crossed!!

Best of luck keep us posted !

LeSurfer

alrite lads!

just in the door from dublin,glad its all over,how i did? i really don't know!theres nothing more i can do now but hoping for the best.

i did report writing first in the morning,it was a go from the start,think i got one phone number wrong.i tried to keep it simple,so its just over one page.

verbal seasoning,made a big mistake by choosing the chinese version! i've done a lot of practice in english which i was fairly comfortable with,but i don't think they translated into chinese accurately,some answers might be true in english but it could mean fault or can not say if you translated it into chinese if you know what i mean.

the interview was very stright forward.it lasted 40-45 mins.the lady from PAS was very nice,but the super was a bit cold.he never looked at me once,just kept on writing.he went through sample 1 and 2 with me.in the 2ed sample,decision making,he never touched the one i put on the form but asked me why did i come to ireland,what did i have to weight up when i made that decision.the rest of the interview went ok,i've done an unbeliveable amount of study so i was able to anwser all of their questions.over all i think i did ok.

some of the questions i was asked,hope they can be of help:

what are the phases in templemore
what is my favourite subject to study and what's most challenging
how do i motivate myself if i was to guard the dail at night
what quality do i have to be a member of the AG
why do i want to be a garda
do i want to join any of the special units
how would i get to know people if i was to stationed at a new location.


that's all i can think of now,any other questions just ask me.

oh,and at the end of the interview,when i asked how long would i have to wait for the result to come out,the lady from PAS said few weeks,and the super corrected her stright away and said "10 days...":eek:

Dr_MaSoN

sounds like you did fine m8, grtz.


*SAME* :P

LeSurfer

edited.

quirkek2

LeSurfer wrote: »

edited.cheers

Hows it going? The questions are ok to post...i posted mine up after asking psni if it was ok and i was told that the questions change for everyone...they're as individual as the person themselves. So its grand..wouldn't worry about that. It's just the video stuff that's we cant mention as far as i understand it anyway you didn't do lesurfer so i think you're grand mate.

Fair play on getting it out of the way anyway...its a great feeling to get out of that room! An even better feeling when you pass so i hope it all goes well for you. Best of luck

LeSurfer

quirkek2 wrote: »

Hows it going? The questions are ok to post...i posted mine up after asking psni if it was ok and i was told that the questions change for everyone...they're as individual as the person themselves. So its grand..wouldn't worry about that. It's just the video stuff that's we cant mention as far as i understand it anyway you didn't do lesurfer so i think you're grand mate.

Fair play on getting it out of the way anyway...its a great feeling to get out of that room! An even better feeling when you pass so i hope it all goes well for you. Best of luck

cheers lad! gingers crossed!:)