Administrative Officer - Revenue Commissioners

pabo

Well done and best of luck to you. Thanks for letting us know.

Sinar

Josey Wales wrote: »

pabo wrote: »

hi, congrats to you. How were you informed?

An email to my Gmail account.

Congrats

Was this for I.T or Audit ?

Josey Wales

Sinar wrote: »

Congrats

Was this for I.T or Audit ?

AO in ICT.

tayhen

When I rang this morning, I specifically asked about the AP results, maybe there is a longer wait for them...

sunshine.99

well done Josey Wales! Thats great news, did they tell you were you were listed on the panel or a start date?

Josey Wales

sunshine.99 wrote: »

well done Josey Wales! Thats great news, did they tell you were you were listed on the panel or a start date?

Yes, I got a placing on a panel. It is a little confusing because it was my understanding that there was no panel. You either passed the interview and got the job or you didn't. That is the way it worked back in the December 2011 competition. There was a letter with the email though that said a job offer will issue shortly pending a Garda check and verification of college results.

barneystinson

tayhen wrote: »

When I rang this morning, I specifically asked about the AP results, maybe there is a longer wait for them...

I spoke to HR as well and got the same timeframe for the AP results. I'd expect the AO (Audit) might take the same amount of time, as those interviews were the last ones to finish. I think the AO (ICT) interviews were run earlier.

pabo

Results are out for AP Audit compliance. I did not get there. Pity!!! Best of luck to you other guys and girls.

CorkBoy!

pabo wrote: »

Results are out for AP Audit compliance. I did not get there. Pity!!! Best of luck to you other guys and girls.

AO out aswel - any one know how many are being hired

Spookswho

no luck either i'm afraid...:(:(

Slydice

Any break down of what type of candidate made the panel? Male/Female, civil servant/outsider etc?

barneystinson

Slydice wrote: »

Any break down of what type of candidate made the panel? Male/Female, civil servant/outsider etc?

The panels aren't made public AFAIK, but the appointments are circulated internally in Revenue every 3 - 6 months (i.e. "Recent Appointments / Promotions as follows: ..."), and from that the gender breakdown of the panels can be gleaned.

If you look at the table in this link you can clearly see the trend in recent years towards "positive discrimination"; as of the end of 2011 there were 184 APs/AOs/HEOs under the age of 40 - 123 female and 61 male. http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/2012/01/31/00092.asp

litup

barneystinson wrote: »

The panels aren't made public AFAIK, but the appointments are circulated internally in Revenue every 3 - 6 months (i.e. "Recent Appointments / Promotions as follows: ..."), and from that the gender breakdown of the panels can be gleaned.

If you look at the table in this link you can clearly see the trend in recent years towards "positive discrimination"; as of the end of 2011 there were 184 APs/AOs/HEOs under the age of 40 - 123 female and 61 male. http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/2012/01/31/00092.asp

While I completely reject the suggestion earlier in the thread by other people that there is any discrimination against women in public sector recruitment, I also don't think it is fair to say there is "positive discrimination" either.

Very simply, more women apply for public sector jobs, and so more women are hired. Women are generally more willing to accept the lower wages (at this level) in exchange for working conditions that are more flexible and suitable for family life.

mydiscworld

I got a high placing for AO Audit. Email just said they'd be in touch shortly.

I then received another email shortly after from the same girl, saying she'll be out til next Tuesday, so I can't ring for more information til then.

Does anyone know if those who passed the standard and were place on the panel, will then be divided into smaller panels based on preferred office location?

Or is it a case of say Dublin needs then next 10 on the panel. You get an offer. Take it or leave it. If you don't accept, you won't be kept on the panel?

barneystinson

litup wrote: »

While I completely reject the suggestion earlier in the thread by other people that there is any discrimination against women in public sector recruitment, I also don't think it is fair to say there is "positive discrimination" either.

Very simply, more women apply for public sector jobs, and so more women are hired. Women are generally more willing to accept the lower wages (at this level) in exchange for working conditions that are more flexible and suitable for family life.

Can you explain the gender distribution by age then - your argument may be valid at the CO / EO grades, and history would bear it out - but look at the gender distribution above age 40 in the management grades HEO/AP/PO and you'll see an inverse relationship to that below age 40, of way more men than women, and it's been rebalanced.

Anecdotally, I sat an aptitude test for my AO competition, and there was no noticeable female majority of the type that would be required to justify such a heavy skew in the final panels / postings.

I'm pretty sure I linked earlier on this thread to a report Josephine Feehily was involved in about 10-12 years ago, talking about how to ensure adequate numbers of women in AP and above in the CS, and this was the quickest and easiest way. I'd say they've probably finished the adjustment in Revenue now though, and future recruitment will be discrimination free, hopefully!

Oh and I'm not saying this because I'm disgruntled, I still made the panel!

barneystinson

mydiscworld wrote: »

I got a high placing for AO Audit. Email just said they'd be in touch shortly.

I then received another email shortly after from the same girl, saying she'll be out til next Tuesday, so I can't ring for more information til then.

Does anyone know if those who passed the standard and were place on the panel, will then be divided into smaller panels based on preferred office location?

Or is it a case of say Dublin needs then next 10 on the panel. You get an offer. Take it or leave it. If you don't accept, you won't be kept on the panel?

No, the panel is the panel.

So lets say the first job being filled is in Donegal.
The first 5 on the panel all want Dublin.
They all say no thanks to Donegal safe in the knowledge that they'll get offered Dublin (or somewhere closer than Donegal!) if they sit tight.
Number 6 on the panel is in Mayo, and says yeah I'll take Donegal.

The next vacancy being filled gets offered to number 1 first, and if it's Dublin then number 1 will take it, so 2-5 will never even hear about it.

So, if you're high on the panel and can be confident there's a decent few roles going, it basically gives you freedom to be picky.

sunshine.99

mydiscworld wrote: »

I got a high placing for AO Audit. Email just said they'd be in touch shortly.

I then received another email shortly after from the same girl, saying she'll be out til next Tuesday, so I can't ring for more information til then.

Does anyone know if those who passed the standard and were place on the panel, will then be divided into smaller panels based on preferred office location?

Or is it a case of say Dublin needs then next 10 on the panel. You get an offer. Take it or leave it. If you don't accept, you won't be kept on the panel?

Mydiscworld, I also got placed quite high for AO panel, I called this morning and they dont know much in manpower either. Do you know how many made a panel?

sunshine.99

barneystinson wrote: »

No, the panel is the panel.

So lets say the first job being filled is in Donegal.
The first 5 on the panel all want Dublin.
They all say no thanks to Donegal safe in the knowledge that they'll get offered Dublin (or somewhere closer than Donegal!) if they sit tight.
Number 6 on the panel is in Mayo, and says yeah I'll take Donegal.

The next vacancy being filled gets offered to number 1 first, and if it's Dublin then number 1 will take it, so 2-5 will never even hear about it.

So, if you're high on the panel and can be confident there's a decent few roles going, it basically gives you freedom to be picky.

Barney, do you know can you defer your place for a period of time say 3-6 months for a valid reason? ( considering the place on the panel is quite high)

mydiscworld

sunshine.99 wrote: »

Mydiscworld, I also got placed quite high for AO panel, I called this morning and they dont know much in manpower either. Do you know how many made a panel?

Don't know how many made the panel. They interviewed 100 people.

(heard this second hand off someone who didn't get an interview and asked for feedback)

I'm very interested to know how many jobs are looking to be filled in the first round of offers (in the next few weeks or so)

Their HR (Manpower) section may not be aware of exactly how many, but should have an estimate. After all, they interviewed 100 people so surely they expect at least 20 jobs to be filled nationally.

Zipppy

Didnt make the AO (ICT) panel...currently working in wider public sector..lots of experience that Revenue are seeking..interview /presentation went really well... so not happy at all:(

I wonder were they seeking recent graduate in the main?

Congrats to all those who made their panels...

jets

Also made the panel, would be very interested to see how many they are looking to fill

barneystinson

sunshine.99 wrote: »

barneystinson wrote: »

No, the panel is the panel.

So lets say the first job being filled is in Donegal.
The first 5 on the panel all want Dublin.
They all say no thanks to Donegal safe in the knowledge that they'll get offered Dublin (or somewhere closer than Donegal!) if they sit tight.
Number 6 on the panel is in Mayo, and says yeah I'll take Donegal.

The next vacancy being filled gets offered to number 1 first, and if it's Dublin then number 1 will take it, so 2-5 will never even hear about it.

So, if you're high on the panel and can be confident there's a decent few roles going, it basically gives you freedom to be picky.

Barney, do you know can you defer your place for a period of time say 3-6 months for a valid reason? ( considering the place on the panel is quite high)

I actually need to roll back slightly on what I said above, as I'm not sure that I'm correct, after talking to a few veterans of such panels. If they ask you to identify the geographic area(s)you're willing to work in, if they offer you one of those and you decline that could be it and you're off the panel.

Or even if they don't ask people for geography preferences, apparently you might be put to the bottom of the panel if you turn down a role... I'm hearing a different story from everyone I talk to so I don't know what's the actual position anymore!

All i know for certain is when I did the AO, the guy ahead of me got a choice of 3 locations, then I got a choice of the remaining 2, and the girl behind me got no choice, just take it or leave it. But we would've all ticked the same areas for our geographic preferences, so I'm not sure how it might work this time.

mydiscworld

Any updates on this?

mydiscworld

A colleague just got feedback on the AO Audit competition.

650 applications. 108 interviewed. 40 placed on panel.

Anyone heard yet how many jobs going and where?

Itchianus

mydiscworld wrote: »

A colleague just got feedback on the AO Audit competition.

650 applications. 108 interviewed. 40 placed on panel.

Anyone heard yet how many jobs going and where?

No-one knows yet. Revenue are busy fighting their case with Brendan Howlin's DPER for the go ahead to start hiring from the panels. It could be days or it could be months...

I'd be amazed if they don't hire all 40 AOs over the life of the panel, and a good few (nearly half I'd say) of those will be in Dublin but there'll be positions around the country as well given the number of retirements so far and into next year, and the holes left in Audit teams as a result.

For anyone who's interested for the AP I think the figures were something like 480 applications, 76 interviewed and 38/40 placed on panel.

mydiscworld

I know it was mentioned briefly earlier in this thread, but could someone who works in this role, or is familiar with it, comment on the job day to day?

Is it primarily desk based, admin and policy work? Or is there also regular travel involved to audit on site?

kingprawn

mydiscworld wrote: »

I know it was mentioned briefly earlier in this thread, but could someone who works in this role, or is familiar with it, comment on the job day to day?

Is it primarily desk based, admin and policy work? Or is there also regular travel involved to audit on site?

The only real answer is, it depends. (But if you're on an AO (Audit) panel it won't be policy work.)

It depends on what Region / District you're in, what team you're in, and what level of experience and ability you profess to have when you arrive at day 1, and what the business needs of the District you're assigned to are. But really it depends on what you're willing to make of it, and what kind of niche you carve out for yourself. AO is seen as a fast track to further progression; this is borne out by the results of AP competitions in the last 5/10 years.

I came in as a qualified accountant in a District "down the country" which has/had quite an old age profile, and at the time I was the only accountant in the district with "real world" practice experience, so people came to me for an opinion on their cases - and contrary to a previous poster's experience, I found colleagues to be grateful for my help and happy to acknowledge it, willing to reciprocate when I needed help navigating unfamiliar computer systems / internal processes etc.

Admittedly that sort of stuff isn't "captured" in the stats of audit outputs, but can be recognised at performance review time by your line manager, and if the district management team are any good they will acknowledge you and make good use of you, which means opportunities to build a reputation and get involved in projects / networks, all of which benefit you when it comes around to competing for promotion.

The job is entirely what you make of it - I am in regular contact with 4 other AOs who came in with me, and all of our jobs are different:

1 guy is in a shadow economy unit, so he is out knocking on doors a lot, organising cash calls, blitzes, all that sort of thing - and he has a background that lends itself to that area of work. I think he has 2/3 staff reporting to him.

Another guy is now in a customer service unit, managing a team of 20+ staff on the 1890 phones, and dealing with business taxes customer services. He had no accountancy/taxes experience so the business needs of his district predicated his being moved out of audit to customer service withing 9 months of arriving (it was a choice between him and an experienced HEO auditor).

Another works in the same team as me, albeit out of a different office, and mainly works on investigation cases (some of which have been open for several years, as is the nature of the beast with investigations), and a couple of sectoral projects. He has no staff reporting to him, as it's a small team.

Another girl works in a typical audit team in a district; she has no staff AFAIK, or maybe 1 or 2. She had a background in financial services rather than taxes so is busy training up on taxes, going out on calls with experienced HEO auditors to build up experience, and working her own relatively simple single taxhead audits and aspect queries, and running a couple of compliance projects in her district.

As for me, I spend a lot of my working day at my desk profiling or screening cases to determine the appropriate course of action; aspect query / profile interview / audit / investigation / no action. I have a bank of cases assigned to me by my AP to work through over the course of the year. I screen the cases and agree the course of action with my AP and initiate the appropriate type of intervention. Generally I'm only out of the office a couple of days a month - the process I've outlined is not a typical district audit unit - other AO auditors in normal audit units would probably be out on audit a bit more, but I tend to work more cases by way of aspect query.

I don't want to say a whole lot more in case I become easily identifiable! All in all I really enjoy the job; never the same day twice, dealing with different cases, different issues, different colleagues, different agents / taxpayers - obviously it can be tough dealing with people who now have no means to pay the tax they should have paid several years ago, but that's just part of the job.

mydiscworld

The Top 20 on the panel were canvassed yesterday by email seeking order of preference, if any, for 6 locations:

Athlone, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Letterkenny and Thurles.

No mention of how many jobs in each location

CaveatEmptor

mydiscworld wrote: »

The Top 20 on the panel were canvassed yesterday by email seeking order of preference, if any, for 6 locations:

Athlone, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Letterkenny and Thurles.

No mention of how many jobs in each location

Do you know if this was just for AO, or did they do a similar exercise for AP?

mydiscworld

CaveatEmptor wrote: »

Do you know if this was just for AO, or did they do a similar exercise for AP?

I do not know anyone on the AP panel so cannot say.