Civil Service Clerical Officer Campaign 2017 (Dublin)

Claireyy

RachelDDD wrote: »

Congrats to everyone. This was such a tough call and I really wouldn't have bet any money on getting through - huge relief today. OOM of 600 in Batch 1 - maybe there are a 1,000 in each batch? I spoke to a lady on the day of the assessments test and she told me that she has just finished up a temporary contract and was applying for these permanent ones. She said if you get to interview stage, you are basically home and dry. It was the easiest interview ever and it seemed as if they just wanted to see she could hold a conversation and had a personality. I hope she's right!

There’s different numbers in each batch. If you contact PAS directly, they usually tell you were they are with the panel etc.

It really is. To anybody worrying about having to do the interview, DONT. It’s extremely straight forward, not at all scary and the people were lovely.

isabella5

Just seen my results oom 308. Does anyone think they will reach my number

Coddlemonster

I'm right behind you at 314 and I'm pretty sure I'll get called for interview:D

cornel08biz

Does anybody know what happened last year ? Did they call the whole batch 1?

fin12

Omg, delighted I passed. Was really worried about the maths.

fin12

Claireyy wrote: »

There’s different numbers in each batch. If you contact PAS directly, they usually tell you were they are with the panel etc.

It really is. To anybody worrying about having to do the interview, DONT. It’s extremely straight forward, not at all scary and the people were lovely.

I’m really worried about interview, as I’ve always struggled with them, I had an interview in October for the HSE permanent Clerical officer and I failed so I’m still upset over it cause I’m worried about future interviews.

fin12

rachaelworld wrote: »

Congratulations! Yes, that maths was a total nightmare, significantly harder than the practise tests and the wording of that one question on lunches really tripped a lot of people up including myself, I didn't have enough time to do the last 2 or 3 sections so I was quite worried that I wouldn't have passed as well.

Omg Il never forget that Aldi lunch question, I spent ages on that one.

Claireyy

fin12 wrote: »

I’m really worried about interview, as I’ve always struggled with them, I had an interview in October for the HSE permanent Clerical officer and I failed so I’m still upset over it cause I’m worried about future interviews.

PM me closer to the time if you need help.

fin12

Claireyy wrote: »

PM me closer to the time if you need help.

Aww thanks. Will need all the help I can get.

Claireyy

cornel08biz wrote: »

Does anybody know what happened last year ? Did they call the whole batch 1?

It’s bit by bit, maybe 40 or 50 at a time. They usually give you 2-3 weeks notice. So if you’re Batch 1 top 50, you’ll be interviewed first and then a few weeks later, they’ll interview the next load and so on.

rachaelworld

RachelDDD wrote: »

Congrats to everyone. This was such a tough call and I really wouldn't have bet any money on getting through - huge relief today. OOM of 600 in Batch 1 - maybe there are a 1,000 in each batch? I spoke to a lady on the day of the assessments test and she told me that she has just finished up a temporary contract and was applying for these permanent ones. She said if you get to interview stage, you are basically home and dry. It was the easiest interview ever and it seemed as if they just wanted to see she could hold a conversation and had a personality. I hope she's right!

I wouldn't be too relaxed about the interview, everyone said the same to me for the TCO campaign interview and I was only a few days out from having a surgical procedure and up to my eyes on pain killers so I was considering postponing it. But everyone said what you said above and so I was like OK grand, the next thing he was asking me about the competencies and for examples from my previous jobs and I really had to take a few deep breaths to try not to burst into tears

They more than likely will ask us questions on the competencies as outlined in the familiarisation materials. The good news is that this means we can be very prepared and know what we are going to say inside out. They will expect us to use the S.T.A.R. technique when answering and there are a load of different articles out there on how to do this, here is one

Also, good to prepare for some of other possible questions like what's your greatest weakness and do you have any questions for me/us. Being prepared is the best way to combat nerves and get a better outcome, it is highly unlikely that we will not pass the interview but it more than likely will make a difference in the kind of role we are given and in what department so prepare prepare prepare, and I'm going to work on the basis that I could be called on the 1st of February for interview so I'll aim to be ready by then.

Anyway, I really should go and do something productive I've been on here far too much this morning Congrats again everyone

How Should I Answer: What Is Your Greatest Weakness?' There's Really Only 1 Way

rachaelworld

fin12 wrote: »

I’m really worried about interview, as I’ve always struggled with them, I had an interview in October for the HSE permanent Clerical officer and I failed so I’m still upset over it cause I’m worried about future interviews.

See my other post above about preparation techniques. Also I had an interview in October for the PIAB and completely flunked it as I hadn't prepared enough when they were asking me questions about the organisation and completely blanked, but I know I didn't prepare enough and it was my first competency based interview so I choose to view it as great experience so next time I won't be as daunted as I know what to expect.
However, it was also good to know that it's not necessarily that I wasn't good enough to do the job just that there were others better qualified than I was. You should also have been given feedback on what areas you didn't do so well in and if you haven't gotten feedback from them you could still ask I would think. That would help you to see what areas you need to work on.

Anoushka

It took me three weeks to read this thread and from what I gathered they call about 20 - 30 people a week for interviews last couple of months (CO2016). I would like to think it will go with same pace with CO 2017.

Anoushka

fin12 wrote:

Omg, delighted I passed. Was really worried about the maths.

Same here. I did not think I made it through but I did. Delighted!

Crunchymomma

Anoushka wrote: »

It took me three weeks to read this thread and from what I gathered they call about 20 - 30 people a week for interviews last couple of months (CO2016). I would like to think it will go with same pace with CO 2017.

When I did the CO interview there was like 8 or 10 different boards running each day with each interview lasting 30-45 minutes. I think they called something like 300-400 for the week I was on. There was definitely at least 25 waiting in the waiting room at the same time as me.

Crunchymomma

Sharon2017 wrote: »

If it works how I think I understand it to now, I'd presume they go through batch 1 before moving on. Does anyone know how many they tend to call at a time ie could it be 20 people or if my OOM is 187 should I expect to be called in the first few weeks of interview?

Also if anyone knows if I accept a job on this campaign does that mean I can't proceed with other PAS campaigns I'm being considered for?

You can continue with all PAS competitions. They are all independent so one has no bearing on the other. I was doing CO and EO at the same time earlier this year.

KtodaT

I got oom 973 and am still batch 1.

I feel like I got in by the skin of my teeth!

I was also nervous about the maths, but I suppose guessing paid off

Sharon2017

Crunchymomma wrote: »

You can continue with all PAS competitions. They are all independent so one has no bearing on the other. I was doing CO and EO at the same time earlier this year.

Oh great so even if I accept an offer on the CO campaign I can continue with the AO grade / local government campaign without having to pull out. Really wish I had my name in for EO grade too!

Crunchymomma

Sharon2017 wrote: »

Crunchymomma wrote: »

You can continue with all PAS competitions. They are all independent so one has no bearing on the other. I was doing CO and EO at the same time earlier this year.

Oh great so even if I accept an offer on the CO campaign I can continue with the AO grade / local government campaign without having to pull out. Really wish I had my name in for EO grade too!

Absolutely! Good luck with both! If SO doesn't work out, EO will be open again in nov/Dec 2018

Crunchymomma

Crunchymomma wrote: »

Sharon2017 wrote: »

Crunchymomma wrote: »

You can continue with all PAS competitions. They are all independent so one has no bearing on the other. I was doing CO and EO at the same time earlier this year.

Oh great so even if I accept an offer on the CO campaign I can continue with the AO grade / local government campaign without having to pull out. Really wish I had my name in for EO grade too!

Absolutely! Good luck with both! If SO doesn't work out, EO will be open again in nov/Dec 2018

That should have said AO!

vinegarhill98

Glad i passed too, was unsure bout the maths section but got through and dropped a bit in OOM but still in 400s batch 1 so ill take it!!

Conqueror

cornel08biz wrote: »

If you qualify for the inerview , does it mean that you actually get the job ?

No. You have to pass the interview, which then puts you on a panel. The Clearance team go through the list, starting with number 1, but there's no guarantee that passing the interview means a job before the lifetime of the panel ends.

The number of jobs to be filled depends on demand from departments. At the moment, PAS have no way to know how many posts need to be filled come, say, April/May, so they call large numbers forward. It is entirely possible that, as an example, 2,000 people pass interview stage but, by the end, only 1,900 posts open up. The other 100 have passed, but there's no job to give them.

Anoushka

KtodaT wrote: »

I got oom 973 and am still batch 1.

I feel like I got in by the skin of my teeth!

I was also nervous about the maths, but I suppose guessing paid off

Congrats!

Colli_Flower86

Does anyone know how much notice they give you of the exact date before the interview?

cornel08biz

I would be very curious to know how many people they hired last year . Is the interview pass/ fail ? Or it will affect the oom?

Crunchymomma

cornel08biz wrote: »

I would be very curious to know how many people they hired last year . Is the interview pass/ fail ? Or it will affect the oom?

For 2016 interview was just pass/fail and oom from stage 2 carried

babyboom

Well I got OOM of 672, am completely shocked because I thought I would have failed on the maths. I'm not good at interviews. I get so nervous that I go completely blank so if I do get called I'm not expecting to get any further. Glad I got through all the same. Good luck to everyone and congratulations on getting through to the next stage.

tigerwoods

Passed and still in shock as well,OOM after stage 1 was 1417 and now 969.Horrible feeling after walking out of Stage 2 assessment especially as I did alot of prep and felt I really messed up.I worked as a TCO last yr in Foreign affairs and out of a team of 6,3 of the team got permanent positions and speaking to all of them recently and they said there are loads of positions to be filled so fingers crossed.Recently reapplied for TCO position for next year and speaking to some people in the know and they were surprised with the lack of people applying and numbers are well down on previous yrs suppose with the economy on the up people are leaving the public sector and returning to the private sector.Congrats to everyone who passed and to those who did not I would encourage you to keep plugging away as you will be a stronger person for going through the process.Happy Xmas to one and all and to everyone who has contributed to this thread please keep sharing your expriences especially once the interviews start.

P6h1i04l

Got rank 1 oom in the 70's probably safe to say il be one of the first called for interview?

Claireyy

tigerwoods wrote: »

Passed and still in shock as well,OOM after stage 1 was 1417 and now 969.Horrible feeling after walking out of Stage 2 assessment especially as I did alot of prep and felt I really messed up.I worked as a TCO last yr in Foreign affairs and out of a team of 6,3 of the team got permanent positions and speaking to all of them recently and they said there are loads of positions to be filled so fingers crossed.Recently reapplied for TCO position for next year and speaking to some people in the know and they were surprised with the lack of people applying and numbers are well down on previous yrs suppose with the economy on the up people are leaving the public sector and returning to the private sector.Congrats to everyone who passed and to those who did not I would encourage you to keep plugging away as you will be a stronger person for going through the process.Happy Xmas to one and all and to everyone who has contributed to this thread please keep sharing your expriences especially once the interviews start.

That is the Dept I would LOVE to work in if I had the choice.