Administrative Officer 2020 in the Civil Service

HolyRomanMemes

Hey guys a few quick questions i'm on the panel for General Stream OOM 1.3 and have passed my interview but my number isn't fantastic tbh i'm told by the clearance folks there are about 38 people ahead of me on the panel so i'm kinda wondering how good my chances realistically are, though i'm somewhat comforted by being told that the panel has a life of 18 months (which is a pretty long while even assuming its 18 months from September/October 2020) does anyone know if further interviews will be held (if there are still interviewing people there must be plenty of vacancies) and i have been anecdotally told there will be alot of vacancies but i have no idea how true that is. Does anyone know how quickly they are moving through the panel?

KD1934

Does anyone know what kind of details
they ask for in the reference from your previous/current employer?

Wonderstruck

HolyRomanMemes wrote: »

Hey guys a few quick questions i'm on the panel for General Stream OOM 1.3 and have passed my interview but my number isn't fantastic tbh i'm told by the clearance folks there are about 38 people ahead of me on the panel so i'm kinda wondering how good my chances realistically are, though i'm somewhat comforted by being told that the panel has a life of 18 months (which is a pretty long while even assuming its 18 months from September/October 2020) does anyone know if further interviews will be held (if there are still interviewing people there must be plenty of vacancies) and i have been anecdotally told there will be alot of vacancies but i have no idea how true that is. Does anyone know how quickly they are moving through the panel?

Presuming that's Dublin, I would be very very surprised if they don't each 48ish on the General Stream. Particularly with an AP panel which started quite recently AO's will be getting promoted off that (=more AO vacancies). They've called past 200 before (not for a few years as far as I know).


Not everyone ahead of you will even take the AO job. Just keep waiting basically. They're also running a HEO competition right now, there's only so many interviews PAS can organise at once. I can see it's moving kinda slow but I don't think 38 is a very high number.



I wouldn't be walking out of your present job right now, but I certainly wouldn't be assuming they won't reach 38! It's just a waiting game.

rostalof

Tech2188 wrote: »

Definitely yeah they have been great! Thanks and you

Were you placed from the DSP AO ICT competition?

Tech2188

Received an offer but not got team and section still in clearance process. You?

rostalof wrote: »

Were you placed from the DSP AO ICT competition?

rostalof

Tech2188 wrote: »

Received an offer but not got team and section still in clearance process. You?

Congratulations. I'd rather not go into my situation publicly. What I can say is that competition was run entirely by DSP themselves for DSP. The people who have been contacting you are from DSP HR. PAS played no part in that competition apart from advertising it. The MBX-Recruitment emails are all from welfare.ie

Tech2188

Interesting and thanks! Looking forward to starting anyway,

rostalof wrote: »

Congratulations. I'd rather not go into my situation publicly. What I can say is that competition was run entirely by DSP themselves for DSP. The people who have been contacting you are from DSP HR. PAS played no part in that competition apart from advertising it. The MBX-Recruitment emails are all from welfare.ie

HolyRomanMemes

i didn't get 38 i'm just 38 away from being called up :S i got like 53 that's why i'm nervous AF

Madra Maith

HolyRomanMemes wrote: »

i didn't get 38 i'm just 38 away from being called up :S i got like 53 that's why i'm nervous AF

I'm in the 50's too. I placed high on the latest EO batch too so I will be called for interview shortly but I dunno if I should go for it as wouldn't want to waste their time and mine if I'm called for clearance for AO.

HolyRomanMemes

go for it anyways it certainly can't hurt, do you know if there will be any more interviews for AO (if so that means there's plenty of vacancies so we shouldnt have to worry)

haleyoshea

Anyone know if there's been anymore movement on the general stream since last week?

Poipolo

I am in the early 20s OOM for batch 1.3 and was told at the end of last week that there were about 10 people in front of me so I'm assuming me that means there hasn't been any movement this week so far.

SeanOS92

I think we’ll know in two weeks how fast their going. If people in the 20s aren’t called by the end of next week, we can assume that their going slow.

Murpl

Would I be foolish to think that I have a chance of getting called over the next 4 months if there are approx. 20 people ahead of me on the panel? I’m currently on a one year work contract and don’t want to be looking for something else if I’m on the panel.

Conqueror

Murpl wrote: »

Would I be foolish to think that I have a chance of getting called over the next 4 months if there are approx. 20 people ahead of me on the panel? I’m currently one a one year work contract and don’t want to be looking for something else if I’m on the panel.

I'm an AO of a few years standing, but I like to keep an eye on newer threads. In my Department alone, six AOs started in February and nine AOs started in March (of which two were existing civil servants who were promoted). It needs to be emphasised that there are no guarantees and that July and, especially, August traditionally see a slowdown in recruitment. However, the numbers are certainly in your favour.

That said, I recommend you do look for something else as well, just in case. You might get an AO role and find you don't like the job or the culture!

Murpl

Conqueror wrote: »

I'm an AO of a few years standing, but I like to keep an eye on newer threads. In my Department alone, six AOs started in February and nine AOs started in March (of which two were existing civil servants who were promoted). It needs to be emphasised that there are no guarantees and that July and, especially, August traditionally see a slowdown in recruitment. However, the numbers are certainly in your favour.

That said, I recommend you do look for something else as well, just in case. You might get an AO role and find you don't like the job or the culture!

Thanks! Hopefully there’s another updated from PAS over the next few weeks. I’ve previous experience in a government department at EO level so have a good understanding of the AO role. If I get in then I’m staying because job stability in the NGO sector is almost nonexistent!

steven8719

Hi All,


Does anyone know if AOs are generally required to travel (abroad or domestically) vs. other Civil Service grades or is it mostly office based work? (I'm in the General Stream of this competition). I've no particular interest in touring the world for work so eager to know if this is a big requirement of the role generally.

Poipolo

PAS has moved on to clearance for people in the 20s OOM general stream.

The_Conductor

steven8719 wrote: »

Hi All,


Does anyone know if AOs are generally required to travel (abroad or domestically) vs. other Civil Service grades or is it mostly office based work? (I'm in the General Stream of this competition). I've no particular interest in touring the world for work so eager to know if this is a big requirement of the role generally.

Depends entirely on the Division/Section you find yourself in.
As an EO- I regularly attended MCMs (Management Committee Meetings) in Brussels, I attended the FAO once and I all over Ireland doing audit work. In my current Division/Section- there is no travel whatsoever.

Its really hard to say- it depends on where you end up.

SeanOS92

Do you how far into the 20s they have gone? Has your number been called?

Poipolo wrote: »

PAS has moved on to clearance for people in the 20s OOM general stream.

Poipolo

I'm in the early 20s and yes, I was called for clearance yesterday.

SeanOS92

Congrats

Poipolo wrote: »

I'm in the early 20s and yes, I was called for clearance yesterday.

Marathon Man

Does anyone know what number PAS have called to interview in relation to the Original Order of Merit? i.e after the initial tests.

Poipolo

Thank you They seem to be going quite quickly through the OOM so I hope everyone on this thread gets contacted rapidly!

steven8719

The_Conductor wrote: »

Depends entirely on the Division/Section you find yourself in.
As an EO- I regularly attended MCMs (Management Committee Meetings) in Brussels, I attended the FAO once and I all over Ireland doing audit work. In my current Division/Section- there is no travel whatsoever.

Its really hard to say- it depends on where you end up.

Many thanks - in your experience are regular trips monthly/every couple of weeks, have you seen many AOs travel similarly? No problems if I needed to make an annual trip somewhere for a conference, but not really in a position to be going on overnight stays abroad multiple times a year.

The lack of certainty makes it very hard to make an intelligent, responsible decision on a career move when no real info is available on items which impact your work or work/life responsibilities.

The_Conductor

steven8719 wrote: »

Many thanks - in your experience are regular trips monthly/every couple of weeks, have you seen many AOs travel similarly? No problems if I needed to make an annual trip somewhere for a conference, but not really in a position to be going on overnight stays abroad multiple times a year.

The lack of certainty makes it very hard to make an intelligent, responsible decision on a career move when no real info is available on items which impact your work or work/life responsibilities.

Its not possible to tell- it really depends on where you end up.
Travel was constricted significantly from around 2009 onwards in most government departments (with the exception of audit work etc- which really took off).

It would be a bad idea to look at any particular post and imagine it bears any semblence to any other post- its just not possible to tell.

PhoenixParker

If no travel is important to you, contact pas and tell them. It's not a guarantee but they will sometimes tweak things if they can at all.

Inability to travel can be a discrimination issue so there's a good chance they will do what they can. The earlier you ask them the better. Once your name is against a job it's very tough to make a change.

delricyo

steven8719 wrote: »

Many thanks - in your experience are regular trips monthly/every couple of weeks, have you seen many AOs travel similarly? No problems if I needed to make an annual trip somewhere for a conference, but not really in a position to be going on overnight stays abroad multiple times a year.

The lack of certainty makes it very hard to make an intelligent, responsible decision on a career move when no real info is available on items which impact your work or work/life responsibilities.

It depends on the department. Probably unlikely at AO level for travel to be common in the civil service. More likely to be sent travelling around Ireland to be honest. And I can assure you, that is less fun! Try coming back from Letterkenny to Dublin on a Friday afternoon - really shortens the weekend

In my department, all international travel is optional. I have been lucky (or unlucky if you think of it that way), to be offered travel when others have turned it down. They didnt have to give a reason, they just said no

Meadow1013

Re clearance they are at 23 in batch 1.3. It is getting closer to my number and I consider my options here.
Have you any idea what are the chances to get mobility move outside Dublin? At the moment I drive 5 minutes to my office. Taking position in Dublin would extend my commute to nearly 3 hours. I looked at the mobility map and there are a handful of AO positions around the country and the nearest AO position is within 1 hour drive anyway. Mobility possibilities for HEOs are much better. I might be called to the HEO interview at some stage, but this is not guaranteed and as AO I won't qualify for the HEO comp. It would be great to get promoted, but life/work balance is important too.

MrsBean

Meadow1013 wrote: »

Re clearance they are at 23 in batch 1.3. It is getting closer to my number and I consider my options here.
Have you any idea what are the chances to get mobility move outside Dublin? At the moment I drive 5 minutes to my office. Taking position in Dublin would extend my commute to nearly 3 hours. I looked at the mobility map and there are a handful of AO positions around the country and the nearest AO position is within 1 hour drive anyway. Mobility possibilities for HEOs are much better. I might be called to the HEO interview at some stage, but this is not guaranteed and as AO I won't qualify for the HEO comp. It would be great to get promoted, but life/work balance is important too.

Do you not have to do the 2 years to be eligible for mobility? If that's the case then you would want to commit to at least some commuting over the next two years if you take the job. However, bear in mind there is a strong chance you'd be assigned somewhere that you can WFH, possibly all or at least part of the week. Having said there are some AOs who are still attending an office for work, but they would be the minority, say maybe a few in Taoiseach's office etc.

As for another poster's earlier question about travel, I really wouldn't let the very small chance of needing to travel for work put you off the role. Most will not have to travel at all. A lot of meetings, national and international, can be done by Zoom/Skype now and I think that will stop the need for a lot of travel in the future.