Administrative Officer 2020 in the Civil Service

Ernesto Guevara

MaryRyan48 wrote: »

Hi guys 👋
Does anyone know if a nationwide AO comp may run this year or is it looking likely that it will be this Dublin comp only?
Also what are the chances of getting an office that work remotely (even post pandemic!) I would accept Dublin if I only had to travel to the office one or two days a week!

AO is primarily just in Dublin. There won't be a nationwide campaign this year. If you're not keen on working in Dublin full time it's not the grade to be going for. Not an easy grade to transfer down the country.

MaryRyan48

Ernesto Guevara wrote: »

AO is primarily just in Dublin. There won't be a nationwide campaign this year. If you're not keen on working in Dublin full time it's not the grade to be going for. Not an easy grade to transfer down the country.

Thanks Ernesto ðŸ‘
I am currently in the civil service but as an EO, looking for a bump up!! Will keep waiting!

Caro3

Deleted User wrote: »

This course really helped me:

It's stupidly expensive but it got me through and I've made the money back since getting the job.


Would anyone else have some preparation tips for verbal + numerical + job simulation tests? Any books, courses or online tests to recommend?

What is the score required to pass to the next stage?

Do you know if the test levels are roughly the same for AO and EO competitions?

Thank you.

Chaos Black

Hi, see link below. Advice and sample test. In terms of difficulty, AO harder then EO tests imo.

https://www.publicjobs.ie/en/information-hub/our-recruitment-process/test-advice

Marcus Antonius

Has anyone any idea/seen any indication of when we might have the AO tests? As the deadline for the most basic application ever was a couple of weeks ago now.

mulligja

Deleted User wrote: »

This course really helped me:https://careerservices.ie/administrative-officers/preparation

It's stupidly expensive but it got me through and I've made the money back since getting the job.

I was placed back in January so I got about 10 weeks in the office before being sent home. My role is very diverse; I rarely work on the same thing two weeks in a row. I'm in a very busy Department and in a unit that's role focusses on policy development and collaboration--it makes for a dynamic job where you talk to a lot of people and have a good view of what's going on around the org. My line managers have been wonderful about giving me responsibilities and having me lead on projects; I'm quite shy and sometimes need a push but they have been so steadfast in their faith that I'll rise to the occasion, you can't help but develop in your role. I don't have anyone reporting to me, which is not unusual in my department for an AO.

The AO role is, as far as I can tell, what you make of it. There will be units where the day-to-day is more sedate, but I have yet to come across an AP or senior manager who isn't open to hearing from everyone on the team. So, if you engage and are open to opportunities, there is huge potential in the civil service.

Good luck to everyone applying!

Thanks for tip! Have bit the bullet and am practicing with them. Quick question for you though - do you happen to remember whether there were any deductive-reasoning or inter-relations question on the very first online assessment? Or are these done in a later assessment?

Caro3

Thank you for replying.
I had checked this page out but this is official information and they do not give any methodology tips on how to improve your scores.
Could anyone who has already taken these tests recommend any good training courses or books?

FenFlynn

mulligja wrote: »

Thanks for tip! Have bit the bullet and am practicing with them. Quick question for you though - do you happen to remember whether there were any deductive-reasoning or inter-relations question on the very first online assessment? Or are these done in a later assessment?

I was just going back my public jobs messages, deductive reasoning was defo not in 2018 campaign. I thing it was only introduced last year and I failed miserably there. 2018 at least made it through to round 2

mulligja

Just got familiarisation e-mail there, deductive reasoning is on the first assessment it seems.

RockabillySnap

Deleted User wrote: »

This course really helped me:https://careerservices.ie/administrative-officers/preparation

It's stupidly expensive but it got me through and I've made the money back since getting the job.

I was placed back in January so I got about 10 weeks in the office before being sent home. My role is very diverse; I rarely work on the same thing two weeks in a row. I'm in a very busy Department and in a unit that's role focusses on policy development and collaboration--it makes for a dynamic job where you talk to a lot of people and have a good view of what's going on around the org. My line managers have been wonderful about giving me responsibilities and having me lead on projects; I'm quite shy and sometimes need a push but they have been so steadfast in their faith that I'll rise to the occasion, you can't help but develop in your role. I don't have anyone reporting to me, which is not unusual in my department for an AO.

The AO role is, as far as I can tell, what you make of it. There will be units where the day-to-day is more sedate, but I have yet to come across an AP or senior manager who isn't open to hearing from everyone on the team. So, if you engage and are open to opportunities, there is huge potential in the civil service.

Good luck to everyone applying!

Could you tell me if these sample tests have the labelled tabs in verbal reasoning? That always slows me down so I'd like to practice them a bit more.

Nekro Man

I've run through the sample questions for the situational and can't break above middle band for the life of me.

Can anyone offer any pointers for it?

MrsBean

Read the competencies over and over. Put yourself in the mindset of an AO when you do the tests. Ask yourself 'what would/should an AO do in this instance?.

5p9arw38djv2b4

mulligja wrote: »

Thanks for tip! Have bit the bullet and am practicing with them. Quick question for you though - do you happen to remember whether there were any deductive-reasoning or inter-relations question on the very first online assessment? Or are these done in a later assessment?

Hi Mulligja, you mentioned that you bought the course. Can you say if it looks worth it? Does it have enough deductive reasoning and chat assess options? I wasn't clear from the website if they will actually be the same ones in the training pack that match the examples we've been set in the familiarisation. Grateful for any insight before I click purchase!

Nekro Man

MrsBean wrote: »

Read the competencies over and over. Put yourself in the mindset of an AO when you do the tests. Ask yourself 'what would/should an AO do in this instance?.

Tried it with them open beside me and still middle band.

I sent the link to an AO friend and they also got middle band.

Must be a huge band :P

job seeker

LadyLabyrinth wrote: »

Hi Mulligja, you mentioned that you bought the course. Can you say if it looks worth it? Does it have enough deductive reasoning and chat assess options? I wasn't clear from the website if they will actually be the same ones in the training pack that match the examples we've been set in the familiarisation. Grateful for any insight before I click purchase!

I bought the CS thing and I find the verbal reasoning great. there is a verbal reasoning lesson. (this is basically teaching you how to do the test in a stratigic manner etc. and explains it in detail), then two guided exercises, 7 exercise tests. Each has a practice and time test (both the same). I have't looked at any other test yet.

I think the verbal reasoning alone is fantastic! But just make sure you set a few hours aside to use the material each day.

5p9arw38djv2b4

job seeker wrote: »

I bought the CS thing and I find the verbal reasoning great. there is a verbal reasoning lesson. (this is basically teaching you how to do the test in a stratigic manner etc. and explains it in detail), then two guided exercises, 7 exercise tests. Each has a practice and time test (both the same). I have't looked at any other test yet.

I think the verbal reasoning alone is fantastic! But just make sure you set a few hours aside to use the material each day.

Ace, thanks for the review, it's hard to tell from the website if it would be worth it but I love a real life review!

job seeker

LadyLabyrinth wrote: »

Ace, thanks for the review, it's hard to tell from the website if it would be worth it but I love a real life review!

No problem! Glad to be of service! I think personally for me, it has been well worth it for anyway.

FenFlynn

job seeker wrote: »

I bought the CS thing and I find the verbal reasoning great. there is a verbal reasoning lesson. (this is basically teaching you how to do the test in a stratigic manner etc. and explains it in detail), then two guided exercises, 7 exercise tests. Each has a practice and time test (both the same). I have't looked at any other test yet.

I think the verbal reasoning alone is fantastic! But just make sure you set a few hours aside to use the material each day.

That's brilliant! I was in two minds on purchasing it or not, I don't think the AO job is for me and I find the selection process really tough. Even after stage 1, there are 2 or 3 more stages to go through, including a presentation which I'm terrible at. Having said that, I wouldn't like not to give it my best either.
Trying to make sense of whether we got practice material with the familiarisation material or not, couldn't find any for verbal, numerical and deductive.

belgowho

Does the CS provide CUT-E style questions with the 6 tab format?

Thrillhouse11

So the tests are from Aon, the same place the recent ICT specialist role tests were from. Those turned out to be a lot easier than the EO assessment oddly enough, for verbal and numerical at least, so hopefully that's the case here too. EO was unreasonably difficult.

job seeker

belgowho wrote: »

Does the CS provide CUT-E style questions with the 6 tab format?

The verbal reasoning has a question and 6 tabs with separate paragraphs of text. Is that what you're wondering?

job seeker

FenFlynn wrote: »

That's brilliant! I was in two minds on purchasing it or not, I don't think the AO job is for me and I find the selection process really tough. Even after stage 1, there are 2 or 3 more stages to go through, including a presentation which I'm terrible at. Having said that, I wouldn't like not to give it my best either.
Trying to make sense of whether we got practice material with the familiarisation material or not, couldn't find any for verbal, numerical and deductive.

CS is very good IMO. Sure give it a go and see what happens.

mulligja

LadyLabyrinth wrote: »

Hi Mulligja, you mentioned that you bought the course. Can you say if it looks worth it? Does it have enough deductive reasoning and chat assess options? I wasn't clear from the website if they will actually be the same ones in the training pack that match the examples we've been set in the familiarisation. Grateful for any insight before I click purchase!

Can 100% recommend to you. It has the tab-style verbal reasoning questions and some deductive reasoning practice exercises too (about 60 questions). Doesn't have anything for the chatAsssess thing unfortunately and doesn't give a whole lot of prep material for situational judgement in general but does give some advice on how to pass that section.

mulligja

Nekro Man wrote: »

I've run through the sample questions for the situational and can't break above middle band for the life of me.

Can anyone offer any pointers for it?

Where are you finding these sample questions? The only thing I can find are the two example questions for the chatAssess thing?

belgowho

job seeker wrote: »

The verbal reasoning has a question and 6 tabs with separate paragraphs of text. Is that what you're wondering?

Exactly it. Thanks

MT0

Thrillhouse11 wrote: »

So the tests are from Aon, the same place the recent ICT specialist role tests were from. Those turned out to be a lot easier than the EO assessment oddly enough, for verbal and numerical at least, so hopefully that's the case here too. EO was unreasonably difficult.

Hi can you tell me how you know the test provider is Aon and not Sova which was the EO test provider?

MT0

MrsBean wrote: »

Read the competencies over and over. Put yourself in the mindset of an AO when you do the tests. Ask yourself 'what would/should an AO do in this instance?.

Hi thanks for all the advice. When completing the questionnaire do you put yourself in the mindset of being a new AO who would obvs have to run things by the AP or are you in the role already so making your own decisions?

MT0

FenFlynn wrote: »

That's brilliant! I was in two minds on purchasing it or not, I don't think the AO job is for me and I find the selection process really tough. Even after stage 1, there are 2 or 3 more stages to go through, including a presentation which I'm terrible at. Having said that, I wouldn't like not to give it my best either.
Trying to make sense of whether we got practice material with the familiarisation material or not, couldn't find any for verbal, numerical and deductive.

Hi guys thinking of buying this but can you tell me if it is any use for the job sim/questionnaire i.e does it give you guidance on the correct answers?

job seeker

mulligja wrote: »

Can 100% recommend to you. It has the tab-style verbal reasoning questions and some deductive reasoning practice exercises too (about 60 questions). Doesn't have anything for the chatAsssess thing unfortunately and doesn't give a whole lot of prep material for situational judgement in general but does give some advice on how to pass that section.

MT0 wrote: »

Hi thanks for all the advice. When completing the questionnaire do you put yourself in the mindset of being a new AO who would obvs have to run things by the AP or are you in the role already so making your own decisions?

As above. No questions..

5p9arw38djv2b4

job seeker wrote: »

As above. No questions..

I bought it too. Re deductive at least 3 of the answers in the samples are incorrect, I had a friend who is a math teacher also do them to make sure. Basically they plot the method to the answer in their answers but if you complete out the grid there are mistakes in a few. It's still great experience to try them though but they only seem to have 4x4 and I think the guidance note says it may go up to 5x5 and 6x6.

Have not tried the verbal/ numeric yet.