Clerical Officer in the Civil Service 2021 (Nationwide)

blindsider

Hi All,

I'm helping a frien out a little...anyone have the campaign booklet for this competition? Want to help out with STAR fro the various competencies....

Thanks and best of luck in the interviews!

job seeker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118485389#Comment_118485389

21341604_21341604 Clerical Officer 2022 Information Booklet Final.pdf

Fisherman32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118484081#Comment_118484081

How do you know they only take on 250 ish a year🙈 did you email them directly? I got OOM in the 400s so I’m doubtful I’ll get even called. So disappointing!

blindsider

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118485424#Comment_118485424

Thanks Jobseeker - much appreciated!!

job seeker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118485433#Comment_118485433

Well I emailed last year in May 2021. The Sligo panel had reached 115oom. I'm not sure where I got 250 from apologies!

Not sure if this will be more or less this year! Still, though 400's is a great result as thousands apply for this competition. I would be happy with that OOM regardless if I got a job or not!

job seeker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118485789#Comment_118485789

You're welcome! Glad to be of assistance.

User1234567890

Does anyone know if they’ve actually started the interviews?

imagusaran

Dublin Interviews are starting in the next week or so. I'm already in the Civil Service but I've been helping a friend with their application etc so I've also been keeping an eye on this thread in case I spot any relevant info for them. Their order of merit for Dublin is in the top 50 and they have their interview late next week. Sorry, I don't want to say what their exact order of merit number is just cos I haven't asked for their permission to post it and I've heard rumours in the past in the Department I work in that people from Public Jobs often keep an eye on these threads.

Moomooland

PAS has called OOM 20 for Cork and OOM 9 for Limerick to stage 2 interviews.

User1234567890

Cork seems to be moving faster than the last campaign, hopefully that’s a good sign for all the counties. Must be trying to fill up the offices

Moomooland

You’re spot on. Limerick seemed to move faster the last time. Hopefully it will won’t be too long before we hear something 😊

Jet Black

Starting as CO in two weeks with the local council, it's been a long process that's being going on since May of last year but it's finally finished.

Rough timeline for those interested

May - applied for position

June - aptitude test

August - Interview

November - offered position (pending medical and references)

December - completed medical asked for references and contacted one of them

January - contacted second reference, one week later given start date and asked to confirm by email I am still interested in position

February - hopefully starting

Moomooland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118536239#Comment_118536239

This thread is for the Civil Service. The councils hiring COs is a total different kettle of fish.

Doyle93

Stage 2 application form completed for Louth today, OOM low 20s

Liberty_Bear

If you are on good terms with your AP they may be able to get your mates in, if you know your mates OOM. Something to keep in mind...

sugarcoat321

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118538453#Comment_118538453

If you don't mind me asking how long did it take to hear back after your interview?

Doyle93

I haven't taken part in an interview as of yet, I just received a message from PAS asking me if I wished to express an interest in being called forward for my first county of choice as they were starting interviews for positions in that county.

Moomooland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118539703#Comment_118539703

Congrats 🎉 Best of luck with the interview

imagusaran

For anyone who is looking for a rough indication on timelines, I was on the 2020 panel and have been where I am since mid 2021.

- Applied for the panel in March 2020, my counties were Dublin and Wicklow

- My OOM for Dublin was 1,636 and my OOM for Wicklow was 188.

- Got called for Dublin in Feb 2021. So if you compare my OOM for each county, it helps to apply for a county where there is a tonne of places you can go! Obviously, you will get called sooner if your OOM was higher than mine or if the panel is moving along quickly. My OOM for Dublin was quite low down but I assume there was also a delay in getting to me because of Covid.

- My interview was on the 3rd March 2021 on Zoom.

- Got the results from my interview a week later on the 10th March 2021. When you get your results, you get a batch number and a new OOM. They do the interviews in batches so I was in batch 21 and my new OOM for this batch was 28

- Got an email from PAS on the 19th March 2021 to tell me where I was going to be assigned. Be aware that this email may not come through your Public Jobs Account but directly to your email

- The email I got told me I would need to go through Garda Vetting which I'm sure is standard for everyone in the process. For this, you need to send PAS various documents which they then forward on. You can check the progress on the Garda Vetting website but mine took exactly a week.

- I then got a call from HR in the Department I was assigned to either on the day the Vetting was done or a couple of days after. Because of the nature of the place I was assigned to, I had to go through additional Vetting which was filling my details and addresses on an excel sheet. They told me this would take 4 to 6 weeks but it was finished on the Friday of the third week. I think the additonal vetting timelines can vary between the different Departments that use them and they take longer if you have lived in another country.

- In the meantime, I had to do a medical circumstances form. Not everyone has to do this, it depends on if you have an illness. I basically had to fill out an online form and send PAS a letter from my doctor to say I was in remission with the illness that I have. If you end up having to do this, don't worry too much about it, it's more so that they are aware of your condition and will do their best to accommodate any needs you might have.

- I got a final email from PAS on Friday the 23rd April asking me to provide a contact for a reference from the last 12 months. Once I got this email, I told my previous job that I was leaving and my boss was delighted for me and was happy to give me a reference. I gave them her email address. As far as I'm aware, they only look for sick leave you have taken.

- I then got a final message on my message board on Public Jobs on Monday the 27th April confirming I got the job with an email contact for HR in the Department I was assigned to.

- HR from the Department called my phone about an hour later and asked when I would be able to start. As I had told work I was leaving a couple of days before and had to give a month's notice, we agreed on a start date for the end of May. They then also contacted me closer to the time to tell me which division I would be assigned to, and any other details that needed to be discussed.

- I left my old job on the 21st May, took a week off and then started as a Clerical Officer in the Civil Service on the 31st May. As we were still sort of in lockdown, I went in on the first day to sign some documents with HR, meet my line manager and collected my laptop. I started working from home the following day and met my team virtually. When restrictions lifted in September, I was prioritised by my Principal Officer to go and work in the office at least once a week due to the fact that I was still new, hadn't met many people in person and wanted to get a better insight into the work that could only be done in the office. I was lucky in that I was basically allowed in whenever I wanted to provided there was a desk for me. I was with my team in the office for a couple of weeks and then sat with another team in my Division, one of the COs on that team would always let me know in advance if a desk was available and I would say yes or no to it as I had to commute but I tried to go in at least once a week. It was never a problem if I decided to not go in and stay at home. Once restrictions came back in, I worked from home and have been ever since. There isn't too much of an update on going into the office now that we're allowed but I think they're working on it in the background and I was told that I would be prioritised again once certain details are sorted on their end.

- If you end up waiting to be called for the interview for ages, don't worry, it's so worth the wait! Moving to the Civil Service from the Private Sector has been one of the best things I have ever done for my career and my mental health. The money isn't great at the start but it increases every year and the benefits of working in the Civil Service far outweigh the amount you're paid at the start. There is also so much scope for internal promotion after you work there 2 years and a lot of great opportunities - I haven't even been there a year yet and got the chance to go abroad for a course a couple of months ago.

If anyone needs my help or questions regarding the process, interviews, starting off in the Civil Service, I'm more than happy for you to message me or just quote this post in the thread and I'll do my very best to reply.

Hang in there and best of luck to you all!

Moomooland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541217#Comment_118541217

Thanks for this. What type of documents did PAS look for? I emailed PAS they seem to be moving quicker this time round with my two counties, the last panel did just crawl with COVID as a major factor. I wonder how many places were offered per county pre COVID in previous competitions. That would be very interesting 🤔

imagusaran

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541679#Comment_118541679

It's things like ID, Bank Statements etc. Anything they can use to verify your identity and address. You'll have a score sheet where each document listed has a certain number of points and you have to give them as many documents that can add up to the score on the sheet. I wouldn't worry about it too much until you need to send it but the docs are really just things that you should already have.

Moomooland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541943#Comment_118541943

That’s perfect. I have all them, I’m sorted so. Thanks a mill 😊

ivy123456

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541217#Comment_118541217

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541217#Comment_118541217

Hi, Just wondering was the position you accepted close to home or how far do you need to travel to the office.

imagusaran

imagusaran

I live in Arklow and work is in the Dublin City Centre. I don't drive. If I was to go in, I can get a train from Arklow to Pearse which takes 1hr 40mins, I prefer it to the bus as it's more comfortable and no traffic so I'm almost always guaranteed to get there on time. I can also get the bus but the time it would take would vary depending on traffic. My boyfriend lives about 25 mins away from where I work if I get the luas so I'll stay there the night before I go into work sometimes too. I went into the office once a week from September until restrictions said to work from home but the plan is to go back into the office soon I think. Tbh, it is my dream job with what my degree is in so I don't mind the commute too much, especially if working from home is to be an option post covid.

Cinnym

Hi there,

I just applied for this competition for the 1st time and i got placed in 50s for one county and 40s for the other. I have been unemployed a year this month and have been applying for jobs throughout the year and got bit disheartened when heard nothing until now but this has brought on some nerves.

I have been messaged that one county will be doing interviews and i accepted an interest.

Im curious as to the length of the interview and types of questions that may be asked and what is required of me as i have been unemployed for so long. I fear this may jeopardise my chances.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

job seeker

Has anyone applied for Dublin that intends in moving up? I applied for Sligo and Dublin and I think Sligo is out of the question based on my OOM. So if you accepted a job in Dublin I can imagine with such high rent prices and lack of accommodation it would be most difficult to move and rent.

So would it even be realistic to accept a job in Dublin based on the above?

job seeker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118485389#Comment_118485389

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118485424#Comment_118485424

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118547276#Comment_118547276

Basically this.. Competencies are at the back of the information booklet. Normally (I think) there is a question asked on each.

Use the S.T.A.R method based on past experiences..

I think the interview is 40 min.

You should get an email to help you prepare as far as I know..

furrybones

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118547276#Comment_118547276

You will be sent familiarisation information once you have an interview scheduled. Know the competencies and have relevant examples to demonstrate them. My interview lasted 30 minutes and the interviewers are typically really friendly and easy to talk to.

As for being out of work - I was at home for over a decade, until both of my children were in secondary school. I applied for the TCO campaign and the employment gap wasn't even something they brought up.

Cinnym

Thank you so much.

I really appreciate that. I have been quite nervous about it. Everyone on this site has been so helpful and encouraging.