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Clerical Officer 2018

Samsgirl

New clerical officer competition is open. Best of luck to everyone.

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Gra08

clroff wrote: »

Refund of fees. I'm going to study part time for my degree in September and my department will refund the cost (as long as I pass!). Which is going to save me thousands.

Not being nosy @clroff but hoping you can help a newbie out! I have just recently got offered a different job in the civil service and I was just wondering if only some departments would refund the cost of a degree course? Or would would I have to be studying a course in an area related to the said department?

Hope that makes sense! I’m new to all these benefits and allowances ðŸ™ˆ Thanks in advance!

clroff

Gra08 wrote: »

Not being nosy @clroff but hoping you can help a newbie out! I have just recently got offered a different job in the civil service and I was just wondering if only some departments would refund the cost of a degree course? Or would would I have to be studying a course in an area related to the said department?

Hope that makes sense! I’m new to all these benefits and allowances &#55357;&#56904; Thanks in advance!

I'm no expert in it Gra08. It would have to have some relation to what you're doing and I think it is all down to the Department that you're in.

I forgot to mention that there's (at least) 10 days study leave given per year and you will get exam days off.

doc22

natc wrote: »

Maybe it’s dependent on the department your assigned to but with my local division if you want you can be trained in all the different sections. They offer training courses in various fields, Microsoft packages, customer service, people management, strategic policy making to mention but a few. They will also cover tuition fees for 3rd level courses up front.

what department would CO's be doing that? Most wouldn't entertain fees up front

Kmhgallagher7

Sounds good, I’m
Up for all that. Life could be a whole lot worse.

doc22

clroff wrote: »

I'm no expert in it Gra08. It would have to have some relation to what you're doing and I think it is all down to the Department that you're in.

I forgot to mention that there's (at least) 10 days study leave given per year and you will get exam days off.

it's 5 days and 10 in final year

natc

doc22 wrote: »

what department would CO's be doing that? Most wouldn't entertain fees up front

Dept of Business Enterprise and Innovation. I reckon it’s because of the particular dept itself is so heavily involved in business affairs.

Just got an email the other day, they will pay your fees directly to the institution you want to study in. They give a list of areas that they would fund but are open to any course, pending a review of your application of course.

tringle

Just about to apply, can anyone tell me what is the difference between the public service and the civil service? Thanks

tringle

moo23 wrote: »

anybody having hassle downloading the application form ??

Yep, its just keeps reopening the information booklet for me.
So went through the website and it says to update follow steps one to three for downloading adobe updates....but not giving me that option.
So off to find another computer in the house.

august12

Public service is local authority i.e. County and City Councils, Civil Service is Revenue, Agriculture, Social Welfare, Garda stations, government departments etc. Go with civil service, better promotion opportunities and work/life balance.

tringle

Thanks, I always mix up the two, I worked as a temp with Revenue and thought is was public service.

tringle

tringle wrote: »

Yep, its just keeps reopening the information booklet for me.
So went through the website and it says to update follow steps one to three for downloading adobe updates....but not giving me that option.
So off to find another computer in the house.

Updated and its working now.

morphman

Are the tests done online??

Crunchymomma

morphman wrote: »

Are the tests done online??

Yup, they will send out a link through your messages on public jobs and you have to complete them during usually a three or four day window

OrangeBadger

Apply now hear back in 2020?

Xenji

OrangeBadger wrote: »

Apply now hear back in 2020?

If your in Mayo or Roscommon then probably yes!

OrangeBadger

Xenji wrote: »

If your in Mayo or Roscommon then probably yes!

Good thing I'm in Sligo.....

Crunchymomma

OrangeBadger wrote: »

Apply now hear back in 2020?

Depends on how well you score..... Going off of 2016 timelines though I would say first appointments will start in early 2019. Unless of course this moves significantly faster

Chaos Black

clroff wrote: »

Yes the pay starts off low. Get off your arse and get an EO position (there will be plenty of them available). Put yourself on €40k+ in a non stressful job with a very good work/life balance within 7/8 years.

Hi, on the above - Currently for a new entrant it will take 9 years on the EO scale to hit 40k. For pay rates please see link below:

https://circulars.gov.ie/pdf/circular/per/2017/22.pdf

Your promotion opportunities/training/difficulty of role/work culture is very likely to be office/department dependent and you can realistically expect to move around if you want to climb the grades.

I joined up off the 2016 panel as well. It is a real mixed bag. Generally speaking id say if you have previous work experience and some 3rd level qualification (which you will realistically require to progress in the service) then you could join the private the sector in some role and make more money now.

Their is a reason why the civil service is holding regular competitions.

The pension for EO and below is not gold plated. If I could I would choose not to pay into it. Flexitime is not guaranteed.

Now like I say, it is a mixed bag. It has definite advantages such as job security and opportunity to move around. The latter is economy dependent I think, as I know a good few got stuck in roles for years in the same positions during the recession. They are going for the promotions as well now.

But yeah, no harm in sticking in an application people and going through the process.

Woopsey

Their is a reason why the civil service is holding regular competitions.

They have to replace the panel regularly to ensure they take the best people available aka the top of the panel and enable new people to apply.

Betty10

OrangeBadger wrote: »

Good thing I'm in Sligo.....

I'm applying for the first time, looking for advice about which counties I should apply for to get chance of job - my nearest would be Leitrim but I am an easy commute to either Sligo or Longford.

tringle

Filling in the application and I have 30 years of work experience to get through. Do I really need to convert 16 years to months? Also two jobs were concurrent over 12 years and I didn't work during the summer months, they don't make it easy do they. Though still easier than the HSE competency based one.

lizzie92

This post has been deleted.

clroff

It's a no brainer to apply for it. Everyone should. There's an online test, see how you go.

It's question time when/if they invite you to the interview. That mightn't be for a year or more and you don't know what your situation will be then.

Crunchymomma

lizzie92 wrote: »

Hi guys, I'm thinking about applying for it, but I'm worried by all the negative comments that I have found online - especially about the pay.

I'm currently in retail, my hourly wage is €12 and it's a good wage for what my expenses currently are. My boyfriend and I rent a small apartment, I don't have a car but I am planning to get one in the future. I can afford my bills, savings etc - having said that, what would be the lowest hourly rate for a newbie clerical officer? I'll have to do some maths to see if I would be able to manage on a lower pay.

I'm intrigued by the benefits but it's the pay that scares me.

Technically it's like 11.80 an hour. Starting annual salary is 23107 for a 37.5hr week. I think it's about 380 after tax

The money is definitely not amazing, when I joined I left a retail management position and took a fairly sizeable pay cut but for me it was worth it for the flexi time and not having to work weekends ever! There's also pretty good promotion opportunities. I came in off 2016 CO panel and am an EO now so I have made back some of the paycut I took and I will be going for HEO next year once I'm eligible

HugoMyBoss

clroff wrote: »

I am another who got in from the 2016 panel. I knew very little about it and put in a lot of research beforehand. I remember some positive and some negative responses. But here's my take on it after a year.

I knew what the pay would be like. It's poor at the start. But I was unemployed at the time so for me it was great. Guaranteed increases each year and I'm really hoping to grab an EO position within about 5 years which would put me over €40k within a few short years, rising eventually to close to €50k.

Sir Ophiuchus

lizzie92 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I have friends in retail. If you're in shift work, moving to a fixed (and flexible!) schedule with no hassle about booking time off can make a huge difference in terms of quality of life.

schoopi

Quick question regarding Section 3 of the application form - did anyone manage to electronically sign in the box where is says name of applicant - when I try to electronically sign I get a message advising that I have opened a fillable PDF form.

Thanks for any help/pointers.

Yamanoto

Crunchymomma wrote: »

Technically it's like 11.80 an hour. Starting annual salary is 23107 for a 37.5hr week. I think it's about 380 after tax

The money is definitely not amazing, when I joined I left a retail management position and took a fairly sizeable pay cut but for me it was worth it for the flexi time and not having to work weekends ever! There's also pretty good promotion opportunities. I came in off 2016 CO panel and am an EO now so I have made back some of the paycut I took and I will be going for HEO next year once I'm eligible

Was that not as a result of applying for EO via an external competition though?

jules86

Betty10 wrote: »

OrangeBadger wrote: »

Good thing I'm in Sligo.....

I'm applying for the first time, looking for advice about which counties I should apply for to get chance of job - my nearest would be Leitrim but I am an easy commute to either Sligo or Longford.

Last few campaigns had little intake in both Leitrim and Sligo. Make sure you have Longford down

Crunchymomma

Yamanoto wrote: »

Was that not as a result of applying for EO via an external competition though?

Yes it was an open comp, but many CS are promoted through open competition. The new EO will open toward the end of this year and I would encourage all who went for CO To go for it too