2020 Executive Officer Civil Service

No waiting to be called for interview.

2 months wait for etray results.

Hi guys just had interview thought it was quite tough and was very nervous! How long until results would be out roughly?

i found the interruptions to look for more information kind of threw me off balance and I was almost forgetting to get to the point of my examples for some of the competency questions! It was also very fast paced which was daunting. They panel were very nice but I still found it tough, by the end of the 40 minutes I could barley string a sentence together 🥲 I was very nervous beforehand also so that didn’t help matters either. I was asked almost all of the questions mentioned by Clareh123 above, as well as more follow ups.

Hi All

Just got an email from public jobs asking me if I'm interested in interviewing for Cork. Just emailed them to say Yes ! I'm 00M 40 in the Open Stream after etray.

Just wondering if they acknowledge your expression of interest email ??

I received acknowledgement for Dublin!

Thanks a mil for that advice, appreciate it😊

I wish it was a different email address for the expressions of interest, instead of having to use the one for every inquiry. I've seen people on here who've replied but it's been missed & then there's major panic cos they're being told they're off the panel. Hopefully I'll get an acknowledgement today .

I got the acknowledgement 5 minutes ago thankfully !!! I can relax now for the weekend lol. Thanks again.

When you say look for more information do you mean expand on your competency or give another example of the same competence.

In relation to more follow ups could you give an example please

They are essentially just trying to get you to say things they need to hear in order to give you points. One example is for the leadership competency they might ask you to talk about a project you led from start to finish that you are proud of. Then they might ask you a follow-up question like 'How did you handle disagreements in the group?' or 'What criteria did you use to establish the success of the project?' They might also ask something like 'In hindsight would you have done anything differently?' It can feel like an interrogation when they're firing questions at you quickly but they're just trying to help you get the points.

For anyone who has still to do the interview I would recommend looking at the detailed criteria for each competency and fleshing out a specific story that hits on all or most of those points. So for example for delivery of results they will want to see that you had a logical planned approach, planned for contingencies, used people's skills etc, so your story should demonstrate how you did those things. Making a spider plan for each one really helped me. I had one very specific and properly fleshed out example for each competency and a couple of rougher ones as backup.

And remember you can have post-its up around your computer but make sure they're just offscreen so it's not too noticeable when you look at them. Also sounds obvious but it's helpful to have a printed copy of your application form beside you! They will be using that as the basis of their questions so it's good to have it there. Good luck to anyone still do to it!

Been offered a position. However, salary is an issue. And yes I know the salary scales are well known but I was hoping that Private sector experience would be taken into consideration and that, on occasion, a candidate can start on step 4 or 5 of the scales rather than step 1.

Just wondering are there opportunities within the role to move up the scale faster or is just it increases year on year?

Hi, Congrats on your offer. I was in a similar position to you and unfortunately you start on the bottom rung, regardless of private sector experience and no matter how well you perform you can only move up the scale on a yearly basis.

I've heard a few people recommending to study up and know how you will answer your competency questions based on what's already been included in your initial application form. Can anyone shed some light on what part of your application they would pull from to come up with competency based questions? As far as I remember the application was just general personal details in one form and then education and job experience in the second form.

🤔

Definitely take some time to weigh it up. I was in a similar enough position when I went for CO a few years ago and I decided to take the hit and go for it.

4 years on I have been promoted twice and am just through stage 1 of the latest AP campaign. I have made the paycut back plus some in not a huge amount of time.

So if you think you can take the hit for a few years go for it

Also you skip point 4 and 8 on the scale now so I think in 3 years you would be on 37436

I had my interview last week… first half of the interview was grand very straightforward, second half I was constantly interrupted to the point I stopped for the first time ever took a drink and gathered myself. Flustered wasn’t the word. I fell down in public service values.. anyway I’m not too worried I felt the rest of the interview went very well and the interruptions are part of it too.

Also I absolutely do not want to get appointed before my increment date anyway as I am a co anyway!

That's great news, congrats !! Can I ask where you're being placed pleased ? I have my interview on 1st October !!