Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Administrative Officer 2021 in the Civil Service.

«13456715

Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 1,476 ✭✭✭floorpie


    Thanks.

    Very confusing that they keep calling this a graduate role. It's listed in every graduate programme brochure in universities, but unlike every other grad programme in the country, the target audience can not apply as they haven't graduated. They should call it "degree entry" or something.

    I was on a meeting with all of this year's new intake and eyeballing it I'd say the average age is mid 30s.

    Edit: I think it's a good thing that new entrants tend to have experience. The standard amongst AOs is really exceptional in my experience.

    Post edited by floorpie on


  • Registered Users Posts: 28 AP2021


    Ya, these are marketed as graduate roles, but realistically they are "roles for graduates" rather than your standard graduate role that takes people on straight from university.

    It's a competitive process that will have lots of EO and COs with degrees applying as a promotional route.

    It's also very hard for someone straight out of university to hit the competencies without any significant work experience in a role with some responsibility. If you've a year or so of work behind you and can sell it under the competency framework though it's very possible for a recent grad to get in.

    The "graduate programme" that follows it is very funny for that reason. A room full of people from their mid 20s to early 40s and later sitting around listening to a consultant talk about how to do basic time management...



  • Registered Users Posts: 337 ✭✭lucat


    For the Policy Analyst/Economist role, how familiar do you have to be with statistical software? I vaguely remember using SPSS in college but that was a million years ago and I was very bad at it! I do work with statistics now, but mainly in excel and I'm only analyzing/interpreting them, not generating them from scratch.



  • Registered Users Posts: 238 ✭✭exitstageleft


    I reckon it depends on where you eventually end up but I don't think it's too important, to be honest. Having a good knowledge of statistics is but I'd put good money on that you'll find yourself using excel most of the time on the job - cause that's what everyone else uses.



  • Registered Users Posts: 157 ✭✭HannahR31


    Is there just the quick web form to do or is there a separate pdf application which needs to be uploaded?



  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 288 ✭✭cvb03




  • Registered Users Posts: 337 ✭✭lucat


    Is stage 1 likely to be next week or the week after? Assume it'll be the usual tests...



  • Registered Users Posts: 79 ✭✭PCO2019


    Hi folks,

    If a candidate is offered an interview is there a slow turnaround after the interview has taken Place where I would be informed if I was into the next round ?



  • Registered Users Posts: 77 ✭✭Protoman


    You'll be put through a series of tests (the initial weeding out aptitude tests) and a memo generating exercise before you'll be in front of anyone making your case at an interview. So I'd worry about those first. Likely a presentation exercise to be done on camera for the economist/analyst role too.



  • Registered Users Posts: 238 ✭✭exitstageleft


    There's an unbelievably slow turn around. At some point, you'll behind to wonder if you really applied for the job at all.



  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 79 ✭✭PCO2019


    @Protoman I had an interview this week but I am not sure how soon it will be before i am told I have or haven't satisfied the minimum criteria to be considered for the next round (55% is the minimum mark in all of the key competencies to be moved forward).



  • Registered Users Posts: 77 ✭✭Protoman


    You had an interview for this campaign (AO 2021) or another one? The testing window for this isn't even closed so I'm unsure how so.



  • Registered Users Posts: 79 ✭✭PCO2019


    @Protoman I submitted a form for the below in June but the interview only took place this week.


    2021 Revenue Competition for Appointment to the Position of Administrative Officer (AO). Roles in Taxation, Accounting, Law, Data Analytics, Statistics, Economics or Crime Analysis. 



  • Registered Users Posts: 77 ✭✭Protoman




  • Registered Users Posts: 79 ✭✭PCO2019


    @exitstageleft after an interview it could it take months to find out if a candidate has been shortlisted ?



  • Registered Users Posts: 21 Sartre


    You have applied for a different competition PCO2019, which may go faster or slower, but for these big open competitions you'll usually find out 2-5 weeks after the interview if you passed and where you are on the panel. At that point it's another waiting game to see if you'll be called.



  • Registered Users Posts: 79 ✭✭PCO2019


    @Sartre thanks for the comment! Ah that’s not bad, 2-5 weeks. I was shortlisted for interview in July, however, the interview didn’t take Place till this week. I would love to be afforded the opportunity to work there. I think the next stage if I was successful with an interview is a presentation but I could have read that incorrectly, it may not be the case all the time.



  • Registered Users Posts: 238 ✭✭exitstageleft


    I suppose, in fairness, that results do seem to arrive within a reasonable timeframe after an assessment takes place (2 to 5 weeks is about right).

    I guess it's just the whole process that seems to take forever!

    I don't think it would be unusual for the timeframe from the initial application to starting work to be in the region of 6 to 9 months. That's a particularly long wait if you fall at one of the last hurdles.



  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    I applied for the AO accounting/tax 2021 role in June was told I was shortlisted for interview and only interviewed last Thursday! I’ve never had an interview in the civil service before found it really tough not sure how it went to be honest. They didn’t say how long I would be waiting for results but I’m guessing weeks! Anyone hear how long the results will take or how did you interview go?



  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Anyone hear how they got on in their Interview in October for the AO 2021 Comp?



  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 79 ✭✭PCO2019


    @Mydell when had you an interview ? I interviewed last week and I’m not expecting to hear back until maybe the first week in December based on the above.



  • Registered Users Posts: 77 ✭✭Protoman


    The numeracy test was shocking. The size of the graphs and info was ridiculously small, and anyone with a hint of color blindness would have a hard time. Info way too dense for the visible window. Very little in the way of numeracy as well, just flitting between pages trying to draw info from the tiny graphs.

    Had to change computer for the chat assess for some unknown reason as I couldn't get past the name entry at the start .

    Do Aon do any UX testing and do the PAS review the tests before putting people through that?

    Very very poor. Aon probably clean up with the PAS contract so it's extremely disappointing in that context.



  • Registered Users Posts: 846 ✭✭✭doc22


    The UI changes from previous AO tests was awful



  • Registered Users Posts: 50 ✭✭itsallabit


    Thought it was just me they really were awful. Also had to change browser for the chat assess.



  • Registered Users Posts: 77 ✭✭Protoman


    I'll be sending an email anyway, absolutely chronic UI, very unfair on people that may have eyesight issues and the chat assess problem whatever was going on will have caught a lot of people on the hop.

    Not good enough.



  • Registered Users Posts: 21 Sartre


    These tests seem to be getting worse every year. As others have said, the UI is terrible. On the chatassess I kept having to scroll up to see the full message which wasted a lot of time. I did it on a laptop but it was showing as a mobile size screen. The verbal was a disaster due to the confusing tabs which only had tiny icons to distinguish them. It also seems the time per question is shrinking every year.

    I used to complain about the old job simulation/aptitude tests but these chatassess tests are much worse. I mean, they resemble a whatsapp conversion and most of them arrive simultaneously or instantly once you reply.



  • Registered Users Posts: 77 ✭✭Protoman


    PAS likely don't give a hoot. Quick and dirty way to exclude and chop down rather than test-in the best possible candidates.

    Nobody should be judged on that sh*tshow in my opinion.



  • Registered Users Posts: 77 ✭✭Protoman


    Test window extended. I guess they got the memo about the chat assess problems at least.



  • Registered Users Posts: 337 ✭✭lucat


    I decided not to proceeed with this comp anyway but when I got that message I did wonder were they having IT issues or have a lot of people done as I have, and decided not to keep going for whatever reason.



  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 5 Sharmela


    How long did it take to complete the tests please? Like others I hadn't done the tests for Weds. Are they very complicated?



Advertisement