Should be posted on publicjobs.ie in the morning. Been a CO now for a year…..hopefully I’ll do well (flunked the interview two years back).
Any tips and tricks and discussion welcome!
I’m using bullet points
Same as!!
Anyone else struggling with the character count in the employment section for this? How are you supposed to write about your duties , responsibilities and achievements in 800 characters!
It's assessment and interview where the scoring is all done, so have an overall summary on your employment history is all. Don't be getting too worried over the application form TBH.
Hi @eljerro, you don't say what grade you are currently at, is it CO?
Hi, Can anyone give more detail of the actual daily work of an EO? I know it will differ from departments but just wanted a bit more info ..Thanks..
In my case it isn't really much different from CO except now I'm approving/refusing requests instead of just doing work. Some of the EOs I know from work and from outside work are a lot busier, dealing with work for PQs, working through complex applications from the public, or if you're in HR you could be brought to help with interviews for COs and EOs. Ofc you'll be handling your COs PMDS, probation reviews, other standard things etc if you're managing staff.
My team has zero COs (there'd be no work for them) so there's no management experience being built for me which is why I'm applying for this competition to try get the experience I need to progress to HEO.
Thank you for all that information!
hi, Just wondering if anyone has had an interview for EO? I'm completely lost with it all tbh and hoping someone can give me some advice. My interview is next week and I was giving the following headings ;
people management
Analysis and decision making
delivery of results
interpersonal and communication skills
drive and commitment to public services and self development
I currently work in a hotel so I'm not sure how to tie the 2 together.
Any advice would be muchly appreciated
Is there an Irish language stream to the EO competition?
Have a good hard think about each competency in your current position. You probably do each one multiple times a day every day without realising.
Failing that, ChatGPT is your friend.
Hi Caoimhe
Sorry I didn't get back to you I was trying to work it out thanks Slave 77 for Response ye im really hoping to get it this time
hello there, I am also applying for this competition as am not very happy to where I have been assigned. The people are lovely but I want to keep my options open. I am two years in the Civil Service. The form is allowing me to tick both Open & Interdepartmental-is this correct? Would it be advisable to tick both? TIA😊
Apologies, have just seen this has already been asked before & answered previously😊
AAARGH, anyone else getting error messages now when trying to save draft of the application form? I have called PAS but only got to leave a message so hoping they come back to me soon
Just got through to someone on reception there, apparently it could be if you are logged in to the system on more than one device or if you are using symbols like "&" or other symbols that the system is interpreting as possbly malicious code. The advice is to press the back button to get back to the webform, copy all the contents of your form so far into a word doc or similar and then log out on all devices and see if you can get back in.
If this doesn't work then send your text so far in a word doc into PAS and they can try to identify the cause of the problem in terms of which characters you may be using that are causing the problems
Interd only - well less people will be in the Interd pool so you'd be called quicker for an interview on the Interd anyway even if you ticked both. BEST OF LUCK :)
Hey! Very last minute but does the 16th of July deadline mean 12am this morning or like close of business tomorrow?
Says 3pm on publicjobs.ie
EDIT: Also says 2pm if you click into the advert though (timezone thing maybe?)
yes, tick both open and interdepartmental. you will then be on 2 panels, 2 chances to get a new EO role
“This application must be completed in full and submitted before the deadline at 2pm Tuesday 16th July”
PAS said to apply for the open if you're an already serving EO, interdepartmental if you're a CO
At the end of the application form (Question 1) there is an option to indicate if you'd like to be considered for roles that need specialist Irish language skills:
"The Civil Service is fully committed to fulfilling obligations under the Official Languages Act. It is intended that vacancies arising which require staff to provide a full range of services through the Irish language (Functional Bilinguals) may be filled from this competition. Candidates who indicate their interest and who are successful at the final selection stages will be required to undergo certain assessments though Irish, e.g. interview and written test, prior to being considered for such a position. Please indicate below if you would be interested in a position requiring specialist Irish language skills should any arise during the lifetime of this competition."
Assume if you go from existing EO to another EO role in the Open stream, you have to restart probation?
Why would you put an application in for this if your already an EO?
If you don't like the department you are in. It would be a quicker move than mobility.
Can you not look for a move within your department if you don't like the work. The grass isn't always greener. Tbh I don't think it's a good answer when a board member asks why are you applying for a job at the exact same grade.
If I get asked why I am applying for a job at the exact same grade, I'd be honest? I have done my work in my current Department as an EO but I'm looking to build up other skills such as my management ones which I've not gotten the opportunity to do in my current position. Also I'd mention that my work up to now has been heavily operational and I want to build up experience in a more policy oriented position if possible.
It isn't shameful to want a move otherwise mobility wouldn't exist in the first place.
No, if you're still on probation it would be for the remainder of the 12 months you already started and if you have completed probation you wouldn't restart it.
I hope it works out for you I really do and you have provided a good answer to the likely question however unfortunately PAS don't always assign people to Departments and subsequently Departments assign new staff to sections where we will enjoy the role, thrive and meet that skills gap. Its a crappy system how it all works i.e. someone with a Greek civilisation degree assigned to the Department of Finance. Its really luck of the draw.
