2024 Assistant Principal in Civil Service

Why not ?

This often happens. Go for it

Others may correct me on this but posts arising in west of the country are rare from the open panel so applicants need to be wary of that. Not sure how interdepartmental works but I do know from experience that mobility posts at AP in the west have been almost non existent in the last 18 months. Even if mobility posts come up it is interview based and the competition is fierce !

It all depends on where you are placed, even different offices in the different areas can vary. In my last job the AP said on his first day he came there to retire . It was a rather large shock to the system to discover we were in a very busy area . He left as soon as he could

Regarding question 1 below, I have multiple examples for this so is it just a short brief on each?

Cheers

Please provide an overview of your leadership and management experience at an appropriate level, highlighting the particular roles which best demonstrate your capability in leading, motivating and developing others. Please provide specific details on the size and composition of the team and the duration/timescale of your leadership/management role.

My interpretation of Q1 is that its a brief summary of each role. For Q2/3/4 its more of detailed example demonstrating the relevant qualities according to the framework. At least that's how I'm tackling it.

I've never gone through the process before so just my guess.

I won't be using AI but I can categorically say there's absolutely no reliable method for detecting AI written material. If there was, my life would be immeasurably easier. As a lecturer, we are explicitly told not to use any checker and any plagiarism case is immediately thrown out if the evidence relies on them.

Saying that, I don't think AI is good at these types of questions and you can spot when someone has used it a mile off.

Hey all,

I'm deciding to throw my hat into this on the long chance (currently an EO).

If you were aiming for, and knowing you'd be low if you got through at all, would it be better to aim for Dublin, more places but more people, or somewhere like Westmeath where there would be less roles, but less people?

No it won't matter. I came in from outside CS on an open AP competition and it was a year from my application to interview and then another 4 months on the panel until I started. All in all approx. 1.5 years from application to starting date! My main advice is to prepare, prepare, prepare. If you can get to interview stage the odds getting on the panel are good but treat every stage with total respect. Now is the time to get into CS as the economy is booming and they are on a hiring spree. When things inevitably slow down the opportunities will decrease.

Application submitted! Now for a pint and the waiting game, best of luck gang :)

Check you have checked and answered all of the boxes of the mandatory questions.

Good morning, everyone. Quick question—does anyone have the booklet or know where I can find it? I haven’t been able to come across one. Thank you.

Question about the assessments, in case anyone has done them before - I tried the AO and EO sample tests on publicjobs.ie and did well on the verbal and SJ ones. I hit the pass mark for AO on numerical but only just as I wasn't going quickly enough and didn't get through all the questions. I tried the test again to get through the rest of the questions. Turns out I am getting all the numerical questions right, but I'm just quite slow between using the calculator and writing things down etc.

Obviously the AP test will be harder but there's none on the publicjobs site to try out. How much is time a factor on the real assessments? It's annoying because I am getting the questions correct but have to jot calculations as I go and worry I won't be quick enough to pass on the day, considering I barely hit the pass mark with the number of questions I got through on the mock AO test and this will be harder. 36 questions in 30 minutes is tough going between reading and understanding the question and actually getting the answer right!

It's frustrating because I think I have a very strong application otherwise… but my maths speed could snooker me (even if I'm getting the q's right!)

I'm torn between selecting Dublin or Cork for location. I'd like to move to Cork, and am currently waiting on mobility as an AO.

But would it even be worth my while to choose a location with fewer positions? Or should I opt for the safety of Dublin and re-start my mobility journey all over again if I get it?

This is my first time going for AP and I'm guessing I'd need to place fairly high on the Cork panel to be in with a chance.

Do you mean by asking AI to write responses to questions in the application form?

Exactly. I don't work for PAS but I've served on interview boards where the answers have suddenly contained phrases midway like "Certainly! I would be happy to summarise the following for you:"

You will be expected to be able to write original words of your own making in positions like these. The argument that the detection software isn't sufficiently advanced enough yet isn't very compelling when most of the time it spits out overly generic, clunky phraseology that reads like too many other people's applications vs. saying things in your own actual words, which in my opinion almost always results in a stronger application regardless, unless your written English isn't to a good enough standard for the role.