Administrative Officer Competition 2024

I only got 997. I did crap at the verbal normally I do great at that one. Sped through situational one tho.

no, I don’t think it would reflect badly on you at all especially since you’re staying within the CS most are sound and understand it’s a promotion or job more suited to you. Also depending where you are you can always make a case to be kept as an AO in the current department you’re in

It would not reflect badly on you at all. It's almost assumed that people in the Civil Service will be going for multiple competitions at a time.

Thanks for that, Dylan. I will keep an eye out so.

Hi, everyone, and thanks for all the posts in this thread. I've been lurking this and other Civil Service threads here on boards.ie — thought I'd finally come out of the shadows.

I applied for the AO stream this year and was lucky enough to be called for an interview in early December. Not the best timing, as I just started a new job this week. A bit torn as to what to do. I'm going to sleep on it.

In terms of the three assessments, I prepped for them using the sample tests on the public jobs website. I also drilled some basic maths — decimals, percentages, fractions, reading charts, etc., as I wouldn't be the most naturally skilled at this sort of thing. The situational was the oddest of the three for me — genuinely had no idea how I'd done after the test. Some of the answers seemed obviously wrong, but most of them had some kernel of decency in them, and I found it tricky to envision what the CS wanted, exactly.

Congrats on your new job & also on getting called for interview! Hope everything works out for you! 😊 ... Just my thoughts on your post.. I would advise you to do the interview. It's probably an online one anyway so might be convenient. Also you don't know how your new job will go so it might be good to have a back-up plan. Even if you pass everything & get offered a position, you don't have to take it. If you do pass you may be on a waiting list for a good while depending on your order of merit & preferred location. By the time you do get called up, things might have changed for you & this position could be a good option. I would just keep it spinning in the background as it's a handy option to have! 👍

I'm about the same numbers wise, someone said there last year it capped out at about 600. But again, it really depends on what people are applying for, if they pass interview, turn down the role for reasons of locations etc. I'd say like many people here we are applying for multiple positions at same time. I'm keeping an eye out for particular roles and location is a major factor for me, so even though it might be perfect job, the days of commuting would rule me out!

I don't see why they would have passed 2182 candidates only to offer 600ish an interview. Seems like all the major political parties are looking to increase numbers the public service with new depts and the likes, so maybe PAS are looking ahead and expect higher demands next year. Is the panel only running for a year though?

For those wondering numbers; I did last year's AO comp and got OOM about 560 and got called for interview only last month. So I'd say around 600 probably is where it generally caps out (think I've seen similar numbers in threads for previous years, but as others have said it can depend on a many factors where on the OOM they get up to). But just keep in mind when you see next's years comp starting its stage one tests, there is a good chance a final batch of people from this year's one will probably still be being called. (Think the panel for a given year only officially ends once they start placing people post the first round of interviews for the next years.)

Oct 2023 - Stage1 tests.

Nov 2024 - Stage 2 interview/presentation.

Jan 2025 - Officially starting placement as an AO.

CS really is a waiting game.

Yeah there seem to be 79(ish) interviews scheduled next week, I'm on Monday. The first 79 on OOM have been invited to interview, though possibly some won't actually do the interview for various reasons. That's the first batch, and more batches will probably be scheduled in the new year some time

Brilliant the very best of luck to you.. I hope it goes well..

Hello, I was just wondering if anyone knows when a nationwide AO competition will start?

I did AO interview earlier this year (for 2023 competition). I had notes for the presentation, not the interview. No issues at all.