Application rejected due to being 4 minutes late

She should call them immediately and explain and ask them to reconsider. They can often be accomodating however, given that you say this happened last week it might be too late but worth a try.

that's another part to be aware of if she's ever applying again, it's a slow process, could be waiting nearly a year or 2. some counties only hire a handful as well, less than 20. wouldn't be putting any great hope in getting in

they usually have some deadline in the middle of the day, 12, 3 etc. probably not much you can do tbh, only thing is the come up regularly enough & have temporary competitions too.

I can understand how frustrating this is but perhaps a bit of info might help your daughter get to grips with applying for public sector jobs.

They usually have a time as well as a date deadline clearly stated on the application material but the time deadline might not appear on the short advert.

If she was emailing it, the time deadline is often 3pm so that the applications are received before close of business and can be started on processing that afternoon. It also stops an avalanche of email applications that evening into their servers.

If she was uploading an online application ( pubicjobs.ie usually is), the system closes off at the cut off time so that it doesn't accept the application - it's not an individual refusing to accept the application, it's how the online application system software works.

I applied for a job with a closing time of 3pm once (I am now a public servant). The 3pm deadline was written on some material, however, our department did not have the 3pm deadline on the material it sent us. In this instance publicjobs accepted our department applications until 5pm. However, it was not possible to upload the application because the submission window had closed at 3pm. In fact, they were very accommodating then when some people had to redo application forms and gave them extra time. But, the problem was alerted to them immediately on the day so they could deal with it and it was a legitimate reason and error on my department's HR side.

Publicjobs.ie are usually very helpful and if the application material did not make the time deadline clear, they do accept that but it sounds like your daughter did clearly see the 3pm deadline written in the application material but forgot that ( like a lot of busy, harried parents unfortunately!). It's a pity that she didn't immediately contact them at 3.06pm and say I'm not sure my application went through, I was having technical difficulties or whatever because they might have accommodated her but it seems she understandbly hoped for the best and now 10 weeks later as they've processed all the eligible applications, they are dealing with the ineligible ones. They really are unlikely to be able to do anything to help her at this stage because they have all the shortlisting and interviews scheduled and completed probably. I do feel for her. After all that work, only to be told you missed the deadline. However, at least she has the form completed and can use it for the next job. Hope this helps.

She knew the deadline, missed it, she failed.

An employer would also see this failure to submit on time a red flag in a prospective employee.

Here's their standard speel;

The closing date and time for receipt of completed applications is 3pm on Thursday 27th February 2025. The onus is on you to ensure that you have correctly submitted a completed application form as any requests to submit an application after the closing time/date will not be considered.

It couldn't be clearer really. If she can't follow basic instructions, maybe this isn't the right job for her.

She should develop her time management skills, and apply in the next competition.

And yes, I have done something similar. Yes it sucked. But it served me right, I should have read the materials properly instead of skim reading and seeing Tuesday as Thursday.

I understand the rejection. When there's a specific time by which an application has to be submitted, it doesn't look good not to heed it; indicates lack of attention to detail - and the recruiter can't know what the applicant's personal situation is. There are masses upon masses of applications, which have to be whittled down to a shortlist.

However, letting the application go through, and then taking ten weeks to respond when it wasn't even accepted - let alone reviewed - is pretty crap.

I will say that in 2008, I applied for a public sector role (HSE - admin) and was called for interview, which was on 18th January, and I fecking got it into my head that it was 19th January (I was not an organised person back then!) I wrote an extremely apologetic email and they were very nice, and scheduled a new interview for me! Couldn't believe it. Then the public sector freeze came into effect so nothing more came of it. I'd say things are stricter now in the public sector OP but she might as well appeal it. Nothing to lose.

@WAW "they've processed all the eligible applications, they are dealing with the ineligible ones" - just wondering, thought it was done the opposite way.

Public sector is excessively bureaucratic. As such they stick rigidly to their own rules, as they can be held to account if they bend any of them.

Not much point having a deadline if they don't actually use it as a cut off point.

Or is there a 2nd deadline for late applicants, but where do you set that? An hour later? But what about the poor kid working 6 jobs who missed the 2nd deadline by only 4 minutes? Do you have a 3rd deadline for those cases?

She knew the deadline, she had 2 days to make sure she submitted before the deadline, she missed the deadline.

Fair has nothing to do with it.

Every email has a timestamp it was sent. It's very easy to prove you sent it on time.

Most places will accept an application after the deadline if there was an error with their server accepting it. Proof of sending it on time would usually be sufficient.

Some very odd points raised.

The cutoff is the cutoff - whether you're a minute late or 10 hours, they have to draw the line somewhere and stick to it. It's shite, but a lesson learned I suppose.

So basically they have their recruitment process with dates for shortlisting, interviews, second interviews, letters of offer, etc. scheduled.

In the OP's example, it was an email application so they acknowledged all the applications they got that day. This avoids candidates annoying them with follow up emails or calls about did you receive my application, when are interviews, etc.

Then when they actually went through the applications, they took the eligible ones for shortlisting and proceeded with them as per their recruitment schedule, contacted successful candidates. When that process was complete, they contacted the ineligible and/or unsuccessful applicants.