Clerical Officer 2020

claregal1 · 07-05-2020 10:11am

xxsammyxx085 wrote: »

Did anyone notice that the booklet says there wont be anyone used off this panel after May 2021?

Yeah I also noticed that . I imagine it is because of the current restrictions as most people are working from home at the moment and training etc would not feasible in these unprecedented times.
I'm not too concerned as I am currently a CO with a different public body and looking for change . I placed quite good in my chosen counties so I'm happy with that. Going to put it out of my mind for the time being and just wait to be called for interview .

xxsammyxx085 · 07-05-2020 10:15am

claregal1 wrote: »

Yeah I also noticed that . I imagine it is because of the current restrictions as most people are working from home at the moment and training etc would not feasible in these unprecedented times.
I'm not too concerned as I am currently a CO with a different public body and looking for change . I placed quite good in my chosen counties so I'm happy with that. Going to put it out of my mind for the time being and just wait to be called for interview .

I placed at 35 and 51 in my two counties so hoping I might have a chance at interview this year.

Ace of Hearts · 07-05-2020 10:21am

L390 wrote: »

Ooops is Co. Dublin different to Dublin ..mine says Co.Dublin ...I'm Dublin central

All the one I would've thought? I only recall Co. Dublin appearing on the form. Open to correction..

claregal1 · 07-05-2020 10:22am

xxsammyxx085 wrote: »

I placed at 35 and 51 in my two counties so hoping I might have a chance at interview this year.

I'm 29 and 40 in my counties so I definitely think we both have hope of being called for interviews . In the job I'm in now, oom changed after interview . I think I went from 200's to oom 9 and I was still waiting five months after interview to be placed. As others have said , it is a long slow drawn out process so best to try and put out of your mind until next stage .
Best of luck to everyone .

shoes43 · 07-05-2020 10:23am

job seeker wrote: »

693 for Mayo! Any hope for an interview!?

I got placed 292 for Mayo - will just wait and see what happens. I can't imagine there are too many jobs going in the Civil Service in Mayo at present. But live in hope.

JaneK33 · 07-05-2020 11:03am

437 in Cork and 517 in Limerick. What are my chances?

UI_Paddy · 07-05-2020 11:14am

Got a very pleasant surprise. 31 for Mayo and 64 for Sligo. I was really worried, as I also applied for them on the 2018 competition and was number 686 and 1105 for both counties respectively so understandably never heard anything back.

Granted I'm much better at questionnaires than aptitude tests but it's good to know now I can start to properly plan my future move.

Now I'm off to study the competencies to ace my interview when I get a date.

ShellBell89 · 07-05-2020 11:30am

claregal1 wrote: »

Yeah I also noticed that . I imagine it is because of the current restrictions as most people are working from home at the moment and training etc would not feasible in these unprecedented times.
I'm not too concerned as I am currently a CO with a different public body and looking for change . I placed quite good in my chosen counties so I'm happy with that. Going to put it out of my mind for the time being and just wait to be called for interview .

How come you didn't apply for mobility?

claregal1 · 07-05-2020 11:37am

ShellBell89 wrote: »

How come you didn't apply for mobility?

I am in a different sector and you can only apply for mobility within that sector and I fancied a change . I'm currently with the hse

Porthallian · 07-05-2020 11:52am

Got a notification that I had another new message on public jobs. Quickly logged in. All excited.
It was to notify me that their email address was updated

Banana Republic 1 · 07-05-2020 12:11pm

As someone who has been through the public jobs process a few times in the many campaigns both full time and TCO it really is baffling just how theses things are run. Firstly the many stages that campaigns go through, ie, the online questionnaires or the "aptitude tests which are widely debunked as an accurate means of determining anything, are really only a pc way for the public jobs people to cull off applicants. The private sector does this by taking a pile of applications at random and firing them in the bin.

Firstly having heard the aptitude tests weren't going ahead this year I was glad I applied for this campaign. I really doubt the relevance of the aptitude test because as a TCO Ive never seen anyone in any full time position, in the revenue or anywhere else, doing 30 vat calculations in under a minute and I know getting a high score in the error checking and your english language handling abilities is more important as a CO than how quickly you can bash buttons on a calculator. Also consistently coming in the top 50 in the order of merit in numerous online questioners for TCO campaigns, which are exactly the same questions as in the CO version, I thought I was in with a good chance, no because it's a total lottery.

There are several reasons why the process takes as long as a snail reversing back a forward moving conveyor belt but one of them must be that they take several months to move goalposts especially since the results of these questionnaires and aptitude tests, all of which are on digital format, are most likely calculated on the day or within a few days.

Plugguy · 07-05-2020 12:14pm

positivepenny wrote: »

Can you ask for feedback on the questionnaire?
I got 270 Limerick

There is a link in your message on public jobs that leads to feedback.

Banana Republic 1 · 07-05-2020 12:17pm

Nekarsulm wrote: »

TCO is good to get, the experience will be invaluable in interviews later.
A working knowledge of SAP (if her department uses it) is great to have as well.

Ya you have enough cynicism built up to know that these campaigns are manly run to give full timers work to do and the stages have no basis in reality.

Banana Republic 1 · 07-05-2020 12:22pm

claregal1 wrote: »

I am in a different sector and you can only apply for mobility within that sector and I fancied a change . I'm currently with the hse

Thanks for blocking me getting a full time position

tritriagain · 07-05-2020 12:27pm

any tips to prepare for interviews. i really dont know what to expect.

positivepenny · 07-05-2020 12:32pm

Plugguy wrote: »

There is a link in your message on public jobs that leads to feedback.

Ya seen that thanks but wondering can you get further feedback on the 3 sections of the questionnaire?

Farlo1234 · 07-05-2020 12:49pm

900's for Galway and 1100's for limerick

CivilCybil · 07-05-2020 12:54pm

tritriagain wrote: »

any tips to prepare for interviews. i really dont know what to expect.

They'll send details about the competencies they'll be questioning you on.
So have a couple of examples lined up for each competency and use the STAR method.
That's my experience anyway and I passed the EO interview and placed fairly well

Conqueror · 07-05-2020 1:13pm

Banana Republic 1 wrote: »

Thanks for blocking me getting a full time position

ClareGal works for the HSE, a public service body. This competition is for the civil service, a separate entity, and she is as entitled to enter it as you are. She hasn't "blocked" you from a full time position, and it is isn't her fault you didn't get as high a mark as she did.

giveitalash · 07-05-2020 1:21pm

Got 109 oom for Westmeath and 47 for Roscommon scored 6397, what's my chances? Is there any movement in Westmeath with retirement etc?

Samsgirl · 07-05-2020 1:22pm

I placed 5th in my chosen county in 2018 and 219 this time. Very strange.

Alv_M · 07-05-2020 1:24pm

First time applying, got 200s in Cork. What are my chances of getting a job from this?

furrybones · 07-05-2020 1:49pm

Porthallian wrote: »

Got a notification that I had another new message on public jobs. Quickly logged in. All excited.
It was to notify me that their email address was updated

Yeah, I nearly fell over myself to get to the laptop to log in. Ah well, it was a bit of excitement to break the monotony of the morning :P Now back to washing my hands and looking out the window.

positivepenny · 07-05-2020 1:55pm

furrybones wrote: »

Yeah, I nearly fell over myself to get to the laptop to log in. Ah well, it was a bit of excitement to break the monotony of the morning :P Now back to washing my hands and looking out the window.

Same here.. ðŸ˜‚ðŸ˜‚ðŸ˜‚

avilaloca97 · 07-05-2020 2:00pm

Hi guys, I am a little bit stressed right now I've been laid off from my job due to covid -19 and the future of the business where I'm employed is very uncertain. I applied for this gig, I'm ranked 367 for Galway my score was 5837 and I ranked 309 for westmeath, I am pretty new to these competitions, should I give up hope on being called for an interview?

Thanks guys, best of luck to all x

navan21 · 07-05-2020 2:13pm

Placed mid 400's for Meath. Had some hope when I thought it was a 2 year competition but with it only being 12 months now i probably haven't a chance. Does anyone know if there are usually many positions available in Meath or if positions arise often? Thanks

Jamescahill · 07-05-2020 2:14pm

I’m in the exact same boat I finished 1270 in Dublin and don’t know if I should hope of an interview at all Im hearing many mixed opinions on it but hopefully there’s hope for us both well done on getting through regardless!

finla · 07-05-2020 2:22pm

Samsgirl wrote: »

I placed 5th in my chosen county in 2018 and 219 this time. Very strange.

I was top 5 last year and now 206, I thought it was strange also, a mate of mine is the same, top 5 last year and 300s now. We both put the same answers as last time. Is there a massive increase in applications? Or have they changed the way they score it.
Weird.

dublingirlx · 07-05-2020 2:27pm

Does anyone else not think it’s all very weird... the placings I mean? Everyone seems disappointed (me included) despite feeling like we did well and based on the score we got. Everyone’s placement seems weirdly high! It’s almost as if the whole of Ireland applied. I just think there’s something off with it all. I have applied for many competitions before and have never seen this. Everyone seems to be feeling quite deflated. Hard to know what is going to happen now. I’d like to know now though, will they only interview depending on job availability in your chosen location or will they interview and your order of merit changes again and then placed on a panel? I scored in the mid 200’s for my location and it’s a small enough town so don’t think there’s much hope for me!

ladz · 07-05-2020 2:43pm

What civil service departments are in westmeath does anyone know?

Banana Republic 1 · 07-05-2020 3:03pm

Conqueror wrote: »

ClareGal works for the HSE, a public service body. This competition is for the civil service, a separate entity, and she is as entitled to enter it as you are. She hasn't "blocked" you from a full time position, and it is isn't her fault you didn't get as high a mark as she did.

Now where did I say I didn't get a high mark.

Banana Republic 1 · 07-05-2020 3:09pm

Banana Republic 1 wrote: »

As someone who has been through the public jobs process a few times in the many campaigns both full time and TCO it really is baffling just how theses things are run. Firstly the many stages that campaigns go through, ie, the online questionnaires or the "aptitude tests which are widely debunked as an accurate means of determining anything, are really only a pc way for the public jobs people to cull off applicants. The private sector does this by taking a pile of applications at random and firing them in the bin.

Firstly having heard the aptitude tests weren't going ahead this year I was glad I applied for this campaign. I really doubt the relevance of the aptitude test because as a TCO Ive never seen anyone in any full time position, in the revenue or anywhere else, doing 30 vat calculations in under a minute and I know getting a high score in the error checking and your english language handling abilities is more important as a CO than how quickly you can bash buttons on a calculator. Also consistently coming in the top 50 in the order of merit in numerous online questioners for TCO campaigns, which are exactly the same questions as in the CO version, I thought I was in with a good chance, no because it's a total lottery.

There are several reasons why the process takes as long as a snail reversing back a forward moving conveyor belt but one of them must be that they take several months to move goalposts especially since the results of these questionnaires and aptitude tests, all of which are on digital format, are most likely calculated on the day or within a few days.

avilaloca97 wrote: »

Hi guys, I am a little bit stressed right now I've been laid off from my job due to covid -19 and the future of the business where I'm employed is very uncertain. I applied for this gig, I'm ranked 367 for Galway my score was 5837 and I ranked 309 for westmeath, I am pretty new to these competitions, should I give up hope on being called for an interview? Thanks guys, best of luck to all x

There a good chance you could be called but Id keep breathing in the mean time

Nigel Fairservice · 07-05-2020 3:19pm

People need to have realistic expectations here. I believe half the civil service is in Dublin and the other half is spread out across the other 25 counties. Some counties would only have a small civil service presence and because of that there wouldn't be a great deal of jobs going in regional locations. People should by all means apply but definitely don't be counting on it. You might hear back in 2 years time, you might not hear back at all.

Banana Republic 1 · 07-05-2020 3:19pm

finla wrote: »

I was top 5 last year and now 206, I thought it was strange also, a mate of mine is the same, top 5 last year and 300s now. We both put the same answers as last time. Is there a massive increase in applications? Or have they changed the way they score it.
Weird.

Ranking people on the basis of that questionnaire is like predicting the price of cabbage in ten years. Of course they've changed the scoring parameters because they cant arbitrarily cull people now that the "aptitude" test is not part of this campaign. Bear in mind that the results of the COMPUTER based questionnaire were probably calculated straight after you clicked submit.

Mr lebowski · 07-05-2020 3:27pm

Samsgirl wrote: »

I placed 5th in my chosen county in 2018 and 219 this time. Very strange.

For both my counties. Comparing my oom to 2018 I was within 2 places in both counties this time!. What are the chances of that!.

Conqueror · 07-05-2020 3:32pm

Banana Republic 1 wrote: »

Now where did I say I didn't get a high mark.

You didn't, nor did I say you didn't get a high mark. But if you sarcastically thank someone for blocking you from getting a full time position, then it stands to reason that you probably didn't get as high a mark as they did. If you had a higher mark, they would be below you in the order of merit and you wouldn't need to worry about them also getting a post in this competition.

Having gone through previous competitions, I know there are a lot of people who are understandably anxious about how they will do in this competition, and a lot of uncertainty as to whether they will get a job or even an interview. You may be one of those people. What doesn't help is being unnecessarily sarcastic towards someone who has the right to also enter the competition but who happens to have a full time job somewhere else.

I'm going to leave it there, because sniping back and forth goes against what I think is the spirit of this thread, which is to give support and encouragement to people who are looking to start a new career. I wish you good luck.

pjcpolly · 07-05-2020 3:44pm

tritriagain wrote: »

Got 6466 out of 8000. Placed 39 in oom Wexford. Would anyone in the know thinks it looks positive for me.

That's a great score....I'm also in Wexford and got placed 95 and 97 for Waterford as my second choice.

Best of luck..:)

pjcpolly · 07-05-2020 3:51pm

xxsammyxx085 wrote: »

Did anyone notice that the booklet says there wont be anyone used off this panel after May 2021?

Yes I noticed that...seems like its only a year long panel for a change!

positivepenny · 07-05-2020 4:36pm

pjcpolly wrote: »

Yes I noticed that...seems like its only a year long panel for a change!

Why would they change that, wasnt the booklet issued before covid??

pj12332 · 07-05-2020 4:45pm

Got 67 in Wicklow and 147 in Kildare. Not too bad. Thousands of people won't continue in the competition after that stage anyway. And the interview will help people jump up places. The questionnaire is pointless in my opinion. People can apply and do it with friends family etc. People also will just say what they know the civil service want to hear.

I went for temporary one and could not believe the interview has no affect ok placings. At least this one does. It's a certainly there are better people for the role placed lower than than others who would not do as well.

murphy15 · 07-05-2020 5:01pm

laoisgem wrote: »

My daughter got results for Laois/Offaly. Into the 500's so not looking good, although she was in the top 30 for TCO, it's baffling tbh

a lot of COs already employed apply because its easier way to get transferred than mobility only 1 in every 3 jobs go via mobility, and any1 that has less than 2 years service.. I know 20 plus in my offices in Dublin who have applied aiming to get out of Dublin with high rents/ travel etc..

tritriagain · 07-05-2020 5:07pm

pjcpolly wrote: »

That's a great score....I'm also in Wexford and got placed 95 and 97 for Waterford as my second choice.

Best of luck..:)

Waterford my second choice as well. Placed 51st. Hopefully I'll see you at the Christmas party. Best of luck

mayo londoner · 07-05-2020 5:08pm

Can your position on the OOM go down (e.g go from 10th to 100th) after doing the interview?

murphy15 · 07-05-2020 5:12pm

mayo londoner wrote: »

Can your position on the OOM go down (e.g go from 10th to 100th) after doing the interview?

Yes that's what should happen to me, they'll be reasons people will drop out, ie, can make interview date, too low of a wage, get a job in the meantime, and if you have good example and use STAR technique your OOM can move by Hundreds !

pjcpolly · 07-05-2020 5:16pm

tritriagain wrote: »

Waterford my second choice as well. Placed 51st. Hopefully I'll see you at the Christmas party. Best of luck

And the same to you....it's a waiting game for now.

pjcpolly · 07-05-2020 5:18pm

positivepenny wrote: »

Why would they change that, wasnt the booklet issued before covid??

I heard they are trying to cut down on wait times etc and possibly just a new way of doing things now. Might be the same for other competitions from now on too.

Rubenski · 07-05-2020 5:48pm

Hi guys. I got early 60s for Kerry. First time doing this so am not too sure if I should be optimistic or not, especially since the panel is only until May 2021 this time.

Can I ask if my chances look good (somewhat!!)?? Pretty nervous about this whole thing.

Thanks.

Banana Republic 1 · 07-05-2020 5:57pm

Conqueror wrote: »

You didn't, nor did I say you didn't get a high mark. But if you sarcastically thank someone for blocking you from getting a full time position, then it stands to reason that you probably didn't get as high a mark as they did. If you had a higher mark, they would be below you in the order of merit and you wouldn't need to worry about them also getting a post in this competition.

Having gone through previous competitions, I know there are a lot of people who are understandably anxious about how they will do in this competition, and a lot of uncertainty as to whether they will get a job or even an interview. You may be one of those people. What doesn't help is being unnecessarily sarcastic towards someone who has the right to also enter the competition but who happens to have a full time job somewhere else.

I'm going to leave it there, because sniping back and forth goes against what I think is the spirit of this thread, which is to give support and encouragement to people who are looking to start a new career. I wish you good luck.

The spirit of this thread is one of people getting very despondent wondering how some ranking system which was determined on the back of a cigarette packet says they are somehow worthless. I'm also looking to start a new career now that I have none thanks to covid and yes I did go off half cocked with the original comment but I know there are plenty COs in the civil service that use these campaigns to move sideways.

Do I think thats fair on everyone who does not have a guarantee of employment with some trimmings no because they are already in the system and there are proper internal procedures to do that.

Is it COs fault the system is an ass, and you most know that it is having been through several campaigns, or that the cost of living in Dublin is ridiculous, no but from my point of view its like being blocked from watching a match by the spectators who are already inside.

camki · 07-05-2020 6:37pm

Banana Republic 1 wrote: »

The spirit of this thread is one of people getting very despondent wondering how some ranking system which was determined on the back of a cigarette packet says they are somehow worthless. I'm also looking to start a new career now that I have none thanks to covid and yes I did go off half cocked with the original comment but I know there are plenty COs in the civil service that use these campaigns to move sideways.

Do I think thats fair on everyone who does not have a guarantee of employment with some trimmings no because they are already in the system and there are proper internal procedures to do that.

Is it COs fault the system is an ass, and you most know that it is having been through several campaigns, or that the cost of living in Dublin is ridiculous, no but from my point of view its like being blocked from watching a match by the spectators who are already inside.

It's a competition, everyone is entitled to apply. May the best person win. You have just a good of chance as anyone. This is only one job that people apply for. I think there will be many opportunities in the private sector when all this blows over. Keep applying for any admin roles you see.

Augme · 07-05-2020 8:06pm

Banana Republic 1 wrote: »

The spirit of this thread is one of people getting very despondent wondering how some ranking system which was determined on the back of a cigarette packet says they are somehow worthless. I'm also looking to start a new career now that I have none thanks to covid and yes I did go off half cocked with the original comment but I know there are plenty COs in the civil service that use these campaigns to move sideways.

Do I think thats fair on everyone who does not have a guarantee of employment with some trimmings no because they are already in the system and there are proper internal procedures to do that.

Is it COs fault the system is an ass, and you most know that it is having been through several campaigns, or that the cost of living in Dublin is ridiculous, no but from my point of view its like being blocked from watching a match by the spectators who are already inside.

Clerical officer competitions have been running for the last 6 years. Had plenty of chances to become a clerical officer. Instead you wait until you job goes tits up and then whinge when you aren't give a job straight away. Please.

Clerical Officer 2020

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