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Principal Officer in the Civil Service

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13567…34

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    #62
    The Veteran
    Registered Users Posts: 448 ✭✭The Veteran


    I heard from a very reliable source that they were told that the majority of applicants were already civil or public servants. Don't know numbers.


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    #63
    going places
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭going places


    Anybody got there next set of instructions yet? Was hoping to work in them this weekend but now unlikely...
    I'm in on 12th May for next grilling


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    #64
    Abhoth
    Registered Users Posts: 19 ✭Abhoth


    Not me, but I'm wondering if they might send the instructions out the same length of time in advance for each candidate to level the playing field? That might mean about week in advance. I'm later in the month myself.


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    #65
    cbbr
    Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭cbbr


    Has anyone gone anywhere for interview prep or can anyone recommend someone good? I have had disastrous competency based interviews before!


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    #66
    Omnishambles99
    Registered Users Posts: 141 ✭✭Omnishambles99


    CBBR, I'd check with any of the numerous communications skills/personal development consultants and/or agencies around town, there are enough of them. they'd help in honing your particular skills and experience to best fit the competency based interview setting


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    #67
    Public2015
    Registered Users Posts: 33 ✭Public2015


    So, does anyone have any thoughts on the process that they'd like to share with us? What was the assessment day like?

    It's gone very quiet in here.......


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    #68
    Abhoth
    Registered Users Posts: 19 ✭Abhoth


    Public2015 wrote: »
    So, does anyone have any thoughts on the process that they'd like to share with us? What was the assessment day like?

    It's gone very quiet in here.......

    It's not that surprising that it has gone quiet. We are down to 300 or so from an original field of maybe a couple of thousand. It's probably not in the interests of those who are still in the running to share information with competitors they do not know, particularly as the PAS seems to be waiting until about a week before interviews before sending out briefing material.


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    #69
    going places
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭going places


    I found the on-line assessment harder, the case study plenty of time and the interview all competency based.
    Of the 10 or so other candidates I met, 9 were APs across the civil service.
    Staff in PAS really pleasant to deal with.
    Interviews continuing this week and next, so do not expect to hear anything until mid-June I suspect.
    Advice, get a good nights sleep, its a long process


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    #70
    Public2015
    Registered Users Posts: 33 ✭Public2015


    Abhoth wrote: »
    It's not that surprising that it has gone quiet. We are down to 300 or so from an original field of maybe a couple of thousand. It's probably not in the interests of those who are still in the running to share information with competitors they do not know, particularly as the PAS seems to be waiting until about a week before interviews before sending out briefing material.

    Hopefully not everyone will be as cynical as that.

    [wink]


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    #71
    Uriel.
    Registered Users Posts: 8,061 ✭✭✭Uriel.


    going places wrote: »
    I found the on-line assessment harder, the case study plenty of time and the interview all competency based.
    Of the 10 or so other candidates I met, 9 were APs across the civil service.
    Staff in PAS really pleasant to deal with.
    Interviews continuing this week and next, so do not expect to hear anything until mid-June I suspect.
    Advice, get a good nights sleep, its a long process

    I can echo this. I actually did find the online thing harder as well. Clearly another means to offload some candidates.

    Everything else was as expected. Can't really say how I performed... You can really only say, I find, if it was a disaster. Anything else I find impossible to evaluate


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    #72
    Tivoli1300
    Registered Users Posts: 64 ✭✭Tivoli1300


    As do I echo it re the verification exercises and it is a relief to find others feel similarly. If the 15% variation is applied I will be out not just because the tests were harder but becuase I was so tired at that, for me, final stage. A good night's sleep is highly recommended beforehand. The rest of it is a mix of pretty good recollections and those best not dwelt on!

    Good luck to all who sail from here.


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    #73
    NapoleonInRags
    Registered Users Posts: 1,264 ✭✭✭NapoleonInRags


    Tivoli1300 wrote: »
    As do I echo it re the verification exercises and it is a relief to find others feel similarly. If the 15% variation is applied I will be out not just because the tests were harder but becuase I was so tired at that, for me, final stage. A good night's sleep is highly recommended beforehand. The rest of it is a mix of pretty good recollections and those best not dwelt on!

    Good luck to all who sail from here.


    As a matter of interest, where did you get the 15% figure from?


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    #74
    Tivoli1300
    Registered Users Posts: 64 ✭✭Tivoli1300


    NapoleonInRags wrote: »
    As a matter of interest, where did you get the 15% figure from?

    It was on one of the briefing documents that tesults may be called into question if more than 15% discrepancy.


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    #75
    NapoleonInRags
    Registered Users Posts: 1,264 ✭✭✭NapoleonInRags


    Tivoli1300 wrote: »
    It was on one of the briefing documents that tesults may be called into question if more than 15% discrepancy.

    Are you sure? The only reference on my documentation was to the requirement to be within 'an expected range'?


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    #76
    The_Conductor
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 32,279 Mod ✭✭✭✭The_Conductor


    NapoleonInRags wrote: »
    Are you sure? The only reference on my documentation was to the requirement to be within 'an expected range'?

    The expected range was 12.5% for some of the other competitions- not sure about PO.


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    #77
    Tivoli1300
    Registered Users Posts: 64 ✭✭Tivoli1300


    The_Conductor wrote: »
    The expected range was 12.5% for some of the other competitions- not sure about PO.
    I no longer have the booklet, must have recalled percentage wrongly.


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    #78
    NapoleonInRags
    Registered Users Posts: 1,264 ✭✭✭NapoleonInRags


    Tivoli1300 wrote: »
    I no longer have the booklet, must have recalled percentage wrongly.

    There was no percentage specified in the booklet.


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    #79
    Tivoli1300
    Registered Users Posts: 64 ✭✭Tivoli1300


    I picked it up somewhere, maybe it was in conversation at the competition. The point I was making was to do with my own discrepancy which exceeded 15% I am pretty sure.


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    #80
    NapoleonInRags
    Registered Users Posts: 1,264 ✭✭✭NapoleonInRags


    Tivoli1300 wrote: »
    I picked it up somewhere, maybe it was in conversation at the competition. The point I was making was to do with my own discrepancy which exceeded 15% I am pretty sure.

    Most people I've spoken to felt that the second part of the exercise was significantly harder than the original test. It's hard to put a figure on how much more difficult but it seemed to be 20-30% - if that makes sense.

    Surely if they are expecting candidates to be within a tight range of the first exercise score the standard of both should be similar?


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    #81
    Tivoli1300
    Registered Users Posts: 64 ✭✭Tivoli1300


    There are two ways of approaching it.

    They may do an averaging/ranking exercise again and compare ranked position. So to take an extreme example, if you came first and then came last, your results could come into question.

    They could of course do a raw comparison of percentage scores which would be difficult to do accurately if the tests were fundamentally different in levels of difficulty as seems to have been the case here.

    The former approach is fairer if the comparability of the testing material comes into question. We can but wait and see if any of us were disqualified and on what basis.

    In all my dealings with PAC I have found them relentlessly fair so I am encouraged to hear that many people had more difficulty with the validation exercise.


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    #82
    NapoleonInRags
    Registered Users Posts: 1,264 ✭✭✭NapoleonInRags


    Tivoli1300 wrote: »
    There are two ways of approaching it.

    They may do an averaging/ranking exercise again and compare ranked position. So to take an extreme example, if you came first and then came last, your results could come into question.

    They could of course do a raw comparison of percentage scores which would be difficult to do accurately if the tests were fundamentally different in levels of difficulty as seems to have been the case here.

    The former approach is fairer if the comparability of the testing material comes into question. We can but wait and see if any of us were disqualified and on what basis.

    In all my dealings with PAC I have found them relentlessly fair so I am encouraged to hear that many people had more difficulty with the validation exercise.


    That all makes perfect sense. Cheers.


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    #83
    going places
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭going places


    So, we're into June, anybody know when we will hear from them again, they MUST have finished the 333 by now...


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    #84
    Tivoli1300
    Registered Users Posts: 64 ✭✭Tivoli1300


    Mid June is what I was told on the day. Wonder how many will be placed on panel....


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    #85
    Tivoli1300
    Registered Users Posts: 64 ✭✭Tivoli1300


    Anyone like to share a few demographics? Few women (two), few externals (two) and three no shows on the day I was there (early May). Was this typical?


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    #86
    going places
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭going places


    In my group of 7 - 2 women, 4 men, 4 APs, 1 banker and 1 public service, (and 1 no show a woman)


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    #87
    Tivoli1300
    Registered Users Posts: 64 ✭✭Tivoli1300


    Sorry should have said, there were 15 in my group.


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    #88
    Glinda
    Registered Users Posts: 223 ✭✭Glinda


    I was early May too, didn't notice anything in particular about gender balance (although now that I think of it there were fewer women). Definitely only a tiny minority from outside the civil service - I only met two (and one was from a very large company that was formerly public).

    I thought the questions in the online tests were about the same difficulty as before, but the first time I was able to go back several times and check my answers, this time I only had time to work through once, very little time for re-checking. So I probably scored worse there :(.

    The written report thing was horrendous - found the time pressure there very difficult. Presentation and interview were fine (I think :p)


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    #89
    Tivoli1300
    Registered Users Posts: 64 ✭✭Tivoli1300


    The interview was the part I did best in too. I don't recall a more challinging assessment centre experience of the number I have done.


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    #90
    KCC
    Registered Users Posts: 268 ✭✭KCC


    4 people out of six showed up on my day.

    Two were private sector (one male, one female) and two were civil service Assistant Principals (again one male and one female).

    Two people didn't show up and they were female. Their names were called out so it didn't seem like they had cancelled in advance.

    I found the exercise to be pressurised but interesting. The presentation/discussion on same was enjoyable.

    The interview was not fun and I'm fairly sure I didn't get it!

    The job sim part of the verification test was fine but the analysis exercise was a head wreck (and I had found the original test to be fairly easy).


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    #91
    NapoleonInRags
    Registered Users Posts: 1,264 ✭✭✭NapoleonInRags


    Results out late this week or early next week apparently.


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