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Clerical Officer

in the

Civil Service 2016

Stage 1 (a)

Pre-Test Information Booklet

This is an important document so please set some time aside to read it in advance of the test session.

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your application for Clerical Officer in the Civil Service.

The Public Appointments Service (PAS) is the central recruiter for the Civil Service. Through this competition, PAS will establish panels of suitably qualified individuals from which clerical vacancies may be filled. Please note that not all vacancies will be filled through the PAS competition.[1]

The PAS is committed to the principles of good recruitment practice and these principles involve fair and impartial selection. This selection process has been developed to assess the key skills and attributes necessary to perform in a clerical role. Candidates will be required to take a number of assessments and tests which are designed to evaluate their potential for this. The process comprises several stages.

The first stage consists of:

(Part A) an Assessment Questionnaire, and

(Part B) Aptitude tests.

You will take these tests online and in an unsupervised environment, as previously outlined in the Information Booklet for Candidates.

This purpose of this pre-test information material is to help you to understand Stage 1 (Part A) of the selection process and introduce you to the format of the Assessment Questionnaire. Work through this information carefully as it will help you understand what you have to do and what you can expect during Stage 1.

Information on Part B (Aptitude tests) and each subsequent stage of the selection process will be made available to the candidates who progress.

PUBLIC APPOINTMENTS SERVICE

June 2016

©Public Appointments Service, 2016

The reproduction of any part of this document by any process whatsoever is breaking copyright law.

Overview

To facilitate candidates the initial selection stage will be conducted online. Therefore you will require a PC or laptop to complete the tests.

As indicated earlier, Stage 1 of the selection process is divided into two parts as follows:

(Part A) Assessment Questionnaire, and

(Part B) Aptitude tests.

Candidates must reach the required standard in both Part A and Part B. Those who achieve the required standard will be ranked accordingly. Only those who qualify and are placed highest at Stage 1 will be invited to Stage 2. However, the number to be invited forward will be determined by the PAS from time to time, having regard to the likely number of vacancies to be filled in the particular locations.

Qualification at Stage 1 is no guarantee that a candidate will be invited to Stage 2 or subsequent stages.

There will be a set time window during which you must take the Questionnaire. A separate time period will be allocated to you in which you must take the Aptitude tests. You are strongly advised to complete all of your tests early in each testing window.

Please note:

• You may take the Assessment Questionnaire in a venue of your choice wherever you have access to a computer and a reliable internet connection;

• As this stage will require your full concentration, please ensure that you take the Assessment Questionnaire in a quiet environment, where there are no distractions and where you will not be disturbed;

• You are advised to take the Assessment Questionnaire on a PC or laptop and to use a mouse you are familiar with. Do not attempt to take the Questionnaire on a smart phone, mobile or tablet device;

• Close down all other applications except for your browser windows and internet connection, and stop all other activity on your computer e.g. printing could cause the assessment / tests to terminate;

• Please be aware that taking the Assessment Questionnaire within a secure IT network e.g. such as your work or college network which may have firewalls or other security technology in place, may cause you technical difficulties. In such instances PAS (or any company or service provider operating on behalf of PAS) will not be liable;

• Further information on the PC /Laptop requirements to take this Questionnaire is provided at Appendix 1 at the end of this document;

• During the period of the Assessment Questionnaire, email support facilities will be available to deal with any technical issues you may have.

Honesty Contract

Integrity and honesty are key values within the Civil Service. As a potential employee, you are expected to honour these values, both in how you approach this competition and by agreeing to follow the rules and procedures laid down. By taking part in the selection process, you are confirming that you are the person named on the application and you agree to complete the Questionnaire honestly and without assistance. A third party must not personate a candidate at any stage of the process. By accessing or attempting any assessment / test materials you are agreeing to be bound by the terms set out.

Stage 1

Part A – Assessment Questionnaire

In order to assess your potential suitability for the clerical role, the Assessment Questionnaire collects information on (a) your skills, interests and preferences and (b) your responses to potential scenarios you may face in the role.

It is essential that you answer all of the questions on this Questionnaire within the dates and time allocated to you.

This questionnaire is divided into three parts. The first part is broken down into three sections.

• A series of statements and you are asked to indicate how well each of the statements describe you.

• A series of statements about what you would like your job to entail.

• A series of tasks and skills and you are asked to rate yourself against these tasks/skills.

In the second part of this questionnaire, you are given a series of scenarios, similar to what may be encountered in the role. After each scenario you are given a number of options as to how a Clerical Officer might deal with the scenario. You will be asked to rate each of the options in terms of their appropriateness.

The final part of the questionnaire is a number of questions relating to your experience and skills.

• We encourage you to complete the Assessment Questionnaire quickly, rather than deliberating over each question;

• Candidates must complete the questionnaire on their own behalf; responses will be verified should you come under consideration.

• A third party must not impersonate a candidate at any stage of the process

| |

|Should you experience any technical problems while completing the Questionnaire, please use email the support desk, remembering to include |

|your Name and Candidate ID in the subject line and providing a detailed description of your problem to the address below: |

|co0616@ |

| |

|Any general queries not relating to the Questionnaire but about the recruitment process that are not answered in the information booklet |

|should be sent to: |

|clerical2016@publicjobs.ie |

If you have not fully completed and submitted the Questionnaire before the deadline, your application will receive no further consideration. You will not be invited to undertake Stage 1 Part B if you have not completed and pressed the Submit button at the end of the Assessment Questionnaire. The live test window (24th June – 29th June) gives you every opportunity to ensure you are able to access and complete the Questionnaire.

The test will close at 1pm on Wednesday 29th June 2016.

Next Steps

1. You will have received information regarding your allocated testing window for Stage 1 Part A to your publicjobs Messageboard.

2. At the appointed time you will receive the link to your Assessment Questionnaire. This will be delivered to your publicjobs Messageboard.

3. The questionnaire should take approximately 60 minutes to complete but you can take longer if you wish. Give yourself sufficient time and do not wait until the final hours of the testing deadline to complete the Questionnaire.

4. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are able to access and complete the Questionnaire before 1pm on Wednesday 29th June 2016. Once the deadline for your testing window has passed, you will not be able to commence the Questionnaire. No extensions will be given.

Accessing the Assessment Questionnaire

Once you open the link in your Messageboard you will be taken directly to the introduction page of your Assessment Questionnaire. You should check that your name appears on the screen. If not, to seek assistance, use the support email co0616@

Please ensure that you read carefully the instructions provided on the screens. You will be asked to confirm your Candidate ID prior to starting the Questionnaire.

| |

|IMPORTANT INFORMATION |

|Terms and Conditions |

|Your attention is drawn to this important information. By accessing or attempting any assessment / test materials you are agreeing to be bound by the terms set out |

|below. |

|All test and assessment materials are subject to copyright and all rights are reserved. No part of the tests/ assessment materials (including any text, questions |

|and/or potential answer options) or associated materials (including practice and/ or familiarisation materials) may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by |

|any means including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, printing, photographing, recording, written or otherwise, at any stage. To do so is an offence and may |

|result in you being excluded from the selection process. Any person(s) who contravenes this provision, whether an applicant or other, or who assists another |

|person(s) in contravening this provision, is liable to prosecution and/ or civil suit for loss of copyright and intellectual property. |

| |

|Your attention is drawn the Commission for Public Service Appointment’s Code of Practice for Appointment to Positions in the Civil Service and Public Service. In |

|particular please note Section 5 - Responsibility of Candidates (see below). |

| |

|Canvassing |

|Candidates should note that canvassing will disqualify them and will result in their exclusion from the appointments process. |

|Candidates’ obligations |

|Candidates in the recruitment process must not: |

|Knowingly or recklessly provide false information |

|Canvass any person, with or without inducements |

|Interfere with or compromise the process in any way. |

| |

|A third party must not personate a candidate at any stage of the process. |

|Penalties for failure to comply |

|Any person who contravenes the above provisions, or who assists another person in contravening the above provisions is guilty of an offence. A person who is found|

|guilty of an offence is liable to a fine and/or imprisonment. |

| |

|If a person found guilty of such an offence was or is a candidate in a recruitment process, then: |

|Where he/she has not been appointed to a post, he/she will be disqualified as a candidate |

|Where he/she has been appointed subsequent to the recruitment process in question, he/she |

|shall forfeit that appointment. |

| |

|The admission of a person to the competition, or invitation to undertake any element of the selection process is not to be taken as implying that the Public |

|Appointments Service is satisfied that such a person fulfils the essential requirements. |

Appendix 1

PC/Laptop Minimum Specification Requirements

The following are the minimum requirements to successfully take the tests on a PC or laptop. Most computers will meet these requirements.

• Operating system

                Windows 2000 or later

                Apple Mac: MAC OS X

• Your Adobe TM flash player will need to be up to date: adobe flash plug-in v11

• To take a test, we recommend a broadband internet connection with a download speed of at least 256kb/s.  Users with dial-up connections and broadband connections with a download speed less than 256kb/s may have difficulty rendering some items.

• Supported browsers:

                Internet explorer versions 7 +

                Google chrome 4.0+

                Mozilla firefox 3.0+

                Safari 3.0+

                Opera

Netscape 7.0.2

The tests will work best with the following minimum resolution: 1024 x 768 pixels. A screen resolution lower than this will cause the pages of the test to scroll. The tests will check the screen resolution at the start and a warning is given if the available screen is not big enough.

The test delivery software requires pop-up windows and session cookies are enabled in your browser.

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[1] Some Civil Service organisations may conduct their own recruitment independently of PAS

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