Civil Service Exams

Ralphie

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Hi,

Does anyone know of any books/websites etc that are useful for the maths part of these exams?

Thanks!
 
There are information booklets and practice tests on the publicjobs.ie website. Last time they had some interactive tests but I'm not sure if they're there now. Remember for the maths they only allow you a basic calculator.

Are you going for the AO/Junior Diplomat ones? I'll be joining the thousands there too!
 
Yeah and me too...

Any idea how many people are called for the tests and how many are actually selected for the panels?
 
one thing to remember for the maths part of the exam is that you only have to pass it, marks beyond the pass mark aren't counted (at least that was the case a number of years ago, fairly sure it's the same now). the thing to do is go through the paper picking out the 'easier' questions and do them first. when i did the exams i avoided anything involving indices as, for me, they were just too difficult and time consuming. not sure of any books that would help but best of luck.
 
It's some time since I've done the AO / 3rd Sec exams, but I can offer the folowing, if it's of any use:

(1) Dereko1969 is correct - on the "maths" section (it's really only arithmetic, and a little data manipulation, at most), all you need is a pass. You will not receive additional points for further corrrect answers.

(2) There is no negative marking.

(3) There will usually be a good deal of information provided in graph and / or tabular format. Look carefully at the figures and what they represent - you may be asked to compare two things and assess which is better value, that sort of thing.

In general, they tend to throw in a couple of questions with a twist, or which require more calculation: if you're not quick with numbers, don't waste time trying to work those out at the beginning. As dereko says, identify the easy ones and do those. Keep an eye on the time. When you've done the easy ones, go back to the others and spend a little extra time trying to work them out. If you run short of time, pick the one that looks right. And try to save two minutes or so to look over your answers.

http://www.thatquiz.com/ has some online arithmetic and graph stuff - you can change the difficulty levels. While it's not exactly the kind of thing you'll face, it's good for sharpening you up if you're a bit slower on the numbers side, as are IQ quiz books and the like.

sun_sparks, I'm not sure what the numbers are like these days, but there used to be thousands, with panels of twenty to fifty being established. That would indicate to me that in the region of 300 people in total, at most, will be called to interview from the test stage.

Note that certain AO posts are being recruited directly by the relevant departments, so keep an eye on as well.

Best of luck to all of you taking the exams!
 
Last time I did them 6,000 people sat the exams. They called the top 150 for round 2 which was a group/teamwork exercise and then a document summary test.

I got to round 2 but had a lousy group for the exercise and then messed up the summary thing as I was not one of those lucky people whose mates had already done the test and told them what was in it!

Close of applications was 20 March so too late for you MLouisa.
 
I don't know if there are group tasks this time around, didn't look like it from the info they posted.

Anyway last time we were brought into a room, about 8 in the group and 2 "observers". We were given some documents to read and then based on the info they contained we had to organise a visit to Dublin by some potential foreign investors. Sounds easy. Not!! Lots of clashes of interests, languages, time and restricted budget. You weren't allowed nominate a chair so 8 different voices all trying to look like the perfect candidate....we got nowhere near sorting it in the time allowed.

From what I remember someone in the group was obsessed by a comment in one of the visitor profiles about hot air ballooning!
 
You weren't allowed nominate a chair so 8 different voices all trying to look like the perfect candidate....we got nowhere near sorting it in the time allowed.
I'm not surprised, and I don't think the group exercises are really going to be a useful measure. I know they're introducing them at other levels as well, and don't look forward to undergoing it. The premise is faulty, to my mind: in real life, a group is going to have a chair or to nominate a chair, to keep discussion on track and, if necessary, to guillotine discussion on extraneous or unproductive issues or set them aside until later.

Unfortunately, in the highly artificial way they've set it up, it's liable to be an aggression-driven exercise and it would take only two people in a group acting the maggot to derail the prospects of the whole group. As far as I can see, if you're in such a group then the only abilities it's likely to test are the abilities to work in a chaotic and unstructured environment, and to shout louder than the rest. To my mind, that does not put candidates on an equal footing as they're unduly dependent on luck of the draw in the group. :(
From what I remember someone in the group was obsessed by a comment in one of the visitor profiles about hot air ballooning!
Gah! See? :eek:
 
Hi,

Interesting topic!!

Anyone have advice for the verbal reasoning or the job simulation sections?
 
Verbal reasoning is tough enough, the difference between stated and implied can be tiny in some cases so the "doesn't say" answer needs a lot of thinking about.

For the job simulation, put yourself in the employers position and think about what they want in an employee. IMO it's the easiest section.
 
Verbal reasoning is tough enough, the difference between stated and implied can be tiny in some cases so the "doesn't say" answer needs a lot of thinking about.

For the job simulation, put yourself in the employers position and think about what they want in an employee. IMO it's the easiest section.

Just to let you know that in tackling the job sim the best advice is what the poster above suggests. However, in the last external AP competition (which is the grade just above AO) they changed the format of the job sim. Before you chose just one option that you believed to be the best option, in the new format you have to grade the options from the one you believe to be the best downwards. While it may appear straightforward I am a serving AO who got very good marks in the exam where you chose one option and fell down markedly in the next competition where you had to grade the options. It is not as easy at it seems!

Good luck!

D
 
I just took the Administrative Officer/Third Secretary test there this morning. From the looks of it, it seemed like the Third Secretary applicants were the greatest in number. I'd say there'll be some vicious competition for that position.

I thought the Verbal Reasoning test fairly easily, had a little time left over to check over the answers to some of the trickier questions. The Numerical Competency was a little trickier due to time constraints (had to guess the last two answers). Other than that though, it seemed reasonable enough.

The Job Simulation could have been a complete disaster, I really have no idea. I got the feeling that the best answers (I know, I know, you were supposed to give your answers) were ones involving team working and consensous building. Did anyone get the question about relating to the lunching booking for the Minister? I nearly laughed out loud at the ludicrousness of it, it totally reminded me of the classic BBC show, Yes, Minister.

I'm kinda confident I'll get to the next stage. What did everyone else think?
 
I hope this confidence is catching, I do the exam next week. Got to round 2 last time, fingers crossed for this time. The odds are high though, 5000+ for 150ish round 2 places....
 
Did anyone get the question about relating to the lunching booking for the Minister? I nearly laughed out loud at the ludicrousness of it, it totally reminded me of the classic BBC show, Yes, Minister.


Buy him a quality vegetarian alternative from a nearby delicatessen!

I have to admit I was giggling my way through that question too...
 
Did anyone get the question about relating to the lunching booking for the Minister? I nearly laughed out loud at the ludicrousness of it, it totally reminded me of the classic BBC show, Yes, Minister.

Useful tip. If you get the job, you may well find yourself in this kind of scenario. In the unlikely event of you feeling like laughing at the time, you would be well advised to bottle it. Ministers tend not to see humour in everything.
 
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