Eldar, Civil Service Exam Specialist at JobTestPrep.
Have a question? Contact me at: ask_the_team@jobtestprep.co.uk
The Executive Officer (Dublin) is a trainee management role and positions are now open. This role is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to take his career to the next level. A university degree is not necessary to apply for it
Here are some of the responsibilities and expectations of an executive officer:
The verbal reasoning test is designed to measure your ability to evaluate an argument logically and to understand written passages.
In this test, you will be required to demonstrate your ability to comprehend passages of text, make inferences and deductions, and assess various arguments.
You will be shown a paragraph and a statement. You must then decide if the statement is true, false, or indeterminably true/false ("cannot say") based on the text.
You must answer 59 questions in 35 minutes. Extensive verbal reasoning practice is included in our Executive Officer PrepPack!
Verbal Reasoning Sample Question
Try answering this question in 30 seconds- that's about the time you'll have for each question during the test.
Hatha yoga is one of the most common styles of yoga practiced in Western countries. It involves physical postures and breathing exercises combined with meditation. A recent study found that practicing just 25 minutes of Hatha yoga per day can boost the brain's executive functions, cognitive abilities linked to goal-directed behaviour, and the ability to control emotional responses, habitual thinking patterns, and actions. According to the research, Hatha yoga focuses the brain's conscious processing power on a limited number of targets, like breathing and posing, and reduces the processing of nonessential information. These two functions might have a positive carryover effect in the near term following the session, so people can focus more easily on what they attend to in everyday life. The study participants completed 25 minutes of Hatha yoga and 25 minutes of quiet reading (a control task). After both activities, the participants were tested in several subjects to measure their brain function. Following the yoga session, participants performed better on executive function exams compared to the reading task.
Adapted from: https://www.sciencedaily.com
Statement:
For the numerical reasoning test, you are asked to answer questions assessing your ability to make correct decisions or inferences from numerical data.
You will be presented with statistical tables containing facts and figures, followed by questions relating to one of the tables on the page. You must choose the correct answer out of five possible choices for each question.
You must answer 36 questions in 35 minutes during this part of the test. Numerical reasoning test practice is included in our Executive Officer PrepPack.
Numerical Reasoning Sample question
Try answering this question in 1 minute and 10 seconds- this is close to the time limit you will have during the test.
Observe the following graph and answer the following question:
This test is meant to ensure you can handle workplace situations that executive officers face during their jobs.
You will be given a series of scenarios, and much rate responses based on how well they handle the situation- 5 (Excellent; meets every need of the situation very well), 4 (Good; meets the needs of the situation well), 3 (Adequate; acceptable, but with some shortcomings/omissions), 2 (Weak; falls below what is acceptable), and 1 (Bad; incompetent and far below what is acceptable).
This section's duration is 30 minutes and is covered by the JobTestPrep EO Preparation.
The selection process for Civil Service Officers is managed by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) and is comprised of several stages.
After completing an initial application, you must complete the Executive Officer Assessment Questionnaire. After the questionnaire, you will be invited to take an online assessment test comprising of verbal & numerical reasoning and job simulation tests. If you are invited to progress to the next stage, you will participate in an interview, and in more steps down the road.
The Stage 1 online assessment questionnaire is comprised of two psychological tests: a personality test and a situational judgement test (SJT). Both parts together aim to measure the competencies necessary for the Executive Officer role.
An interview can be an intimidating experience, but with good preparation, you will a great chance to pass the interview stage.
A successful candidate must have a number of critical qualities to ensure that they can get the job done, including:
Organization: The candidate must be a super-organized in order to meet deadlines and reach targets. He must also ensure that the necessary resources and manpower are mobilized to reach those objectives.
Clarity: The candidate must be able to present written or verbal presentations clearly, comprehensively, and convincingly. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and the candidate can get the proper resources to get the job done.
Wide Scope: The candidate must be able to deal and make recommendations concerning a wide range of issues ranging from day to day to irregular, emergency, or special scenarios.
Professionalism: The candidate must maintain a professional posture at all times to both faithfully serve the public and uphold the highest standards of the agency.
Here are some tips on how to do it (taken from the official Irish Civil Service website)
• Learn about the organisation
• Know the skills and qualities needed for the job
• Know your strengths, skills, and qualities
• Prepare your examples and experiences
• Think why does this make you suitable for this job?
• To build confidence, practice what you would say in the interview with a friend or colleague.
Here are some of the responsibilities and expectations of an executive officer:
First, you will be expected to make often complex decisions involving unusual situations and cases. Second, you will be managing on a large scale in terms of staff, resources, and budgets which you must justify within the agency.
Lastly, you must be at the forefront of research policy, up to date on all legislation, and serving in government departments as either or junior manager or managing operation.
The starting salary for the position is €30,278.
These may include some of the following:
There are 26 countries that an Irish executive officer can work in.
You may choose two of them according to your preference.