Open and Interdepartmental Competitionsfor

Management Opportunities

Open and Interdepartmental competitionsfor

Assistant Principal(Standard)

in the Civil Serviceand First Secretary in the

Dept.of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Stage 1

Pre-Test Information Booklet

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

©Public Appointments ServicePage 1

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your application for Management Opportunities in the Civil Service.

The Public Appointments Service (PAS) is committed to the principles of good recruitment practice and these principles involve fair and impartial selection. The process will comprise several stages. This first stage consists of assessment tests devised to measure key skills and attributes required to perform in the role.

As previously outlined in the Information Booklet for Candidates, you will take these tests online and in an unsupervised environment

The purpose of this pre-test information material is to help you to understand this stage of the selection process and introduce you to the format of the assessment tests. Work through this information carefully as it will help you understand what you have to do and what you can expect during this stage of the process. You can also expect the actual tests to be more difficult than the practice tests. It will also ensure that you are prepared to perform to the best of your ability.

Information on Stage 2 and each subsequent stage of the selection process will be made available to the candidates who are invited to progress.

PUBLIC APPOINTMENTS SERVICE

December 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 in an unsupervised environment. Therefore you will require a PC or laptop to complete the tests.

This stage will comprise3assessments,
1)Verbal Analysis,
2) Numerical Analysis, and
3)Situational Judgement Test (Management Scenarios)

There will be a set time window (details below) during which you must complete the three tests. You are strongly advised to complete all of your tests earlyin the testing window.

Our test provider for all three tests is(CEB/SHL).During the testing window helpdesk facilities will be available from thetest provider to deal with any technical issues you may have while taking the tests (see Helpdesk details below).

Candidates must reach the required standard in all three tests. 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 from time to time, having regard to the likely vacancies to be filled.

Qualification at Stage 1 is no guarantee that a candidate will be invited to Stage 2 or subsequentstages.
Please note that while candidates complete these assessment tests online in an unsupervised environment, those who qualify and are placed highest on the order of merit may be required to sit similar tests in a supervised environment at a later stage in the process. If a candidate’s performance at the supervised test is outside the expected scoring range from their unsupervised test, they may be excluded from subsequent stages of the selection process.

Preparing to take the tests
Candidates should note that:

you may take the tests in a venue of your choice wherever you have access to a computer and a reliable internet connection;
taking these tests 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;
as the tests will require your full concentration, please ensure that you take the tests in a quiet environment, where there are no distractions and where you will not be disturbed;
you are advised to take the tests on a PC or laptop and to use a mouse you are familiar with. Do not attempt to take the tests on a smart phone, mobile or tablet device;
you must 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;
further information on the PC /Laptop requirements to take the tests is provided at Appendix 1 at the end of this document;
during the period of the tests, email support facilities will be available from the test provider to deal with any technical issues you may have in relation to theirtests.

Honesty Contract
Integrity and honesty are key values within the Civil and Public Service. As potential employees 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 tests honestly and without assistance. A third party must not personate a candidate at any stage of the process. Your attention is drawn to the important information set out in Appendix 2. By accessing or attempting any assessment / test materials you are agreeing to be bound by the terms set out.

Fairness monitoring
When you login to do the tests you will notice that some biographical questions are asked before moving onto the actual tests. This information is being gathered to monitor the fairness of the tests. Neither the manner in which you respond to this request for information nor the answers you provide will have any bearing on the manner in which your application is considered.

Stage 1: Selection Tests

Before the Actual Tests
You will receive a message to your publicjobs Message Board containing a link and your login details. This link is to your Verbal, Numerical and Situational Judgement Tests; The link will be sent to you no later than Friday 16th December, 2016, if you do not receive your link by Friday 16thplease email

Testing Window
You must complete all three tests between
Thursday15thand noon onTuesday20th December 2016

You are strongly advised to give yourself sufficient time and not wait until the final hours of the testing deadline to take the tests. No time extensions will be given.

Please note that you must NOT change your email address during the selection process. The PAS will not be responsible for non-delivery of messages to any new/revised email addresses you may provide.

Helpdesk support fortheassessment tests

In the unlikely event that you experience any difficulties, you should contact the test providers’ technical support help desks:

Helpdesk Support Information
Support will be available during office hours

The Tests
The testscomprisethree separate elements:

Verbal Analysis (19 minutes time limit)
Numerical Analysis (25 minutes time limit)
Situational Judgment Questionnaire(Management Scenarios)
(noset time limit, however it is estimated it will take approx 40 minutes to complete)

Please note that if you have been granted additional time this will be included when taking the online tests.

Remember you will receive your three tests through onelink to your publicjobs Message Board.You must attemptall three tests; if you do not take allthree tests you will be deemed to have withdrawn from this competition.

These tests,including instructions and examples, will take you approximately 110 minutes to complete. You should therefore set aside sufficient time to allow you to read the instructions, do the examples and take the actual tests.

Verbal & Numerical Analysis tests

The onlineVerbal and Numerical tests are timed tests and will automatically finish after the allocated time has elapsed. Due to the advances of online testing, the scoring of assessments has become more complex. It is suggested that you do the testsas quickly and accurately as you can.
After logging in, you will be required to accept the data protection and terms and conditions by ticking the relevant boxes.

Preparation & Practice Material
The practice tests are designed to give you an opportunity to familiarise yourself with the type of questions you can expect to face in the real test. They are similar in structure and format to the actual tests but remember the number of practice questions is less than the number of questions on the real test.

To access the practice test material for the three testslog on to

In order to complete the full length practice tests you need to be registered with SHL.

Please note that the user name and password required when you login for the practice tests is different to the one you will use for the actual online tests.

Verbal Analysis AptitudeTest
This is designed to assess your ability to understand written information. You will be presented with a series of text passages, each followed by several questions. Your task is to choose the best answer to each question from the options given, based only on the information provided.

There is one, and only one, correct answer to each question. Click on the answer that you think is correct. When a response has been selected a black dot will appear in the centre of the button. The total time limit for this test is 19 minutes.

Remember, once you have answered a question and clicked the Next arrow:

You will not be able to go back to the question or change your answer;
Do not use the ‘back’ or ‘ESC’ buttons on your browser – this will end the assessment;
Do not click ‘Abort’ during the test as this will end your test session.
Once the allocated test time has elapsed, the test will close regardless of the number of questions completed.

Before you begin the actual test you will be presented with some pre test example questions.

Numerical Analysis Aptitude Test
This exercise is designed to assess your ability to understand numerical information. You will be presented with a series of tables and graphs, each followed by several questions. Your task is to choose the best answer to each question from the options given, based only on the information provided.

Before you begin the actual tests you will be presented with some pre test example questions.

When you wish to exit these examples and instructions and begin the actual test you must select the ‘Abort’ button on your screen – failure to do so will lock you out of the system. You should click ‘Next’ to start the test remembering that:

You will not be able to go back to the question or change your answer.
Do not use the ‘back’ button on your browser – this will end the assessment.
Once the test is downloaded it is not affected by loss of internet connection.
Once the allocated test time has elapsed, the test will close regardless of the number of questions completed.

Before you begin the actual test you will be presented with some pre test example questions

Situational Judgement Questionnaire (Management Scenarios)

The online Situational Judgement Questionnaire(Management Scenarios)is delivered and administered on behalf of PAS by CEB (SHL). Thisonline Questionnairehas noset time limit but typically this Questionnaire should take you no longer than 40 minutes to complete, however you must complete and submit it within the set test window.

Familiarisation Material
We strongly recommend that you also read the preparation information which follows, then read the example. This will help you understand what you have to do before you undertake the real tests.

Please note that the online practice test has a different format than the actual test and is targeted at a lower managerial level.

An example is available overleaf that uses the format of the actual test.

Example
In order to assess your potential suitability for these roles, the Situational Judgment Questionnaire collects information on your responses to potential scenarios you may face in the role.

In this exercise, you will be presented with a number of different work scenarios. In each case, the scenario presented is followed by a number of possible responses. Your task is to rate EACH of the responses for their effectiveness in dealing with the scenario.

Example Scenario

You have just been promoted to run a department, which was reputedly well managed and highly effective under your predecessor. She has subsequently been promoted to a new post within the organisation in another part of the country.

During your initial few months you would:

1.Personally conduct an immediate and critical review of all-existing departmental policies and practices.

2.Inform your staff that you will be making no major changes to the department for at least 6 months

3.Ask your staff for ideas on how to make further improvements to the department.

4.Write an article on your department’s aims and objectives in a local business journal.

5.Get involved in several interdepartmental project teams as a means of getting to know your management peers.

The rating scale you will use is shown below. You will use this rating scale throughout the actual Questionnaire.

For each situation you will be given a series of possible actions and asked to rate each in terms of their appropriateness; i.e. you may rate the first action as highly undesirable, the second as undesirable etc.

It is essential that you answerall of the questions on the Situational Judgment Questionnaire.

Once the deadline for your testing window has passed, you will not be able to commence the Questionnaire or the other tests. No time extensions will be given.

General Information

Candidates who are applicants for more than one of the advertised competition streams e.g. open, interdepartmental, First Secretary, etc., will be permitted to take the assessment tests only once, irrespective of the number of competition streams for which they have applied.

Those to be invited to the next selection stage will be called on the basis of their results at Stage 1. The number of candidates to be invited will be determined bythe Public Appointments Service (PAS) from time to time having regard to the number of vacancies to be filled. PAS will notify those to be invited to Stage 2.
Candidates should note that scores achieved on any test(s) taken as part of this campaign may be carried forward to subsequent openor other campaigns for which they apply, that are conducted by the Public Appointments Service. This will be determined by the Public Appointments Service on a case by case basis.
All test materials and content are subject to copyright and all rights are reserved.
Data Protection Acts 1988 & 2003:
Records created is subject to the rights and obligations set out in the Data Protection Acts, 1988 & 2003. Where the services of a third party are used and there is a requirement to provide them with information, all necessary precautions will be taken to ensure the security of your data.

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 version9

Google chrome 4.0+

Mozilla firefox 4

Safari 4

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.

Appendix 2
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.