Recruit Prison Officer in the Irish Prison Service

Recruit Prison Officer in the Irish Prison Service - Stage 2 Preparation Material

The following information is intended to familiarise you with the format of the Stage 2 selection procedure which comprises:

• Interview
• Report Writing Exercise
• Group Exercise

You are encouraged to read the section on the interview information carefully before completing the Interview Preparation Questionnaire.

Interview

This interview is based on the key skills which have been identified as necessary for effective performance in the Recruit Prison Officer role. These skills are identified in the Application Form.

The interview requires you to provide specific and detailed examples of past or current experiences where you have shown/used the skills and qualities that are required. The skill areas, listed in the Interview Preparation Questionnaire will be thoroughly and systematically explored in order to build up a picture of your suitability for the job. The same skill areas will be explored with all candidates but not necessarily in the same order.

Nominees from the Irish Prison Service and the Public Appointments Service will be on the Interview Board. All Board Members have been trained in effective interviewing skills.

At the start of the interview you will be introduced to the members of the Board and the format will be explained to you. At this point the Board may also ask you to clarify any outstanding issues relating to Part 1 of your application form.

Following the introductions and a short review of your education and work history a Board Member will introduce one of the skill areas to you, and will ask you questions relating to your experience of demonstrating that skill. The other Board Members will have an opportunity to ask you questions at the end of that skill area. You will be told when the questioning for that particular skill area has ended. The interview will follow this pattern of events until the range of skill areas has been covered. Throughout the interview, one of the Board Members will make detailed notes. These notes not only form part of the official record of your interview, but they also provide the Board with a fair and accurate account of the examples you give, and may be used during the assessment, which follows directly after the interview.

At the end of the interview you will be given an opportunity to add any additional comments in support of your application. At this time, you may also clarify or expand on the details of any of the experiences that you described during the interview.

How do I prepare for the interview?

The interview involves the Interview Board assessing your ability in a number of skill areas by exploring specific examples of when you feel you have shown/used these skills in your life to date. In order to prepare for the interview, you should think of several situations in each skill area where you have demonstrated the skills listed in the Interview Preparation Questionnaire. You may use examples from school, work, leisure or any situation where you feel you have demonstrated these skills.

The Board may ask you about the examples that you have described in your Interview Preparation Questionnaire or they may ask for another example. It is important that you think carefully about the skill areas in relation to your experiences to date, as you may find it difficult to come up with suitable examples on the spur of the moment, in the interview.

In considering the suitability of different situations from your experiences to date, you may find it useful to list out each individual step that you took and the reasons why you took such steps. Consider the options that you were faced with at each step and why you chose to do what you did.

The Interview Board will not make assumptions about your ability based solely on the result or outcome of the situation/experience. Instead, they will be interested in exploring in detail how you, personally, demonstrated a particular skill and exactly what you did to achieve the outcome.

As you are applying for a position in the Irish Prison Service it is important to think about how you would apply your skills in each of the areas to the role of Recruit Prison Officer.

Tips for preparing for the interview

• Read the definitions of each area carefully and try to think of an example from your own experience that shows how you have demonstrated these skills.

• Think of as many examples as possible of where you have demonstrated particular skills.

• Think through each example from beginning to end: What was the background to the situation? What did you do? What was the outcome or end result?

• Be prepared to describe these situations/experiences in detail – it may help to practice describing them to someone else.

• Be prepared to talk about your personal involvement in the situation – the Board want to find our more about you as a person, and what you did to demonstrate the required skills.

• Think about how your skills in each of the areas can be applied to the Recruit Prison Officer role.

• Make sure you know the exact time and location of your interview.

How do I do my best during the interview?

It may seem quite obvious, but during the interview it is vital that you listen extremely carefully to the questions that the Board Members ask. The questions that are used during this interview are typically more specific than in interview formats that you may be used to, and will refer to a specific skill e.g. “How did you go about organising that task?” as opposed to a less specific question such as “Tell me how you went about that task – from start to finish?” This means that you must give specific answers to questions.

If you are asked a question such as “How did you go about organising that task?” it is advisable to give a specific answer that demonstrates your organisational skills. Other details, such as the way you dealt with a particular person during the example, may be interesting, but are not directly relevant to the question and will not necessarily merit marks under that particular skill area in the assessment.

Remember:

• Do not rely on the Board Members to assume that you behaved in a certain way or for certain reasons

• Do not generalise (e.g. I tend to be very organised)

• Do use specific examples to demonstrate your skills in a particular area

• Do give sufficient detail to ensure that the Board Members know exactly what steps you took and why

• Do listen carefully and ask for clarification if you are unsure of the question being asked

• Do try and relax during the interview.

Further information on preparing for interviews is available on

Report Writing Exercise

As part of a Recruit Prison Officer’s duties s/he is required to write descriptions of incidents which s/he encounters. Such incidents may include a row between prisoners, discovery of a breach of security. These descriptions are very important as they are submitted to a Recruit Prison Officer’s superior and may be used when further investigation is required. Therefore, it is important that these descriptions accurately reflect the information obtained.

This report writing exercise, which you will complete on the same day as your interview, is administered on DVD. Before the exercise begins a facilitator will read the instructions for completing the exercise. All of the instructions for completing the exercise as well as the time limit for the exercise are contained on the DVD. Your facilitator will explain that you are to listen and watch as the incident on the DVD unfolds.

When watching the DVD you are to assume that you are a Recruit Prison Officerand that the camera is your eyes and ears. After you view the DVD, you will be asked to complete a report summarising what occurred in the DVD. This provides a measure of your ability to produce a concise and accurate description of the situation. Your ability to communicate in writing will be assessed, as well as the extent to which you provide a detailed account and how you handle the information provided. You will need to reach a sufficient standard on each of these elements of the Report Writing Exercise.

At this session you will be provided with paper to enable you to take rough notes while you watch the DVD. Your notes will be collected after the test session but they will not be reviewed by anyone. They are for your use only in completing the incident report.

On the day, you will be able to ask any questions or clarify any issues about what you have to do before the exercise begins.

Group Exercise

This group exercise gives you an opportunity to show us how you behave and interact with others in a group. We are interested in seeing how clear you are at putting across your views and ideas to other people and how you respond to people when talking about an issue or situation.

The exercise is not trying to measure your problem-solving ability and the exercise does not require any specialist knowledge outside the information which you are given.

In the group exercise you will be presented information relating to a situation and a picture of a scene. The picture will help you understand what has happened. You will be allowed 10 minutes to read and think about the information you are given. You will be able to take notes during this time. After 10 minutes you will be brought to the Interview Board room where you will be asked to sit with the other candidates in your group. You will be given 20 minutes to work together as a team, to reach an agreement on what actions should be taken for the situation at hand.

During this 20 minute period, Board Members will be observing the discussion you and your fellow candidates are having. The Board Members will take no part in the discussion. They will be sitting outside the group, taking notes and listening to what you are saying.