Yesterday was the big day - the day of my civil service exam!
When I was hired for my current position several months ago, it was a "provisional" hire - No one who had already passed the appropriate test had applied for the job, so I was hired on the condition that I pass the civil service exam within six months of hire.
Well, pass, AND score in the top three among all people who took the test. Seems to me a little DICEY, if you're the employer, to want to spend months training someone who may or may not be able to keep the position, but hey! That's their problem, not mine. :)
So me and about sixty other people (they were testing for several different positions) schlepped to a local high school yesterday morning for the big test. I'm fairly certain I did well, but did I score in the top three?
Only time will tell!
I was more concerned with the fact that the high school, which is attended by several hundred students, was WIDE OPEN on a Saturday. I walked right in the front door, followed the signs halfway through the high school to the cafeteria testing site, visited the restroom, took a peek into the auditorium where a play rehearsal was underway on my way out, etc., etc., with nary a security person in sight. Seemed a little ... odd, in this day and age, but go figure.
Now the wait for the test results. Somebody cue the Jeopardy music!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
At least the exam is done with - the waiting is stressful but it's not like you can *do* anything at this point!
Sending positive thoughts - I'm certain you did excellently!
What kind of questions are on that exam? What sort of knowledge are they looking for? Is it like the SAT?
Did you see the Breakfast Club kids Saturday morning?
Thanks, Spiff!
Ginny, the test was for the position of "Secretary", so it was a lot of procedural stuff, lots of grammar and punctuation, some accounting. 90 multiple-choice questions, only one of which I basically flipped a coin over. :) I thought it was much, much easier than the SATs, but then again, I've been doing this type of work for over 30 years, so ...
Sadly, none of the Breakfast Club were (or is that "was" ... OH MY GOD haha) present, although there WAS a janitor making his rounds.
top three out of sixty? that is a huge ask, and yes, total risk.. I mean they invested all that time in training you and what are they going to do, post your position again and hope that someone applies??
Well that notwithstanding, I hope for the very best outcome for you.
Top three? That makes no sense. Did they explain why?
Tails and Portia, it's complicated, and a civil service thing. They want to make sure that people doing governmental work are actually qualified to perform the work, to avoid outright nepotism, political hirings, etc., so in order to be a county employee you have to take the civil service test. And there were 60 people there, but there were several different job exams being given, and for my particular job classification, there are several openings throughout the county, so it wasn't 60 people competing for one job. Actually, since my position has been filled (provisionally) for the last several months (by me), it isn't currently being advertised as open except within the county itself, so the only people who would likely be applying are current county employees, and the LAST time they advertised the position, nobody who was already qualified even applied, which is how I got hired.
And it gets even more complicated in that I have to finish in the top three positions, not the top three people. So if 4 people scored 100, 4 people scored 90, and 4 people including me scored 80, I would finish in the top three positions, even though technically I was only in the top 12. PLUS, as long as I DO finish in the top 3 positions, because my current boss wants to keep me, he will choose me over anyone else who applies (even if they outscore me), again as long as I score in the top 3 positions.
Yeah, it's kind of a crapshoot, and I knew that when I took the job, but I figured it was worth the risk. And now, of course, the stakes are much lower than they were six months ago, so if I DO lose the position, screw it, I'm going to Disneyworld. :)
Thanks for the explanation. That is more than a little complicated, but makes better sense than what I thought. I thought it was top three scores and that that was a common requirement for the civil service there. So by extension, out of 60 tested, only three could get jobs. I am glad that I misunderstood. Good luck, and you have an excellent plan b.
Post a Comment