Join Civil Service If You Have These Qualities and Skills

 

If you’re thinking about joining the public sector, you should know that certain skills and qualities are required to work and thrive in the civil service sector. It’s not uncommon for people to give up pretty early as the civil service job is not a typical job.

The Tough Competition in Civil Service Job Process

If you’ve watched shows like Parks and Recreation or Brooklyn Nine-Nine, you might think that anyone and everyone is suitable for a civil sector job. However, the reality is actually quite different.

Firstly, the positions are limited, and competition is tough. For example, take the civil service exam in NYC. Tens of thousands of candidates apply, and the vacancies are very limited. The vacancies only open up if current employees are retiring or if the department receives more funding to hire new employees (which happens very rarely).

However, you should be fully prepared for a career in civil service and be 100% sure that this is what you want. More importantly, you should know if you’re a good fit for the civil service job you’re applying for.

You may be wondering why this is so important, mainly because the hiring process has many steps and can take months. You don’t want to spend all this time preparing for the entrance exam, going through the number of tests and the interview process only to find out you’re not well suited for the job.

Skills You Need to Succeed in A Civil Service Job

It’s also important why you want to work in the civil service. Are you joining the civil service for the amazing retirement benefits or because you want to make a difference? Either way, these are the skills and qualities you need to thrive in your civil service career!

Creative Thinking

Creative thinking is all about your ability to adapt to changing situations and addressing problems creatively. Depending on the civil service institute you join, your job could require a lot of creative thinking.

Unlike typical jobs, where you’re assigned a few tasks that you have to do correctly, civil service jobs are different. Sure, jobs such as in the NYC Sanitation department means you’ll only have to be good at one thing.

However, rising through the ranks in any civil service department isn’t so easy. While your starting duties may not require a lot of creative thinking, rest assured that you’ll need to be a creative thinker to earn promotions.

On the other hand, some jobs require you to deal with new problems facing the public every day. For example, the COVID pandemic in NYC meant many civil service departments had to respond quickly and creatively to address the multitude of problems facing the city.

Leadership

You will have to demonstrate leadership qualities in your civil service job on numerous occasions. Take the example of Shari Pardini, who joined DSNY in 1993. Pardini had no prior experience in Sanitation and was working in the corporate world.

However, today she’s a four-star chief and serves as the Director of the Operations Management Division. She’s also the highest-ranking uniformed female worker in the department’s history.

Pardini showed a lot of initiative and leadership to end up where she did. She believes that a job in Sanitation doesn’t only mean collecting trash, and people with different skillsets can also thrive.

Excellent negotiation and organization skills

Working in the civil service sector means that you’ll be juggling many different projects or tasks at any given time. You’ll have to carry out projects with varying degrees of priority and handle various stakeholders and personalities.

You need excellent organization skills to handle all your duties and negotiation skills to deal with the different personalities you’ll come across.

Teamwork and Collaboration

Regardless of which civil service job you take on, you’ll be working with a lot of people at any given time. Whether you’re working in the NYC Firefighting department or the Suffolk County Police in NYS, you’ll have to show excellent teamwork skills.

Teamwork will help you accomplish your targets and see your projects to completion as you’ll be able to leverage the skillsets of different people on your teams. Cooperation and collaboration are crucial to working in the civil sector, home to a workforce of 2.1 million employees.

Strong Decision Making and Problem Solving

Frequently, you’ll have to make tough decisions under pressure. Civil employees face a multitude of situations that require strong decision-making skills. You’ll have to come up with solutions on the fly, prioritizing and addressing a multitude of problems as you go.

Good communication skills

Communication is a crucial part of your job in the civil service, whether it’s oral or written. For instance, most people think that NYPD detectives simply solve cases, but the reality is that they also have to write extensive reports, a task that requires strong written communication skills.

Similarly, oral communication skills are also crucial as you’ll have to communicate with numerous people about a variety of tasks and situations. How you convey information can directly impact how the task is performed or how the situation is handled.

Commitment and Enthusiasm

Many people only join civil service due to the lure of the amazing benefits and job security. However, that motivation can quickly fade, and you’ll feel stuck in a job that you have no enthusiasm for.

Succeeding and thriving in a civil service job requires you to have a commitment and enthusiasm for the work you’re doing. You have to consider that this is not a summer internship or a temporary job rather your whole career. Therefore, it’s important to be committed to your duty so you can do it well.

Workload Management

Working in civil service means you’ll always have tasks and projects to do but not enough time for them. In short, you’ll have to be good at managing your workload and deciding which project should have your priority and attention.

Confidence and Drive

Lastly, you should have the confidence and drive to succeed in this career. Working in a civil service job is no walk in the park, and you’ll require a lot of drive and confidence to get through the difficult days.

Start Your Civil Service Journey with Civil Service Success

As you’ve seen, a civil service job requires many skills and qualities so you can succeed. However, before you can worry about thriving in your career, you have to worry about the civil service exam and how to pass this crucial test.

At Civil Service Success, we offer preparatory courses to help you prepare for a number of civil service exams in NYS. Experts with decades of civil service experience teach these courses, which will help prepare for your exam and interview! Contact us now to learn more.

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