Things to Consider Before Choosing a Preparation Class for Your Civil Service Exams

The civil service exam is mandatory for candidates who want to land their ideal civil services job. If you’re looking forward to serving your community, a civil service job is the perfect option for you.

But before you apply for the job, you must enroll in a civil service preparation class to ace your civil service exam.

So what sort of preparation classes would be best for you? We will discuss the things to consider before signing up for your civil services preparation classes.

However, before we delve deep into this, let’s look at what civil service exams are and  how do they assess the applicant’s qualifications.

What Is Civil Service?

Civil services are non-military and non-political jobs in government. Well-known jobs like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), social work, and air traffic control (ATC)all fall under the umbrella of civil service.  While, other jobs in public administration such as information technology personnel, civil executives, and administrative assistants also fall under the civil services umbrella.

What are Civil Service Exams?

These exams are taken by people who are applying for civil service jobs. These exams test an applicant on the skills needed for the position they are applying for. These jobs need you to be up-to-speed on the basics. Pick an instructor with a particular professional experience to make sure you’re ready for the exams and the job.

Understandably the exams vary between different fields and areas of government. Below is a list of jobs that require that you pass the civil service exams.

Jobs That Require The Exam Are:

• FBI
• Police
• TSA
• S. customs
• Secret service
• CIA
• Firefighter
• Government accountant
• Air traffic control
• Postal service
• Court officer
• Foreign service
• IRS
• Sanitation worker

 

Although, the candidates applying to bring practical skills, usually learned in preparation classes, to serve their communities.

The Ideal Civil Service Tutoring Service

Now that you  know what civil service exams are, it’s time to choose the right preparatory service to prepare for these competitive exams.

Choose a tutoring service that helps candidates qualify for different kinds of civil services exams and federal exams. There are 3 different types of civil service exams, each with specific criteria for different designations, fields, and job descriptions. And these conditions govern what type of preparation classes you need.

Open Competitive Exam: where a candidate’s score places them on a ranked list, against other candidates.

Continuous Exam: where the candidate is tested for jobs that are not presently hiring.

Promotional Exams: where candidates already in civil service have to pass to advance their careers.

 

Experienced Instructors

The ideal civil service preparatory service  should employ experienced tutors and instructors who have years of experience and expertise in the field. Opt for a service like Civil Service Success that has over40 years of collective experience in helping candidates prepare for the exams.

These instructors should be able to guide the candidates on the Physical, medical, psychological, and oral interview parts of the recruitment process.

These exam preparation classes should train the applicants on  various parts like written and oral, and computer-based tests. Moreover, these instructors should also arrange job simulation scenarios, for example, physical testing for police officers.

Testing and Paperwork

The range of passing scores in these exams is usually 70% and higher. But applicants must also give interviews and letters of reference along with their resumes. And they may even need to take more specialized tests.

The best civil service preparation classes guide you on the paperwork needed, and of course the specific practice tests you need.

Cover All Bases

As mentioned before these exams can differ from field to field and job to job, depending on that particular position. These exams last a few hours at a time, and are broken up into sections (written, oral, etc). So the practice tests must also simulate the real these portions to help prepare the candidates for the real exam.

Overall, the questions on the exams and the preparation classes should cover the required skills for a public sector employee. They are neatly divided into the following sections:

• Reading and writing
• Mathematics
• Reasoning
• Coding
• Clerical organization

The math section is no more difficult than college-level algebra. Just remember your basics like PEMDAS. And If required for the job, your skills in MS Word and Excel will also be tested.

Things To Remember

These exams are designed to rule out candidates who are not well-suited to the job. It assigns scores on a baseline scale. But remember that passing the test is in no way a guarantee to landing the job.

Furthermore, keep in mind that you should take your civil services exam preparation more seriously than you would any other.

And most importantly, be thorough when you choose your preparation classes. Consider whether they give theoretical courses, practical knowledge, and physical training to give you an insight on what the job entails and demands.

How to Prepare for Your Civil Service Exams

Obviously, you will need to study to pass the exams, and this is especially where your class preparation will come in handy.

The exams will test your critical thinking and time management skills to evaluate the level and type of work ethic and your mental approach to the job.

You can use the several study guides available out there, especially to buck up your written and oral exam preparation.

But for a more extensive preparation reach out to us – Civil Service Success. Our centers at Westchester, Suffolk County, Long Island provide the physical training needed. Civil Service Success provides a complete guide in exams like the Suffolk County police test, NYS court officer trainee exam prep, or NYC firefighter preparation classes, and more.

Call us now.