What Is the Civil Service and How to Pass Any Civil Service Exam
Last updated 09/2022
If your ambition is to land a civil service job, chances are you’ll be asked to take a Civil Service Exam. Let’s begin by exploring what civil service actually is.
Civil service workers are hired by a government agency or department and thus work for the public sector. In other words, a civil service job is a position provided by the government. However, the military, elected officials, and judicial branches are not part of the civil service.
There are various types of civil service job roles: local, state, and federal. Within these categories, there are particular job positions.
What is the Civil Service Exam?
The Civil Service Exam is a crucial tool used by government agencies for testing purposes. All candidates applying for a civil service position must complete the exam.
Although not all civil service tests are the same, as they may change in relation to a particular civil service job, the aim of all civil service exams is to help screen applicants. Thus, the test helps government agencies measure if a candidate passes the specified civil service requirements.
The Civil Service Exam was created to assess a candidate’s basic aptitude, skills, and knowledge for a certain civil service position. The government uses this exam as a baseline to see if a candidate should be considered further for work in the civil service area. The civil service exam can be viewed as the initial step in the recruitment process.
In most cases, applicants must take a civil service test before they can move on to the next stage of the hiring process. This is the case when it comes to the following civil service job positions:
- A member of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
- A Police Officer
- A United States Postal Service Worker
- A US Customs Agent
- An Agent with the Foreign Service
- FBI Special Agent
- FBI Intelligence Analyst
- A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Agent
- An Air Traffic Control Agent
- A Border Patrol Agent
- An IRS worker
- A Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Agent
Civil Service Exam Location
Your civil service test will be administered at a civil service testing facility that is positioned within the country or city where the advertised position is. You will be notified of the time and location of your test via email or mail, generally a couple of weeks prior to your test date.
Click on the buttons below to find out about the civil service exams required by your location.
What Is in the Civil Service Examination?
There is no one civil service examination, rather there are different types of civil service exams that focus on the skills needed to carry out a job well. Thus, a candidate completing an administrative assistant civil service exam will have a completely different test from a candidate hoping to land a job as a border patrol agent.
What’s on the civil service examination will change in relation to various details, such as the sort of job you wish to apply for. Whether or not the job position is a municipal/state or a federal role. And, if you will be required to compete against other candidates or not (namely, if the exam is competitive).
What does the Civil Service Exam Assess?
Overall, every test is designed to assess a candidate’s skills and aptitude based on the role they wish to apply for. Nevertheless, most civil service examinations will feature the following topics:
1. Verbal Skills
Nearly all civil service exams feature a verbal skills exam. A verbal skills test will assess how effectively you can carry out jobs including; proofreading, reading, writing letters, and following instructional manuals. Verbal ability tests generally cover, vocabulary and spelling, grammar and writing, and reading comprehension.
2. Mathematical Skills
The mathematical skills test is only needed for jobs that demand some sort of math ability. The mathematical skills exam will generally feature algebra, arithmetic, proportions, and ratios, logic problems, geometry, analyzing data, and interpreting graphs and tables.
3. Clerical Skills
The clerical skills exam will assess how accurately and quickly you can carry out various clerical jobs. The clerical skills exam will measure how efficiently you can execute the following functions: typing, filing, number checking, coding, and stenography.
How to Pass any Civil Service Test?
Passing your civil service exam is now made simple with PrepTerminal’s online prep course. We boast a united course that comprehensively helps you prepare for your real civil service exam. Practice is the key when it comes to any test. Knowing what to expect takes much of the anxiety out of the testing experience. The same holds true for the civil service tests.
Our course includes 18 core modules, 10 video guides, and 18 Question sets to keep you engaged and informed. Our in-depth written guides on Numerical, Verbal, and Abstract modules were developed to help you beat any Civil Service Exam and get hired. What’s more, we also have prepared SJT Guide & Practice Questions to help you maximize your civil service exam score.
So, don’t wait, enroll today, and start your career in the public sector.
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