# Number 4 on Panel for County Council grade VII



## emmaja (30 Jun 2019)

I work in the private sector and applied for a grade VII council position recently. I was put straight through to final interview. The interview went well (other than it being completely geared towards an internal person) and I was placed number 4 on the panel but as I don't speak county council I've no idea if this is good or not. Does anyone have any insight into this?

I'm thinking that at number 4 on the panel for a Grade VII the odds aren't that great.

Thanks


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## noproblem (30 Jun 2019)

I agree, unless you want to move to another Co and hope a similar position comes up? As a matter of interest what age bracket are you in?


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## emmaja (30 Jun 2019)

35-44 age bracket


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## Leper (30 Jun 2019)

Please don't be offended. I bet the first placed person was internal and the 2nd placed person was internal too. I would bet that the 3rd placed person was internal. So Emma, I reckon you're a runner-up and your letter will wish you the best of luck in your future career elsewhere. 

I've been there in a similar competition, showed up for interview, heard my competitors asking who was on the interview panel etc and it was a "deadener" for an internal winner and that is how it turned out. I was there as a token filler only and a waste of my time preparing and travelling. Incidentally, at the same interview there was 10% extra marks going for an oral test "as Gaeilge" but the interview panel knew nothing about it. When I showed the written details to the chairman of the interview board, an Irish speaker was provided to test me later. There was more Gaeilge in my big toe than he had in his brain.


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## emmaja (30 Jun 2019)

Haha, no offence taken. It's a different world, isn't it?! It has to be one of the worst framed interviews I think I've ever attended and I did get that impression that I was a filler during the interview. The questions were so orientated towards an internal person, but I still gave them a run for their money!! 

I actually applied for it before I changed roles in my current place and I'm really liking the new role. I was going to cancel the interview but then the other half suggested just to do it anyway. But I was still curious to know what this actually meant. 

I should have known when one of the interviewers asked me a question and then he said "Bearing in mind, it's much more difficult in the Public sector"


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## noproblem (30 Jun 2019)

Grade 7 jobs are favoured  when they come up and there's always a few insiders who get plenty of notice about those posts. They very seldom go to outsiders. I asked you for your age in case the interview panel thought you may be coming in to see out a few years and collect a bit of a "package".


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## NoRegretsCoyote (1 Jul 2019)

Outsiders have the best chance in large-scale open recruitment competitions. 

Occasionally they get in specific competitions at very high levels too - for example the new Central Bank governor.


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## noproblem (1 Jul 2019)

NoRegretsCoyote said:


> Outsiders have the best chance in large-scale open recruitment competitions.
> 
> Occasionally they get in specific competitions at very high levels too - for example the new Central Bank governor.
> [/QU
> Hmm, that recruitment process went well. Great candidate selected


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## 2bmortgagefree (1 Jul 2019)

Hi emmaja, congrats on placing 4th in the competition. I would suggest you should contact HR to see how many vacancies there are? While there might be only 1 or 2 jobs now, the panel you are on may last up to two years. The age profile means a lot of staff at higher grades are retiring on an ongoing basis. Vacancies from grade V to VII have to have a certain percentage of 'common recruitment pool' candidates versus external candidates. I would expect most council's have this published in their job description. A quick Google of a grade VII  Clare county council competition in 2017 outlines this. In any walk of life internal candidates will have more knowledge of upcoming vacancies as they know who is retired, where the vaccany is etc I don't think that's confined to the public sector. You can be certain that there are a lot of internal candidates who even though having years of experience or a degree / masters didn't even get shortlisted, think how demoralizing that is for internal staff. You did extremely well and best of luck in whatever career you take.


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## emmaja (1 Jul 2019)

2bmortgagefree said:


> Hi emmaja, congrats on placing 4th in the competition. I would suggest you should contact HR to see how many vacancies there are? While there might be only 1 or 2 jobs now, the panel you are on may last up to two years. The age profile means a lot of staff at higher grades are retiring on an ongoing basis. Vacancies from grade V to VII have to have a certain percentage of 'common recruitment pool' candidates versus external candidates. I would expect most council's have this published in their job description. A quick Google of a grade VII  Clare county council competition in 2017 outlines this. In any walk of life internal candidates will have more knowledge of upcoming vacancies as they know who is retired, where the vaccany is etc I don't think that's confined to the public sector. You can be certain that there are a lot of internal candidates who even though having years of experience or a degree / masters didn't even get shortlisted, think how demoralizing that is for internal staff. You did extremely well and best of luck in whatever career you take.



Thanks, appreciate that info and feedback. It’s definitely very interesting.


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## Neek01 (20 Jul 2019)

It really just depends which council. If it is one of the bigger/busier ones you will probably be called. If not, there might not be as big a demand but the panels can run for up to 2 years so you never know.


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