Civil Service eligibility list
June 2, 2015 4:24 PM   Subscribe

My friend had an oral board examination for a civil servant position on her city. At the end of the interview she inquired about the rest of the hiring process and was told that was it; that from the group of examined candidates they will chose the person.

Now she got an email indicating she was number 3 on the eligibility list and would be notified of date and time for additional interviews for final selection. Her question is if they go in order offering the position and if number 1 and 2 are not available or fail after being hired, she will get it, or if this is still an ongoing process. The doubt comes for the verbal indication that the board examination was the whole process. We can't find anything on the web indicating the meaning of the place on the list.
posted by 3dd to Work & Money (4 answers total)
 
where are you (and friend) located?
posted by janey47 at 4:34 PM on June 2, 2015


I don't know about your city, but the way it works in New York State government is spelled out here. I would expect your city's civil service department to have an equivalent explanation online.
posted by jkent at 4:35 PM on June 2, 2015


Best answer: Yeah you need to contact your city's HR department and get clarification. If they're using the Rule of 3 then it doesn't work in order of list ranking. I found this explanation online and it's pretty clear and succinct, but again, ONLY if your city's HR department is using the Rule of 3.

"Most civil service positions are filled from a hiring list. Where you place on the list usually depends on your written and oral scores. The applicant(s) with the highest score becomes Rank 1 on the hiring list, the next highest score becomes Rank 2, etc.

When it's time to fill a vacancy, civil service rules require an agency to start at the top of the hiring list (with Rank 1) and work their way down. However, under the Rule of Three, the hiring agency can select from any of the top three ranks to fill that position. For example, if one position is open, the job offer can go to the persons in Rank 1, Rank 2 or Rank 3. The Department has the sole discretion as to who they select from within these three ranks and they do not have to justify or say why they hired one person over another."


California state service uses the the Rule of 3 in most jobs. So you take an oral or written exam, and if you're ranked in the first 3 on the cert list then you're hireable for that position. Then you send in your app (or you get a request for an application from an agency) and they review it and decide if they'd like to interview you for a position. If you're in the top 3 then they can hire you if they decide they like you after an in-person interview with the hiring manager.

So it's likely that your friend's oral examination was "it" from an exam standpoint, and the people who took that same exam are the hiring pool and the hiring list is made up of those people. And if your city uses the Rule of 3 they may be contacting her for a hiring interview. If they don't, then yes, they'll go down the line and your friend will be third and it will depend on the first two people either failing the hiring interview or declining the position.
posted by elsietheeel at 8:52 AM on June 3, 2015


Also more than one position may be pulling from the same list. I was #7 when I was first hired. A least here the lists can stay open for a while, too.
posted by sepviva at 3:26 PM on June 3, 2015


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