Frequently
asked
questions

Yes, of course! At publicjobs we have a key role to play in attracting candidates from all sectors of society, ensuring that routes to career opportunities are accessible to all who are interested. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all candidates.

If you have a disability or need reasonable accommodations made during the selection process, we strongly encourage you to share this with us so that we can ensure you get the support you need. Reasonable accommodation in our selection process refers to adjustments and practical changes which would enable a disabled candidate to have an equal opportunity for any competition. Examples of adjustments we provide include the use of assistive technology, extra time, scribes and/or readers or a range of other accommodations.

Please be assured that having a disability or requiring adjustments will not impact on your progress in the selection process; you will not be at a disadvantage if you disclose your disability or requirements to us. Your disability and/or adjustments will be kept entirely confidential.

Should you be successful, the disclosure of a disability for the recruitment process will not be passed onto the employing department unless you request that we do so.

If you have indicated on your application/profile that you require reasonable accommodations, please submit a psychologist/medical report to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The purpose of the report is to provide publicjobs with information to act as a basis for determining reasonable accommodations, where appropriate. The information within these reports that is useful for us to see includes the outcome of any diagnostic tests conducted by your psychologist/doctor, and their summary of recommendations in relation to your requirements. You may redact (block out) parts of medical reports/psychologist’s reports that you feel are sensitive or unnecessary for the decision to make reasonable adjustments.

Refer to the information booklet for the competition you have applied to for guidance on timelines that reports must be submitted by.

If you have previously applied for a competition with publicjobs and submitted a report, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to confirm that your report is still on file.

If you would like to talk about your application or any accommodations that may be of benefit during the recruitment process, please contact our Disability Champion, Amanda Kavanagh, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For further information on the accessibility of our service, please follow this link to the Accessibility page.

Yes, publicjobs has transitioned to a new recruitment platform. For further information about our new recruitment platform and the main changes for candidates, visit our New Recruitment Platform website information page.

No, our legacy recruitment platform is being decommissioned, and candidate access to it has ceased.

Click Register, and follow the on-screen instructions to create an account on the new platform.

If you have already created an account on our new recruitment platform, you can login at this link. Your login username is the email address you used when creating your account. You also created a password personal to you when creating your account.

Your login username is the email address you used when creating your account. You also created a password personal to you when creating your account. If you have forgotten your password, click on ‘Forgot your password?’ on the login screen.

If you are still unable to log in having reset your password, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

If you are contacting us for assistance with your account, please have your email address, date of birth and PPS number to hand so that we can identify your account as required.

Entry to the Civil Service depends on your level of education, skills and experience. Some entry points require qualifications at certain levels on the NFQ, but not all. We have a wide range of opportunities available for school leavers, graduates and professionals.

For a comprehensive overview of the Civil Service grade structure, Civil Service career path and a breakdown of the typical role and entry requirements at each grade, please follow this link to the Civil Service Career Path page.

At publicjobs we are the centralised provider of recruitment services for the Civil Service. We also provide recruitment services for the most senior roles in Local Authorities, leadership positions and Medical Consultant roles for the HSE, An Garda Síochána, and a range of specialist professional and technical roles throughout the Sector. We also support the appointments, by Minsters, to State Boards through our website at Stateboards.ie.

You will find further information by following this link to the Who We Recruit For page.

There is no general exam for joining the Civil Service. If you are interested in multiple competitions or roles, you must apply for each competition individually and complete the assessments for each competition as required.

For a deep dive, check out our dedicated schools microsite. You’ll find everything you need to support your students in exploring the public sector and the careers they can access - all in one place. There are 6 dedicated lesson plans that include a wealth of teachable moments for TY, LCA and LCVP classes and help to demystify the public sector in a fun, convenient and engaging way.

Want to learn more? Follow this link to the publicjobs Schools Resource Kit.

We don't have a centralised scheme in place for transition year work experience, work placements or internships in the Civil & Public Service. However, if you are interested, it's a good idea to contact any government department or office directly with your query. You should also talk to you course coordinator too.

To apply to a live vacancy on our website, click the ‘Apply’ button on the job advert you are interested in. You will then be asked to login or create an account on our new recruitment platform, before completing your application.

Watch the ‘How to complete an application form’ video on our New Recruitment Platform website information page, to guide you through how to apply for jobs on the new platform.

We encourage you to set up job alerts, in order to be notified about roles and suitable opportunities with us.

To set up a job alert on our new recruitment platform:

Your full list of Job Alerts will be available in the Alert Centre in your account, where you can edit or delete alerts if needed.

For further information, watch this video , which will guide you through how to set up job alerts.

For each vacancy you apply to, you will receive a unique Application ID. This Application ID will be viewable when you select ‘Review Status’ in your Application Centre, and in messages you receive from the recruitment team.

Please be sure to quote this unique Application ID along with the vacancy title and Vacancy ID if you are contacting us for an update, so we can best direct your query to the appropriate team.

A summary of the stages of the recruitment process for any recruitment competition, along with provisional dates, is outlined in the information booklet for that competition.

For a comprehensive overview of stages in our recruitment process, typical recruitment timelines and a glossary of terms, follow this link to the Our Recruitment Process page.

Unless requested, a CV is not required as supporting documentation to your application form. All information required to process your application will be requested on your application form.

At publicjobs we do not accept unsolicited CVs. For information on our application process follow this link to the Application Advice page.

It is not required for you to sign the application form, typing your name in will suffice.

If your application has been completed and submitted correctly, you will receive an email confirmation to advise that your application is being reviewed by publicjobs. At this point, you should consider adding @publicjobs.tal.net to your safe senders or contact list within your email account, to avoid any emails from publicjobs being directed to your spam/junk folder.

If your application has been submitted correctly, you will also be able to view your application form, by selecting ‘View Submitted Form(s)’ under the relevant vacancy title on the right-hand menu in your Application Centre. To access your Application Centre, once logged in, click on your name which will appear at the top of the screen.

You can withdraw your application at any stage of the selection process. You can do this via your publicjobs account, by navigating to ‘Review Status’ under the relevant vacancy title on the right-hand menu in your Application Centre. You will then be presented with the option to ‘Withdraw Application’. Please note, if you proceed with withdrawing your application, you cannot reapply to the same vacancy. To access your Application Centre, once logged in, click on your name which will appear at the top of the screen.

A criminal conviction is not a barrier to many roles in the public service. Candidates with a criminal conviction may apply, however, if they are successful in the selection process, and come under consideration for a role, they will be asked to disclose if they have a criminal conviction during the pre-employment checks process. At publicjobs we will then undertake a risk assessment based on the information provided. In addition to the candidate disclosure, Garda vetting is carried out on all candidates for open competitions and a Police disclosure will be required for any residencies of six months or more outside of the Island of Ireland from when you were aged 16 years or older. For some roles/employing bodies a criminal conviction may be a barrier to employment.

If you are invited to a test, all details will be issued to you in familiarisation material before your test date.

For an overview of the typical test process and some useful tips, follow this link to the Test Advice page.

If you are invited to interview, all details will be issued to you in familiarisation material or in the interview call up letter before your interview date.

For an overview of the typical interview process and some useful tips, follow this link to the Interview Advice page.

Depending on the number of candidates sitting the test, results are normally posted to your message board between three to four weeks after the closing date for sitting the test. For any queries on test results, please contact the relevant unit you are being tested for. Contact details should be found in the information booklet.

A request to reschedule must be emailed to the relevant recruitment unit in advance of the allotted date and will only be considered under exceptional circumstances as deemed acceptable by publicjobs (e.g., Bereavement/Illness). Please note that publicjobs may request supporting documentation as evidence. Candidates who are afforded an opportunity to reschedule will be processed in the next candidate batch invited to the assessment that has been rescheduled.

Please note that candidates who are permitted to reschedule will be given only one opportunity to do so. If a candidate cannot make their rescheduled assessment, they will be deemed to have withdrawn from the competition.

For advice on preparing for tests, follow this link to the Test Advice page.
For advice on preparing for interviews, follow this link to the Interview Advice page.

Please keep an eye on your publicjobs Message Board for updates specific to any competition you have already applied to. If you are awaiting a result and you do not see a message on your publicjobs message board; your result has not issued yet.

Feedback in relation to the selection process is available on request. Feedback and rechecks may be requested for up to six months after completion of each stage of the competition. However, please note that the Review Process as set out in the Code of Practice is a separate process with specified timeframes that must be observed. Receipt of feedback is not required to invoke a review. It is not necessary for a candidate to compile a detailed case prior to invoking the review mechanism. The timeframe set out in the CPSA Code cannot be extended for any reason including the provision of feedback and/or the outcome of rechecks.

Each interview board has a publicjobs representative sitting in on it. All feedback and appeals are based on notes made by the publicjobs representative and the interviewing members of the Board. These notes and feedback are readily available, upon request from the recruitment unit. Beyond this, board members cannot be contacted for further feedback.

Most competitions conducted by publicjobs are held in accordance with the CPSA code of practise. The review process will vary for competitions advertised prior to 12 November 2021 and those advertised after 12 November 2021.

Information on the relevant review process and links to the CPSA codes can be found by following this link to the Review Process page.

The complaints process will vary for competitions advertised prior to 12 November 2021 and those advertised after 12 November 2021.

Review Process page.

Being placed on a panel does not mean that you have gotten the job, yet... However, should you be placed on a panel and enough vacancies arise prior to its expiry date, you will be contacted for clearance and assignment.

For a comprehensive overview of the end to end recruitment process, including a glossary of terms, follow this link to the Our Recruitment Process page.

Panel expiry dates differ for each competition. If there is no panel expiry date outlined in the information booklet, panel expiry is at the discretion of publicjob.

Yes. We need the most up-to-date information on all candidates for clearance purposes.

As stated in the information booklet, the onus is on the candidate to provide all documents requested by publicjobs for the clearance process within the timeframe requested. At publicjobs we cannot offer any assistance on obtaining clearance documentation.

We use your present employer for reference purposes. However, if you are working in the private sector, no contact will be made with your current employer without your prior knowledge.

You cannot choose where you will be assigned to, although you are free to submit a request once you are contacted by the clearance unit. There is no guarantee that this request will be facilitated. To ensure fairness to all candidates, assignments are based on the existing vacancies at the time your order of merit on a panel is reached.

If an offer of assignment is declined, you are deemed to have withdrawn your application and no further offers will be made to you in relation to that competition. Always refer to the information booklet for clearance guidelines.

Once you are assigned, a member of the HR staff of the department you have been assigned to will make contact with you to discuss your contract, start date and other details. Your start date is something that will be discussed between yourself and the employing organisation.

At publicjobs we are the main point of contact for any queries, including login and application issues, any questions about the role, and the campaign progress. We will also source or find out other information you request, if available.

Once the recruitment process has finished and you have been assigned, a member of our Clearance Unit will provide you with contact details of the HR unit in your new employing department. You will not receive these contact details prior to this.

All information regarding salary can be found in the relevant information booklet.