Garda Reserve

2017 campaign

Stage 1
Familiarisation Material

This is an important document.

You are advised to set time aside to read it in advance of

your test.

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Garda Reserve 2017 Familiarisation Booklet
Dear Candidate,

Thank you for your application for the Garda Reserve campaign.

The Public Appointments Service (PAS) is undertaking the selection process on behalf of the
Garda Commissioner. The PAS is committed to the principles of good selection practice and
these principles involve fair and impartial selection. Candidates will be required to take an
Online Questionnaire which is designed to identify their potential to become a member of the
Garda Reserve. This selection process has been developed to assess the key skills and
attributes necessary to perform effectively in the role.

The selection process comprises several stages. Stage 1 consists of an Assessment

Questionnaire. As outlined to you previously in the Garda Reserve Notes for Applicants, you
will be required to take this assessment on-line and in an unsupervised environment.

This booklet is to help familiarise you with Stage 1 of the selection process. Work through the
information carefully, as it will help you understand what you have to do and what you can
expect during this part of the selection process.

In advance of undertaking any aspect of this campaign you should confirm that you meet the
conditions for entry and are eligible to participate in the recruitment process for the Garda
Reserve. Should you wish to check the eligibility requirement you should click on the link
below.

Notes for Candidates Link – Eligibility Requirements

Information on each subsequent stage of the selection process will be made available to the
candidates who progress.

© Public Appointments Service, 2017

The reproduction of any part of this document by any process whatsoever is breaking
copyright law.

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Garda Reserve 2017 Familiarisation Booklet
 Overview

To facilitate candidates the initial selection stage will be conducted online. Therefore you will require a
PC or laptop to complete the tests. In order for you to access the Assessment Questionnaire, links will
be sent to your PublicJobs Message board. Further details and instructions are set out in this booklet.

Stage 1 of the selection process will comprise an Assessment Questionnaire, (unlimited timeframe).

You are strongly advised to complete the Assessment Questionnaire early in the testing window.

Before commencing the Questionnaire, it is important to note the following:

 This assessment is completed online in an unsupervised environment

 Candidates must complete the Assessment Questionnaire on their own behalf;
responses may be verified should they come under consideration.
 A third party must not personate a candidate at any stage of the process – see
Appendix 1 “Important Information”.

Getting ready to take your Online Questionnaire

 You may take the tests in a venue of your choice, wherever you have access to a computer and a
reliable internet connection.

 As the test will require your full concentration, please ensure that you take the test in a quiet
environment where there are no distractions and where you will not be disturbed .

 You are advised to take the tests on a PC or laptop and to use a mouse you are familiar with. Do
not attempt to take the tests on a smart phone, mobile or tablet device.

 Please be aware that taking these tests within a secure IT network e.g. such as your work or
college network which may have firewalls or other security technology in place, may cause you
technical difficulties. In such instances PAS (or any company or service provider operating on
behalf of PAS) will not be liable.

 While taking these tests you will be unsupervised. You must take the tests during the specific
timeframe allocated to you. No alternative times will be granted.

 During the test period, e-mail support facilities will be available to deal with any technical issues
you may have in relation to the tests themselves.

 If you have a technical problem, in the first instance we suggest that you check you still have
internet connection. If the technical problem persists, close your browser and then reopen the
browser and log back into the questionnaire using your original link and you will be able to page
through to where you left off and continue. If this does not work, email the technical support line:

pasgre0417@assessmentintelligence.com

© Public Appointments Service Stage 1 Familiarisation Material

Garda Trainee 2016
Page 3
 PC/Laptop Minimum Specification Requirements

 The key requirement is to have a reliable connection to the internet.

 All modern computers and laptops with modern browsers are likely to be able to run the
questionnaire successfully.
 We would suggest that you do not use ipads or iphones.
 You should ensure that you can access the online Familiarisation programme successfully. If
the Familiarisation materials work well on your computer, then the live Questionnaire will work
well too.
 It is very important that you access the Familiarisation materials using the computer and
internet connection that you intend to take the live test on as soon as possible. Contact
technical support immediately if you have a problem.

Next Steps Stage 1

Online Questionnaire

1. The unique link to your Online Questionnaire will be sent to your publicjobs message board by
Friday 21st April.

2. You will be able to complete the Online Questionnaire from Friday the 21st April until 12
noon on Thursday 27th April 2017. While there is no set time limit, you are advised to set
aside approximately 60 minutes to complete the Questionnaire (this also includes time for
instructions).

3. Once 12 noon on the 27th April 2017 has passed, you will not be able to commence the
Questionnaire. If you do not complete and submit it within the timeframe allocated, your
application will be deemed withdrawn.

4. Late applications or Questionnaire submissions will not be accepted. The onus is on the
candidate to ensure they have a suitable environment/equipment to complete and submit the
Questionnaire.

5. Candidates will be ranked on the outcome of the Questionnaire and this ranking (within their
chosen location) will determine if/when they may be invited to the next stage of the selection
process.

6. Details in respect of subsequent stages of the selection process will be notified to those
candidates being invited forward.

7. As you have a limited amount of time in which to complete and submit your questionnaire you
are strongly advised to give yourself sufficient time and not leave taking it to the final hours of
the deadline. No time extensions will be given.

8. Results of Stage 1 will be available by 12th May and will be sent to your publicjobs message
board

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Garda Reserve 2017 Familiarisation Booklet
 Assessment Questionnaire

Overview
In order to assess your potential suitability for the Garda Reserve role, the Assessment Questionnaire
collects information on (a) your skills, interests and preferences and (b) your responses to potential
scenarios you may face in the role.

In part a) you will be given a series of statements. For some of these statements, you will be asked to
indicate how well they describe you, for others you will be asked how important various characteristics
are in terms of what you want from a job. The final element of part a) asks you to rate how good you
are compared to others you have worked or studied with on a range of skills.

It is important that you answer each of the questions honestly and remember that we will look for
evidence to support the answers you provide.

In part b) you will be given a number of scenarios similar to what you may encounter in the role of
Garda Reserve.

A sample scenario and a number of possible actions are set out below:

You and your Full Time Member colleague respond to a call to a house where a neighbour has not been seen for
some time. Upon arrival at the house you observe the post has built up in the porch. Your force entry into the
house to find the person is dead inside and evidence of neglect. Not long after your arrival at the scene, the
deceased’s two grown up children turn up. After speaking to the neighbours, you find out that the children live in
the house and are the deceased person’s 24 hour carers.

Rate each of the following actions in terms of their appropriateness:

A. Approach the children before they can enter the house to get them to confirm their relationship with the
deceased and to ask them how long it has been since they were in the house

B. Speak with the children, informing them that their parent is dead, and suggest they inform other family
members about what has occurred

C. Inform the children about the situation, showing compassion and empathy, despite your concerns

D. Secure the house and tell the children that you will send on the details of which hospital the remains are
being brought to and that they should make arrangements to go there

Your task is to rate how appropriate each action is for the situation. For most real life situations, there
is no completely perfect solution. What we seek is a solution that meets the needs of the situation well.

Very Bad option Poor option Neutral Good option Very Good option

1 2 3 4 5

Looking at the example given, you may feel that (A) is an 'Adequate response' but not a ‘Good
response’ and so give it a rating of 'Adequate response', that (B) is a good thing to do and so rate it
as ‘Good response’ and that (C) and (D) are both very poor responses to the situation and so rate
them as 'Bad response'. (These are not necessarily the ‘correct’ answers, they are just illustrations.)

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Garda Reserve 2017 Familiarisation Booklet
You should consider each option in isolation, and rate it as if it were the only one you would take. For
example, it may be that in reality you would first do (A) and then, you might do (B). However, that is
not an option here.

NB. Not all of the questions necessarily have a ‘good’ response as one of the options, or even a weak
or bad response. You may score all of the responses to one scenario as ‘Good response’ and all the
responses to another as ‘Bad response’, if that seems right to you. Judge each response on its own
merits.

If you need help while completing the actual Assessment Questionnaire there is a (?) question mark
symbol at the top of each page. Click on the symbol and this will bring you to the help screen.

Accessing the Assessment Questionnaire

The link to the on-line Assessment Questionnaire will be sent to your publicjobs message board by the
21st April 2017.

Once you open the link you should check that your name is printed in the top left hand corner. Then
follow the instructions on the screen.

On the Welcome Page you will be asked to read and complete an honesty contract. Tick the box to
confirm your agreement and then click continue.

You will be given some instructions about the Questionnaire that you are about to complete. Please
ensure that you click on the first link to start the Familiarisation/Browser check before beginning the
Live Assessment. Once this is completed please click on the link beneath the Red “Live Assessment”
header to start the Garda Reserve Assessment Questionnaire.

The Assessment Questionnaire should take you approximately 1 hour to complete. However, there is
no time limit other than that you must complete and submit it within the specified test window.

It is essential that you complete all of the questions on this Questionnaire. If you do not complete all
questions on this Assessment Questionnaire you may not be invited to the next stage of the campaign
and your application will receive no further consideration

Please ensure that when you reach the “Confirm Submission” page that you click
submit and then confirm submit to ensure that all of your answers are saved.

When you move on from the final page of questions to the Confirm Submission page,
you will see a message confirming that your answers have been saved. There will be
no further emailed confirmation of this. Click ‘Submit’ to exit the questionnaire.

The results of Stage 1 will be available by 12th May and will be sent to your publicjobs
message board.

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Garda Reserve 2017 Familiarisation Booklet
Appendix A
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Terms and Conditions
Your attention is drawn to this important information. By accessing or attempting any assessment / test materials you are
agreeing to be bound by the terms set out below.

1. All test and assessment materials are subject to copyright and all rights are reserved. No part of the tests/
assessment materials (including any text, questions and/or potential answer options) or associated materials
(including practice and/ or familiarisation materials) may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, printing, photographing, recording, written or
otherwise, at any stage. To do so is an offence and may result in you being excluded from the selection
process. Any person(s) who contravenes this provision, whether an applicant or other, or who assists
another person(s) in contravening this provision, is liable to prosecution and/ or civil suit for loss of copyright
and intellectual property.

2. Your attention is drawn the Commission for Public Service Appointment’s Code of Practice for Appointment
to Positions where the Garda Commissioner has Statutory Responsibilities. In particular please note Section
5 - Responsibility of Candidates (see below).

Canvassing
Candidates should note that canvassing will disqualify them and will result in their exclusion from the
appointments process.

Candidates’ obligations
Candidates in the recruitment process must not:
 Knowingly or recklessly provide false information
 Canvass any person, with or without inducements
 Interfere with or compromise the process in any way.

A third party must not personate a candidate at any stage of the process.

Penalties for failure to comply

Any person who contravenes the above provisions, or who assists another person in contravening the
above provisions is guilty of an offence. A person who is found guilty of an offence is liable to a fine and/or
imprisonment.

If a person found guilty of such an offence was or is a candidate in a recruitment process, then:
 Where he/she has not been appointed to a post, he/she will be disqualified as a candidate
 Where he/she has been appointed subsequent to the recruitment process in question, he/she shall
forfeit that appointment.

3. The admission of a person to the competition, or invitation to undertake any element of the selection process
is not to be taken as implying that the Public Appointments Service or the Garda Commissioner is satisfied
that such a person fulfils the essential requirements.

4. The Public Appointments Services (PAS) uses fair and objective tools in the selection process to measure
the skills and abilities required for the role. It is critical for PAS to be fair to all candidates. PAS is aware that
from time to time candidates can face difficult circumstances that might impact on their ability to perform
effectively in the selection process.

It is important to be aware that candidates must let the PAS know of any extenuating circumstances prior to
taking the tests or during the testing session, and any documentary evidence must be supplied within 5 working
days. Please note that submission of such document(s) is not a guarantee that the circumstances outlined will
alter the decision/outcome. A candidate who takes the tests and who subsequently claims extenuating
circumstances will not be considered.

Examples of possible extenuating circumstances include illness, injury, hospitalisation or bereavement.

Candidates have a responsibility to ensure that they are able to perform to the best of their ability. Therefore
issues such as tiredness, nerves due to the nature of the tests, having to travel to tests or expectations that the
candidate would perform better than they did, are not considered as extenuating circumstances.

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Garda Reserve 2017 Familiarisation Booklet