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General Information

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To be considered for a County job, applicants are required to take employment exams. Exam results determine the candidate’s ranking on the eligible list. These examinations are prepared in compliance with Federal and State laws or guidelines and will be based on the job requirements. What are the different kinds of employment exams? Examinations administered depend on the type of job you are applying for. Examinations could either be an application screening, written exam, oral examination, performance exam, assessment center or a combination of any two or three exams. How do I know what exam(s) will be administered for the recruitment I’m applying for? See "Application/Examination" section of the job bulletin. How/When will I get notified of the exam? Human Resources will send you a notice regarding your exam schedule and location. Notices are usually sent out two weeks after the recruitment closed or two weeks before the exam date. Most job bulletins provide examination dates. How are exams graded? Application screening is the review and evaluation of applications. It is used to narrow the candidate pool to those candidates whose background and experience appear to best meet the needs of the position. Written exams are commonly used as a screening tool and are usually followed by another exam. They are usually weighted "pass/fail" which means you must pass the written exam in order to move on to the second phase of the examination process. Written exams are usually scored by a computer. In an oral examination, performance exam or assessment center you will be rated against a list of dimensions (skills). Exam raters observe your skills in these areas during your exam/interview. Raters are comprised of subject matter experts in the field being tested. The interview, performance exam or assessment center is usually weighted "100%" which means this is your final grade and will therefore determine your ranking on the eligible list. When do I hear the results of the exam? Human Resources will mail you the results two weeks after the examination. If it was the final exam then your notice will usually include your final grade and ranking on the eligible list. I received a letter saying I passed the test and I’m on the eligible list. What does that mean? Most exam result notices will tell you your rank on the eligible list and how many months the eligible list is good for. Employee and Public Services will send the top candidates off of the eligible list (usually top seven) to the department(s) with vacancy. In turn, the department will contact the candidates, conduct hiring interviews and make a hiring selection. If you are not one of the top candidates referred to the hiring department(s), your name will remain on the eligible list for the period that the list is good for. What happens after the list expires? You will need to apply for the position when the recruitment opens again. View our job listings and if you want to be  notified when we recruit for a position simply click on the Email me when this position opens line and give us your Email address.