Civil
Service Examination Announcement
FILING
FEE $20.00
ALL ULSTER
COUNTY DEPARTMENTS (INCLUDING
#70045 ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/TYPIST
PROMOTION EXAMINATION
LAST DATE FOR FILING
APPLICATIONS: December 21, 2011
EXAMINATION DATE: February 4, 2012
SALARY:
The starting salary is currently listed at $21.24 per hour.
QUALIFYING
EXPERIENCE FOR TAKING THE TEST: At the time of examination, candidates must
be employed by
A.
Graduation
from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university
with a Bachelor's or higher level degree in Business Administration,
Secretarial Science or a related field, and one (1) year of full-time paid, or
its part-time equivalent, work experience in a supervisory secretarial position
which involved responsibility for administrative details; OR
B.
Graduation
from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university
with an Associate's degree in Business Administration, Secretarial Science or a
related field, and three (3) years of full-time paid, or its part-time
equivalent, work experience as defined by the limits of A above; OR
C.
Graduation
from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and five
(5) years of full-time paid, or its part-time equivalent, work experience as
defined by the limits of A above; OR
D.
An
equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of
A, B and C above.
Any person otherwise meeting the
requirement(s) for the examination who was laid‑off from an agency for
which the examination is being held, and whose name is presently on a preferred
list, is eligible to compete in the examination. When completing their
applications, such persons should be sure to indicate their present employment
and/or the title and location of their last permanent employment in the
municipality.
WHERE COLLEGE IS A REQUIREMENT, YOU
WILL BE EXPECTED TO SUBMIT COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS NO LATER THAN FEBRUARY 20,
2012 OR YOU WILL BE UNCONDITIONALLY DISQUALIFIED. IF COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS ARE ALREADY ON FILE
WITH OUR OFFICE, INDICATE THIS ON YOUR APPLICATION. ONCE SUBMITTED, COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS WILL BE
HELD ON FILE IN OUR OFFICE FOR A PERIOD OF TEN YEARS. TRANSCRIPTS NEED
NOT BE OFFICIAL COPIES; HOWEVER, THEY MUST CONTAIN ALL INFORMATION
NECESSARY TO QUALIFY YOU FOR THIS POSITION.
NOTE:
If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational
institution outside of the
APPLICATION REVIEW
TOLERANCE POLICY
For
the purposes of this policy, "tolerance" shall mean the leeway given
regarding work experience when reviewing an application. Applicants lacking a
small amount of work experience when applying for promotional or
open-competitive examinations may qualify under the following conditions:
1) Candidates
will be given a maximum tolerance of one (1) month.
2) Tolerance will be given only when the
minimum qualification requires one or more years of work experience.
3) Tolerance Policy does not apply
to education or licensure/certification requirements. (See particular
examination announcement for "Anticipated Eligibility" information).
4) Tolerance Policy does not apply
where required work experience is set forth by law or rules.
5) Tolerance Policy does not apply
to enable applicants to meet residence requirements.
For
more information regarding Tolerance Policy, please contact our office at (845)
340-3550.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS:
This position involves responsibility for office management and liaison
work involving the frequent exercise of independent judgment in planning and
coordinating the non-technical activities of a department or major unit, or in
applying policy. In order to free the time of the department head or administrator,
the incumbent will facilitate administrative determinations which have been
reviewed and approved. A significant portion of the work involves typing. This
position is distinguished from Administrative Aide/Typist by virtue of the
higher level of responsibility and complexity of the work performed. Work is
performed under general supervision with wide leeway allowed for independent
decision. Supervision is exercised over subordinate employees assigned to the
department or unit. Does related work as
required.
SUBJECT OF EXAMINATION:
Written test will cover knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such
areas as:
1. Office management
These questions test for knowledge of
the principles and practices of planning, organizing and controlling the activities
of an office and directing those performing office activities so as to achieve
predetermined objectives such as accomplishing office work within reasonable
limits of time, effort and cost expenditure. Typical activities may include but
will not be restricted to: simplifying and improving procedures, increasing
office efficiency, improving the office work environment and controlling office
supplies.
2. Office record keeping
These questions test your ability to
perform common office record keeping tasks. The test consists of two or more
"sets" of questions, each set concerning a different problem. Typical
record keeping problems might involve the organization or collation of data
from several sources; scheduling; maintaining a record system using running
balances; or completion of a table summarizing data using totals, subtotals,
averages and percents.
3. Preparing written material
These questions test for the ability
to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically
and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or
three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then
choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with
their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the
best order for the sentences.
4. Supervision
These questions test for knowledge of
the principles and practices employed in planning, organizing, and controlling
the activities of a work unit toward predetermined objectives. The concepts
covered, usually in a situational question format, include such topics as
assigning and reviewing work; evaluating performance; maintaining work
standards; motivating and developing subordinates; implementing procedural
change; increasing efficiency; and dealing with problems of absenteeism,
morale, and discipline.
5. Understanding and interpreting
written material
These questions test how well you
comprehend written material. You will be provided with brief reading selections
and will be asked questions about the selections. All the information required
to answer the questions will be presented in the selections; you will not be
required to have any special knowledge relating to the subject areas of the
selections.
The New York State Department of Civil
Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However, candidates
may find information in the publication "How to take a written test"
helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm.
CALCULATORS:
"Unless specifically prohibited, candidates are permitted to use
quiet, hand‑held, solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with typewriter keyboards, ‘Spell‑Checkers’,
‘Personal Digital Assistants’, ‘Address Books’, ‘Language Translators’,
‘Dictionaries’ and any similar devices are prohibited."
PERFORMANCE TESTS:
Performance tests are qualifying (pass/fail), if you pass the performance
test(s), your final score for the exam
will be the score that you achieve on the written test. Candidates may be invited to the performance
test(s) in the order of the scores they achieve on the written test.
TYPING: Candidates who receive a passing
score on the written test must also qualify on the typing performance test
(Typetest) at the rate of 35 words per minute.
Typetest is a computerized test of
keying speed and accuracy. It utilizes a
split screen format and a standard keyboard.
The computer program requires no prior knowledge of software.
The test is five minutes long and is
preceded by a three-minute practice session. The computerized typing test
screen is divided into two windows. Candidates must type the text from the
upper window into the lower window. Candidates type as much of the text as they
can during the time available.
In order to pass the test, candidates
must enter the text at a rate of at least 35 words per minute, with at least
90% accuracy. For example, if a
candidate enters the text at 35 words per minute, the maximum allowable number
of errors is 8. A word is defined as
five characters. The rating formula
divides the total number of characters entered by five to determine the number
of words entered.
RETEST POLICY:
TYPING PERFORMANCE TEST: A
CANDIDATE FOR THE COMPUTERIZED TYPING PERFORMANCE TEST MAY BE RETESTED
ONE (1) MONTH AFTER THE FIRST TEST AND AGAIN AT ONE MONTH INTERVALS UP TO A
TOTAL MAXIMUM OF FOUR (4) TIMES IN A YEAR.
PERFORMANCE WAIVER:
Candidates who have taken and qualified on a typing performance,
database performance and/or dictation performance test in the past may be
eligible for a waiver of one or all of these qualifying examinations. If you
wish to apply for this waiver, it will be necessary for you to provide us with
the following information at the time of filing: the number and title of the
examination, the agency for whom you took the examination and the date of
participation. All other candidates will
be required to participate in the qualifying typing performance, database
performance and/or dictation performance tests described above.
POINTS WILL BE ADDED TO AN ELIGIBLE
SCORE AS FOLLOWS:
*Seniority . . . . . . . . . . . . .
For each year 0.2
*Seniority is based on the length of
continuous competitive (permanent) class service in the jurisdiction up to a
maximum of twenty (20) years.
*FEES*:
Send your check or money order for twenty dollars ($20.00) (made payable
to
EXCEPTION TO FEE REQUIREMENT: An exception to the processing fee will be
made for persons receiving Supplemental Social Security payments or public
assistance (Safety Net Assistance or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families),
provided Foster Care or certified Workforce Investment Act of 1998 eligible
through a state or local social service agency, and for those who are currently
unemployed. Individuals wishing to claim
this waiver of fee on the basis of Supplemental Social Security, Safety Net
Assistance or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, must certify on their
application, under number 20 Remarks, that they are receiving public assistance
and must indicate the type of assistance they are receiving, the agency
providing the assistance and their case numbers. Persons claiming this waiver
through Foster Care or Workforce Investment Act of 1998 Certification must
specify the program and name of their contact agency. Persons claiming this
waiver, who are currently unemployed must certify on their application, under
number 20 Remarks, that they are currently unemployed and must provide
documentation that they are receiving unemployment benefits or other
unemployment documentation deemed appropriate by the Ulster County Personnel
Officer. Such claims are subject to
later verification and, if not supported by appropriate documentation, are
grounds for barring appointment.
Applications may be obtained at the
For those applications submitted in
person on the last file date, please submit no later than 4:30 PM. All
applications must be in our office no later than 5:00 PM on the last file date.
Applications postmarked by the last file date will also be accepted.
This
examination is being prepared and rated by the New York State Department of
Civil Service in accordance with Section 23‑2 of the Civil Service
Law. The provisions of the New York
State Civil Service Rules and Regulations dealing with the rating of
examinations will apply to this test.
CRIMINAL
BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION POLICY: In accordance with Ulster County Local Law
Number 14 of 2007, a criminal background check (including fingerprinting) will
be initiated by the Ulster County Personnel Department upon initial employment
or re-hire to Ulster County positions, and conducted by the New York State
Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), the New York State Office of
Court Administration, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
Verification Information System (IMAGE Program), or any law enforcement agency.
SPECIAL NOTE: All public agencies are required by law to
provide full and equal opportunities for minorities, women and to people with
disabilities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to compete without regard
to race, creed or national origin. Applicants requesting special testing
arrangements as a Saturday Sabbath Observer, alternate test date candidate (in
accordance with Alternate Test Date Policy), or an active member of the
military away from the area on the scheduled test date must clearly indicate
this fact on the application. All such requests must be supported by
appropriate documentation.
VETERANS: Non-disabled and disabled veterans
who wish to claim additional credits must request a Veterans Credits
application from our office. This form must be completed and submitted along
with a war service (DD214) form prior to the establishment of the
resulting eligible list. Veterans credits may only be added to a passing score
and may only be used for appointment once. Candidates currently in the
armed forces may apply for and be conditionally granted veteran’s credits. Any candidate who applies for such credits
must provide proof of military status to receive the conditional credits. You
may not claim additional Veterans Credits after the eligible list has been
established. It is the candidate’s responsibility to request the Veterans
Credits application forms and submit these forms and any required supporting
paperwork before the eligible list is established.
ADDITIONAL CREDITS FOR CHILDREN OF
FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY:
In conformance with section 85-a of the Civil Service Law, children of
firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty shall be entitled
to receive an additional ten points in a competitive examination for original
appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent has
served. If you are qualified to
participate in this examination and are a child of a firefighter or police
officer killed in the line of duty in this municipality, please inform this
office of this matter when you submit your application for examination. A candidate claiming such credit has a
minimum of two months from the application deadline to provide the necessary
documentation to verify additional credit eligibility. However, no credit may be added after the
eligible list has been established.
APPLYING FOR CIVIL SERVICE
EXAMINATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS WHEN
EXAMINATIONS ARE SCHEDULED ON SAME DATE: If you have applied for any other Civil
Service examinations for employment with New York State or any other local
government jurisdiction, you must make arrangements to take all the
examinations at one test site.
If you have applied for both State
and Local government examinations, you must make arrangements to take
all your examinations at the State examination center by calling (518)
457‑7022 no later than two weeks before the test date.
If you have applied for other local
government examinations, call or write to each Civil Service Agency to make
arrangements. You must make your request
for these arrangements no later than two weeks before the date of the
examinations. You must notify all local
government civil service agencies with whom you have filed an application of
the test site at which you wish to take your examination(s). For this examination call (845) 340‑
3531 OR write to Ulster County Personnel Department,
*If candidates have not received
notification of this examination within four (4) days of the examination, they
should contact this office immediately.
#70045
ORIGINAL COPY: BLUE
ISSUED: November 18, 2011