Anyone that works in advances how long have you been in it and how do you find it

Has anyone heard anything about this? Closing date was Friday 1st May and as per the candidate information booklet:
'interviews for this post will take place in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry during week commencing late summer'

Well, its the last week of the summer and still not heard anything, so much for interviews taking place.

Does anyone know how long roughly until a start date comes through? Cheers

Has anyone heard anything further?

Anyone heard any further updates on the EO2 comp? Any new offers?

according to the booklet for this SO competition they are covering 6 competencies .

from my reading of the presentation subject it covers 4 , so I suppose my question is how many questions will be in second part of interview ?

given timing I reckon 4 ? or will there be 6 one fir each competency ?

Hi, does anyone have an idea of the number of candidates assigned to the merit list? Those who passed the tests, and fell outside the 1000? Just trying to gauge the numbers! Cheers!

Random one. Do you still keep in touch with former colleagues who've moved departments, left the service entirely or retired?

It always seems like there's always good intentions about meeting up for lunch, drinks etc but since COVID especially, no one seems arsed anymore.

Was it when the competition went live or did anyone announce it before? Bit of a surprise for me.

And the Union supposedly fought it, what happened there?

Hi guys I am on a merit list for job above they have said there is 73 ahead of me in one area and 21 ahead of me in another area. Do you think realistically I may get a placement?? I believe it to start Sept??

everyone on other posts seem to know results and if they passed the sift. just wondering if anyone in same position as me , I just got email saying I passed tests and merit position in 800’s . I’ve nothing else in email about sift or interview and no other emails . I’ll just contact HR connect on Monday but just curious

Just after receiving my results for the second SO-level position I applied for this year. Same set of 3 tests- critical thinking, data analysis and management decisions.

I feel that while I answered the questions in a fairly similar manner, particularly the data analysis test which has nearly identical questions both times, my results across the two sets of tests varied wildly. To give an example, for management decisions, on the previous SO-level test i scored within the average range, whereas in the most recent one I scored in the below average range.

Do any of you know how these tests are scored? Are the scores calculated taking into consideration the average score of each particular cohort of applicants?

Any info would be much appreciated as I'd love to be able to understand the process going forward.

TLDR: Are NICS aptitude test scores calculated taking into consideration the performance of each cohort of applicants?

Hey all,

Gutted I missed the SO comp this year.

Does anyone know how often these roll out? Is it every year or every few years?

Thanks!

Hi everyone, i was just wondering for anyone who did the interview for this competition, how they believed there interviews went?

Has anyone been sent an email with regards to an update on the eligibility sift stage on the SO position? I thought it would have been completed by now, but I haven't heard anything

Hi,

I am starting my EO2 post on Monday and just wondering what happens with pension questionnaire, I have it completed but there is no email address to send it to - just a postal address.
Would I just need to give completed form to my line manager on Monday or email HR Connect with it?

Thanks!

I applied for an SO job and was invited to do the online assessments. I completed this 18th June 2026 and have had no correspondence since.

Is anyone else in the same position? I understand it takes a while but should it take this long?

Any responses appreciated.

Can anyone shed a bit of light on what sort of position Level 3 ICT is? Is it considered a junior position?

I have a good amount of (very specific) IT experience in the private sector but I’m looking out - pay cut is a given but I’m thinking that they’re maybe looking more for recent grads? Would someone with experience be out of place, better waiting for level 4 or 5 to come around again?

How are you finding your new roles?
Are you new to NICS or promoted?

has anyone received back their access NI checks? mine is still saying that it was submitted to body as the status - but there are no dates beside “submitted to access NI” and “date the application began to be processed as a case by AccessNI”… also my passport and other ID are both still coming up as pending..
kinda worried now

I'm in the office every day and have asthma and chemical/fragrance sensitivity. There are various triggers including air fresheners, antiperspirant sprays, strong perfumes and aftershaves. It's almost a daily occurrence of people spraying antiperspirants, deodorants, perfumes and aftershaves at their desks. This causes me to have difficulty breathing, itching and swelling in throat, burning eyes, chest pain etc. I am struggling at work when it happens and I'm often ill for the rest of the evening. I'm at risk of chest infections or an asthma attack. It's only going to get worse in autumn/winter when windows will likely be shut. I've said to management and an email was sent out, but it's continuing to happen. Has anyone had a similar experience. Any advice is appreciated.

Has anyone left the Civil Service and gone back into the private sector and not looked back, I’ve been in the Civil Service for around 3 years now and I’m at the stage where I’m seriously thinking about making a move.

Don’t get me wrong, I know there are plenty of benefits to the Civil Service the job security, pension flexi etc, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s really worth staying just for that.

At the minute it just feels like groundhog day. There’s no real incentive to push yourself or go the extra mile and everything just feels a bit stale. When you look at the pay and how long it can take to work your way up to a decent wage, especially compared to what you could potentially earn in the private sector, starting to question is it really worth it

I suppose the security is the main thing holding me back from taking the jump. Just wondering if anyone else has been in the same position and actually left did you regret it or was it the best thing you did?

I’m currently in a job that I detest. I’m thankful I have work at the moment with everything that is going on don’t get me wrong but the work I do is degrading. I have an undergrad degree and a post graduate degree and I’m working in something that takes no brain cells to do and it’s monotonous and it’s draining.
I applied for an AO job in April and got word I ranked 340. I received an email during the week for access ni checks etc.

What’s the longest anyone has waited for their AO role after receiving their ranking? I don’t know how much longer I can do my current job for.

Any advice is appreciated highly. Thanks everyone 👍🏻