The Seal of the New York State Department of Civil Service

 NEW YORK STATE
Department of Civil Service Announces
Examination Open to All Qualified Individuals

 Written Test To Be Held

JANUARY 11, 2003

 Applications MUST Be
Postmarked
No Later Than
DECEMBER 9, 2002

archived statement
This is an Archived Announcement.
The application filing date has passed.

Examination Number and Title

Salary
Grade

Salary

 Non-Refundable Processing Fee

24-135
 CONSUMER FRAUDS REPRESENTATIVE TRAINEE 1
Equated to
G-13

$30,845

$25

24-136
 CONSUMER FRAUDS REPRESENTATIVE TRAINEE 1 (Spanish Language)

Appointees in the New York City area (Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond [Staten Island], Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester Counties) will receive an additional $1200 annual location pay differential.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: On or before January 11, 2003, you must have had one year of experience in a position where your primary responsibility involved the resolution of consumer complaints, mediating disputes between consumers and businesses or advocate work on behalf of consumers.

OR

Completion of 60 hours at a regionally accredited college or university, or a para-legal certificate from a school or institute recognized by the American Bar Association.

NOTES:

  1. Appropriate part-time and volunteer experience, which can be verified, will be accepted on a prorated basis.
  2. New York State residence is not required.
  3. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the NYS Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to the Examination Information Desk of the Department of Civil Service for a list of acceptable companies who provide this service. This information is also available here.. You must pay the required evaluation fee.
  4. If you expect to receive a para-legal certificate by January 11, 2003, you can be admitted to the written test. If you pass the written test, you will not be considered for appointment until you submit proof of completion of the requirements to the New York State Department of Law.
  5. If you pass the examination for No. 24-136, Consumer Frauds Representative Trainee 1 (Spanish Language), you will be required to demonstrate your Spanish language proficiency at a level that will assure your ability to perform properly the duties of the position. Only enough candidates to fill current vacancies will be called to the proficiency test.

THE POSITIONS: These positions exist in the New York State Department of Law. Appointees to Consumer Frauds Representative Trainee 1 and Trainee 1 (Spanish Language) after successful completion of one year of the traineeship, will advance to Consumer Frauds Representative Trainee 2 and Trainee 2 (Spanish Language). After successful completion of one year as a Trainee 2 and Trainee 2 (Spanish Language), appointees will advance to Senior Consumer Frauds Representative and (Spanish Language) G-17, without further testing.

DUTIES: As a Senior Consumer Frauds Representative, you would, under the general supervision of an Assistant Attorney General, mediate complaints directly with the individual or business representatives involved. You would also conduct investigations and assist the Assistant Attorneys General in preparing fraud cases for trial. You would also conduct consumer outreach programs and deliver consumer education talks to schools, organizations and other groups. In addition, you may supervise student interns.

As a Consumer Frauds Representative Trainee 2, you would receive consumer complaints by letter, telephone and in person. Under the general supervision of an Assistant Attorney General, you may be required to investigate these complaints and serve as a mediator between the consumer and business organization.

As a Consumer Frauds Representative Trainee 1, your duties would be similar to those of a Consumer Frauds Representative Trainee 2, but would be performed under close supervision.

If appointed to a "Spanish Language" position, your duties would involve dealing with complaints from clients and with organizations whose primary language is Spanish.

SUBJECT OF EXAMINATION: There will be a written test which you must pass in order to be considered for appointment. The written test is designed to test for knowledge, skills and/or abilities in such areas as:

  1. Educating and interacting with the public - These questions test for a knowledge of techniques used to interact effectively with individual citizens and/or community groups, to educate or inform them about topics of concern, to publicize or clarify agency programs or policies, to negotiate conflicts or resolve complaints, and to represent one's agency or program in a manner in keeping with good public relations practices. Questions may also cover interacting with others in cooperative efforts of public outreach or service.
  2. Evaluating information and evidence - These questions test the candidates' abilities to evaluate and draw conclusions from information and evidence. Each question consists of a set of facts and a conclusion based on the facts. The candidate must decide if a conclusion is warranted by the facts.
  3. Interviewing - These questions are designed to test for the principles and practices employed in obtaining information from individuals through structured conversations. These questions require you to apply the principles, practices and techniques of effective interviewing to hypothetical interviewing situations. Questions are also included which present an interviewing situation in which some problem has arisen and your task is to choose the most appropriate course of action under the circumstances.
  4. Mediation and resolution of consumer complaints - These questions test how well the candidates can apply written information in the form of rules to a variety of situations which might arise during the course of a consumer frauds investigation. These questions deal with such areas as:
  5. 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 and then asked to choose from four suggestions the best order for the sentences.
  6. 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.

Your final score must be 70 or higher in order to pass. Rank on the eligible list will be determined after adding any wartime veterans credits to your final passing score.

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES
archived statement
This is an Archived Announcement.
The application filing date has passed.

ADMISSION TO EXAMINATION: Notice to appear for the test may be conditional as review of applications may not be made until after the test. If you have not received your notice to appear for the written test three days before the date of the test, call (518) 457-5483 if taking the test in Albany; (518) 457-6556 for New York City Test Center; (518) 457-7022 for all other Test Centers.
NEW YORK STATE IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER: It is the policy of the State of New York to provide for and promote equal opportunity in employment, compensation and other terms and conditions of employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or arrest and/or criminal conviction record unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception.
Saturday religious observers applying for examinations which have written tests scheduled to be held on a Saturday and who need special testing arrangements must note this on their applications.
Reasonable Accommodations in Testing:
In addition, it is the policy of the Department of Civil Service, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, to provide qualified persons with disabilities equal employment opportunity and equal opportunity to participate in and receive the benefits, services, programs, and activities of the Department. It is the policy of the Department to provide such persons reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications as are necessary to enjoy equal opportunity. Persons with disabilities who require an accommodation to participate in an examination must note this on their applications. Further information is available from the Special Arrangements Unit of the Department of Civil Service at (518) 457-3416 or TDD (telecommunications device for the deaf) (518) 457-8480.
MULTIPLE EXAMINATIONS SCHEDULED FOR THE SAME DAY: With the exception of written tests announced by New York City, if you have applied to take a written test announced by a local jurisdiction (county, town, city) scheduled to be held on the same test date as this written test, you must call (518) 457-7022 no later than two weeks before the test date to make arrangements for taking all tests at one test site. All tests will be held at the State examination center.
S3/TC1 MEO-ljs Issued: 10/25/02

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archived statement
This is an Archived Announcement.
The application filing date has passed.