New York State of Opportunity

Professional Career Opportunities

Written Test To Be Held
April 6,7 and 13, 2019**
Please refer to the information below.
Applications Must Be Submitted By
February 20, 2019

 

Exams Included on This Announcement
Exam Number Exam Title Salary Salary Grade Non−Refundable Processing Fee (Waivers available)
26-570 Professional Career Opportunities * G-14 to G-21 $35

*A list of titles filled by this examination is available at the PCO Title Listing Page.

**Due to the size of the candidate population for this test date, you may be assigned to either a morning or afternoon session on Saturday, April 6, 2019, Sunday, April 7, 2019, or Saturday, April 13, 2019 to take your test. Your admission notice will tell you where and when you are scheduled to appear. You cannot request a day or time in advance or change your scheduled day or time. If you do not receive your admission notice by April 3, 2019, see 'ADMISSION TO EXAMINATION' on the last page. If you are viewing this announcement online, it is recommended you print a copy of this announcement for future reference. It is also recommended that you read this announcement in its entirety.

Salary GradeHiring Salary Range
Leading to professional positions from G-14 to G-21$38,464 to $66,052

Starting salaries will vary depending upon the job title, the negotiating unit, and the appointment level.
For more information on salary, see https://www.cs.ny.gov/pco

IMPORTANT: Unless waived, you must pay the non-refundable processing fee. For information on fee waivers, visit https://www.cs.ny.gov/examannouncements/types/oc/appinfo.cfm##Fee. It is important that you verify that you entered the correct examination number and title on your online or paper application prior to submitting. If you apply online, you should immediately review your email confirmation notice to verify that you applied for the correct examination. If you do not receive a confirmation number after submitting your online application, your application was NOT received by the Department of Civil Service. No late applications will be accepted after the filing deadline has passed.

Appointees who work in the five boroughs of New York City or in Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, or Westchester Counties will receive an additional $3,026 annual downstate adjustment. Appointees who work in Dutchess, Orange, or Putnam Counties will receive an additional $1,513 annual mid-Hudson adjustment.

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Minimum Qualifications

On or before September 1, 2020, you must have a bachelor?s or higher degree.

If you expect to meet the educational requirements by September 1, 2020, you can be admitted to the written test, but you cannot be considered for appointment until you submit proof of successful completion of the educational requirement to the Appointing Authority at the time of the employment interview. Failure to meet the educational requirements by September 1, 2020, may result in your removal from the eligible list.

Certain titles filled by the Professional Career Opportunities (PCO) examination program may require specific degrees, coursework, and/or experience. These are ?Select Job Titles?. A list of titles filled by this examination is available at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/pco. You will have an opportunity to report on additional qualifications in the ?Online Questionnaire?.

The PCO examination program is expected to be held every two years.

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 must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education/U.S. Secretary of Education. If your degree 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 NYS Department of Civil Service for a list of acceptable companies who provide this service. This information can also be found on the Internet at http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/degrees.cfm. You must pay the required evaluation fee. If you are applying on the Internet, you must mail the independent verification of equivalency to the New York State Department of Civil Service, Albany, New York 12239. Attention: S1PCO or email to: PCO@cs.ny.gov.
  4. Background Investigation/Justice Center Review: In some agencies, the names of all prospective employees may be:

    • Checked against the Staff Exclusion List (SEL) maintained by the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs. Prospective employees whose names appear on the SEL as having been found responsible for serious or repeated acts of abuse or neglect will be barred from appointment and may have their names removed from the eligible list(s) for the title(s);
    • Investigated through a Criminal Background Check (CBC). All convictions must be reported. Conviction of a felony or misdemeanor or any falsified or omitted information may bar appointment or result in removal after appointment. Each case will be determined on its own merits, consistent with the applicable provisions of state and federal laws;

    and may be:

    • Screened against the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR). Prospective employees whose names appear on the SCR may be barred from appointment.

    You will be responsible for payment of all required fees.

  5. Medicaid and Medicare: In some agencies, in order to be eligible for appointment and to maintain employment, you cannot be listed as an excluded individual or entity on any of the Federal and/or State Medicaid and Medicare exclusion lists (or excluded from any other Federal or Federally assisted program). If you are appointed and subsequently listed as an excluded individual or entity on any of these lists (or excluded from any other Federal or Federally assisted program), you may be terminated from your employment.

Eligibility for Appointment:

You must have a bachelor?s or higher degree to be appointed to a Generalist Job Title. To be appointed to a Select Job Title, you must meet the additional minimum qualifications. You can review the minimum qualifications for all Select Job Titles in the Job Title Details at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/pco.

The Positions

The eligible list that results from this examination will be used by agencies to fill more than 100 different job titles. A list of titles filled by this examination is available at https://www.cs.ny.gov/pco.

Traineeships: Jobs titles filled through the Professional Career Opportunities (PCO) examination program may require one-year or two-year traineeships during which trainees gain the necessary knowledge and experience to perform at the full level. For all Generalist Job Titles and some Select Job Titles, if you meet the qualifications for appointment to a higher-level trainee or journey level, you may be eligible for appointment directly to the higher levels. Advanced placement appointments are at the discretion of the hiring agency.

Selective Certification of the Eligible List

Select Job Titles, job titles requiring Language Proficiency (other than English), and positions filled with the Diversity Management Option are filled through the use of selective certification. After you apply for the examination, you may complete the Online Questionnaire. Only candidates who complete the Online Questionnaire and receive a passing score on the written examination will be considered for selective certification. This Online Questionnaire will NOT impact your score on the written test and must be completed within the required time period. This Online Questionnaire serves as your minimum qualification review for Select Job Titles; positions requiring language proficiency; and consideration for Diversity Management positions. Final scores for these examinations are based only on the written test. Names of candidates who pass the examination, but do not complete this Online Questionnaire, will appear on the Generalist eligible list only.

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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. 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.
  2. Understanding and interpreting written material - These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.
  3. Working and interacting with others - These questions test for the ability to accomplish work and maintain professional relationships with others in the workplace. Each question presents a situation and a number of possible approaches for handling it. Question topics may include working with supervisors and coworkers; interacting with members of the public; handling conflict; and managing workplace demands and priorities. The questions are not specific to any job title or place of work.

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' and Civil Service Law Section 85-a credits to your final passing score.

Passing candidates may be provided an annual opportunity to periodically update or complete their Online Questionnaire. An email notification will be sent to passing candidates when the Online Questionnaire update period is open.

TEST GUIDE: A Guide to the Written Test for the Professional Career Opportunities (PCO) and Related Examinations is available on the Department website at https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/statetestguides.cfm.

Important: The Department of Civil Service and other state agencies may communicate with you through email correspondence. This may include the notification of your examination results and canvassing you for interest in appointment. It will be important for you to keep your email address, phone number and mailing address current by logging into https://www.cs.ny.gov/home/myaccount.

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How To Apply

This announcement is for viewing purposes only.

Additional Information

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 employment, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment without unlawful discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran or military service member status, marital status, domestic violence victim status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, arrest and/or criminal conviction record, or any other category protected by law, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception.

Appointment to many positions in State government require candidates to undergo an investigative screening. This may include a thorough character investigation, a Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Record History Check, a Child Abuse Registry clearance, or other similar procedures. Candidates may be fingerprinted and may be required to pay any necessary fees for that procedure. Depending on the nature of the job, the criminal convictions discovered, or any falsified or omitted information revealed, the investigative findings may bar appointment or result in removal after appointment.

Eligibility for Employment

You must be legally eligible to work in the United States at the time of appointment and throughout your employment with New York State. If appointed, you must produce documents that establish your identity and eligibility to work in the United States, as required by the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Religious Accommodation

Most written tests are held on Saturdays. If you cannot take the test on the announced test date, due to a conflict with a religious observance or practice, check the box under “Religious Accommodation.” We will make arrangements for you to take the test on a different date (usually the following day).

Reasonable Accommodations in Testing

It is the policy of the Department of Civil Service, in accordance with the New York State Human Rights Law and 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 provide equal opportunity. Persons with disabilities who require an accommodation to participate in an examination must note this on their application. Further information is available from the Test Administration Unit of the Department of Civil Service. In the Albany area, call 518-457-2487. Outside of the Albany area, call toll free at 1-877-697-5627. For TDD services, call NY Relay at 711 (requires a fee) or 1-800-662-1220.

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, email us at AdmissionNotices@cs.ny.gov. Please provide your first and last name, address, and the last four digits of your social security number, and we will provide you with the information you need to attend your written test. If you have an issue other than not receiving your admission notice, please contact our office at (518) 474-6470 in the Albany area or toll free at 1-877-697-5627. Please leave a clear concise message and provide your first and last name, last four digits of your social security number and a daytime phone number.

Taking State and Local Examinations Scheduled for the Same Day

If you have applied to take a written test announced by either one or several local jurisdictions (county, town, city) scheduled to be held on the same test date as this written test, you must notify each of the local jurisdictions 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. For your convenience, contact information for all local civil service agencies is available on our website at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/local.cfm.

Cell Phones or Electronic/Communication Devices at the Test Site

Do not bring cell phones, beepers, headphones, or any electronic or other communication devices to the test site. The use of such devices at the test site in the test room, hallways, restrooms, building, grounds, or other areas could result in your disqualification.

S1/TA1 MME-klr br>Issued: 01/18/19

This announcement is subject to amendment or cancellation without notice. Do not copy it, or post it to any other site, but link to it instead.

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