Civil Service Exam: Examinee's Experience

        “A pile-up of people queueing in front of the school wearing white shirts was ready to take the Civil Service Exam.”

As reported by Business Mirror, a total of 148,312 individuals are anticipated to participate in the Career Service Examination-Pen and Paper Test (CSE-PPT) on August 07, 2022. Individuals from all regions are gearing up for the exam, as passing it qualifies them to apply for positions in various Government Agencies. This article will detail my successful journey in taking the Civil Service exam, including the essential steps I encountered along the way.   

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Also, this article was based from personal experience so any changes in the rules of the Comission should be followed first without prior notice of this article. Thank you.

Before the Day of Examination

A day or a week prior to the exam, applicants will receive an email detailing their assigned school, room number, GPS location link, and important reminders. It's essential to review the instructions included in the manual provided within the email. According to email, you need to bring the following items: a black ballpoint pen, alcohol (not exceeding 100ml), a vaccination card or a negative RT-PCR/Antigen test result, a Certificate of Consent, and a Health Declaration Form. Additionally, the email outlines the following simple rules:

• Long hair tied in ponytail (Male & Female) 
• No ID, No Entry
• No face mask No Entry
• Wear a white top (white shirt or white polo)

A Day of Examination

Before 6:30 am, I already arrived at my testing site (Location: High School), a pile-up of people queueing in front of the school wearing white shirts was ready to take the Civil Service Exam. It was a very long line. Before entering the school, the police inspected our bag. Request for valid ID to compare my face depicted in the ID. Then the nurse checked my temperature and get my Health Declaration Form to fill out the temperature section.

Reminders: 

1. Please check thoroughly your location because there are a lot of examinees who mistakenly go to the wrong venue since in our area there are two locations of testing sites, an elementary school, and a high school.
2. Check the weather forecast a day before the examination date so that you are prepared if the weather turns bad. Bring an umbrella if that's the case.
3. In our cases, the valid ID you bring on the day of the exam is the same valid ID you used in filing.
4. Bring also your application stub (usually it is pink in color) and an official receipt. You will get these after you filed and paid in the CSC Office.
   

Entering your Assigned Room

Before I entered my designated room, the proctor asked me to submit my certificate of consent and show my valid ID. He or she returned my two photos, which were to be presented to the examiner. It is essential to follow the examiner's instructions. All examinees must be in their assigned room by 07:45 am; otherwise, the proctor will not allow entry.

Reminder:    

• Use an Ordinary Ballpoint Pen only. Do not use a Gel Ink pen and a sign pen because it can cause smudges in the form and in the answer sheets.

Distributing the Booklet

The proctor distributed the booklet and answer sheet and was required to check and count the pages. After that, I closed the booklet and waited for the time of the exam to start. The exam duration was 3 hours and 10 minutes.

    The exam consists of the following

• From 1 to 20 includes Examinee Descriptive Questionnaire.
• From 21 to 105 includes Grammar and Correct Usage, Vocabulary, Paragraph Organization, Reading Comprehension, Word Association, Identifying Assumptions and Conclusions, Logic, and Data Interpretation. 
• From 106 to 170 includes Graphs, Number Series, Basic Operations, Word Problems, Philippine Constitution, Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA 6713), Peace and Human Rights Issues and Concepts; and Environment Management and Protection.

Answering the Booklet

For less than 10 minutes, I did items 1 to 20

My approach to tackling those questions was to focus on topics I could answer confidently and swiftly. I addressed items numbered 106 to 170, which primarily consisted of numerical questions. While they were somewhat time-consuming, I felt assured in my responses because I adhered to effective procedures or concepts to resolve those problems quickly and efficiently. I spent approximately one and a half hours working on these items, although there were a few (less than ten) that I couldn't solve, so I decided to skip them and made educated guesses at the end.

Before tackling the English subjects, I took a 20-minute break to clear my mind by shading the items I had already completed. I typically avoid the Answer-Shade method early on, as it can be a time-waster. For the English subjects, with one hour and ten minutes remaining, I started with Grammar Usage and Identifying Errors since they were the easiest sections. However, Vocabulary, Word Analogy, Synonyms, and Antonyms required more time. I made educated guesses on some challenging terms and relied on contextual clues. Additionally, I used some lucky guesses for certain questions. Overall, I spent 45 minutes on this section, including the shading process.

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Paragraph Organization. Reading Comprehension. Logic. With just 25 minutes remaining and nearly 40 items to tackle, I felt a wave of panic, but I stayed composed, knowing there were many readings and that 25 minutes wouldn’t be enough to complete them all. My strategy? An adrenaline rush! I had no other option but to use the answer-shade method. For Paragraph Organization, I focused on the choices that shared the same first sentence. If that sentence appeared to convey the main idea, it was likely the correct answer. Thus, I quickly identified the main idea as time was running short. In Reading Comprehension, my approach was to look at the question first, followed by the answer choices. If the choices clearly addressed the question or sounded plausible, there was a good chance one was correct. Consequently, I skipped reading the passage or story and moved on to the next item.

In Logic, less than ten minutes left. I read the questions or premises as fast as I can and did the illustration fast and whatever the result in the illustration, I based it on my answer.

With less than three minutes left, I had already finished answering. I had no time to review my skipped answers. I consumed the remaining time to check if all items were shaded properly.

Take Note:

1. You have no time to eat snacks, but if you want to have snacks while answering, I recommended to buy a bite-sized snack like Snickers Fun Size
2. If you plan to use a pencil during the exam especially on the answer sheet to prevent errors, I may discourage you not to do so. Time is of the essence. There are some instructions that if you get an error, you shall cross out your wrong answer and shade your correct answer. 
3. Before the exam starts, you shall pee in the restroom so that there will no disturbance during the exam period.
4. Drink enough water if you feel dehydrated or dizzy but be careful, keep away your papers while you are drinking. People say that if you drink more water, your mind will be refreshed because the water gives oxygen to your brain.

After a Time Pressured Exam

After I passed the paper to the examiner, I went for a walk to release my tension. I felt neither confident nor anxious. Though I was certainly sure that I had wrong answers and skipped items, the Almighty knew that I did my part and did the exam on time. Let the Almighty take care of it.

 

People Discussing the Answers

While walking, I browsed my social media and saw some people discussing their answers. I felt disappointed because I had different answers to them. Hence, if you want to reduce your anxiety, do not browse your social media. 

Below are some questions that similarly appear in the exam and people still discuss their answers. Skip this part if you do not want to see it. 

Source: Civil Service Public Group

• Some comedians are not politicians. Some action stars are politicians
• 1  2  3  5  9  17  37   ______
• 30% of 4/5
• 2.01    -2.01      4.02      _______     148. 24
• 1/2     2/3      __________    32/27        96 /81
• 5   30    15      5     20     10      5     ____ , ____ 1000  100   10   1    ______
• Ano pong sagot nyu doon sa NINGAS-KUGON?
• If The ratio of teachers and students is 3:75.if there are 2,350 students how many teachers?
• A number is in Circle and Triangle but not in a rectangle. A number is in Circle and is not common to all shapes. A number is in any of the two shapes. What is the number?
• Ano po sagot ninyo dito?
• IYAK:TAWA::_____:______ . Choices- 1.  Bigay:balik     2. Tulog:gising    3. Urong:sulong    4. Labas:pasok
• Which of the following is not a contributor to air pollution? A. Geothermal Energy     B. Nuclear Energy    C. Solar Energy    D. Thermal Energy
• The best way to avoid pollution for Biodegradable–Composting
• Exempted in Tax
• Cannot be Impeached- Senators
• SALN- Simple living
• 87, 78, 34, 43, 48, 84, __, __

    You can also comment what is your answers and add some questions you remembered in the comment section.

How to Compute your Rating in Civil Service?

    According to Team Lyqa, she does not know what the exact thing is to do to solve its passing score. They are based on the score curve or normal curve which uses statistics concepts. If you think that the passing score is absolutely 80% passing rate, the exact passing rate may probably lesser than the one they actually declared. Do not stress about how many you have scored. You did your job. Just be relaxed and let Time and Destiny care for it.

Civil Service Results

     In October 2022, the waiting time is over. At last! I passed the exam. Usually, within forty-five (45) days, the results will be released. Maybe, my strategy is effective. That is why I share my experience and tips that might help you to pass the exam.

     If you did not make it, retake it again. Taking Civil Service is not limited. Do not lose hope. Just trust the process and believe in yourself.