Are you interested in working at the local, state, or federal government level in New York State? If so, you will have to complete and pass what is known as a civil service exam. In New York, testing is a vigorous and often stressful process. Here at JobAssessmentHelp, we provide you with a variety of test preparation material that will help you ace your exams.

What is the New York State Civil Service Exam?

The New York Civil Service Exam is a series of tests designed to screen and evaluate the eligibility of job applicants at the government level. Some tests are competitive and require you to score better than 80% of your peers, while other tests are noncompetitive and only require you to score a minimum of 70% on the test in order to pass.

The type of job you are applying to largely determines what you will be tested on in the exams. Below are the most common civil service exams in New York State.

New York State Police Exam Practice Test

Before you can become a New York police officer, you need to pass the police exam. The police exam is one of the first steps in becoming a police officer, so it’s very important that you obtain high scores. The police exam test is generally a written test that can be conducted either in person or online.

Depending on where in New York you are applying, you might have to take a different series of tests. New York City has its own entrance exam that differs from the NYS exam, and certain police departments within the state may require additional testing.

NYC School Safety Agent Exam

Are you looking to become a school safety agent in New York? Safety agents patrol schools to protect students and staff from suspicious visitors or dangerous items and help guide visitors to the correct departments within the school. To become a safety agent, you will have to pass the exam that tests your ability to analyze, problem solve, and judge situations. You must have excellent spatial orientation, reasoning, and visualization skills in order to pass at 70% or higher.

NYS Civil Service Court Officer Exam

The New York court officer exam is one of the most challenging of the civil service exams. This multichoice exam is timed and requires you to score in the 90^th percentile in order to move onto the next stage in the application process. The test is only conducted every couple of years, making it a highly competitive job market. Therefore, you must practice in advance in order to score higher than your competitors.

The court officer exam consists of reading passages in which you must recall facts and answer questions accordingly. You must also exhibit superior clerical and court-record keeping skills as a part of this assessment.

NYC Traffic Enforcement Agent Exam

The traffic enforcement agent exam is designed for candidates hoping to becoming traffic enforcement agents. Job duties include directing traffic, issuing warnings to vehicles, preparing reports, and testifying at hearing offices or in administrative courts. The traffic enforcement exam consists of a variety of multiple-choice questions in order to assess one’s general employability. 

FDNY Firefighter Exam

Do you want to be a New York firefighter? In order to be a firefighter, you will need to take the firefighter exam. This assessment will test your basic math skills, situational judgment skills, and reading comprehension to determine whether you’d be a good candidate.

NYS PCO Exams

The Professional Careers Opportunity exam is a written test that opens the door to over a hundred civil service job opportunities. This exam is comprised of 3 different writing sections: organizing written content, comprehending it, and possessing the necessary professional relationship skills to succeed within the workplace.

MTA Exam

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority examassesses whether or not you’d be a good fit for a variety of positions within the Metropolitan Transportation Authority corporation. You must score 70% or higher in order to pass the entry level exams. There are many positions within the corporation, and each position has an exam that must be taken before moving on to the next step of the application process. In addition, you will have to pass a drug test and a physical.

Common Tests for Civil Service Exams

Each civil service exam mentioned above will likely contain one or more of the following tests. These tests measure job candidates’ logic and reasoning, reading skills, mathematical abilities, personality, and more to determine whether or not they’d be an ideal civil service employee.

Personality Test

A personality test screens potential employees for desired characteristics that a company is looking for in their ideal job candidates. Common characteristics that civil service exam companies look for in employees are leadership skills, creativity, organization skills, good decision-making abilities, independence, and excellent written and oral communication.

Numerical Drills Test

You will likely be drilled on your numerical reasoning abilities as a part of your civil service exam. Numerical reasoning tests assess how well you can use numerical data and calculations to answer questions. These skills are extremely valuable.

Math Word Problems Test

In addition to numerical drills, you might also encounter math word problem tests, which are used to evaluate your ability to use language and math together to form conclusions.

Basic Math Test

A basic math test is a common way to determine whether or not a job applicant has the mathematical skills necessary to perform basic math operations. As a civil service employee, it is often required to be able to complete numerical tasks on computers. The math test quickly assesses one’s proficiency in simple calculations and use of statistical data.

Memory Test

Applying to be a police officer or firefighter in the civil service industry often consists of a memory test. These tests involve reading a passage for a set time, waiting a few minutes, and then answering multiple-choice questions without the use of the reading material.

Spatial Orientation Test

The spatial reasoning test is used to determine one’s geometric and spatial comprehension. In this test, you will need to be able to visualize the rotation of 2 and 3-dimensional shapes to figure out the sequential order of a given shape.

Reading Comprehension Test

For many civil service positions, reading comprehension is a major quality sought after in job applicants. Reading comprehension tests are conducted to assess how well one can use texts to come to correct conclusions. The tests are often timed, so quick reading skills and a keen eye for relevant information are important factors in your success.

Deductive Reasoning Test

A deductive reasoning test assesses your ability to use given rules and theories to deduce conclusions. These questions can be challenging, but it is important to remember to only use the information and rules given to form conclusions.

Inductive Reasoning Test

An inductive reasoning test is the opposite of the deductive reasoning test. These test questions give you information in which to form a rule or conclusion. You must be able to observe information and create theories based on those observations. This skill is valuable in civil service jobs that require an excellent, observational mind.

SJT Test

The Situation Judgment Test assesses how well a candidate can assess situations specific to the job in which they are applying. This test is a psychological aptitude test that uses hypothetical questions in a multiple-choice fashion to create scenarios one might encounter on the job. Job applicants must have good discernment towards tricky situations that might come up in their job of choice.

Things to Keep in Mind

In order to become a NYS civil service employee, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• You will have to fill out an application and submit a non-refundable application fee to apply for the exams.
• You must pass a drug and background test in order to be considered hirable.
• Depending on the job, you might have to have a physical.
• Examination results often take 90-120 days to be available online.

Prepare for Your Test

While different job roles often require different tests, the majority of tests follow a similar structure and line of questioning.

At JobAssessmentHelp, our bundle kit allows you to strengthen your test-taking abilities for a variety of job positions. Start preparing for the civil service exams today to boost your test scores and improve your chance of getting hired tomorrow.