1. What is Civil Service?
The New York State Constitution and NYS Civil Service Law says that public employees must be hired for jobs on the basis of their merit and fitness. In practical terms, “merit and fitness” means finding people who are best suited to a particular job.
The Oswego County Human Resources Department is responsible for hiring people who meet the requirements of merit and fitness as mandated by the civil service law. Human Resources oversees civil service hiring for all Oswego County departments, towns, villages, school districts, and special districts, excluding the cities of Oswego and Fulton and their respective school districts.
Administration of the civil service law is divided into two areas: positions that do not require a civil service examination and positions that do require an examination.
When is the Department of Human Resources open?
The department is open to the public between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except on holidays observed by county departments.
Forms, study guides, important civil service information, exam and job announcements, are available on this website 24/7.
How do I know what jobs are available?
Civil Service Exams Please note: The announcement of a civil service exam for county, towns, villages and school districts does not necessarily mean there are immediate job openings. Rather, exams are given to establish an eligible list of qualified candidates that will be used to fill future job openings as they occur. An eligible list is established for a minimum of one year and up to a maximum of four years.
Job Vacancies for non-tested or provisional openings.
Continuous Recruitment Exams account clerk, caseworker, custodian, typist, and senior typist
The titles and minimum qualifications of the positions are posted. This information, as well as applications and examination announcements, is available from Human Resources. It is recommended that you register for automatic e-mail notifications so you do not miss the opportunity to apply for upcoming exams or job announcements.
Most exams have a four month Oswego County residency requirement.
What Civil Services exams are currently being offered?
You can find current exam announcements on our Exams & Recruitments page. In addition, applications are continuously accepted for account clerk, caseworker, custodian, senior typist and typist exams.
How do I apply?
If you are interested in applying for employment with Oswego County, please print and complete each page of the Exam Application or visit our Exams & Recruitments page to apply and pay online.
For assistance in completing your application, we highly recommend you refer to the Application Completion Guidelines.
If you apply for more than one civil service exam, you may list each exam on one application.
Most exams require that you pay a non-refundable application fee. Check the exam announcement to see if a fee is required. Only checks, money orders and credit cards are acceptable for payment. Cash will NOT be accepted. Payment must accompany your application. In some cases, the fee is waived because of financial hardship. Check the last page of the application for details.
If you applied for more than one exam on the same date with more than one civil service agency (county, city, state), you must complete a Cross Filer Notification form. The form is NOT used for taking multiple exams with a single civil service agency. The cross filer notification form allows multiple civil service agencies to coordinate your exam material.
How much does a Civil Service Exam cost?
Most civil service exams have a $20 non-refundable application fee. Uniformed services exams have a $25 application fee.
Please note it is a non-refundable application fee, not an exam fee. This means that you will be charged the fee even if you are later determined to be ineligible to sit for the exam. Therefore, please carefully review the minimum qualifications required for each exam you intend to take to ensure your experience and education meet them.
Can I get a refund of the application fee I paid?
No. The fee paid is a non-refundable application fee to defray the cost of processing applications, not an exam fee. The non-refundable application fee will be charged even if you are later determined to be ineligible to sit for the exam. Therefore, please carefully review the minimum qualifications required for each exam you intend to take to ensure your experience and education meet them.
Can an exception be made for the application deadline?
No. When applying for an exam, take note of the closing date for filing. Applications must be submitted online or filed in our office by 4 p.m. or postmarked by the closing date for the exam. No exceptions will be made.
How specific do I need to be on employment dates on the application?
Please be as specific as you can. You must provide at least the month and year of your employment start and end dates. Vagueness on dates will not be resolved in your favor.
Are hours worked actually important on the application?
Yes. You must enter the actual or average number of hours worked per week. This information is used when reviewing your application against the minimum qualifications to assess whether you have enough experience. In most cases, part-time work is credited as follows:
- less than 6 hours per week = no credit
- 6 - 11.5 hours per week = 20% of full-time work
- 12 - 17.5 hours per week = 40% of full-time work
- 18 - 23.5 hours per week = 60% of full-time work
- 24 - 29.5 hours per week = 80% of full-time work
- 30 hours or more per week = full-time work
What are Veterans' Credits and who is eligible for them?
According to civil service law, additional credit in examination may be granted to successful candidates who have claimed and established status as disabled veterans or non-disabled veterans. A candidate who is currently serving in the armed forces (for other than training purposes) may receive conditional veterans’ credit. The following points may be granted:
Open Competitive Examinations Promotional Examinations
Disabled Veterans 10 5
Non-Disabled Veterans 5 2.5
Points are added to the final passing score and may only be granted at the time the eligible list is established. Veterans’ credits cannot be granted after the eligible list is established.
If you have used your non-disabled credit for appointment and are now certified disabled, such a veteran would be entitled to an additional grant of credits equal to the difference between 10 credits and the number of credits received at initial appointment.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Citizen of the United States or alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
- A resident of New York State at time of application for examination.
- Must have served during a designated time of war.
- Honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from the Armed Forces of the United States; or received an other-than-honorable discharge or a general under honorable conditions discharge due to sexual orientation, gender identity, service-related post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, or mental health condition linked to military sexual trauma seeking benefits afforded through the New York State law and are in possession of a letter from the Division of Veterans Services restoring access to such benefits.
- For conditional credit, must be currently serving in the armed forces of the United States, for other than training purposes. Proof of either veteran or disabled veterans status must be provided before the expiration of the eligible list.
- Although you may request veterans’ credits for more than one exam, you may use the credits only once for permanent appointment or promotion. If you have used your veterans’ credits for permanent appointment or promotion in New York State or its civil division, you may not claim veterans’ credits again.
- Active duty in the armed forces of the United States during any of the following periods:
- Vietnam Conflict February 28, 1961 to May 7, 1975
- Lebanon Hostilities* June 1, 1983 to December 1, 1987
- Grenada Hostilities* October 23, 1983 to November 21, 1983
- Panama Hostilities* December 20, 1989 to January 31, 1990
- Persian Gulf Conflict August 2, 1990 to the end of such hostilities not yet determined
*NOTE: Credit for Lebanon, Grenada and Panama will be limited to those who received the armed forces, navy or marine corps Expeditionary Medal.
Application for Veterans' Credit
What happens after I apply for the exam(s)?
Applications for examinations are reviewed approximately two weeks after the application deadline. Applicants who do not meet the minimum qualifications are notified by mail and are given three business days to respond with additional information. Individuals who meet the minimum qualifications are notified by mail at least two weeks prior to the exam date of the location, time, room number and other instructions.
What is a Provisional Appointment
A provisional appointment is an appointment made before exam results are received and/or before an exam is held. The provisional appointee will still need to take the exam and be reachable on the exam list (see FAQ - What is the Rule of 3) to gain permanent status.
What can I do if I receive a rejection letter from Civil Service?
The letter usually states that it appears that you do not meet the minimum qualifications for the examination. This means that you may not have provided enough information on the application to determine that you meet the minimum qualifications. Read the rejection letter closely, and then submit a letter providing the missing or unclear information. Human Resources will then be able to take a second look at your application and determine if you qualify.
What information will be covered on the exam?
You can find out what areas each exam will cover from the exam announcement under the heading “Scope of Examination.” Announcements are posted approximately four weeks prior to the closing date for filing an application. Exam announcements are available in the Oswego County Department of Human Resources or on this web site.
How can I prepare for the exam?
New York State Civil Service publishes "How to take a written test" and several study guides for entry-level exam series. New York State Civil Service study guides can be found here: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm
Where are exam lists used?
Oswego County departments, towns, villages, school districts (excluding the Fulton and Oswego City school districts), and special districts use the lists resulting from these exams to fill competitive positions. Positions with the City of Oswego and the City of Fulton, including the police departments, fire departments, and city school districts, are filled from exams administered by the respective city civil service agencies. The state and federal governments administer their own exams.
How do I get a job with a local school district, town, village, or special district?
The Human Resources department oversees civil service hiring for the towns, villages, school districts, and special districts in Oswego County, excluding the cities of Oswego and Fulton.
If you are interested in a job that requires a civil service exam (for example: typist), you should file to take the civil service exam through the county Human Resources department. If you are interested in a position which does not yet have a scheduled exam date (for example: head custodian), you should sign up for email notifications on our Exams and Recruitments portal and you will be notified when an exam is scheduled. We recommend selecting the "Notify me of ALL opportunities" option to ensure you don't miss any opportunities.
If you are interested in a position that does not require an exam (for example: food service helper, teacher aide, cleaner, bus driver), you should apply directly to the school district, town, village, and/or special district in which you seek employment. Teaching positions in the school districts are not included under civil service. Each jurisdiction selects its own candidates for these positions.
When will I know my score on the exam and my rank on the Civil Service list?
Exam results are received from New York State Civil Service approximately two to three months after an exam is held. You will be notified by mail of your score and placement on the eligible list for that title. An eligible list is a ranked listing of all passing candidates from a civil service exam. An eligible list is established for a minimum of one year but may be extended to a maximum of four years.
What is the "Rule of 3"?
All candidates at the highest score are immediately eligible for consideration for appointment. Candidates at lower scores can only be considered when there are fewer than three candidates at the highest score.
Any candidate's eligibility for appointment depends not only on his or her rank (all eligible who receive the same score are equally ranked) but also how many other candidates are tied at that and higher level ranks. Another way to think about this is to start at the top of the list of individual candidate scores and count down three – anyone with the same score or higher than the 3rd candidate will be reachable.
The following two examples illustrate how this might work:
Example One:
|
Score
|
No. of candidates at this score
|
Rank of candidates
|
100
|
1
|
1
|
95
|
1
|
2
|
90
|
1
|
3
|
In this case all three candidates at all three scores and ranks are equally eligible to be appointed.
|
Example Two:
|
Score
|
No. of candidates at this score
|
Rank of all candidates at this score
|
100
|
10
|
1
|
95
|
10
|
2
|
90
|
10
|
3
|
In this case, only the ten candidates at score 100 and rank 1 are eligible for appointment. If, however, through hiring or declinations the number of interested candidates at 100 is reduced to two, then all 10 candidates at the score 95 (rank 2) can also be considered. Only if there were only two or fewer candidates at the scores of 100 and 95 (ranks 1 and 2) can any of the 10 candidates at the 90 score be considered.
|
What if I have moved?
If you have moved since applying for or taking a civil service exam, please complete the Change of Address form and mail, fax or email it to our office. Be sure to fill out the form completely so your examination records can be accurately updated.
Do I have to take an exam?
Most positions require that you take an exam to be considered for a permanent job. These are called competitive positions.
For competitive positions, when there is no list of tested applicants, a person may be appointed “provisionally” (temporarily) until the results of the next exam are established. The provisional employee must score high enough to be permanently appointed.
What positions do not require an exam?
There are three types of positions which do not require an exam.
Exempt positions are those where the employer decides the qualifications of applicants and chooses the person they want to hire. The process is similar to that found in private industry.
Non-Competitive positions have specific education and experience minimum requirements which you must meet. Employers choose from among the qualified people who apply.
Labor positions have no requirements. Employers may choose anyone for these jobs. However, they frequently select individuals with the best work record.
What are continuous recruitment exams?
Continuous Recruitment exams are held once or twice a year, depending on the title. These exams are entry-level and many are used throughout multiple departments, school districts, villages and towns. Currently, account clerk, typist and senior typist exams are held in the Spring and Fall. Custodian exams are held in the Spring. The caseworker exam is held at least once per year but may be offered more frequently should the need arise.
We accept applications for the above exams year-round. If you are interested in taking the next exam for any of these titles, please submit an application for exam. You will receive an admission letter prior to the next exam date. Exam announcements, including the exam date, will be posted online at least six weeks prior to the next exam.
Study guides for these entry-level exams are available on this web site as well as the New York State Civil Service web site found here: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm
What is 55-A and how can it help people with disabilities overcome barriers to employment??
55-A refers to the section of New York State Civil Service Law which allows local governments to bypass the examination process when employing people with disabilities in entry-level civil service jobs.
Eligibility is determined on a job-by-job basis. You may be eligible if you are certified as having a mental or physical disability which is a substantial barrier to employment, and you are qualified to perform satisfactorily the duties of a particular job.
The New York State ACCES-VR certifies disability based on recent information and determines if you are qualified to perform satisfactorily the duties of the job. The Oswego County Department of Human Resources determines if you meet the minimum educational and/or experience qualifications for a particular job.
55-A is not a guarantee of employment. The program is voluntary and appointing authorities are not required to hire a 55-A eligible person.
An eligible individual can contact Human Resources for assistance in identifying appropriate job titles. However, it is the individual’s responsibility to locate a suitable opening.
The 55-A employment program is voluntary and some departments and local jurisdictions may not participate. To ensure that you do not miss any employment opportunities, you should take all examinations for which you meet the minimum qualifications. Reasonable accommodations are provided for exam takers with disabilities to enable them to participate in the civil service examination process.
The Syracuse ACCES-VR office is located at 333 E. Washington St., Room 230, Syracuse, NY 13202.
They may be reached at: 315-428-4179 or 800-782-6164