What is the difference between a civil service and a non-civil service position?
What is Job Alert? How do I sign up to receive them?
When completing an application for a job posting, what should I remember?
Why do I need to get my foreign education credentials evaluated and what organizations provide this service?
What are the different types of job postings and associated hiring processes for jobs?
If I previously applied for civil service examinations at the State Civil Service Commission's website at www.scsc.pa.gov, may I continue to use the same account credentials when applying at www.employment.pa.gov?
I plan to apply for a job title that requires an examination at a test center. How do I schedule my examination?
How do I update the information stored in my Employment.pa.gov account profile?
How do I obtain my Employment.pa.gov log-on credentials if I have forgotten my Username and Password?
How can I check my examination scores for job postings for which I have applied?
Will I be able to find out my ranking on a civil service list?
What assistance is available for individuals with disabilities?
Where can I take an examination that must be completed at a test center?
How soon can I take a test after I submit my application for an examination?
How can I prepare for an examination?
How do I cancel or reschedule my examination?
Can I retake a civil service examination?
How long does it take to receive my examination results?
What can job seekers do if they believe they were made ineligible in error?
What can job seekers do if they believe an examination score is incorrect?
Is Pennsylvania residency required for employment?
Is the possession of a criminal conviction a bar to civil service employment?
Do veterans receive hiring preference?
Do individuals aged 60 and over receive employment preference?
Is employment or promotional preference given to job seekers in certain geographic locations in which jobs are located?
What happens after I am conditionally offered employment?
Can I be reinstated to a civil service position?
Can I transfer between agencies in the merit system?
Approximately 70% of state government jobs are covered by the civil service merit system. Many local government jobs are also civil service. A primary difference between civil service and non-civil service is that to compete for a non-civil service position, job seekers are not required to take an examination. For civil service positions, initial entry into a civil service covered job requires appointment through a competitive examination process. Examinations may be administered at an examination center or completed online. While the processes may be different, both types of employment at the state level are subject to the same salary structures, as well as the same employee benefits and retirement package, when applicable. Each local government agency has its own pay, benefits, and retirement package.
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A
Job Alert is a convenient way for job seekers to learn of new vacancies. Subscribers are notified by email each time a new job opportunity is posted in their selected categories.
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Since job seekers will only be considered if they meet the minimum experience and training requirements, it is important to carefully review the requirements listed on the posting before submitting an application. If you believe you qualify, describe your experience and training as accurately and completely as possible. Include paid employment, volunteer work, dates of employment and all course work completed.
Be sure to provide all required documentation, such as college transcripts where applicable. If you are relying on education acquired outside of the United States to qualify, you will need to provide documentation prepared by a professional foreign credentials evaluation organization.
Pay close attention to the application instructions included on the posting and be sure to apply by the closing date on the posting, if there is one.
Make sure to review your application before you submit it. You will be unable to revise your application once it has been submitted.
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If you are relying on education acquired outside of the United States (U.S.) to qualify, we are unable to determine if your education is equivalent to that obtained in an accredited U.S. university or college. We rely on documentation prepared by professional foreign credentials evaluation organizations after they have reviewed your credentials against U.S. accrediting standards. A list of professional credentialing organizations that provide these services can be found on the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website, at
www.naces.org. Click on the "How to Find a Member" tab.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania does not endorse or regulate services performed by these or any other organizations. It may also be beneficial for you to obtain a course-by-course evaluation breakdown, as certain job titles require specific coursework.
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Each job posting describes the hiring process used to fill the position. While some jobs require you to take an examination at a test center, the majority only require job seekers to complete the application and answer job-related questions online.
The category of a posting will appear on the Job Posting and on the Application. Check job listings periodically and subscribe to
Job Alerts to monitor for vacancies.
The most common civil service postings are in the following categories:
Current Vacancy Postings – There are different processes for current vacancy postings.
Application and Exam at Test Center. The job seeker submits an application. If the job seeker meets the eligibility requirements, they are sent an email notification (separate from the application received notification) regarding how to schedule the exam at a test center.
Job seekers who receive a passing score on the examination can then submit applications to specific positions as they become available. Job seekers must apply to each vacancy for which they are interested in. Job seekers who apply to a vacancy posting prior to receiving a score will be deemed ineligible and directed to apply to the examination posting.
Application with Supplemental Questions for Future Vacancies. The job seeker submits an application that includes supplemental questions related to the job title. Instead of taking an exam at a test center,
the supplemental questions are the examination. Job seekers who meet the minimum requirements will receive a score based upon the answers to the supplemental questions.
Job seekers who have received a score must then apply to each vacancy for which they are interested in. Job seekers who apply to a vacancy posting prior to receiving a score will be deemed ineligible and directed to apply to the examination posting.
Application with Supplemental Questions for a Current Vacancy. The job seeker submits an application that includes supplemental questions related to the vacancy. Instead of taking an exam at a test center,
the supplemental questions are the examination. Job seekers who meet the minimum requirements will receive a score based upon the answers to the supplemental questions, and that score will apply only to that vacancy.
The supplemental questions may vary depending on the specific job duties because the questions are based on the most important duties of that specific job posting. For example, the job duties of an Administrative Officer 1 in one agency may differ from the job duties of an Administrative Officer 1 in another commonwealth agency. Therefore, the online questions in the application could vary, which may result in different test scores for different Administrative Officer 1 postings.
Test Center Examination for Future Vacancies – This type of posting requires job seekers to submit an application and complete an examination at a test center. Job seekers who meet the minimum requirements for the job title and receive a passing examination score can apply to vacancies as they become available. You can check the job listings periodically and subscribe to
Job Alerts to monitor for vacancies.
The examination score attained by the job seeker will be used for all individual positions for which they apply. Job seekers with the highest scores who apply to the openings are referred to the hiring managers for interviews.
Online Examination for Future Vacancies - This type of posting requires job seekers to submit an application for the job title but instead of taking an exam at a test center, the job seekers answer job related questions as part of the application process. Job related questions are scored for job seekers who meet the minimum requirements. Job seekers with passing examination scores can apply to vacancies as they become available. You can check the job listings periodically and subscribe to
Job Alerts to monitor for vacancies.
The examination score attained by the job seeker will be used for all individual positions for which the job seeker applies. Job seekers with the highest scores who apply to the openings are referred to the hiring managers for interviews.
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Job seekers are required to have an account on
www.employment.pa.gov. If you previously applied for a non-civil service job at this website, you can use the same account to apply for civil service jobs. If not, after you create your account on
www.employment.pa.gov, you will use that account to apply for all civil service and non-civil service postings.
Please note: Your email address is used to identify your account on
www.employment.pa.gov. It is critically important for job seekers to remember the email address used to establish their account. You should continue to use the same email address when submitting applications for additional jobs. If you need help accessing your account, you may call 855.524.5627 for assistance.
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After you submit your application and have been deemed eligible, you will receive an email that provides instructions on how to schedule your exam. More information on scheduling or rescheduling examinations can be found at
www.prometric.com/Pennsylvania.
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To update your account profile, sign in to the
www.employment.pa.gov website and click on your name in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. From the dropdown, select "Profile." Job seekers may update the information previously submitted to the profile such as contact information, personal information, work experience, education, etc.
Please note: While you are able to update your Employment.pa.gov applicant profile information at any time, you will be unable to revise a specific application after it has been submitted.
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Job seekers may go to the
www.employment.pa.gov website and click on the "Open Jobs" box and then click on "Continue to Open Jobs." This will open a page that contains the listing of currently available employment opportunities. On that page, click on "Sign In" located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. In the Sign In box that opens, click on "Forgot Username?" or "Reset Password;" whichever is appropriate. You can also call 855.524.5627 for assistance.
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You can access all of the email notifications you have received regarding specific postings you applied for by signing in to your
www.employment.pa.gov account and viewing the messages in your Inbox.
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Employment "rank on lists" will no longer be reported in the Commonwealth's new employment application system. Rankings will vary by job postings.
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If you anticipate the need for a testing accommodation, you must complete and submit a
Request for Accommodation form and your request must be approved prior to scheduling your test.
This form can also be requested by calling 717.787.7811. All information you provide is confidentially maintained. For more information about testing accommodations or to learn of other services, please review the Test Centers information on this website, under
Additional Information.
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Information on the location of test centers and scheduling or rescheduling an examination can be found at
www.prometric.com/Pennsylvania.
Please note: Applicants who do not report for scheduled in-person testing without a valid reason will not be permitted to take any in-person examinations for a period of six months from the date of the missed examination appointment. Repeated failures to appear for future examinations may result in being prohibited from taking in-person examinations for up to two years. Permissible reasons for not reporting for a scheduled in-person examination are provided below and will require supporting documentation to be considered.
- death in the immediate family
- verifiable disabling transportation situation
- confirmed civil or public disturbance
- court appearance or jury duty
- weather emergency
- military duty
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Once you submit an application, and are deemed eligible, you will receive an email with instructions on how to schedule your exam. Once you receive that email, you will be able to select an available location, date, and time that fits your schedule.
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The Office of Administration does not maintain or provide study guides for specific examinations, nor do we recommend the purchase of any study materials. The best method of preparing is to carefully read the job posting, particularly the "Examination Information" section, and seek out any relevant sources of information on the topics described.
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You may cancel or reschedule your examination by visiting
www.prometric.com/Pennsylvania or by calling (877) 370-4099.
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Information about retesting appears on the job posting under the "Examination Information" section. If a retest is permitted, you must submit a new application in order to be retested. Your most recent examination score results will be the only score considered.
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Normally, you should receive your "Notice of Examination Results" via email within 15 business days from the date of your examination or from the time your application is received. When a new examination is announced, it may take additional time to establish a new list of eligible job seekers. In these cases, you will receive your examination results via email as soon as possible.
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The "Notice of Examination Results" sent via email to applicants who are made ineligible provides specific instructions on how to request a reconsideration of that decision. These directions specify that reconsideration requests must be submitted via email to
ra-oareconsideration@pa.gov. Reconsideration requests must include the applicant’s name and email address, the job title and job number, and an explanation as to why the determination made regarding ineligibility is incorrect. Please note that only information initially provided on the application will be re-reviewed. New information that was not included on the application will not be considered. Reconsideration requests must be submitted within 5 business days of the date of the Notice of Examination Results, or they will be rejected as untimely. The referral, interview, and selection processes will not cease pending the resolution of reconsideration requests.
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Applicants who believe an error was made in determining a score may request a reconsideration of their score within 5 business days of the date of the Notice of Examination Results. Requests for a score reconsideration must be submitted via email to
ra-oareconsideration@pa.gov and must include the applicant's name, email address, job number, and job title. Please note that only information initially provided on the application and in answers to supplemental questions will be re-reviewed. New information that was not included on the application or supplemental questions will not be considered. Reconsideration requests must be submitted within 5 business days of the date of the Notice of Examination Results, or they will be rejected as untimely.
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Most civil service jobs require job seekers to be a Pennsylvania resident or a former resident who meets certain requirements. To view the requirements, please visit the
Residency page of the website. To determine if Pennsylvania residency is required for a particular job, please refer to the Required Experience, Training and Eligibility section of the job posting.
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Positions responsible for the safeguarding or security of people or property, law enforcement, or those involving contact with vulnerable populations will be asked about criminal history on the job application.
For other positions, Pennsylvania has a "fair chance" hiring policy. This means that most applications for employment do not include questions about criminal history.
For all positions, agencies may inquire about criminal history after the initial interview has been conducted and a criminal history check will be conducted prior to making a job offer.
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Yes. Job seekers who pass civil service examinations receive additional benefits in recognition of their military service. These benefits are commonly referred to as veterans' preference. The authority for veterans' preference in Pennsylvania government is contained in The Military Affairs Code of August 1, 1975 (P.L. 233, No. 92), as amended.
Note: Veterans' preference does not apply to promotions.
More information about Veterans Preference can be found on this website under Additional Information.
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Employment preference will be granted to job seekers aged 60 and over for jobs in the Department of Aging and Area Agencies on Aging. Job seekers may refer to the job posting to determine if this employment preference applies.
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For some agencies (such as, but not limited to, local government agencies), employment preference may be given to residents of the county, region, and/or district in which the job is located. Also, promotional preference may be given to employees who work in the county, region, and/or district where job openings occur. Refer to the job posting to determine if preference applies.
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If you are interviewed and selected for a job, the hiring agency will verify the experience and training used to qualify you for the job title, conduct other necessary background reviews, and then establish a start date.
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Yes. Former employees who resigned from their previously held civil service position may be reinstated to a classified service position, provided they held regular status in the same job title and they meet the requirements for the job.
If you are a former civil service employee who is interested in reinstatement, it is your responsibility to pursue reinstatement. To determine job opportunities that are available for reinstatement job seekers, please visit the "Open Jobs" section of www.employment.pa.gov. Click on the “Internal Postings” link. After finding a job of interest, please review the "Recruitment Methods" section of the posting to determine if the agency is accepting applications for reinstatement. Agencies may consider your request for reinstatement, but they are not required to do so. When filling vacancies, agencies have several options from which to choose, including eligible lists from the examination process, transfers, promotions, demotions, reassignments, and reinstatements.
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A transfer may occur between state agencies, between local government agencies that have a contract with the Office of Administration for merit system coverage, or between state agencies and local government agencies that have a contract with the Office of Administration for merit system coverage.
If you are currently a civil service employee with regular or probationary status, you may transfer to a position in the same or similar job title, provided that you meet the requirements for the job.
It is your responsibility to seek transfer opportunities. Please visit the "Open Jobs" section of www.employment.pa.gov. Click on the “Internal Postings” link. After finding a job of interest, please review the "Recruitment Methods" section of the posting to determine if the agency is considering applications from transfer applicants. When filling vacancies, agencies have several options from which to choose, including eligible lists from the examination process, transfers, promotions, demotions, and reinstatements.
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