publicjobs Competency Examples: 7 Worked Form Answers
By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published · Updated
18 min read
Good publicjobs competency examples give one experience to one dimension and never repeat a story on the same form. The constraint is the word cap printed on the box, commonly 450 words per dimension, and going over is scored as a fail. The wording quoted here was read in September 2026 on the Capability Framework pages and in the PAS Civil Service Competency Models. Seven full answers follow, four at Clerical Officer and three at Executive Officer, each annotated against the key element it evidences. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.
What the capability framework actually scores
The Public Appointments Service now publishes a capability framework per grade instead of one list of six competencies. Its overview says the framework "supports the Civil and Public Service in building the workforce of the future". It defines capability as "the whole person, their behaviours, skills, strengths, knowledge, values, motivation and interests."
Your grade decides how many boxes you face.
- Clerical Officer has three dimensions: Building Future Readiness, Evidence Informed Delivery, and Communicating and Collaborating.
- Evidence Informed Delivery at CO splits into Delivering Excellence and Handling Information, Problems and Decisions.
- Executive Officer carries a fourth dimension, Leading and Empowering, split into Leading, Supporting and Developing, and Leading with Specialist Insight.
Under each dimension sit key elements, and each key element is a line a marker can tick. That is the whole scoring machine. Write to the line and the mark follows.
Clerical Officer: Building Future Readiness, annotated
Aoife Brennan is an administrator in an adult education centre run by an Education and Training Board in Waterford.
Clerical Officer: Building Future Readiness, 272 words (279 words)
Situation. I am the centre administrator for an adult education service in Waterford with about 310 learners enrolled across literacy, English language and back to work programmes. I look after enrolment records, tutor timesheets and the attendance returns that the funding body needs each term.
Task. In January 2026 our enrolment was still taken on paper at a desk in the hall. Three tutors told me the same week that learners were giving up before they reached the top of the queue, and I had to key every sheet a second time into the learner system. My coordinator asked me to look at it, with no budget.
Action. I started by counting rather than guessing, so I sat at the desk for two enrolment mornings and logged how long each learner waited and where the delay actually sat. Nine of ten paper sheets had at least one field missing, which meant a second conversation later. I built a form in the software licence the centre already held, so nothing new had to be bought, and I kept the paper route open for anyone who wanted it. I asked the literacy tutor to read my wording first, because a form written for me is useless to a learner who reads slowly. I tested it with four learners before we used it, then I wrote a one page note for the tutors and showed each of them on their own screen.
Result. Enrolment for the spring term took two mornings instead of five. Missing fields fell to a handful because the form will not submit without them. Two other centres in the board have since copied the form and my note.
What the sifter is scoring
- Key element quoted: "Shows interest and openness to change, innovation and new technology or processes" (publicjobs.ie, Clerical Officer capability framework, Building Future Readiness). Aoife does not describe an attitude, she moves a paper process onto a licence the centre already owns.
- Key element quoted: "Willing to try new approaches, seeking support when needed and openly sharing and learning from mistakes". Asking the literacy tutor to check her wording is the seeking support line made visible.
- Key element quoted: "Puts forward innovative ideas, creative solutions or helpful suggestions, no matter how small". The idea is small and free, which is exactly what the wording invites.
- What earns the extra mark: two other centres adopted it. Something that outlived the task usually separates a good score from a very good one.
The word budget: 60 / 60 / 250 / 80
Most applicants spend the box evenly and run out of room in the Action, which is where the key elements live. Split 450 words like this.
| Part | Words | What belongs there |
|---|---|---|
| Situation | 60 | Where you work, your actual job, the scale in numbers |
| Task | 60 | The problem, who asked, by when |
| Action | 250 | What you personally did, in order, in the first person singular |
| Result | 80 | One number, plus one thing that outlasted the task |
The application advice page on publicjobs.ie is blunt about the cap: "Read each question on the application form carefully and make sure that you answer all of the questions including any sub-questions. Please also ensure you adhere to any word limits given."
Tip: State your own word count at the end of the box if the form asks for it, and count the words in a word processor rather than trusting the browser.
Clerical Officer: Delivering Excellence, annotated
Declan Moloney is an accounts assistant at an agricultural co-operative in County Roscommon.
Clerical Officer: Delivering Excellence, 268 words (266 words)
Situation. I work in the accounts office of an agricultural co-operative that trades with roughly 900 farm members. I raise the monthly statements, post supplier invoices and chase the milk levy deductions that the creamery sends through.
Task. Our statement run goes out on the fifth of the month. In October 2025 the person who normally ran it broke a wrist, and I was told on a Friday that I would be running it alone from the Monday, having only ever watched it.
Action. I did not try to hold it in my head. On the Saturday I wrote out every step she had shown me, then rang her once with a short list of the four things I was unsure about rather than ringing her five times. I put the run into a checklist with a tick box and a time beside each step, so I could see at eleven o'clock whether I was behind. I built in one deliberate stop: before printing, I sampled thirty accounts across the three trading types and compared them against the previous month, because a run of odd figures is easier to catch on thirty than on nine hundred. Two accounts came back wrong, both from a levy file that had loaded twice. I reloaded it and reran the sample before printing anything.
Result. Statements went out on the fifth, on time, with no reissues. The checklist is now kept in the shared folder and the office manager uses it when anyone covers the run. I have run the statements every month since, including through the busy spring period.
What the sifter is scoring
- Key element quoted: "Maintains a focus on quality, accuracy and attention to detail, even when completing routine tasks" (Clerical Officer capability framework, Delivering Excellence). The sample of thirty accounts is the detail line in action, not an adjective about being careful.
- Key element quoted: "Actively seeks support, checks and reviews their work to ensure high standards". One planned phone call, not five, shows judgement about when to ask.
- Key element quoted: "Gets up to speed with new tasks or roles at an appropriate pace and asks questions to ensure correct understanding".
- PAS wording that also fits: "Checks all work thoroughly to ensure it is completed to a high standard and learns from mistakes" (PAS Clerical Officer competency model, Delivery of Results). Quote whichever framework the booklet names.
Clerical Officer: Handling Information, Problems and Decisions, annotated
Priya Nair is a records clerk for a group of three private nursing homes based in Athlone.
Clerical Officer: Handling Information, Problems and Decisions, 265 words (268 words)
Situation. I keep the resident records for three nursing homes with 118 beds between them. That covers admission paperwork, next of kin details, consent forms and the weekly occupancy return that goes to the group office.
Task. In March 2026 an inspection found that consent forms for photographs were held in two places and did not agree with each other. The director of nursing asked me to produce one reliable list within a fortnight and to keep the resident files intact while I did it.
Action. I treated it as an information problem rather than a filing job. I listed every place a consent could live: the paper file at the nurses' station, the scanned folder on the group drive, and an old spreadsheet kept by a manager who had left. I compared them resident by resident and found forty three residents where the three sources disagreed. Rather than deciding myself which was right, I wrote a rule with the director of nursing and put it in an email so there was a record: the signed paper form wins, and where no signed form exists the consent is treated as not given until a family member is asked. I marked those cases rather than deleting anything. I worked from a locked office and did not take files off site, because the information is sensitive.
Result. The single list was ready in nine days. Thirty of the forty three were resolved by finding the signed form, and the remaining thirteen went to the families with a fresh form. The group office has adopted the rule for all its homes.
What the sifter is scoring
- Key element quoted: "Handles all information and data carefully, particularly when dealing with sensitive or confidential matters" (Clerical Officer capability framework, Gathering and Processing Information). Working in a locked office and moving nothing off site is that line, stated as a fact rather than a promise.
- Key element quoted: "Understands when to escalate issues, sharing all relevant information and working with others to find a solution". Agreeing the rule with the director of nursing, in writing, is escalation done correctly at this grade.
- Key element quoted: "Makes good judgements and decisions, considering the available information and following the relevant procedures or protocol".
- What a board would probe: the thirteen unresolved cases. Leaving a visible loose end and saying how it was closed reads as honest, not weak.
Clerical Officer: Communicating and Collaborating, annotated
Tomasz Wojcik runs reception and bookings at a busy dental practice in Drogheda.
Clerical Officer: Communicating and Collaborating, 259 words (254 words)
Situation. I manage the front desk at a dental practice with four surgeries and about 160 patients a week. I take the calls, book the list and deal with people who arrive anxious or in pain.
Task. In summer 2025 our missed appointment rate was running at roughly one in eight, and the hygienist's list was the worst affected. The practice manager wanted the number down without turning reception into a debt collection desk.
Action. I asked patients who had missed a slot what had happened, in a normal conversation at the desk, not on a form. The answers were mostly practical: the reminder card was given six months ahead, and the text reminder went out at eight in the evening the night before, too late to rearrange work. I put both to the practice manager with the numbers I had collected rather than as a complaint. We agreed a two step reminder, one a week out and one on the day. I rewrote the message so it names the dentist and the time in the first line, because the old one opened with the practice name and people stopped reading. I briefed the two part time receptionists face to face and wrote a short script for the follow up call, so all three of us say the same thing.
Result. Missed appointments fell to about one in twenty over three months. The hygienist got roughly four hours a week of her list back. The script is now given to anyone covering the desk.
What the sifter is scoring
- Key element quoted: "Communicates in a clear, helpful and appropriate manner verbally, digitally, and in writing" (Clerical Officer capability framework, Effective Communication). Rewriting the reminder so the name and time land first is a communication decision with a reason behind it.
- Key element quoted: "Listens carefully to others and takes on board their views, guidance and feedback". The evidence is that he asked patients and then changed something.
- Key element quoted: "Effective collaboration and teamworking skills, plays their part and works well with team members". Briefing two colleagues in person and giving them the same script is the collaboration line.
- PAS wording that also fits: "Actively listens to others and tries to understand their perspectives/ requirements/ needs" (PAS Clerical Officer competency model, Customer Service and Communication Skills).
Executive Officer: the three answers that change the grade
Executive Officer adds Leading and Empowering, and it sharpens the other dimensions. The Executive Officer framework asks you to solve "complex problems, with the support of their team if needed" where the Clerical Officer version says problems are solved "with support". Write to the wrong grade and you read as either underpowered or as claiming someone else's job.
Sinead Kavanagh leads a four person member services team in a credit union in County Wexford.
Executive Officer: Leading, Supporting and Developing, 276 words (270 words)
Situation. I lead member services in a credit union with about 11,000 members. Four staff report to me and we cover loan queries, account opening and the counter.
Task. In February 2026 we moved to a new loan application system. Two of my four staff had been in the role for more than fifteen years and one told me directly that she expected to be no good at it. Loan turnaround slipped from three days to eight in the first fortnight.
Action. I did not run a group training session, because the person who was most worried would not have asked a question in front of the others. I sat with each of the four separately for an hour and asked what they wanted to be able to do without help by the end of the month. I paired the two experienced staff with the two who had picked the system up quickest, and I gave the pairing to the newer staff to lead, which was the first time either had led anything. I took the overflow loan queue myself for three weeks so nobody was learning against a clock. I put a fifteen minute slot in the diary on Wednesdays with one question on it: what slowed you down this week. When the colleague who had been worried made an error that reached a member, I dealt with it with her privately and did not raise it in the room.
Result. Turnaround was back to three days inside six weeks and reached two by April. The colleague who expected to struggle now trains new counter staff on the system.
What the sifter is scoring
- Key element quoted: "Leads, supports and motivates the team to achieve set goals" (Executive Officer capability framework, Leading, Developing and Including Others).
- Key element quoted: "Empowers their team and colleagues by delegating tasks and showing trust". Handing the pairing to the newer staff is delegation with a consequence for the person delegated to, not a task handoff.
- Key element quoted: "Prioritises wellbeing for self and others, showing consideration, empathy and support". Dealing with the error privately is that line, concrete.
- PAS wording that also fits: "Values and supports the development of others and the team" (PAS Executive Officer competency model, People Management).
Michael Ryan coordinates health and safety at a food production plant in County Tipperary.
Executive Officer: Leading with Specialist Insight, 271 words (270 words)
Situation. I coordinate health and safety across a food production plant employing 240 people over three shifts. I hold a level 7 qualification in occupational safety and I am the only person on site who does.
Task. Manual handling injuries in the packing hall accounted for most of our lost time in 2025, and the standing answer had been more training. The plant manager asked me to bring a proposal to the management meeting in six weeks.
Action. I went and stood in the packing hall on all three shifts rather than reading the incident forms alone, because the forms record the moment and not the habit. The injuries clustered on the night shift and on one line where the pallet was loaded to shoulder height. I checked the current manual handling guidance and the relevant regulations so my proposal rested on the published standard rather than on my opinion. I costed three options: more training, a scissor lift table on the line, and a change to the pallet height with no capital spend. I wrote it as two pages with the evidence attached and I said plainly that more training alone would not fix a height problem. At the meeting I was asked about the payback on the lift table and I had the figure ready. I then ran a short briefing for the supervisors so they could explain the change on their own shifts.
Result. Management approved the pallet height change immediately and the lift table for the following quarter. Reported manual handling incidents in the packing hall fell by more than half over the next six months.
What the sifter is scoring
- Key element quoted: "Contributes to discussions and decisions by sharing insights and evidence" (Executive Officer capability framework, Leading and Knowledge Sharing). The two page paper with evidence attached is the artefact a marker can picture.
- Key element quoted: "Promotes their own area of expertise and understands the value it brings". Saying plainly that training would not fix a height problem is expertise used, not displayed.
- Key element quoted: "Finds opportunities to share or showcase their specialist knowledge". Briefing the supervisors is that line.
- Key element quoted: "Committed to Continuous Professional Development, engaging in relevant courses and activities to keep knowledge up to date". Naming the qualification once, in the Situation, is enough.
Grace Adeyemi is an operations analyst for a bus operator based in Cork.
Executive Officer: Managing Information, Problems and Decisions, 280 words (257 words)
Situation. I analyse service performance for a bus operator running 46 vehicles on eleven routes. I produce the monthly punctuality report that the operator submits to the transport authority.
Task. In November 2025 punctuality on two routes fell below the contracted threshold, and the authority asked for an explanation within ten working days. Nobody in the depot agreed on the cause. The operations manager asked me to establish it.
Action. I pulled three sources rather than one: the automatic vehicle location data, the driver defect reports and the roadworks notices published by the local authority. On their own each pointed somewhere different. I matched them by time of day and by stop, which is where the pattern appeared. Ninety minutes of each weekday afternoon accounted for most of the failures, on two stops either side of a temporary traffic arrangement. I checked the sample size before I said anything, because two weeks of data on one route can produce a story that is not there. I set out what the evidence supported and what it did not, and I flagged one route where the data was too thin to draw a conclusion. I recommended a timetable adjustment for the affected window and a review once the roadworks ended, rather than a permanent change.
Result. The authority accepted the explanation and the temporary adjustment. Punctuality on the worse route recovered above the threshold within two periods. The matching method I used is now part of the monthly report, so the depot sees the pattern before the authority does.
What the sifter is scoring
- Key element quoted: "Can gather, understand, utilise and analyse information from a range of different sources" (Executive Officer capability framework, Gathering and Processing Information). Three named sources, matched, rather than one report read carefully.
- Key element quoted: "Makes balanced judgements and decisions, considering the available information, previous learnings and following the relevant procedures or protocol". Naming the route where the data was too thin is what balanced looks like on a page.
- Key element quoted: "Identifies and solves complex problems, with the support of their team if needed". This is the EO wording. At Clerical Officer the same line reads "with support", which is a different claim.
- PAS wording that also fits: "Draws accurate conclusions & makes balanced and fair recommendations backed up with evidence" (PAS Executive Officer competency model, Analysis and Decision Making).
The sentences that cost marks
- "I was responsible for the monthly returns." A duty is not evidence. Say what you did on one occasion, with a date.
- "We decided to change the process." A board cannot award a mark to a team. Name your part.
- "This improved efficiency." No number, no before state, no timescale, no mark.
- "As outlined in my previous answer." Each box is marked on its own. Repetition across boxes reads as one story stretched thin.
- "I am a strong communicator with excellent attention to detail." Adjectives about yourself score nothing anywhere in this framework.
- An answer of 470 words in a 450 word box. That is a fail score, not a stern look.
If you are preparing for the board as well as the form, the same examples carry into competency-based interview questions in Ireland, and a grade specific set sits on clerical officer competency examples and executive officer competency examples. A fully filled form, box by box, is on competency based application form examples.
Before you submit
- Every dimension has one owner, and no experience appears in two boxes.
- Each answer is at least half Action, written as I rather than we.
- Each Result carries one number and one thing that outlasted the task.
- You have the closing time, not just the date. Irish public sector deadlines are often 12 noon.
- The application says Submitted, not Draft.
- You saved your own copy. The board builds its interview questions from what you wrote.
Health service competitions run through HSE careers use their own competency set rather than the capability framework, so check which document your booklet names before you write.
Frequently asked questions
Can you give me an example of a competency?
Team work is a competency in the PAS Clerical Officer competency model. It is defined by effective performance indicators such as "Shows respect for colleagues and co-workers" and "Offers own ideas and perspectives". A competency is not a personal quality, it is a named area of performance with published indicators underneath it. On a publicjobs.ie form you prove it with one dated example rather than a description of yourself.
What are some examples of job competencies?
The PAS Clerical Officer model names six: Team work, Information Management and Processing, Delivery of Results, Customer Service and Communication Skills, Specialist Knowledge, Expertise and Self Development, and Drive and Commitment to Public Service Values. The Executive Officer model swaps Team work for People Management and uses Analysis and Decision Making. The current capability framework groups the same ground into dimensions such as Building Future Readiness and Communicating and Collaborating.
What are your top 3 competencies?
Pick the three your advert scores highest, not the three you like. Read the competition booklet, find the dimensions listed against the grade, and choose the three where you hold the strongest dated example with a measurable result. For a Clerical Officer competition that is usually Delivering Excellence, Handling Information, Problems and Decisions, and Communicating and Collaborating, because those carry the most key elements.
Can you provide some examples of Civil Service competencies?
Yes. At Executive Officer level the PAS model lists People Management, Analysis and Decision Making, Delivery of Results, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Specialist Knowledge, Expertise and Self Development, and Drive and Commitment to Public Service Values. Each carries published indicators, for example "Actively shares information, knowledge and expertise to help the team to meet it's objectives". Seven worked answers against this ground are above.
How many words should a publicjobs.ie competency answer be?
Use the number printed on the box. Many competition booklets allow 450 words per dimension, some allow 300, and a few ask you to state your own count. Going over is scored as a fail rather than truncated, so count in a word processor before you paste. Aim for roughly 60 words of Situation, 60 of Task, 250 of Action and 80 of Result.
More in this series: related guides
- Clerical Officer Competency Examples: 6 Full Answers
- Competency Based Application Form: 5 Filled Examples
- Competency-Based Interview Questions and 15 Answers, Ireland
- Executive Officer Competency Examples: 6 Full Answers
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- Clerical Officer Competency Examples: 6 Full Answers
- Competency Based Application Form: 5 Filled Examples
- Executive Officer Competency Examples: 6 Full Answers
- Skills to Put on a Job Application Form
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