Residence Requirements:

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS: THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION.   Positions in Erie County government departments require one month residency prior to the date of the exam and on the date of appointment.   Preference may be given to successful candidates who have been residents of the municipality or school district in which the appointment is to be made for one month preceding the date of the certification of the eligible list and who are residents of the municipality at the time of appointment. Non-residents may be required to become a resident of the appointing municipality if local law so states.  There are two vacancies at the Erie County Medical Center with a salary range of $35,641 to $44,879. Salaries may vary among municipalities and districts.

A promotion examination will be held at the same time as this examination. The list resulting from the promotion examination will be used first but appointments from this open competitive examination are anticipated. Use of the list may be suspended after it is one year old for any position which it is practical to fill through a new promotion examination.

AMENDED 2-22-16

There is also one anticipated vacancy at the Erie County Department of Public Works with a salary range of $32,616 and $41,900.  (The eligible list resulting from this examination will be used to fill this vacancy and other appropriate vacancies which may occur in municipalities or districts under the jurisdiction of Erie County Civil Service while this list is active.)

Examples of Duties:

A Junior Administrative Assistant performs routine administrative and clerical tasks in a County department;
 Assists clerically in the operation of the department;
Assists in the coordination, administratively, of the functions of the department with other departments;
Assists in the preparation of budgetary requests and other financial matters of the department;
Provides routine technical assistance and acts in an advisory capacity on varied matters;
Participates in preparing and maintaining financial, statistical, personnel and other records;
Assists in the preparation of reports;
Assists in the development of policies and procedures for assigned department;
Composes routine letters and correspondence;
Compiles statistics of departmental activities;
Supervises and assists in departmental purchasing activities and supply requisitioning;
Schedules meetings and appointments for assigned administrator(s).  

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

A. Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Bachelor's degree and two years of satisfactory administrative* or para-professional experience in accounting, public administration, financial management or closely related field; or:

B. Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and five years of satisfactory administrative* or para-professional experience in accounting, public administration, personnel administration, financial management or closely related field; or:

C. An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (B) above.

Notes:

NOTES: 1. *Administrative experience is defined as the responsible planning, management and control functions of an organization or organizational unit including the development and/or approval of operating policy and procedures2.  Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting full-time experience requirements. 3. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree
and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Subjects of Examination:

Subjects of examination: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Clerical operations with letters and numbers

These questions test for skills and abilities in clerical operations involving alphabetizing, comparing, checking and counting. The questions require you to follow the specific directions given for each question which may involve alphabetizing, comparing, checking and counting given groups of letters and/or numbers.

2. Office management

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices of planning, organizing and controlling the activities of an office and directing those performing office activities so as to achieve predetermined objectives such as accomplishing office work within reasonable limits of time, effort and cost expenditure. Typical activities may include but will not be restricted to: simplifying and improving procedures, increasing office efficiency, improving the office work environment and controlling office supplies.

3. Office record keeping

These questions test your ability to perform common office record keeping tasks. The test consists of two or more "sets" of questions, each set concerning a different problem. Typical record keeping problems might involve the organization or collation of data from several sources; scheduling; maintaining a record system using running balances; or completion of a table summarizing data using totals, subtotals, averages and percents. You should bring with you a hand-held battery- or solar-powered calculator for use on this test. You will not be permitted to use the calculator function of your cell phone.

4. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

5. Public contact principles and practices

These questions test for knowledge of techniques used to interact with other people, to gather and present information, and to provide assistance, advice, and effective customer service in a courteous and professional manner. Questions will cover such topics as understanding and responding to people with diverse needs, perspectives, personalities, and levels of familiarity with agency operations, as well as acting in a way that both serves the public and reflects well on your agency.

6. Understanding and interpreting written material

These questions test how well you comprehend written material. You will be provided with brief reading selections and will be asked questions about the selections. All the information required to answer the questions will be presented in the selections; you will not be required to have any special knowledge relating to the subject areas of the selections.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  Unless otherwise noted, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculators.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited.  You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.