ERIE COUNTY

CIVIL SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

ERIE COUNTY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Please refer to our internet address at: www.erie.gov

A NON-REFUNDABLE $15.00 PROCESSING FEE

OR APPLICATION FEE WAIVER AND CERTIFICATION FORM MUST ACCOMPANY EACH APPLICATION

(CHECK OR MONEY ORDER ONLY – PAYABLE TO: ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL)

See reverse side of this announcement for fee waiver information

TELEPHONE OPERATOR

NO. 41-266 SALARIES VARY

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS: CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY OR AN ERIE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT* FOR AT LEAST FOUR MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY OR AN ERIE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT* AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT. At present there are three regular part-time vacancies at the Erie County Medical Center ($11.563 - $14.219 per hour). One full time vacancy is anticipated.

The eligible list resulting from this examination will be used to fill the above vacancies as well as future vacancies in other Erie County Departments, Towns, Villages, School Districts and Special Districts. Certification may be limited to candidates who were legal residents of the jurisdiction in which the vacancy exists for four months preceding the date of the written test and are legal residents of the same jurisdiction at the time of appointment. Salaries vary among the jurisdictions.

*Candidates who reside in a school district which, for civil service purposes is administered by the Erie County Personnel Commissioner, but who are not legal residents of Erie County may apply for this examination. However, they will be certified for appointment only in the school district in which they are legal residents. Under current New York State Law, candidates seeking employment with school districts in New York State will be required to undergo fingerprinting and a criminal history background check prior to appointment. A processing fee may be required.

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

a. Graduation from a standard senior high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma, and one year of experience as a telephone operator;

b. Three years experience as a telephone operator;

c. An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (a) and (b).

NOTE: Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements.

DUTIES: A Telephone Operator operates telephone switchboard or console, relays incoming, outgoing and inter-office telephone calls; makes local and long distance calls, records toll charges, maintains records of telegrams sent and received; distributes reports to supervisors and may check monthly telephone bills; may operate a call system for locating personnel and for making announcements; may operate a silent call system; assists with providing information and documentation to the public; greets callers and directs them to the appropriate staff member, section or department, initiating a routing slip when required; maintains a visual index of personnel, Medical and Nursing staff, patients or frequently used numbers; may stamp, sort and post out-going and incoming mail and assists with routine clerical duties when volume of calls permit.

A medical examination may be required before appointment.

VETERANS: PROOF OF SERVICE MUST BE SUBMITTED BEFORE LIST IS ESTABLISHED

TO RECEIVE ADDITIONAL POINTS. (See application for more information.)

NOTICES TO APPEAR FOR THE EXAMINATION ARE MAILED APPROXIMATELY ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THE EXAMINATION DATE

EXAMINATION DATE

A P R I L 2 8, 2 0 0 7

SEE REVERSE SIDE

APPLICATIONS MUST BE

POSTMARKED BY

M A R C H 2 8, 2 0 0 7

- 2 -

SUBJECT OF EXAMINATION: The written test is designed to test for knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such areas as:

1. ALPHABETIZING – These questions test your ability to file material in alphabetical order.

2. CLERICAL OPERATIONS WITH LETTERS AND NUMBERS – These questions test your skills and abilities in clerical operations involving, comparing, checking and counting. They 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.

3. USING A DIRECTORY – These questions test your ability to keep directory records and to supply accurate information to callers.

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.

A copy of a Guide To Taking The Examination For The Entry-Level Clerical Series may be viewed and/or downloaded at the New York State Civil Service web site located at http://www.cs.ny.us/testing/localtestguides.cfm. Click on “Civil Service Jobs”. If you do not have Internet access, you may obtain a copy by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope (size required to accommodate the guide – manila 10” x 13”) to the Erie County Personnel Department, 95 Franklin Street, Buffalo, New York 14202 or by picking one up in person at Room 604.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES WHO ARE ALSO TAKING ANOTHER CIVIL SERVICE EXAM(S) ON THIS DATE (See Below)

(IF YOU ARE TAKING 2 OR MORE ERIE COUNTY EXAMS ON THIS DATE IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO CALL)

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

APPLICATION FORMS: You may obtain these forms in person at the Erie County Personnel Department, Rath County Office Building, 95 Franklin St., Buffalo. Forms are also available in the libraries and at Town, Village and School District administrative offices.

Mail your application form when completed to the Erie County Department of Personnel, 95 Franklin St., Buffalo, NY 14202.

Candidates who submit incomplete applications and documentation may be disqualified. The Erie County Department of Personnel reserves the right to reject for lateness or to accept applications filed after the advertised filing period.

MILITARY STATUS: Active duty military personnel may file an application for this exam. A special military make-up examination will be conducted for any member of the armed forces of the United States who has duly filed a timely application but who was deprived of the opportunity to compete in the scheduled exam due to active military duty. Special conditions apply to these requests and may be reviewed at the Erie County Department of Personnel.

VETERANS: Disabled and non-disabled veterans as defined in Section 85, New York State Civil Service Law, will have 10 and 5 points, respectively added to their earned scores if successful in the examination. You must claim these credits when you file application but you have an option to waive them any time prior to appointment. If you have already used these credits for a permanent position in NYS, you may not claim them again.

In conformance with section 85-a of the Civil Service Law, CHILDREN OF FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY shall be entitled to receive an additional ten points in a competitive examination for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent has served. If you are qualified to participate in this examination and are a child of a firefighter or police officer killed in the line of duty in this municipality, please inform this office of this matter when you submit your application for examination. A candidate claiming such credit has a minimum of two months from the application deadline to provide the necessary documentation to verify additional credit eligibility. However, no credit may be added after the eligible list has been established.

APPLYING FOR EXAMINATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS ON SAME DATE. If you have applied for any other Civil Service exams for employment with New York State or any other local government jurisdiction, you must make arrangement to take all the exams at one test site.

If you have applied for both State and Local government exams, you must make arrangements to take all your exams at the State exam center by calling 1-877-NYS-JOBS (1-877-697-5627) no later than two weeks before the test date.
If you have applied for other local government exams, call or write each Civil Service Agency to make arrangements. You must make your request for these arrangements no later than three weeks before the date of the exams. You must notify all local government civil service agencies with whom you have filed an application of the which you wish to take your exam(s). For this exam call (716)858-7509 or write Erie Co. Personnel Dept., 95 Franklin St, Buffalo, NY 14202.

ADMISSION TO EXAMINATION: Notice to appear for the test will be conditional as review of application for minimum requirements may not be made until after the written test. Call or write this Department if you have not received your notice 3 days before the date of the test. You may not be admitted to the examination room without official notice.

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS: Applicants whose religious beliefs prevent their taking examinations before sundown on Saturday and physically handicapped candidates who require special examination facilities should so inform the Erie County Department of Personnel, by a separately mailed letter at the earliest possible date before the test.

RATINGS REQUIRED: Tests are rated on a scale of 100 with a passing mark at 70. Unless the announcement states otherwise, you must pass the written test and the oral test, if any. Test instructions may further divide the tests into parts and set minimum standards for each part.

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE: If a subject of the examination, training and experience may not be rated if all passing candidates are expected to be immediately reachable for appointment. If rated, training and experience will be based on the statements in your application subject to verification. If this examination includes a qualifying written test, candidates admitted to the test will have conditional approval only. Final decision regarding the qualifications of candidates rests with the New York State Department of Civil Service.

VERIFICATION OF QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates may be investigated or called for an interview to verify information contained on the application.

Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience may be pro-rated toward meeting full-time experience requirements.

MEDICAL EXAMINATION: You may be required to take a medical examination to determine if you are medically and physically capable of performing the duties of the position.

In accordance with State Law, Governor’s Executive Order 6, and Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended the County of Erie does not discriminate against handicapped persons in access to employment, during employment, or in any of its programs

and activities.

ELIGIBLE LIST: The eligible list resulting from an examination may also be used for appointment to the same title or to any other title deemed to be similar and appropriate. Eligible lists are active for a minimum of one year and a maximum of four years from the date established.

Background Investigation: Applicants may be required to undergo a State and national criminal history background investigation, which will include a fingerprint check, to determine suitability for appointment. Failure to meet the standards for the background investigation may result in disqualification. Applicants may be required to pay a fee for the investigation.

NOTE: Fingerprints are sometimes required at the time of appointment. When they are required, the fee involved must be paid by the appointee.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $15.00 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.

APPLICATION FEE WAIVER: A waiver of application fee will be allowed if you are unemployed and primarily responsible for the support of a household. In addition, a waiver of application fee will be allowed if you are determined eligible for Medicaid, or receiving Supplemental Security Income payments, or Public Assistance (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families/Family Assistance or Safety Net Assistance) or are certified Job Training Partnership Act/Workforce Investment Act eligible through a State or local social service agency.

All claims for application fee waiver are subject to verification. If you can verify eligibility for application fee waiver, complete a “Request for Application Fee Waiver and Certification: form and submit it with your application by the close of business on the Application Deadline as listed on the Examination Announcement. The form is available at the Erie County Personnel Department, 95 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY (Room 604) or can be downloaded from the County’s website at www.erie.gov. Click on “County Departments and Agencies”, then “Erie County Civil Service”.