CAD (Commercial Affairs Department)

Just going to put a very rough timeline. Don't bother asking what the interview/written assessment are like, I wont share anything.

Applied at mid Mar, received word at mid april that I was selected to attend the written assessment session on early may, which started with that followed, by a dialogue session with senior members of CAD where you should probably raise any concerns/questions you might have about the job, followed by a psychometric test to test your IQ and personality, all of which took the whole day.

Heard back in late may that I was selected for an online zoom interview on early June, where senior members of CAD were among those interviewing me, along with HR personnel.

Literally the next working day, received an email telling me to schedule a medical appointment over the next 2 weeks. A week after my medical appointment was finished, I receieved a call informing me that CAD would be interested in bringing me onboard, pending checks (what checks Idk) and that I would receive an offer soon. This call came in on late June.

The next contact took place a month later, where I was emailed the offer.

All in all, the process takes a very long time so do be prepared to wait for a bit

anyone have got an offer? my interview was last wednesday. still waiting for a response….

Any one got a reply after their pre-interview session? i went for mine last week...

Saw the opening being psoted on the careers at govt web again... quite tempted to apply but the long interviewing process is holding me back.

Does anyone knows if the HR wait for the posting to be closed before they start to invite for the preinterview, or do they do it on a rolling basis?

Yes they take super long. Be prepared to wait quite a while

Rolling bah.

Joining CAD is actually quite bad as a career. Lousy progression, while pay may be high for a fresh grad, you will soon find that your peers in the private sector would beginning to outearn you 3/4 years into your job.

Promotion is the same as everywhere in the public/civil service. Scholars first. If you are not a scholar then pray you don't make even the smallest immaterial error. If you are not a high performer, your best chance to be recognised for promotion is to butter up your superiors. Because of this, you will find the saying "empty barrels make the most noise" quite apt in describing the profile of people there. Colleagues playing politics are common as well, as with superiors stealing credit for your work/refusing to credit you where due.

The hours are unnaturally and unnecessarily long, usually work beyond 8pm per day. WFH is non existent, micro-management style, a lot of paperwork with a lot of writing. Bureaucracy is real too, with one simple draft taking 20-30 back and forth emails before it can be deemed completed. Sometimes edits are very minor such as adding comma splices.

10/10 won't join again, if I can repick my choice of career after graduating with an accounting degree. Would rather go to a big 4 despite the hours there as the exit opps are more appealing and the steep increment per year. Not even exaggerating Z

Would not recommend joining.

Sure the pay for a fresh hire is good, but your peers from the private sector start to outearn you 3-4 years later. Increment is your standard 3-4% per annum as with the entire civil service.

Promotions are also same as the entire govt: scholars first. For an ordinary person, your fastest way to be recognised for promotion is to butter up your superiors, which makes the entire culture damn gross where everyone is really just sucking up. Mistakes even the slightest are also not tolerated well here. Wayang culture too.

In terms of management, superiors here are very micro managing. Please dont think you could wfh even though there really are no reasons for you to be in the office on some days.

That doesn't mean the workload is light: lots of pointless meetings which could be settled via email or video conferencing. A lot of pointless paper work, and I do mean pointless even for the likes of civil service. Working beyond 7-8 everyday is common as well. When there is a gay or **** happens, say good bye to sleep.

Bureaucracy is also real here. 20-30 back and fro emails just to clear a draft, sometimes for trivial non factual or non grammatical fixes such as adding a comma splice.

All in all, really regretted joining after graduating. Exit opps are limited as the skills, technical or non technical, is not transferable elsewhere. Your best bet is to another govt agency which would mean paycut as other govt agencies would not be able to match the pay here.

Just applied last Friday. Has anyone received an interview invite?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Would not recommend joining.

Sure the pay for a fresh hire is good, but your peers from the private sector start to outearn you 3-4 years later. Increment is your standard 3-4% per annum as with the entire civil service.

Promotions are also same as the entire govt: scholars first. For an ordinary person, your fastest way to be recognised for promotion is to butter up your superiors, which makes the entire culture damn gross where everyone is really just sucking up. Mistakes even the slightest are also not tolerated well here. Wayang culture too.

In terms of management, superiors here are very micro managing. Please dont think you could wfh even though there really are no reasons for you to be in the office on some days.

That doesn't mean the workload is light: lots of pointless meetings which could be settled via email or video conferencing. A lot of pointless paper work, and I do mean pointless even for the likes of civil service. Working beyond 7-8 everyday is common as well. When there is a gay or **** happens, say good bye to sleep.

Bureaucracy is also real here. 20-30 back and fro emails just to clear a draft, sometimes for trivial non factual or non grammatical fixes such as adding a comma splice.

All in all, really regretted joining after graduating. Exit opps are limited as the skills, technical or non technical, is not transferable elsewhere. Your best bet is to another govt agency which would mean paycut as other govt agencies would not be able to match the pay here.

un for those who don’t already know SPF is one of the worst places in CS for non scholars ..diff is very stark