How to Pass the Civil Service Exam in the Philippines [in One Take]

Working in the Government has many perks. Job stability, pensions, great pay, and salary level upgrades. You can also serve your fellow Filipino Citizens through any department. Rather than being a JO with sometimes lower pay than minimum wage workers, Civil Service Exam passers will have much more.

However, it’s not easy to get a job in the government. You will be competing with people for a position and you need to take a Civil Service Exam if you aren’t exempted. 

To start your dream job in the government, here are tips on how to pass the Civil Service Exam in just one take. But first, we will discuss:

Who is allowed to take the Civil Service Exam?

• At least 18 years old
• Not convicted of a crime
• Bot dismissed from a government position
• Within the last 3 months haven’t taken the Civil Service Exam of the same level

Who are exempted to take the Civil Service Exam?

• Barangay Officials (Local Government Code)
  • Including SK Chairman, Barangay Treasurer and Secretary
• Sanggunian Members (RA 10156)
• Bar and Board Exam Passers (RA 1080)
• Honor Graduates (PD 907)
  • Bachelor’s degree graduate with Latin honors
• Foreign School Honor Graduates (CSC Res. No. 1302714)
  • Bachelor’s degree graduate with Latin honors of a prominent school abroad
• Electronic Data Processing Specialists (CSC Res. No. 90-083)
  • Passers of National Computer Center on System Analysis and Design, Computer Programming, Java, MS Access and Visual Basic
• Scientific and Technological Specialist (PD 997)
  • Holders on courses in Natural Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Mathematics and Information and Communication Technology, Environmental Science and Food Science
• Skills Eligibility (CSC Mc No. 11, s. 1996)
  • Plant Electrician, Automotive Mechanic, Heavy Equipment Operators, Laboratory Technicians, Shrine Curator, Carpenter, Draftsman, Plumber
• Veterans Preference Eligibility (EO 132 at 790)
  • Philippine Veterans, their wives, and children – plus 10 points on an exam
• Barangay Nutrition Scholars (PD 1569)
  • minimum of 2 years of service
• Barangay Health Workers (RA 7883)
  • minimum of 5 years of service 

Here are tips on how to pass the Civil Service Exam in one take:

1. Decide when to take Civil Service Exam

You need to have a decision if you are taking the Civil Service Exam and when. Wag kang mag-aalinglangan, baka ma alinlangan din yung score mo. Decide if you want to take it via PPT (Pen and Paper Test) or COMEX (Computerized Examination.)

The next date of exam as per Philippine Service Commission Facebook Page for Professional and Subprofessional Levels:

• March 15, 2020, with an application period of December 16, 2019 – January 15, 2020
• August 9, 2020, with an application period of May 11 to June 10, 2020

If you have time and willingness to study for the said exams then go and apply on the periods; if not, then I suggest you will take it on another day.

For example; if you are studying and busy ka pa sa graduation and other requirements in school before March 15; then baka hindi ka maka-focus. Or if you have a lot of deadlines in March, then I suggest you do it when you are relaxed and free of school or work worries and pressure. One take tayo, so take the Civil Service exam when you can give it your 200%!

2. Review for the Civil Service Exam

Don’t be complacent. The Civil Service Exam may be basic or you may feel it’s easy as a normal school exam, but since most of us have graduated from school or started working, then we might forget some concepts. FYI, the passing rate for the past years has been 12-10% out of more than 200,000 examinees; about 20,000 have only passed. So it’s better to be safe than sorry. Read the other tips to be a part of that 10%.

3. Know what is inside the exam. Know your strengths and weaknesses.

As said by Sun Tzu in the Art of War ““If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Kaya dapat malaman mo ang subjects sa Civil Service Exam. If nag-study ka nga pero more on Science naman then pag-check mo sa exam walang Science-related na question; lugi ka na.

Professional Level and Subprofessional Level

Exams in English and Filipino

• Math
  • Basic Operation
  • Word Problems
  • Number Series
  • Numerical Reasoning
• Filipino
• English
  • Grammar and Correct Usage
  • Vocabulary
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Paragraph Organizations
• General Information
  • Philippine Constitution
  • RA 6713 – Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees
  • Current Events Issues

Exclusively for Professional: Analysis and Logic

Exclusively for Subprofeessional: Clerical (Filing and Spelling)

You need to also need to know which subjects are you good at and which needs improvement. Mostly, you will skim the ones you are best at and focus more time and energy on those concepts you don’t understand or you forgot.

You can assess yourself by taking a sample Civil Service Exam online or from a reviewer so you may know what subjects you have the most mistakes.

4. Have a reviewer

Buy, borrow or download a reviewer. Make sure they are legit and have answer keys on their questions. May nasa internet kasi na parang Civil Service Exam pero walang answer key or yung question walang tamang sagot, nag-aaway pa ang nag-cocomment, so better buy something sure.

You need a reviewer to help you with the civil service exams. It will give you explanations on the concepts you might need to refresh your mind. Or give you suggestions on how to attack a question. It also has sample questions you can practice on.

Don’t have too many reviewers. One or two reviewer books are good enough. Baka iba-iba ang approach nila and ma-confuse ka pa.

5. Schedule a time of studying

Don’t study if “feel mo” – that’s a bad attitude when you are studying, parang laro-laro lang ang Civil Service Exam pag-ganyan. Dapat seryoso ka para seryoso din and score mo.

Find a time when you are most relaxed or vacant – after dinner, before sleeping, lunchtime or when you are traveling. Pag-wala, you need to sacrifice something; maybe time online – facebook or mobile legends, or lakwatsa time. Don’t worry, your studying will pay-off – it’s only for a few days.

Make sure you cover the entire reviewer, so you can divide all the topics into days you are going to study. Allocate also your Saturdays or Sundays for practice exams.

So for example, the reviewer has 30 topics, and then you want to study for a month; then review 1 hard topic or 2 easy topics a day. Cover all, para hindi sayang yung libro.

6. Practice Answering

A reviewer has practice questions, so allocate time or day that you will practice answering with a time limit.

Professional Level: 170 items for 3 hours and 10 minutes.

Subprofessional Level: 165 items for 2 hours and 40 minutes.

You can allocate your Saturdays or Sundays or a few days before the Civil Service Exam Date to have a mock exam. Yung feel mo nasa exam ka talaga with a time limit, so you can practice being calm while answering and know what to answer first or when to review and shade your answers.

Mock exams will help you assess which part you take most time at; so if Reading Comprehension with 5 questions takes 30 minutes, then you might skip it during the exam and proceed to other questions para hindi masayang ang time mo. You can come back to it later.

7. Have Study Buddies

Having a study buddy will motivate you to study for the Civil Service Exam. If you also need clarifications, you can ask him or her. If wala kang makita na study buddy, try joining facebook groups with regards to Civil Service Exam, they might help you if you have questions and doubts.

8. Positive thinking

The law of attraction: If you think you can pass, then you will. if you think you will fail, then you will. Positivity attracts positivity; so wag kang nega dyan. Follow the tips above and do your absolute best and you will surely pass the Civil Service Exam. Kaya mo yan!

9. Pray

Ask guidance from God. Pray before studying that you may retain what you have studied. Pray for peace of mind during exam. Pray to pass the Civil Service Exam. 

But wag kang mag-pray lang, there’s no use in praying if you are doing nothing about it – if hindi ka nag study at chamba lang yung reliance mo. It takes both your work and effort and God’s blessing to pass.

10. No to Overload

A day before the Civil Service Exam, do not cram. Have mock exams or practice answering or skim hard topics. Don’t study too much the day before, baka ma-overload pa brain mo hindi ka makatulog a day before the exam or black-out ka. Relax your brain, listen to music or enjoy the day. What you have studied will come back during exam.

11. Be Prepared (The Night Before)

Prepare your documents and things and also extra food on the night before your Civil Service Exam. So that when you wake up, you will know everything is ready and you won’t stress out to prepare for those things. 

12. Don’t be late

Sleep early to wake up early. You need to be in the venue an hour before the exam. Do not be late for the Civil Service Exam, it will not only result to a lesser time on answering but it also stresses you out. Hindi ka makakaconcentrate kasi yung isip mo is about what happened and why you were late. Have multiple alarms or ask someone to wake you up. 

13. Easy Questions before Hard Questions

Answer the easy questions first or the topics you are most confident about. In the Civil Service Exam, questions 1-20 are personal questions like Gender, Civil Status so you can do it in a breeze. After that, look for the topic you are good at and answer those – don’t shade yet, only after you read all the questions and reviewed it.

if you find a question hard, skip it – rereading and reanalyzing it twice will waste your time. Do it later. After trying to answer or read all the questions, go back to the hard ones or the questions you skipped.

14. Be Aware of Time 

Bring a watch – it will help you check if you still have time. You can allocate the first half of your time answering. If you already finished all – then you can review the questions and shade your answers if you are 100% sure. If you aren’t sure – just mark an answer in your test booklet (do not shade yet). 

After reviewing and shading those you are sure of. If you have 30 minutes left, you can go back again to questions that are tricky and decide what to shade from there. If you have 10 minutes left, use the answers that you have marked.

It’s better not to leave your answer sheet blank if you have an hour left. Baka ma-rattle ka if 10 minutes nalang at wala ka pang na-shade. Don’t also shade your answers directly, baka pag-review mo mali pala yung sagot.

Answer at a good pace and surely. Pray and believe in yourself – you can definitely pass the Civil Service Exam.

Those are tips on how to pass the Civil Service Exam in one take. After the exam, you will now have to wait for the result. But surely, if you have followed these steps you can definitely be part of the coveted passing status. You will definitely reach your goals. Good luck and God Bless!