Framework-aligned
Examples and answers mapped to the published capability framework for your competition.
Civil service prep from a former diplomat who knows how the system works
Application forms, online tests, and competency-based interview coaching for Irish public competitions. Run by Sarah Keane, a former First Secretary at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade who entered as a Third Secretary. She came through these competitions as a candidate and interviewed candidates herself in the private sector, so she knows both sides of the table.
Form review
Line-by-line feedback on application forms before you submit.
Test preparation
Guidance and practice plans for online assessments that screen large pools.
Stage-by-stage
Support through application, tests, video interview, and final panel.
Support at any stage
A full engagement runs from example building to final rehearsal, but most clients join at one point. Start wherever the competition finds you.
Build
Examples found in your own experience and shaped against the capability framework for your grade.
Review
Line-by-line application form feedback before you submit.
Mock
Competency-based interview practice with framework-style follow-up probes.
Rehearse
Final run under competition conditions close to your date.
Three ways to work together
Every part of this can be booked on its own. If all you need is a second pair of eyes on your form before Friday, that is one session, not a package.
Finding and building your examples
For the start of a competition, when you are looking at the capability questions and drawing a blank. Unaided recall is a poor way to search your own career, so this is a structured session that works through your experience systematically, finds the examples you have forgotten you have, and shapes them against the capability framework for your grade.
- Structured career analysis session
- Examples mapped to the capability framework for your grade
- A written example bank you keep, and reuse at every stage
From €175 per session.
Application form review
For when you have a draft and a deadline. Shortlisting is decided on what is written, so the form is the first assessment, not the paperwork before it.
- Line-by-line written feedback before you submit
- A 1-hour session to talk the feedback through
- Example selection and motivation statement tightening
- Framework mapping check against the published criteria
From €150 per review.
Interview and test preparation
For when you are through to the assessment stages. Mock competency-based interviews built around the capability framework, with the follow-up probes a real board will use, so no answer goes untested.
- Mock interviews with structured follow-up probes
- Written feedback and a guidance note after each session
- Online test preparation plan for competitions with an assessment stage
- Video stage coaching where your competition includes one
From €175 for 1.5 hours.
Why choose DEDICO?
Sarah has coached candidates through Irish public sector competitions since 2024, after a civil service career that took her from Third Secretary to First Secretary at the Department of Foreign Affairs. She came through competitive interviews as a candidate herself, and conducted many as an interviewer during her years in the private sector, so she knows both sides of the table. That matters if you're moving between sectors: she knows how to draw out the whole of your experience, not just the half the panel expects. In session she hears quickly where an answer is losing marks and tells you plainly. The feedback is specific, direct and warm, and you will leave each session knowing exactly what to change.
What clients say
Sarah was an invaluable sounding board and interview coach for my senior civil service leadership competition. Her mix of experience in the civil service and the private sector was of great benefit, helping me make sure my interview style was incisive, pitched at the right level, and jargon free. I've worked with three different coaches over recent years and Sarah was by far the most helpful.
Sarah's guidance was invaluable throughout the Third Secretary recruitment process. She provided incredibly helpful feedback, helping me to hone my private sector experience into meaningful examples for my application form. Completing multiple competency-based mock interviews with Sarah allowed me to feel confident and prepared when the time came for the real thing.
Guides and articles
See all guidesFrequently asked questions
Which civil service competitions do you cover?
Most Irish public sector competitions: Third Secretary, Administrative Officer, Higher Executive Officer, Assistant Principal, Principal Officer, and Director-level roles, along with departmental and agency competitions. If you're applying for something else, ask, the process is usually similar. For county and city council competitions, see the local authority coaching page.
Do you cover the HSE, semi-states, universities or regulators?
Yes. The coaching covers competency and capability interviews across the wider public sector: the HSE, semi-state bodies, universities and academic institutions, and regulators. The frameworks differ in name but not much in substance, and the preparation method is the same. The two exceptions are An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, whose entry and promotion processes are different enough that you are better served by a specialist.
I'm not from the civil service. Can you still help?
Yes. A large share of clients come from the private sector or have a mixed background, and most of the work is translating that experience into the structure and language the marking scheme rewards.
How much does it cost?
Each service is priced on its own, and all prices include VAT. The example-building session and interview preparation are from €175 for 1.5 hours, each with a written guidance note; the application form review is from €150 for a line-by-line written review with a 1-hour session to talk the feedback through. Multi-session packages are available and agreed at the first call, so the work fits your deadline.
Do I have to buy a package?
No. Sessions are booked one at a time. Packages exist because some people want support across the whole competition, but most clients start with a single session and decide from there.
How many sessions do most people take?
Three to six over four to six weeks, depending on what stage of the competition you're at and how much time you have. If your deadline is tight, we'll concentrate the work.
Do you do mock interviews online or in person?
Online, over video call. Mocks can be recorded for your own review where you'd like.
What is the STAR method?
Situation, Task, Action, Result. A structured way to answer competency-based interview questions that boards are explicitly trained to listen for. The task is where you tell the board what your own role was and what you had to achieve. There's a guide to it on the blog.
What is the panel system?
Successful candidates are placed on a panel from which vacancies are filled as they arise, typically for 18 to 24 months. Placement on a panel is not a job offer, and there is no guarantee that a panel place will lead to one.
My deadline is in two weeks. Is it too late to start?
Probably not. Most short-window prep is one focused application review and one or two mock interviews, with written feedback in between. Email and we'll tell you honestly if there's time to make a difference.
Will you tell me if I'm not a strong candidate?
Yes. The first call is where we say if the gap between where you are and what the competition needs is something coaching can close. There's no point taking your money to confirm an outcome that was already clear.
Ready to get started?
Book a short call. We will tell you honestly if this is the right fit.
Interview coaching
Competency-based and panel interviews, with mock sessions and a usable example bank.
See how it worksPublic speaking
Strengthen communication for assessment centres and presentations.
See how it works