TEST PREP
Civil service promotional
exam updates
Tracking changes and updates for the promo-
tional examinations administered by the New
Jersey Civil Service Commission (NJ CSC) can
be a challenging task. Information regarding the
exams that it administers changes periodically
and the changes made are not viewed as “front-
page news.” Therefore, CSC reports, announce-
ments and other information, which contains
EDWARD
ESPOSITO important content for exam candidates, are not
widely circulated. Things get even more compli-
cated when you add the many rumors about what CSC “is go-
ing to do” into the mix.
I truly believe that because these changes are not widely
known, the rumor mill has been a place where many have re-
ceived CSC updates. While some of the information out there
is accurate, there are many versions and variations floating
around. There is also the unfortunate aspect of the rumor mill:
outright misinformation.
Anyone who has studied for a promotional exam will re-
member that the “management book” suggests that bad infor-
mation should be dispelled by injecting accurate information.
Since we receive a lot of questions about CSC exam updates
throughout the year and most questions are based on word-
of-mouth speculation, I am summarizing the most recent CSC
announcements for some of the upcoming promotional tests.
2018 police promotional schedule
In late May, the NJ CSC revised its “Examination Informa-
tion Alert” for the 2018 police promotional exam. The lieu-
tenant and captain exam schedules remain unchanged ac-
cording to the document, which means the written exams are
tentatively scheduled for October and the captain’s oral exam
tentatively scheduled for December. Lieutenant and captain
candidates can expect applications for the 2018 exam to be
available on July 1, and their applications must be filed by July
23. The closing date that is used by the CSC to determine eligi-
bility for these exams will be Sept. 30.
Most notably, this announcement contains a departure
from the dates historically used by the CSC for the sergeant’s
exam. According to the announcement, applications for the
2018 police sergeant’s exam will be available on Oct. 1 and
must be filed by Oct. 22. The “closing date” that is used by the
CSC to determine eligibility for the exam will now be Jan. 31,
2019, and the exam is tentatively scheduled to be adminis-
tered in February 2019.
While this is certainly welcome news for law enforcement
officers across the state who have been waiting for the CSC to
announce the administration of the next sergeant’s exam, it
also provides more time to prepare for the exam. This is espe-
cially important for the sergeant’s exam, since it is open to the
largest group of potential applicants — almost every officer
in your agency. Factors that determine when the exams are
administered and how many officers are ultimately promoted
are beyond your control. However, committing yourself to the
process and making an all-out effort once you know the exam
is being administered will give you an advantage over others
taking the exam who will “wait until it gets closer” to prepare.
2018 Sheriff’s Promotional Exam
On June 5, the NJ CSC released updated orientation guides
for the 2018 sheriff’s promotional exam for the rank of ser-
geant, lieutenant and captain. The CSC also sent an email to
those who applied for these exams and advised, “as a result
of a request submitted by the Police Benevolent Association
Local 105, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) selected a new
textbook for (the) promotional examination scheduled for
late July 2018.” This is the first formal statement by the CSC
with respect to the reason for the delay in the administration
of these exams. According to the updated orientation guides,
the textbook that will be used by CSC, in addition to the legal
sources, to develop questions for this exam is: Supervision: A
Handbook for Success, by Bruce B. Tepper and Ida M. Halasz.
The revision of the orientation guides closely followed an-
other late May announcement by the CSC that set a new date
for the sheriff’s promotional exams. The NJ CSC emailed can-
didates for the 2018 sheriff’s promotional exam and indicated
that the “examinations will be administered on Thursday, July
26, 2018.”
CSC’s communication via email also provided candidates
an opportunity to self-select a testing location for the exam
and must be done using the link in the email it sent. If you
previously applied for the 2018 sheriff’s promotional exam,
I encourage you to check your email or your junk mail and
spam for this notification. If you did not receive an email and
you have signed up for the exam, contact the CSC as soon as
possible to ensure that you are assigned to a testing center for
the exam. d
Captain Edward Esposito of the Essex County Sheriff ’s Office
owns and operates ESPOS Test Prep. He has earned the highest
final average in the state and received the highest written score
in the state on all three of his promotional exams.
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ JUNE 2018 85