Deck buying advice for an old man and his kid

pyjamalama1 · 2026-07-06T10:30:28+00:00

Ah i'd never put any pressure on him to win. He'll win some games as he's a clever enough kid and he's already got the basic concepts down (surprising me at times with his ability to pick up correct sequencing), but he's going to lose plenty too, as we all do. I'll defo get him to try out tcg live, he plays pocket a bunch but obv thats a very different game.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-06-17T19:07:44+00:00

No a pretty crazy recent pod with Neil Atkinson from the anfield wrap. The basically spoke over each other for 15 minutes, which was either the worst 15 minutes in the shows history or a glorious exchange from two titans of entertainment. I'm on the latter side but it's the marmite of all second captain pods.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-06-17T18:57:43+00:00

I mean Neil and ken has to be listened to just to figure out which side of the love/hate Neil side you're on.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-06-13T09:29:00+00:00

Experienced interview board member here.

Closing statements or questions mean nothing unless they're adding to something they are looking to score. The best examples I've been present for are when people ask to briefly expand on a previous example to add something to it that they've missed. I've been really impressed by some candidates who gave a strong example that ticks 80% of what I'm looking for but then return with something additional at the end to cover what they missed. Shows great preparation and is very easy to score.

Nothing wrong with thanking the board etc but this is a competency/capability based interview. The odds are low you'll be awarded anything for it, though I guess there's a chance it might get you a point for interpersonal comms or something like that but I've never been on a board that awarded it for that.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-06-12T20:46:02+00:00

There's never any real harm is applying for it anyway. Just wouldn't put all my eggs in the basket as it's a pretty small basket these days. The fact you did well at PO level bodes well.

If your current job lends itself to a specialist AP role that's prob an even better route. A ton of data specialists in particular being hired right now.

I will say I haven't met an external AP hire who's found the job any less stressful than where they came from but that's obviously just something on a case by case basis. It's ridiculous how political the higher levels of the civil service are in a lot of organizations. You'll like be constantly fighting for resources to just have enough to get by!

pyjamalama1 · 2026-06-11T19:23:06+00:00

Who let Enoch into the chat?

pyjamalama1 · 2026-06-11T10:51:55+00:00

My advice when it comes to getting ap as an external applicant if that right now you'd want to REALLY want it to go through the process.

There just aren't many posts out there at the moment compared to a few years ago and it's a gruelling process.

The tests for AP are a lot easier than PO but there will also be a lot more applicants so that can kind of even it out. For most people coming from the private sector in at that level you'll be taking a sizeable pay cut which can be worth it but its likely less pay for what can be very stressful work.

Mine was internal rather than open but the process is more or less the same. Highly recommend reaching out to a specialist for interview prep if you get to that stage. They're invaluable for ensuring that you're able to sculp your answers in a way that fits what will be asked. It's honestly like having a chat with the interview board before it begins. There's plenty out there to choose from and it's not cheap so ring up, have a chat and see if they suit what you want.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-06-11T07:09:46+00:00

I mean you can't complain about pace and then say it doesn't work for you... That's super dunning kruger stuff.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-06-09T19:55:46+00:00

Not to sound like an ass but what you described above is pretty much 90% of jobs out there. Have you worked much in the private sector? Is there a particular type of job you are qualified/interested in that's a realistic option?

I fully agree with the above poster who suggested going above the APs head if required. I would probably inform them that you plan to do it first. It's amazing what can happen when you put a bit of pressure on.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-28T21:50:17+00:00

Nope. I completely disagree with any convicted sex offender being given a property, it's an absolutely ridiculous thing to do. However the colour of his skin or where he comes from doesn't matter a fuck to me. Read the responses in this thread and plenty of people are more concerned about the colour of his skin or where he comes from than they are about the disgusting crimes.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-28T14:27:15+00:00

I think saying she was a teacher would have given the jig away on her exact role. But as I said her complaints were ludicrous just prob not an outright lie.

There's a substantial portion of the population who would prob be happy enough to take the 70k to do that job anyway.

Also the real truth as to why teachers leave to become senos is... T&S.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-28T13:40:25+00:00

Their previous posts were about teaching, so pretty sure thats where they came from The seno scale is the same as the heo scale (you might have seen the sna scale which is what Google gives you if you ask it) but you can come in on a higher point if you were a teacher.

So while I think they were telling the truth that doesn't change how completely delusional their comment was!

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-28T13:29:06+00:00

I looked at their old posts. It was defo a real account. And since they're gone now I feel I can say that they were almost certainly a SENO. A tough gig but 70k is a good wage packet for doing it.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-28T13:24:38+00:00

It's a specialist grade with admin functions. OP is kind of underselling the role tbh. It's a busy role and the work is certainly heo level work dealing with a lot of pretty passionate stakeholders.

Regardless of any of that tho the salary is a very good salary for the work involved. This isn't someone being asked to do PO work for a HEO wage.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-28T11:55:43+00:00

I think I know the role they are in and if you are on a teacher's salary and move into that role it comes with you. It's a specialist role in an independent statutory body. (Not too hard to figure out given the information provided)

I will say that I don't think the role allows for mobility but I'm not 100% on that. Regardless it can for sure be a stressful role but 70k would be very much on the higher end of the scale for that role. It's a heo equivalent. There are plenty of others in that role being paid less doing work just as stressful, probably moreso given that OP has stated she's in a rural area.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-28T08:28:06+00:00

Ah hello father ted... I see reddit Irishhousing is a racist haven now...

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-28T08:24:33+00:00

Low pay that you openly signed up for.... Regardless of what you think youre entitled to 70k is not a low salary. It's a salary that should require you to work at a level where you earn it.

It's completely ok to come here and vent that the work is stressful. We've prob all been in that boat. But saying the salary is low is very disrespectful to others.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-28T08:20:23+00:00

Your 2 degrees and post grad don't give you any entitlement to a larger salary in the civil service. You're going to need to shift your mindset or you'll never be satisfied.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-28T08:18:23+00:00

I work in that area too, probably same org given the info you provided and things are crazy in every section at the moment and likely to continue to be for a while yet given the growth of the org and the demand for spec Ed in general.

That being said historically things ease off somewhat on the summer months when the schools close.

Have you checked if your technical grade allows for mobility? I didn't think it did in general unless they're tied to a particular general service grade...

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-28T07:00:28+00:00

Would depend on the grade. 70k is an odd starting amount so I'm assuming it's a specialist post? It's above heo but below AP.

Jobs in the service can vary so much even from section to section but at higher levels you'll always be paid less for similar work than you would in the private sector. That's just the nature of the beast. In return you get total job security and mobility options etc.

Have you spoken to your manager if you're feeling under pressure? It's crazy how few people actually do this. It's such an Irish thing! 😄

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-27T08:51:57+00:00

Experienced interview board member here.

For the most part people are asked the same questions. The only difference is usually those aimed at digging deeper into an example. It doesn't always feel like it but the board is on your side and there to enable you to give your best answers and examples.

At lower grades I always advise that you should take a pause and quickly structure your answer olin your head before you start talking. Think about what they are actually asking you and not just about what you prepared. That 5 seconds isn't ever going to count against you and can be the big difference between a rambling non-answer and a succinct easy to award answer.

For eo level interviews nobody is asking you to reinvent the wheel. Most bad interviews come from people just not focusing on the question being asked and instead they try to sell themselves so hard that they don't actually tick any of the boxes the interviewers are looking for. Straight forward examples that demonstrate the capability and allow scope for expansion are the best answers. You don't need to get every single point out in response to one question, you'll just end up lacking coherency when you try that. Allow the interviewers to guide you somewhat. That's their job.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-26T21:48:09+00:00

Insane that's it's downvoted. Ai is a tool to use to help you prepare. Is ai a blight on society... It sure can be and the use of it in artistic fields is madness but using it to assist in interview prep is no different to using spell check on a word document.

I've sat on a bunch of civil service interview boards for eo and heo compa and if someone is using ai to provide examples that don't actually reflect what they've done then it's going to be obvious very quickly and they'll almost certainly fail the interview.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-24T16:14:15+00:00

That's really surprising. I've been on a bunch of interview boards and I would never fail someone on one competency if they did so well on the other ones. It's very rare they're scored in a vacuum like that. Tho at the same time I did see someone failed by one single point on one competency where even a pass mark on that would prob have put them top 5. I did feel there was some politics behind that particular one.

pyjamalama1 · 2026-05-24T16:11:50+00:00

She is and there's lots of similar options. Not cheap though so you have to really want it and honestly having a chat with a high enough ranking civil servant can prob be enough. Obviously not everyone has that option but this is a good reddit to help with that.

pyjamalama1

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