COLUMBIA COUNTY CIVIL SERVICE 

STUDY GUIDES AND EXAM PREPARATION

                                                                                                                                       Exam Preparation
​To have some idea as to what to expect and how to take a written Civil Service examination the State has developed a manual titled “How to take a written test”, to view this manual use the following link:
  http://www.cs.ny.gov/pio/publications/howtotakeawrittentest.pdf
                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                             Test Guides
With regard to specific test guides, there are test guides published by the New York State Department of Civil Service and they are usually targeted to specific, entry-level titles. Test Guides are not provided for every examination. If a Test Guide is provided for an examination, information about the guide will appear on the examination announcement. Test Guides are designed to familiarize candidates with the format of the test. Test Guides provide a description of the subject areas that will be tested and present samples of the types of test material that will appear on the test. The sample test material is similar to what the candidates will see on the actual test. If sample questions are provided, the solution and correct answer will be provided after each sample question. Candidates should pay close attention to the "Subjects of Examination" listed on the examination announcement for information on the test type and content (subject areas) of the examination. Candidates should focus their examination preparation upon the information given in the examination announcement. 


                                                                                                        Study Guides for NYS Civil Service Exams
To access study guides prepared by New York State Civil Service, for exams held for positions with New York State Goverment, use the "Examination Study Guides" tab at the top of the page or utilize the following link:  
http://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/statetestguides.cfm


                                                                                         Study Guides for Local Goverment Civil Service Exams
To access study guides prepared by New York State Civil Service, for exams held by Local Civil Service agencies for positions with local government(s), use the following link: 
 http://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm


                                                                                                              Commercially Prepared Study Guides
There are study guides that are commercially prepared and can be purchased from various vendors who sell reference books.  The Mid-Hudson area library may also be a venue to explore in obtaining one of these study guides. 

The CSEA Union also offers various study guides, free to their members and for a small fee to the general public.  To view the guides available use the following link:
 https://csealearningcenter.org/booklets/catalog/index.php


​                                                                                                                        Exam Prep - Study guides.pdf