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The City's hiring process

The City of Rochester has a residency policy for employees.

Current Job Openings

Current job openings are vacancies or examinations for which the City is actively recruiting. You can view them at Current Job Openings and on the bulletin board outside Room 103A of City Hall. Look for titles that interest you and pay close attention to the sections which describe "Minimum Qualifications" and "Special Requirements". These two sections list training, work experience, education and special licensing, which are necessary to meet the "Minimum Qualifications" to be considered for the job opening. ONLY candidates whose qualifications match, or exceed, these "Minimum Qualifications" will be considered for an interview or participation in an exam. Applications must be submitted or postmarked by the application deadline located on the Examination Announcement for each title.

Advertisements/Job Openings

These are vacant positions for which the City is accepting applications.  They are advertised for a specified period of time.

Applications are reviewed to identify candidates who match or exceed the minimum qualifications. Applications of qualified candidates are sent to the department where the vacancy exists. A supervisor in the department reviews the applications and arranges interviews. When the supervisor decides which candidate to hire, the applications are returned to the Department of Human Resource Management. The selected candidate will schedule a pre-employment drug test and any medical evaluations necessary for the job.  A criminal conviction history search is completed as well as driver's license verification as appropriate. An offer letter for employment is prepared, and a notice is sent to other candidates to inform them that the position has been filled.

If a job listing states that "the individual selected will be given a provisional appointment", this means that the job is competitive and cannot be filled permanently until a Civil Service Examination is given. The person who is selected from the current recruitment to fill this job will be required to participate in an examination for this title in the future. To retain the position, a person will be required to pass the exam and be among the three highest-ranking eligibles on the eligible list.  For more information regarding Provisional Appointments, see Provisional FAQs

Not all of our positions are competitive. Some are non-competitive and require no Civil Service Exam for an individual to keep the job on a permanent basis.

Continuous Recruitment Advertisements/Job Openings

These are positions for which the City accepts applications daily. There is no deadline date for applying.

Applications are filed upon receipt. When a department notifies the Department of Human Resource Management that they wish to fill a continuous recruitment position, all applications on file for the title are reviewed to identify candidates who meet the Minimum Qualifications. Applications for qualified candidates are sent to the department where the vacancy exists. A supervisor in the department reviews the applications and arranges interviews. When the supervisor decides which candidate to hire, the applications are returned to the Department of Human Resource Management.  The selected candidate will schedule a pre-employment drug test and any medical evaluations necessary for the job.   A criminal conviction history search is completed as well as driver's license verification as appropriate. An offer letter for employment is prepared for the selected candidate. 

Civil Service Examinations

These are examinations for which the City is currently accepting applications. The Examination Announcement will specify the application deadline for submitting applications and the date the examination will be held. In addition, the announcement will contain a general description of the job duties, the scope of the exam (what subjects will be tested), the Minimum Qualifications (minimum training and experience required to be admitted to the test), salary, and other important information. 

Candidates who wish to participate in a Civil Service Examination may apply to our Online Employment System or submit a completed Employment/Exam Application by the application deadline date to: City of Rochester - Exams, City Hall, Room 103A, 30 Church Street, Rochester, NY 14614-1280.  For future reference, keep a photocopy of your application. Enter the exam date on your calendar.

Candidate applications are reviewed against the Minimum Qualifications stated in the Exam Announcement. Candidates who do not appear to meet the Minimum Qualifications are notified, in writing, if they lack any training, experience, and/or special requirements. The notification will give information about how candidates can submit additional information, in writing, for consideration. If the additional information is not determined to be qualifying, then candidates will be notified of their disqualification. 

One to two weeks prior to the scheduled date of the exam, qualified candidates will receive an Admission Letter to the examination. The letter will contain the time to report and the location of the examination, and will provide other important test information (ie., calculators are allowed, what to do if there is an emergency, etc."). If possible, candidates should familiarize themselves with the location of the exam site prior to the examination date. Candidates must keep a current address on file with the City of Rochester in order to receive important correspondence. You may change your address by following the instructions on the Employment/Forms page of this website. If you have not received an Admission Letter by the Wednesday before the examination date, call (585) 428-8900 for information.

If the Examination Announcement states that the examination is an "Evaluation of Training and Experience", then a supplemental questionnaire will be sent to qualified candidates on the examination date stated on the Exam Announcement.

After the examination is scored the amount of time required for scoring due to the number of participants, the complexity of the examination process, and the number of other examinations that are processed at the same time. Individual names of passing candidates (a passing score is 70 or above) will be placed on a Civil Service Eligible List in the rank order of final score, the highest scores first. Each candidate will be notified, in writing, of their score and their initial rank order on the Civil Service Eligible List.

As positions become available, individuals will be hired based on a "Rule of Three", as required by New York State Civil Service Law. Selection for hire is made from among the three highest-ranking eligibles willing to accept the appointment. See Provision FAQs

Canvass letters are often sent out to individuals on the Eligible List in order to determine their continued interest in employment. Failure to respond to one of these Canvass letters will result in a candidate's removal from the list. Any change of address for candidates on a Civil Service Eligible List must be submitted to the Department of Human Resource Management by following the instructions on the Employment/Forms page of this website.

A Civil Service Eligible List remains in existence for at least one year and MAY be extended up to a maximum of four years. Extensions are considered on a yearly basis, and candidates will be notified of each extension. When an examination is announced for a Civil Service Eligible List you are on, we strongly suggest you sign up to take the new examination.  When the Civil Service Eligible List is established from the new examination holding, it will replace any previous Eligible List that is still active. If you did not take the new examination, you will not appear on the new Eligible List. On the Profile you create at the Online Employment System Current Openings, you can indicate areas of employment interest. By indicating your employment interest, you will be notified when we post new examination/job opportunities.

Candidates may examine a written copy of any Civil Service Eligible List in City Hall, 30 Church Street, Room 103A, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. This public record contains information regarding individuals hired and/or removed from the list along with records of Canvass letter responses of individuals. Information regarding an individual's eligibility for hire cannot be provided over the telephone.

Continuous Recruitment Civil Service Examination Announcements

These are examinations for which there is no deadline for submitting an application. Applications are accepted on a "continuous" basis and examinations are scheduled on an "as needed" basis. These are usually titles for which there is a high demand; examinations may be held more often than usual.

The processing of applications, hiring, and other general procedures used for regular Civil Service examinations is the same for the Continuous Recruitment Examination process.

Differences:

  • Each candidate's eligibility for hire is for a 1 (one) year period only, unless stated otherwise.
  • Another holding of the examination may occur within that 1 (one) year period and new candidates for hire will be interfiled with existing candidates on the basis of score.