The public tender for 1,000 INSS (National Social Security Institute) vacancies must have a public notice published by December 13, but experts recommend that interested parties do not wait for it to start their studies.
“Any amount of studies that the candidate accumulates before the public notice is published will be an advantage”, says Professor Fernando Mesquita, a specialist in learning techniques at Gran Cursos Online.
Tenders for the INSS are usually widely disputed: the previous selection, held in 2015, had more than 1 million applicants for 950 vacancies.
“The INSS contest will be very competitive, and preparation in advance is essential. Today, especially for tests like this, it is not enough for the candidate to wait for the public notice to be published to begin preparation”, says Mesquita.
What is included in the INSS contest?
Specialists heard by the report agree that, while there is no publication of the notice, the contents provided for in the previous notice must be studied.
The contents of the 2015/2016 INSS exam were:
- ethics in public service
- single legal regime
- constitutional right
- administrative law
- Portuguese language
- logical reasoning
- Computing
- social Security
Mesquita recommends that novice candidates alternate between these subjects during the day. “Resolving questions every day, reviewing the most important points and maintaining consistency in studies will be a differential.”
The professor states that about 60% of the previous test was related to social security law, which is why he recommends that at least half of the study time be dedicated to the discipline.
“Short study sessions of 25 to 50 minutes help with learning.” For content such as logical reasoning and computing, which have a lot of details, he says the time can be shorter, from 15 to 25 minutes.
Fernanda Helene, a lawyer specializing in social security law and professor at AlfaCon, recommends studying all the subjects and repeating the ones that usually have the most questions. “In the last public notice, there were 15 questions in Portuguese; social security, 70 questions.”
New legislation may be charged
For Helene, the Social Security reform (Constitutional Amendment 103/2019) and Constitutional Amendment 120/2022 will be charged.
Among the possibilities of topics covered, she highlights the transition rules. “The amendment itself brings, in its body, its own rules which are the well-known transition rules. It will probably fall from 3 to 6 questions related to transition rules, because there are many.”
As for Constitutional Amendment 120/2022, which provides for health agents, she says that questions about the special retirement of these workers should be asked.
Even so, the specialist says that it is not necessary to cling, for example, to the study of the new Normative Instruction, IN 128/2022. “As a rule, the contests do not ask for Normative Instruction, because within the hierarchy of norms, it is below and it is something very day to day”, she explains.
Establish a steady study pace
Professor Victor Dalton, founding partner of Direction Concursos, says that it is important to maintain a steady pace of studies, and maintain it in a sustainable way until the date of the test.
“Many people start studying for a competition with all their energy and, sometimes, this gas is greater than the pace they can really handle. Then, in two, three months, the person gives up and is left behind”, he reports.
Mesquita recommends that the candidate does not stop studying, even if he has little time available during the day.
“If 3 to 6 hours a day are possible, that is already very significant. Even if it is possible to start with 1 to 2 hours a day, be sure to study. A lot of people stop starting because they think they need astronomical amounts of hours of studies, but this is not true.”
Try to study at the time of greatest concentration. But if that is not possible, the important thing is to study. “Any study is better than no study. Study when you can, take regular breaks and use good study materials, which will be a differential in approval”, he recommends.
Solve questions from past contests
Mesquita indicates the resolution of questions from previous contests, citing as an example the right and wrong and multiple-choice questions from Cebraspe, responsible for the last INSS contest, and multiple-choice questions from FGV (Fundação Getulio Vargas), which he says are two strong candidates to become the contest organizer.
In addition, it recommends the preparation of review material to fix the most complicated points of each content: “Simple notes, of keywords, which will be reviewed weekly to reinforce memory.”
Helene agrees with the nomination. “Doing the previous tests is very important, even in social security, which is a subject that changes so much and was recently changed by the Social Security reform.”
In addition to answering the questions individually, she indicates that they are solved in a simulated format for the student to train the format of the test.
“A lot of times, students don’t get attached to these details that are important too, because in time you have to solve the test and pass the answer, because the test is only corrected based on the answer.”
Stay motivated with reminders and communities
Dalton recommends keeping reminders of why the candidate chose to study for the exam nearby.
“When you’re studying and going through difficulties, it’s normal for you to forget why you’re doing it. If it’s to give you a better life, for your family, for a trip you’ve always wanted to take and never could, put a picture of city ​​you want to know, the car or motorcycle you want to buy”, recommends the specialist.
He says that studying, as a rule, is a lonely act, and feeling alone in the study journey can demotivate the candidate. “You can think about joining a community, even if it’s a WhatsApp group, of people who share the same difficulties as you. It lessens some loneliness.”
Balance theory and exercises
Solving exercises is important, but it must be combined with the study of theory. “If you know the theory, but you don’t know how the bank charges, how that is required of you in practice, what are the pranks, you will fail in nonsense”, says the professor.
“There is a possibility of having a panel for this contest that does not have such a large number of issues of social security law in its curriculum, which is the most important subject.”
For the teacher, this can give the illusion that only some points of social security law can be charged and lead the student to neglect subjects that may appear on the test.
“This happened already, in 2016. There were many questions from Loas [Lei Orgânica da Assistência Social] and social assistance, and as it didn’t have a long history of issues, a lot of people hadn’t paid attention, because the issue fell in an unforeseen amount.”
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