The New York State Constitution states that public employees must be hired for jobs on the basis of merit and fitness. The constitution also says that examinations have to be used to measure merit and fitness for most jobs. In practical terms, merit and fitnes s means finding people who are best suited for a particular job. The idea is to hire people who will be able to do the job well. In fact, the State of New York and local governments are no different from private companies.
Every employer wants workers who can do a good job.
There are several ways to find good workers. When private companies hire, they ask people what kind of work they have done in the past and how they would perform the relevant job duties. They also look at resumes and school records. Sometimes they give tests. Through civil service examinations, New York State and local governments do many of the same things that private companies do when they hire.