what does a 'open/public tender' means? (civil service examination) Actually I was trying to find a word in English to translate a type of exam in my native language. I'll explain the exam: - it's like an exam for anyone (usually college students or people in their middle 20s & early 30s do) - it's hard, usually people study for 2-5 years to be accepted (they try every year) - the job you will get if you were accepted is related to the government - it's a stable job, you will be paid well ($$$$) e.g I’m applying for a position in the office of the State Attorney General. I'm applying to work for the City as an English teacher. The word I found was translated into English to ''civil service examination'', but I'm not sure if this is how you guys say it I don't know if there's something similar to this in English speaking countries... * when I translated the word directly I've found this: 'open tender' or 'public tender' and I have no idea of what that is too, please explain to me! others translations were: State Exam / Public Contest* I heard that in the U.S the private sector is bigger (has more positions) than the public sector and the wager is as higher as the former, so it isn't a contest, more like a little exam. so it can't be translated to 'state exam' or 'public contest' 2) in portuguese is called 'Concurso Público'