22 competition

23 febrero, 20226 marzo, 2022 ~ Ya semos Europeos ~ 7 comentarios

Dear all,

*This competitions is calling for you IT expert*

If you believe a public administration can leave paper behind, and become a reference on IT and offer cutting-edge IT opportunities for hard workers professionals with sound careers, this competition is for you. Even more, if you think you can help a charismatic and sometimes awkward administration to be on the top of the digitalization, this competition is still for you. The European Institutions need more and more highly specialized technical profiles, the world is changing and you can be a part of that change. If you are looking for our analysis on the AD7-8 competition, find it here.

How many spots are available? When does the process begin?

A good number of spots are available, 205 spots in total!!!, distributed in 4 fields. The bad news are that you can only apply to one single field. Be careful! The process began on the 17 February and it will be open for joining until 22 Mars NOON (let’s say 11.59 AM CET). Until then, you can fill in and validate your application. Approximately, you have been given one month +2 days , that’s more than enough but don’t fall asleep.

*205 post of AST 4 waiting for you, what are you waiting?*

What are the criteria to be a candidate?

The general criteria, as usual: Enjoy full rights as a citizen of a Member State of the EU (UK is no longer an option), meet any obligations under national laws on military service, and meet the character requirements for the duties concerned.

Specific criteria – languages

*Same thing than in the paragraphs of the left but visible in one look. Also you have a similar table in pag5 of the notice of competition.*

LANGUAGE 1: You can choose among the 24 official languages of the EU and you should have, minimum, a C1 level. If you are a native speaker, you should qualify yourself as C2 and be CAREFUL! Do not say you have a level below C1 for any language skill (listening, reading, oral communication, written communication…), otherwise you will be disqualified automatically. The computer-based tests or CBT (verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning) will be taken in Language 1 and also we can fill in our application (except the Talent Screener) in this language.

LANGUAGE 2: ENGLISH or FRENCH (sorry, you can only choose between these 2, duty calls for it and EPSO explain long and clear why). Here we need a B2 level minimum (no need to have a degree to justify it, the tests in the Assessment Centre will be done in this language and if you can work through them, then you will qualify as having the level required). Remember not to put any item (written, oral level, or any other) below B2 level in your application.

REMINDER – Language 1 and Language 2 cannot be the same. Even if you try, the application form will alert you. On the bright side, communication with EPSO can take place in any of the languages you have declared in your application form at B2 level or higher.

Specific conditions – Work experience and studies

Let’s go one by one and in a re-orderly manner so the criteria are more visible to all you.

Be aware! To explain the part «professional experience in the field» or «ICT» as this case, means that when describing your professional experience in the application (CV – work experience), you must clearly identify the experiences and activities equal or similar to those you are expected to do in the European Institutions and described in the notice, so take a good look at the fourth column (relevant duties) of our tables. And don’t despair, if you find this task difficult, our webinar on this competition can be key to give you tips on the talent screener

Field 1: ICT infrastructures, cloud, networks and middleware:

Don’t forget to check the notice of competition for the full detail on the duties

Field 2: Digital workplace, office automation and mobile computing

Field 3: Development/configuration, testing, operation and maintenance of IT applications and off-the-shelf solutions; Data management, data analytics and artificial intelligence

Field 4 : Design, development/configuration, testing, operation and maintenance of IT applications and off-the-shelf solutions; Data management, data analytics and artificial intelligence

What are the test I have to pass? and the competition phases?

Based on the notice of competition + our experience we split the process in 3 phases: 1) fill in the application, 2) Talent Screener evaluation 3) the Assessment Centre. The celebration after you have passed the competition is up to you.

Phase 1 Fill in the Application – You’ve got until 22 March (noon) to send your application and before that, fill it in with love and care. This is the first step of the process, and the moment to differentiate yourself from the other candidates and all their experience (honestly, we don’t think EPSO expects a lot of candidates, but rather a few good ones with long CVs) in relation with the five different profiles. There are two clear pillars in your application
- Work experience + Academic records – these will be used to confirm your eligibility = you have as many years of working experience in the relevant duties as required
- Talent Screener – reply to the questions in the form within the application…yes! the competition begins here!! (see in the gallery below the list of questions per field)

…(Wait! we are still in phase 1) What is a TALENT SCREENER? The Talent Screener is a set of questions (see images above) related to your academic and professional background that you must answer in your application, you can find the questions on the Annex IV of the notice of competition. A couple of things to remember:
- 1) The board of the competition is in charge of evaluating the answers
- 2) Keep in mind that all candidates in the same profile and field answer the same questions.

In this way, the responses of all the candidates are structured in the same way, which allows the board to make an evaluation (as objective as such a type of test allows) of the compared merits of all the candidates. Remember to look at Annex IV or the application form for all the details, and if you think we can be of help, check our past webinar where we focused on tips to fill in the Talent Screener for specialist competitions. BUT if you are looking for a fresh view on your competition, check our webinar on the Administrators and the Assistants-ICT Talent Screener.

PHASE 2 – Eligibility & Talent Screener evaluation. Here you can do nothing but wait. It is the task of the board to read first your CV to see if you have all the years of working experience required and then, in a next step, read your Talent Screener and rate it. We remind you that the selection based on qualifications will be carried out only for those candidates deemed eligible, using solely the information provided in this Talent Screener section (in language 2) WITHOUT cross-checking with the rest of your application. [Yes, this was mentioned in Phase I but just in case you skipped that part]. You should therefore include all relevant information in your answers, even if already mentioned in other sections of your application form. The best of all this is, after the evaluations, only up to 3 times the openings will go to the Assessment Centre. We are talking about about 1050 candidates in total and you are one of them because you have written a great application 🏆.

Phase 3 – Assessment Centre. Congrats! You are one of the candidates with the highest marks in the Talent Screener and you have been invited to the Assessment Centre. We have reached the final round, in which we will also have to present all our documents related to education and professional experience in digital format (they need to be uploaded into a platform before doing the Assessment Centre tests), so prepare them in advance to avoid a last minute rush.

First, we’ll have the computer-based tests (CBT). We know, you though you have escape it… keep dreaming. Still, there is no need to get a high mark, only passing it is enough (like it is the case for CAST exams).

*Easy one, just an overall of 20 points to pass it.*

Now talking about the other tests, the competition turns classic. You will have to face the following tests: Case Study and Competence-Based Interview. Between the two tests you can gather a total of 70 points, with the particularity that you need and overall 35/80 to pass, but not minimum marks per competence. Also pay attention, here you have 7 competences to be assessed, in AD competitions there are eight.

*Some practice, some effort and a some guidance and it will be done 😉*

*When you see your name on the reserve list*

Anyway, although the more points we get in competences part the better (we can help with that), the key part is the field-related test where you will have to demonstrate your knowledge, and above all, your relevant experience for this position. To do so, you will have the Interview in the Field (also structured but with clear focus on your work experience) up to 100 points in that test (we can help on that).
Final Step – after a long process and passing the Assessment Centre, EPSO will check the validity of all your records and professional experiences (comparing them to the input of your application). For these, they will use the documents uploaded at the beginning of phase 3 – right before your first test of the Assessment Centre. So, keep your documents ready for upload once you have passed the Talent Screener!!! Once you get the final OK for this part, you will see your name on the reserve list and ready to find a job as officer of the European institutions.

When will EPSO contact me?

*All the situations under which EPSO will write you in your profile, not by email, although sometimes we may get a warning message.*

Many of you ask about when EPSO will tell you that you have passed to the next phased, or have been invited to the Assessment Centre, or…. you read/heard rumors about the development of the competitions somewhere. Better to isolate yourself from that noise and focus on the real messages. EPSO commits itself (it’s in Annex II of the notice of competition) to communicate with you after the Talent Screeners have been evaluated to inform you on the results and to invite you to the Assessment Centre. In the meantime, it can take weeks or months to receive any information or being notified that we have passed to the next phase of the competition, so keep calm. If you are feeling desperate for the lack of news, you can always contact EPSO too, as candidates you are entitled to do so but be careful, replies can be a bit cryptic or copy/paste from the notice.

What can I expect of this job? Is my degree valid?

*Table of the amounts of basic monthly salaries for each grade and step in function groups AD and AST referred to in Article 66 of the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2021*

Both are typical questions of the candidates, therefore we invite you to check Annex I and Annex II from the notice of competition. As you can see from the images above, go to Annex I of the notice to find all the details of your expected tasks to be performed once you are an administrator in the area of ICT (The Commission counts on you!!!). And last but not least, let us remind you an AST4 (step 2) will join the institutions with a net salary above 4.200 € and this can be higher depending if you have family dependent on you and other conditions.

Can you help me?

Let share some useful links for this competition and any other.

List of useful resources

El CBT o los test psicotécnicos (ES)
The Assesment centre (EN)
- La entrevista estructurada
- Presentación oral
10 free resources (EN/ES).
- Free webinar on the talent screener for the ICT (AD-AST) competitions – 2nd March
- Youtube channel
YSE trainings (English and Spanish) :
1. CBT (in Spanish)
2. Assessment sessions – for all the Assessment test (Theory in English or Spanish. Practice can be done in EN,FR,ES)
3. Application review (EN/ES/FR/IT/DE)
4. CAST Sessions -have you been invited to a job interview? Do you want to improve your chances of being selected in a CAST process?

Analysis of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Experts (AD 7/AD 8) EPSO/AD/398/22 competition

23 febrero, 20226 marzo, 2022 ~ Ya semos Europeos ~ 7 comentarios

Dear all,

If you believe a public administration can leave paper behind and become a reference on IT, offering cutting-edge IT opportunities for professionals with sound careers, this competition is for you. Even more, if you think you can help a charismatic and sometimes awkward administration to be on the top of digitalization, this competition is still for you. The European Institutions need more and more highly specialized technical profiles, the world is changing and you can be a part of that change. Before we continue, if you are looking for our analysis on the AST-4 competition, find it here.

How many spots are available? When does the process begin?

A good number of spots are available, 350 spots in total!!!, distributed in 5 fields. The bad news are that you can only apply for one single field. Be careful! The process began on the 17 February and it will be open for joining until 22 March NOON (let’s say 11.59 AM CET). Until then, you can fill in and validate your application. Approximately, you have been given one month +2 days , that’s more than enough but don’t fall asleep.

What are the criteria to be a candidate?

Specific criteria – languages

*Same thing than in the paragraphs of the left but visible in one look. Also you have a similar table in page 5 of the notice.*

LANGUAGE 1: You can choose among the 24 official languages of the EU and you should have, minimum, a C1 level. If you are a native speaker, you should qualify yourself as C2 and be CAREFUL! Do not say you have a level below C1 for any language skill (listening, reading, oral communication, written communication…), otherwise you will be disqualified automatically. The computer-based tests or CBT (verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning) will be taken in Language 1, and we can also fill in our application (except the Talent Screener) in this language.

Specific conditions – Work experience and studies

Let’s go one by one and in an orderly manner so the criteria are more visible to all you.

Be aware! To explain the part «professional experience in the field (ICT)» in this case, means that when describing your professional experience in the application (CV- work experience), you must clearly identify the experiences and activities equal or similar to those you are expected to do in the European Institutions and described in the notice, so take a good look at the fourth column (relevant duties) of our tables. And don’t despair, if you find this task difficult, our webinar on this competition can be key to give you tips on the talent screener.

Field 1: ICT infrastructures, cloud, networks and middleware

Field 2: Digital workplace, office automation and mobile computing

Field 3: IT and data governance, programme/portfolio and project management, project management office (PMO), business and enterprise architecture

Field 4 : Design, development/configuration, testing, operation and maintenance of IT applications and off-the-shelf solutions; Data management, data analytics and artificial intelligence

Field 5: ICT security

What are the tests that I have to pass? And what are the competition phases?

Phase 1 Fill in the Application – You’ve got until 22 March (noon) to send your application and before that, fill it in with love and care. This is the first step of the process, and the moment to differentiate yourself from the other candidates and all their experience (honestly, we don’t think EPSO expects a lot of candidates, but rather a few good ones with long CVs) in relation with the five different profiles. There are two clear pillars in your application
- Work experience + Academic records – these will be used to confirm your eligibility = you have as many years of working experience in the relevant duties as required
- Talent Screener – reply to the questions in the form within the application… yes! the competition begins here!! (see in the gallery below the list of questions per field)

… (Wait! we are still in phase 1) What is a TALENT SCREENER? The Talent Screener is a set of questions related to your academic and professional background that you must answer in your application, you can find the questions on the Annex IV of the notice of competition. A couple of things to remember:
- 1) The board of the competition is in charge of evaluating the answers
- 2) Keep in mind that all candidates in the same profile and field answer the same questions

PHASE 2 – Eligibility & Talent Screener evaluation. Here you can do nothing but wait. It is the task of the board to read first your CV to see if you have all the years of working experience required and then, in a next step, read your Talent Screener and rate it. We remind you that the selection based on qualifications will be carried out only for those candidates deemed eligible, using solely the information provided in this Talent Screener section (in language 2) WITHOUT cross-checking with the rest of your application. [Yes, this was mentioned in Phase I but just in case you skipped that part]. You should therefore include all relevant information in your answers, even if already mentioned in other sections of your application form. The best of all this is, after the evaluations, only up to 3 times the openings will go to the Assessment Centre. We are talking about about 1050 candidates in total and you are one of them because you have written a great application 🏆.

Phase 3 – Assessment. Congrats! You are one of the candidates with the highest marks in the Talent Screener and you have been invited to the Assessment Centre. We have reached the final round, in which we will also have to present all our documents related to education and professional experience in digital format (they need to be uploaded into a platform before doing the Assessment Centre tests), so prepare them in advance to avoid a last minute rush.

First, we’ll have the computer-based tests (CBT). We know, you though you had escaped it… keep dreaming. Still, there is no need to get a high mark, only passing it is enough (like it is the case for CAST exams).

Now talking about the other tests, the competition turns classic. You will have to pass the following tests: Case Study and Competence Based Interview. Between the two tests you can gather a total of 80 points, with the particularity that you need and overall 40/80 to pass, but not minimum marks per competence.

Anyway, although the more points we get in competences part the better (we can help with that), the key part is the field-related test where you will have to demonstrate your knowledge, and above all, your relevant experience for this position. To do so, you will have the Interview in the Field (also structured but with clear focus on your work experience) up to 100 points in that test (we can help with that test too).
Final Step – after a long process and passing the Assessment Centre, EPSO will check the validity of all your records and professional experiences (comparing them to the input of your application). For these, they will use the documents uploaded at the beginning of phase 3 -right before your first test of the Assessment Centre. So, keep your documents ready for upload once you have passed the Talent Screener!!! Once you get the final OK for this part, you will see your name on the reserve list and ready to find a job as a permanent officer at the European institutions.

When will EPSO contact me?

Many of you ask about when EPSO will tell you that you have passed to the next phase, or have been invited to the Assessment Centre, or…. you read/heard rumors about the development of the competitions somewhere. Better to isolate yourself from that noise and focus on the real messages. EPSO commits itself (it’s in Annex II of the notice of competition) to communicate with you after the Talent Screeners have been evaluated to inform you on the results and to invite you to the Assessment Centre. In the meantime, it can take weeks or months to receive any information or being notified that we have passed to the next phase of the competition, so keep calm. If you are feeling desperate for the lack of news, you can always contact EPSO too, as candidates you are entitled to do so but be careful, replies can be a bit cryptic or copy/paste from the notice.

What can I expect of this job? How much will my salary be?

Both are typical questions of the candidates, therefore we invite you to check Annex I and Annex II from the notice of competition. As you can see from the images above, go to Annex I of the notice to find all the details of your expected tasks to be performed once you are an administrator in the area of ICT (The Commission counts on you!!!). And last but not least, let us remind you an AD7 (step 2) will join the institutions with a net salary above 6.000 € and this can be higher depending if you have family dependent on you and other conditions.

Can you help me?

Let share some useful links for this competition and any other.

List of useful resources

El CBT o los test psicotécnicos (ES)
The Assesment centre (EN)
- La entrevista estructurada
- Presentación oral
10 free resources (EN/ES).
- Free webinar on the talent screener for the ICT (AD-AST) competitions – 2nd March
- Youtube channel
YSE trainings (English and Spanish) :
1. CBT (in Spanish)
2. Assessment sessions – for all the Assessment test (Theory in English or Spanish. Practice can be done in EN,FR,ES)
3. Application review (EN/ES/FR/IT/DE)
4. CAST Sessions -have you been invited to a job interview? Do you want to improve your chances of being selected in a CAST process?

Revolution in the Assessment – EPSO cuts them in half in several competitions

2 febrero, 20222 febrero, 2022 ~ Ya semos Europeos ~ 2 comentarios

Dear all,

Last Tuesday (1st February), the afternoon coffee ended on our trousers rather in our stomach, as EPSO announced changes. Which ones? Easy, as they acknowledge the long long backlog of some competitions (see the list below) they have decided to cut a big chunk of the Assessment test to make the process faster without harming your chances or passing it. Is that true? Will my chances remain the same? In principle yes, as the core of the evaluations (competences) remains, this time assessed through one single test rather than two tests, your chances should remain intact. Then what’s different? The margin of error. Now, you need to perform well or excellent in each one of the tests, no margin to make mistakes or obtain a low mark in one competence. Also bear in mind a reference for the uploading of the scanned documents (instead of bringing them in a USB) has been added.

*If you are looking for the piece of news, here you have it.*

*Breath and keep reading, help is on its way (or at least more info).*

Warning! as EPSO indicates, the information shared is intended for publication in the Official Journal (OJ) of the EU. It is made available in advance to information the candidates, but please make sure you check the text published in the DOUE to verify there are no differences (i.e we’ll check the final publication and update this post accordingly)

Can you be more specific about the changes? Sure! In this post, you will find the information for all the competitions affected by the change (by reference number order, just scroll down until you find the ones that interest you) and what is the new and how to tackle it. Also we have made an extra effort to make all this a bit more palatable and funny. You can pass the competitions with a smile!

AD-Administrators competitions

Administrators in policymaking and law-making in the field of health, food safety, auditing inspection and evaluation EPSO/AD/392/21
Member States’ Structural Reforms and Experts in the Schengen acquis EPSO/AD/391/21
Administrators in the field of Chemicals Policy EPSO/AD/390/21
Administrators in the field of sustainable agriculture and rural development EPSO/AD/389/21 – AD6
Lawyer-Linguist – (BG); (CS); (FR); (GA); (HU); (PL) EPSO/AD/383 to 388/21
Administrators in the field of external relations EPSO/AD/382/20 (AD5 and AD7)
Administrators in the field of European Law EPSO/AD/381/20

AST and AST/SC competitions

Proofreaders/language editors – Greek, Spanish, Estonian, Gaelic, Italian, Portuguese – EPSO/AST/148/21
Secretaries SC 1 and SC2 EPSO/AST-SC/10/20

What about my competition?

Let’s go competition by competition (from highest to lowest EPSO reference number). Please be aware that the following analysis is done based on the information published on the EPSO webpage and our experience as candidates (yes, we once were where you are now) and trainers.

1.-Administrators in policymaking and law-making in the field of health EPSO/AD/392/21 – 1 food safety EPSO/AD/392/21 – 2 auditing inspection and evaluation in the field of health and food safety EPSO/AD/392/21 – 3

*The new menu of tests for the 3 profiles*

Situation : Remember our analysis of this competition (profile 1, profile 2 and profile 3)? Well, not much has changed. In total, there has been 1454 applications (split in 710, 465 and 289 respectively on each profile), after the initial eligibility check, the numbers of those who passed to the Talent were 240, 245 and 190 respectively for 47, 30 and 30 spots (then up to 141,90 and 90 can be invited to the Assessment). At this moment the Talent Screener evaluation is ongoing.
What to expect: This was one of the competitions less impacted by the changes. When the Assessment Centre comes, probably March or April, you will have to prepare the following: Case Study (of competences) and the Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) and Field test interview. The Written test in the field is gone and its points transferred to the Field test interview (now it counts 100 points). If you think we can help you with our trainings, you can check our next sessions or register for the next ones.

2.-Experts in technical support to Member States’ Structural Reforms EPSO/AD/391/21 – 1 Experts in the Schengen acquis EPSO/AD/391/21 – 2

Situation: As you remember, the candidates applying for the Structural Reforms competition were far more than expected and the CBT was called upfront. Results were out at end of October and (again) candidates must be patient and wait for the results of the Talent Screener. After that, for those of you with the highest marks, around 135 for structural reforms and 75 for Schengen acquis will be invited to the Assessment Centre (Spring of 2022 most likely).
What to expect: When the Assessment Centre comes, you can forget about the Case Study . The General competency-based interview and Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) both remain and split the competences to evaluate them in one single round and the minimum mark per competence disappears, you only need to obtain 40 points or more in total. What remains the same is the Field test (interview and written test). If you think we can help you with our training, remember to check our next sessions or join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.

3.-Administrators in the field of Chemicals Policy EPSO/AD/390/21

*This assessment is still about mixing the right elements to pass it.*

Situation: It has been a long time since we did our analysis of this competition but it’s still valid. The eligibility checks were done and the Talent Screener evaluation results for 518 lucky candidates are …….expected in any of 2022. EPSO announced the delay of the Talent screener results without a clear hint of when the publication of the results, so the 135 candidates to be invited to the Assessment Centre will have to wait
What to expect: When the Assessment Centre comes, you can forget about the Case Study . The General competency-based interview and Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) both remain and split the competences to evaluate them in one single round. The minimum mark per competence disappears, you only need to obtain 40 points or more in total. What remains the same is the Field test (interview and written test). If you think we can help you with our training, remember to check our next sessions or join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.

4.-Administrators in the field of sustainable agriculture and rural development EPSO/AD/389/21 – AD6

In *this one, the case study has growth strong roots*

Situation : So the CBT was done in summer but results took time to settle on the earth and germinate (bad joke). Then, the new year brought the results of the Talent Screener and 175 brave candidates were invited to the Assessment…and its first test will take place 8 of March
What to expect: The Assessment Centre is coming in Spring just as we predicted and the winter is there to prepare ourselves. In this competition, Situational competency-based interview is gone with the wind, but Case study and General competency-based interviews remain, which are the two big classic test are ready to evaluate our competences. Besides, to assess your knowledge in the Field, you will face the interview and the written test in the filed. For all this test, we’ll offer further trainings , stay tuned on our next sessions .

5.-LAWYER-LINGUISTS (AD 7) EPSO/AD/383/21 – Bulgarian (BG); EPSO/AD/384/21 – Czech (CS); EPSO/AD/385/21 – French (FR); EPSO/AD/386/21 – Irish (GA); EPSO/AD/387/21 – Hungarian (HU); EPSO/AD/388/21 – Polish (PL)

*Some changes but not too many… perhaps*

Situation : The brave candidates of this competition faced the CBT in summer, then in Autumn, almost winter, were called to to the Translation Test (up to 8 times the number of available spots). After its evaluation, those with the highest marks (4 times the number of spots) will be invited to the Assessment Centre.
What to expect: The correction of this kind of test takes time, we don’t expect further news until end February or later, and the Assessment Centre for Spring. For that, the Situational competency-based interview is gone and the classics remain: General competency-based interview and the Oral presentation, where the minimum mark per competence disappears, you only need to obtain 40 points or more in total. As for the the Field related tests, there will be another Oral presentation and a summary in language 1 from the Language 3 without dictionary (that will be tough). Don’t forget to stay tuned for what will come next by joining our telegram channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.

6.-Administrators in the field of external relations EPSO/AD/382/20 (AD5 and AD7)

*Yes! One day, you will enjoy this assessment.*

Situation: After a very long wait, candidates received their results by the end of September. But no further information was provided. EPSO is currently running the eligibility checks (yes, since September) and we expect to know who has passed to the Talent Screener evaluation phase one day.
What to expect: After all the struggle, could it be EPSO accelerates and releases the results of the talent so the approximately 258 candidates ( AD5+AD7) invited to the assessment can receive their invitations before Easter? Fingers crossed. Meanwhile, Situational competency-based interview and the minimum mark per competence are gone, instead the Case study and the General competency-based interview remain and you will need to obtain 40 points or more in total in the competence part; For the Field related tests (Interview and written test) all remains the same, up to 50 points each. Don’t miss the opportunity! Of course, stay tuned for our next training sessions if you think we can help you with them. Another way of staying tuned is to join our telegram channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.

7.-Administrators in the field of European Law EPSO/AD/381/20

*Pity, you won’t longer be able to play the role of the European Perry Mason in the EU court while in the assessment.*

Situation: It looks like yesterday when we shared our analysis and the sources to study EU law. Then, we spent summer struggling with the intermediate EU Law test (big applause for the 70 candidates who spent this summer with us and suffered our hard tests to prepare for this phase), and then came the long wait to get the results. Good news!!! The results were published mid November and candidates got their invitation to the Assessment Centre at the begining of this year, but only two test were set, the role play remained uncertain.

EU law results are in the balance. Hope it will be swing in your favour!

What to expect : Now, forget about the role plays, they are gone, the Oral presentation and General competency-based interview remain at the same time that the minimum mark per competence disappears, you only need to obtain 40 points or more. What is even more important, the Field Written test is still marked up to 100 points and set for the 11 of February. Get ready!! In case you have skipped the previous clarifications, let us say that If you think we can help you with our training, you can check or register for the next ones or join our Telegram channel where we’ll alert you when more are available.

AST and AST/SC competitions

1.-Proofreaders/language editors – EPSO/AST/148/21 – Greek, Spanish, Estonian, Gaelic, Italian, Portuguese

Please, don’t proofread this article, enjoy the sunny day outside.

Situation: It has been a while since candidates were informed that this competition was moving towards the Talent Screener evaluation. Results should be soon published.
What to expect: Sooner than later the results of the Talent Screener should be published and the invitation to the Assessment Centre should arrive for 135 candidates. Stay alert and ready! Regarding the test, Case study is gone for good and you will face the General competency-based interview and the Situational competency-based interview where the minimum mark per competence disappears, you only need to obtain 35 (over 70) points to pass but better if you get more. Above them, the Field related tests (Proofreading and correcting a text) will set the real threshold. Check our next training sessions if you think we can help you (we think we can).

3.-Secretaries EPSO/AST-SC/10/20 – SC 1 and SC2

Situation: After a long summer struggling with the Word test, (Word-MS Office skills to be EPSO-precise) and a long waiting until some candidates left behind could take their exam (their Prometric centre was not available), the results were published , without further notice until the eligibility checks were performed
What to expect: end of winter should be the right time to get the invitation for the Assessment Centre, remember that if you pass the Word test and have a CV that matches the profile of this competition, your chances of being invited to the Assessment Centre are quite high (the number of candidates who took the Word test was relatively low, nearly 2 times those who will be invited to the Assessment Centre). Then, when the Assessment Centre comes, you will face only ONE role play test (yes, a new type of test but not such a big deal ;-)) and the Field-related interview, which, in addition to your knowledge of the field, this time will also assess some other competences (Resilience, Communication, Analysis and Problem Solving) at the same time. The positive thing about this Assessment Centre is still that you can focus all your strengths on the preparation on only two types of tests. Of course, if you think we can help you with our training, you can check our next sessions or register for the next ones or join our Telegram channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.

When should I start to prepare the Assessment Centre?

*We found the way to the way to the Assessment!!!*

This a recurring question and very relevant to prepare successfully for the Assessment Centre. Our answer is based on our experience and the experience of our successful candidates. We would advise you to begin the preparation for the Assessment Centre the moment you get an invitation for it. Assessment Centres (or at least the EPSO ones) are based on (or aim to measure your) competences and your expertise on a certain domain, they don’t require you to show knowledge, you will rather have to present to the board all that you can offer to the European institutions. To do so, you need practice above all.

What if I start to prepare as soon as I get a message saying that my competition is in the Talent Screener phase? Well, of course you can do it. However, you need to consider several elements :

It can take months until the Talent Screener evaluations are over . EPSO doesn’t have a standard duration so you study without a clear horizon and you may run of stamina before the process really begins.
There are more candidates than spots in the Assessment Centre. Depending on the competition, the proportion of candidates who make it to the Talent Screener evaluation phase varies from 8 up to 12 times the number of openings. So it’s not easy. You can end up studying without being selected afterward. Is this a waste of time? NO! It can be reused in other EPSO competitions and other selection processes but it could also trigger some lose of hope in our chances to work in the EU. Lack of motivation is probably your worse enemy in this process.
Waiting time can be used to set up an action plan when you get the invitation for Assessment Centre. Because the moment you get the invitation, you have to run! Time and energy must be devoted to this goal. And don’t mind if EPSO is ruining your holidays because you have to prepare for the Assessment Centre. It is for your own good! (it happened to us too!)

How many spots are available? When does the process begin?

What are the criteria to be a candidate?

Specific criteria – languages

Specific conditions – Work experience and studies

Field 1: ICT infrastructures, cloud, networks and middleware:

Field 2: Digital workplace, office automation and mobile computing

Field 3: Development/configuration, testing, operation and maintenance of IT applications and off-the-shelf solutions; Data management, data analytics and artificial intelligence

Field 4 : Design, development/configuration, testing, operation and maintenance of IT applications and off-the-shelf solutions; Data management, data analytics and artificial intelligence

What are the test I have to pass? and the competition phases?

When will EPSO contact me?

What can I expect of this job? Is my degree valid?

Can you help me?

List of useful resources

How many spots are available? When does the process begin?

What are the criteria to be a candidate?

Specific criteria – languages

Specific conditions – Work experience and studies

Field 1: ICT infrastructures, cloud, networks and middleware

Field 2: Digital workplace, office automation and mobile computing

Field 3: IT and data governance, programme/portfolio and project management, project management office (PMO), business and enterprise architecture

Field 4 : Design, development/configuration, testing, operation and maintenance of IT applications and off-the-shelf solutions; Data management, data analytics and artificial intelligence

Field 5: ICT security

What are the tests that I have to pass? And what are the competition phases?

When will EPSO contact me?

What can I expect of this job? How much will my salary be?

Can you help me?

List of useful resources

What about my competition?

1.-Administrators in policymaking and law-making in the field of health EPSO/AD/392/21 – 1 food safety EPSO/AD/392/21 – 2 auditing inspection and evaluation in the field of health and food safety EPSO/AD/392/21 – 3

2.-Experts in technical support to Member States’ Structural Reforms EPSO/AD/391/21 – 1 Experts in the Schengen acquis EPSO/AD/391/21 – 2

3.-Administrators in the field of Chemicals Policy EPSO/AD/390/21

4.-Administrators in the field of sustainable agriculture and rural development EPSO/AD/389/21 – AD6

5.-LAWYER-LINGUISTS (AD 7) EPSO/AD/383/21 – Bulgarian (BG); EPSO/AD/384/21 – Czech (CS); EPSO/AD/385/21 – French (FR); EPSO/AD/386/21 – Irish (GA); EPSO/AD/387/21 – Hungarian (HU); EPSO/AD/388/21 – Polish (PL)

6.-Administrators in the field of external relations EPSO/AD/382/20 (AD5 and AD7)

7.-Administrators in the field of European Law EPSO/AD/381/20

AST and AST/SC competitions

1.-Proofreaders/language editors – EPSO/AST/148/21 – Greek, Spanish, Estonian, Gaelic, Italian, Portuguese

3.-Secretaries EPSO/AST-SC/10/20 – SC 1 and SC2

When should I start to prepare the Assessment Centre?

If you missed them- all of our 2021 posts in one list (from older to more recent)