Dear all,

We don’t know if it was the sun over brussels during the first weeks of the Spring season that made the competition flourish or simply the willingness to end the traffic jam of competitions caused by the pandemics, but in last weeks, the candidates of more than 10 different competitions have received excellent news and have been informed they made it to the Assessment phase. With all the changes that have taken place and the sudden rush, many of you are are asking about what will happen in your competitions, particularly: what are the next steps? How should I prepare my Assessment Centre? Then let’s try to answer to all of you with the latest information available. In this post, you will find the information for the following competitions (by reference number order, just scroll down until you find the ones that interest you):

AD-Administrators competitions

1. Administrator – Anti-fraud investigations EPSO/AD/394/21 4 profiles (AD7 & AD9)
2. Administrator in the field of Data protection EPSO/AD/393/21
3. Administrators in policymaking and law-making in the field of health, food safety, auditing inspection and evaluation EPSO/AD/392/21
4. Member States’ Structural Reforms and Experts in the Schengen acquis EPSO/AD/391/21
5. Administrators in the field of Chemicals Policy EPSO/AD/390/21
6. Lawyer-Linguist – (BG); (CS); (FR); (GA); (HU); (PL) EPSO/AD/383 to 388/21
7. Administrators in the field of external relations EPSO/AD/382/20 (AD5 and AD7)

AST and AST/SC competitions will be in a different post.

Almost finalised Competitions

1. Administrators in the field of sustainable agriculture and rural development EPSO/AD/389/21 – AD6
2. Administrators in the field of European Law EPSO/AD/381/20
3. Administrators in international cooperation and managing aid to non-EU countries EPSO/AD/380/19 – AD7 and AD7

WARNING – as we see too much drama around the competitions, we have made an extra effort to make all this a bit more palatable and funny. You can pass the competitions with a smile! (Still, note that the information is as accurate as EPSO competitions allow us to be).

Will the new competences change anything in my competition?

Business as usual, no changes here. The fact the old competences are defined in the notice of competition guarantee they will remain stable for your competitions, otherwise EPSO should amend it to introduce the new ones. Probably, they will wait until these competitions come to an end before introducing changes to the competences that will be evaluated. We expect to see the new competences in future competitions as Space & Defense, we’ll keep you posted.

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.- Administrator – Anti-fraud investigations EPSO/AD/394/21 4 profiles (AD7 & AD9)

Status: At the moment we are writing this, a total of 205 candidates have made it to the Assessment Centre for 68 spots (if you want to see the precise data, check the table on the left), what leaves a proportion of one spot per three candidates, not bad at all! The case study has a date (5 of May), the rest of the assessment will take place between end of April and end of June. Remember that the on-line strategy for the Assessment Centre is to do each test at a different moment, not all the tests at once, but don’t forget to check your invitation to the Assessment Centre for the full detail (believe it or not, EPSO provides a lot of info in their communication to you – hint- click on the links!!!)

About the assessment: First, our old classic test – the Case Study (of competences) with 40 points. Then another classic among the classics, the Competency base interview (CBI) with another 40 points. Together they should add, minimum, 40 points (out of 80). On top of that, the Field test interview (it counts 100 points out of which you need 50 points. Of course, If you think we can help you with our trainings, you can check our next sessions or register for the next ones. And yes, we also prepare the field-related interview, it’s all about the methodology 😉 Remember you can join our Telegram information channel too where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition and our trainings.

2.-Administrator in the field of Data protection EPSO/AD/393/21

Status: At the moment we are writing this, 230 candidates passed the MCQ (multiple choice questionnaire) on data protection and (a quite fast evaluated) Talent Screener. As we write this, only the case study has indicative date (20 of May), the rest of the Assessment Centre tests are expected to take place from mid May until the end of June. Also, don’t forget the CBT Test, this competition has the particularity where there is no passing mark of CBT but its results (up to 40 points) is added to the total. Then a candidate can get up to 300 points (40 from CBT + 40 from MCQ on Data protection + 80 competences + 140 field related). Also, don’t forget to check your EPSO profile twice per week! We did our full analysis of this competition here that we suggest to read, specially because the marking system is a bit different from what we are used to.

About the assessment: Old classic test the Case Study (of competences), scheduled originally for May, now it seems to be for June and in May only the CBT. Complementarily we got the Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) and on top of that the Field test interview that counts almost double than the competence test (so you know where you need to put your higher effort). All things considered, better to be a proven expert in Data protection to have a fair chance of passing this competition but don’t undervalue the points from the other test. Of course, If you think we can help you with our trainings, you can check our next sessions to prepare all assessment test or register for the next ones and don’t miss the opportunity of adding some points with the CBT (all points count!).

3.-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

Status: 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). As for the spots available, there are 47, 30 and 30 respectively. So the wise EPSO decided to do the eligibility check first (CV screening) and then continue to the Talent Screener evaluation. Now, 125, 90 and 90 candidates for profile 1,2,3 respectively have been invited to the Assessment.

About the assessment: It’s becoming tendency to begin in specialist competition with the CBT. For this one in particular, candidates will have between 27 and 29 of April to take the test and obtain 10 points verbal and 10 points (minimum) from numerical and abstract test combined to pass (if you need some hints, we got our post about the CBT) . When the Assessment Centre comes, you will have to prepare the following: Case Study (scheduled for the 5 of May. The rest will come between May and June: Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) and Field related interview in two different days. If you think we can help you with our trainings, you can check our next sessions or register for the next ones.

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

Status: 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 candidates waited for the results of the Talent Screener. Finally the results came ( more or less as expected) out and 140 candidates for structural reforms (with 45 places) and 75 (with 25 places) for Schengen acquis have been invited.

About the assessment: We got a mix of items for the end of Spring and beginning of Summer (June-July) , classic competence interviews : General competency-based interview (CBI), Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) and then the Field test (interview and written test) despite the cuts in the assessment. For the moment, the written test in the field is confirmed as the first test on the 30th May. Get ready!!! If you think we can help you with our training (including the field related part, as many of our successful candidates can confirm), remember to check our next sessions (case study + written test on the 26th April) or join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.

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

Status: 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 candidates were long expected. Finally 140 have been invited to the assessment.

About the assessment: This time, the calendar for this competition is full of particularities. First the CBT test will take place beginning of June (2nd and 3rd to be precise) but much earlier, will be the written test in the field, on the 26th April. Candidates will face the following tests: General competency-based interview (CBI); Situational competency-based interview (SCBI) and the Field-related ones (Interview and written test). Check our next training sessions if you think we can help you (we think we can).

6.-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)

Status: The brave candidates of this competition faced the CBT last summer and then were called to to the Translation Test in December. After that test, those candidates with the highest marks (up to 4 times the number of spots) have been invited to the Assessment Centre, starting with the Summary test the 12th May.
About the assessment: After a long wait, the Assessment Centre is here, as we foresaw. Remember it has a new configuration and the Situational competency-based interview is gone but 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). Glad to help you to prepare all these test. Check our next training sessions if you are interested.

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

Status: After a very long wait, candidates received their results of the elegibility checks in April. But no further information was provided. EPSO is currently running the Talent Screener checks and we expect to know who will pass to the Assessment Center soon. Considering this, we don’t expect the Assessment Centre will take place before September 2022 (we indicate the year as the competition started in September 2020). Please, consider the evaluation of the Talent Screeners will take a couple of months (at least), so we bet its results will be published right before or right after the summer break (yes, not very concrete but this is EPSO, we mean c’est la vie!) .

About the assessment: 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.

Some of you having asking when to prepare the Assessment, our best advice, if you are not in any other competition that allows you to create synergies, wait until summer. 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.

Almost finalised

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

Status: So the Assessment Centre started in February 2022 then, during the Spring time, the candidates have been working hard to get it done despite the changes in the assessment distribution. The written test part was tough and long with two tests (and the agriculture part not exempt of controversy).

What is left: As we speak, a bunch of the very last few candidates are taking their Assessment interviews. So now it’s a matter of patience (guess people in the area of agriculture cultivate plenty of it… sorry) and expect the results germinate but as late fruit, don’t wait for them until the summer break is over.

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

Status: It looks like yesterday when we shared our analysis and the sources to study EU law. Then, we spent the summer of 2021 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. Finally, as a snow storm in the middle of the hard winter, candidates got their invitation to the Assessment Centre and have spent the last 3 months working hard to prepare them.

What is left: After the modifications to the test in February, we missed the opportunity to see the role play in action but still the General competency-based interview and a very interesting Oral Presentation were left. And last but not least, well it’s even more important, the Field Written test with its dose of controversy. We did our best to help more than 60 candidates (1 out of 5) in this final phase. And now we’ll be expecting the results as they do but better not to expect them before September. They take their time.

3.-Administrators in international cooperation and managing aid to non-EU countries EPSO/AD/380/19 – AD7 and AD7

Status: Your are right, this competition opened in December 2019 and we have been reporting about it since then. However, as international cooperation projects experts know, nobody said it would be easy or short. The COVID crisis made things quite difficult and this competition got stuck for many months. Then the Assessment Centre was organised on a test by test basis, instead of taking all the Assessment Centre tests in the same day, which took a big part of 2021. But the «best» came at the end: the Case study and the Field written test, put the candidates in a very difficult situation as the interface/platform of the exam didn’t work as expected (or at all) and many candidates have to repeat the exam that finally took place by November 2021.
What is left: Patience and resignation. Counting the days to see if EPSO releases the results by April (8 days left as we write this post) or a new date will be set on the web, after all, the dates on the web are indicative, only those received through official EPSO communication in your profile are valid and «cast on stone?»… better say «official».