Dear all,

We know that among our readers there are candidates of the competition of proofreaders/language editors – Greek, Spanish, Estonian, Gaelic, Italian, Portuguese (EPSO/AST/148/21) and Linguistic Assistants Estonian – Croatian(HR) – Italian – Dutch(NL) – Polish – Portuguese (EPSO/AST/152/22) EPSO/AST/152/22. Some of you even asked for some help to prepare the specific tests that you will have to face in these competitions. Let’s bring our expertise and share with you some tips and trick to prepare this.

Proofreaders/language editors – Greek, Spanish, Estonian, Gaelic, Italian, Portuguese (EPSO/AST/148/21)

After the summer break, the Assessment Centre will be rolling full steam, but be careful!!! You will face 2 different computer-based tests, one of them being the usual CBT (verbal, numerical, abstract reasoning), and the other one a Proofreading and correcting test. As there are two tests, there are two booking dates:

• for the CBT you have to book the date between 09-13 September and take the exam 17-18 October (at home or in a Prometric/EPSO facility);

• for the Proofreading and correcting test you have to book between 29 September-5 October and take the exam 31 October – 4 November (only in a Prometric/EPSO facility).

Don’t forget to read carefully all the indications you receive from EPSO when doing the bookings (believe it or not, they contain a lot information). Check the starting dates for the rest of the tests, as for each language they begin on a different day between mid September and mid October and the interview phase will last 1 month. If you want to know more about the Assessment Centre as a whole, read our previous post.

How can I prepare the Proofreading and correcting test test?

Our recommendation would be to practice. Try practicing with the Reform of the European Ombudsman’s Statute, you can divide it into two parts and you have it in several languages (Spanish; French; Italian; German). Another example which is available in the 24 official languages are the Factsheets of the European Parliament as they cover a wide list of subjects and allow you to practice with some legal & policy terms. This test just implies translation, so any document from the institutions officially translated to our language 2 can help us practice.

Of course, we can’t forget about the State of the Union 2021 (which is available in the 24 official languages), or any SOTEU speech from previous years (here for instance 2020 and 2018). Finally, you can check the documents about the Political priorities of the Commission or other similar documents, as well as the official journal with all its texts published in the 24 official languages. Overall, they want to be sure you know how to do the following:

• proofreading electronic manuscripts in terms of typography and inputting authors’ corrections,
• preparing and checking proofs for publication in various formats and media,
• preparing manuscripts in electronic format or on paper in terms of spelling, grammar and syntax, and checking texts for their coherence and uniformity,
• checking compliance with stylistic conventions and rules, and the compliance of the texts with the Interinstitutional Style Guide adopted by all the European Union institutions,
• checking the quality of work performed by outside contractors in the field,
• preparing the Institution’s documents for publication and finalising texts in typographical terms,
• checking texts translated into the language of the competition for consistency with the original language,
• monitoring linguistic developments and changes and informing colleagues of them,
• taking part in terminology work and in the quality control process for translations of documents,
• various other types of language work, such as moderation of content of website pages.

Considering this, the practice with the documents previously listed is simple.

1. First step: copy the two texts to be reviewed in a Word document,
2. Second step: ask someone to introduce small changes of format, typos, etc. Proofreading will cover both the linguistic aspects (grammar, spelling and punctuation) and typography. If this person is another colleague in the same competition even better, you can prepare the documents for each other. Save it with and without track changes.
3. Third step: follow the same principle as indicated in the Notice of Competition. Take the text nº1 in language 1 and correct it while comparing it to the source text in Language 2. Then take text nº2 to make the proofreading without the comparison to the source text in Language 2. AND don’t forget to reason/justify your corrections. In total, you can’t use more than 2h 30 min to do this.
4. Fourth step: correct the texts by comparing them to the original text. Analyse the part where you have made mistakes and why.
5. Fifth step: go back to the first step and repeat

2.-EPSO/AST/152/22 Linguistic Assistants Estonian; Croatian(HR); Italian; Dutch(NL); Polish; Portuguese

The linguistic assistants competition is currently organizing the CBT (verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning) with two language comprehension tests. In total, about 4137 candidates (for 76 final spots) will take this exam in the last week of August and the first one of September.

We all know the verbal, numerical and verbal reasoning tests, but what will the language comprehension tests look like? They will consist of 12 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), which are designed to assess your linguistic abilities in terms of vocabulary, grammar/syntax constructions and style. To see real examples, check EPSO web page.

We need to excel in the part of the comprehension test, as only the files of the candidates who obtained the pass mark in the reasoning tests and one of the highest overall marks in the language comprehension tests will undergo the eligibility check. That is, the eligibility check will be performed in the descending order of candidates’ overall marks obtained in the language comprehension tests. The files will be checked until the number of candidates deemed eligible reaches three times the number of successful candidates sought for each language, i.e. 36 for Estonian, 42 for Croatian, 30 for Italian, 42 for Dutch, 36 for Polish and 42 for Portuguese. A proportion in line with the old times of generalist AD5 competition.

Once we make it to the Assessment Centre, we will be required to «finalise» a text… what does that mean?

About the finalisation of a text: This test is about correcting formatting mistakes in a translation. The source text in language 2 will be provided on screen. A translation of this text into language 1, provided as an editable text, contains mistakes in the language and the format in comparison to the source text. The candidate is asked to detect and correct these mistakes, in order to match the source text. The test lasts one hour. [EPSO dixit]. So to train for this, we propose the same strategy as we did above (check above for the source texts) and to follow these steps :

1. First step: copy a text (1000 words should do it) to be reviewed in a Word document,
2. Second step: ask someone to introduce small changes of format, typos, etc . If this person is colleague in the same competition even better, you can prepare documents for each other. Save the document with and without track changes.
3. Third step: follow the same principle as indicated in notice. Take the text in language 1 and correct it while comparing it to the source text in Language 2. In total, you can’t use more than 60 min to do this.
4. Fourth step: correct the text by comparing it to the original text and the track changes version. Analyse the part where you have done mistakes and why.
5. Fith step: go back to the first step and repeat.

Can you help me further with my tests?

Of course, if you think we can help you with our training, you can check out 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.

Finally, let’s share some useful links for this competition and any other.

List of useful resources for EU competitions

1. El CBT o los test psicotécnicos (ES)
   • El test de razonamiento verbal.
   • El test de razonamiento numérico.
   • El test de razonamiento abstracto.
2. The Assesment centre (EN)
   • La entrevista estructurada
   • Presentación oral
3. 10 free resources (EN/ES).
   • Free webinar on the talent screener for the ICT (AD-AST) competitions – 2nd March
   • Youtube channel
4. 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?

Dear all,

Yes, believe it or not, this time EPSO has not hung the «closed for holidays» sign and keeps working. Competition results are being published one week after another. On this, let us stop for a just a moment and say Congratulations to all of our more than 30 «croquetillas» (our candidates) who passed EU Law and Agriculture competitions. August is a lovely month to celebrate the success and recharge your energy to apply for Officer positions in the European Institutions back in September.

Ok, but you are not here to read about the success of others but about yours, because you have received excellent news from EPSO and you have been invited to the Assessment Centre. Still you feel a bit lost and you are not sure what you can expect in your competition, right? Keep reading, we’ll tell you what will happen with all the EPSO competitions that will have their Assessment Centre exams between 1st September – 31st December 2022 (and if you want to know how good we are with foreseeing the EPSO-future, check our previous post on the topic). Let’s try to answer to all of you with the latest information available. In this post, you will find the information by reference number order, just scroll down until you find the ones of interest to you :

AD-Administrators competitions

1. EPSO/AD/376-7-8/20 – Greek-Language (EL) Lawyer-Linguists French-Language (FR) Lawyer-Linguists Polish-Language (PL) Lawyer-Linguists
2. EPSO/AD/382/20 (AD5 and AD7) -Administrators in the field of external relations
3. EPSO/AD/396/21 Irish-Language (GA) Lawyer-Linguists
4. EPSO/AD/397/21 Administrators in the field of maritime affairs and fisheries
5. EPSO/AD/398/22 –Administrators -ICT infrastructures, cloud, networks and middleware ; Administrators – Digital workplace, office automation and mobile computing ; Administrators – IT and data governance, programme/portfolio and project management, project management office (PMO), business and enterprise architecture Administrators – ICT security
6. Bonus – Schengen acquis

AST and AST/SC competitions

1. EPSO/AST/148/21 Proofreaders/language editors – Greek, Spanish, Estonian, Gaelic, Italian, Portuguese
2. EPSO/AST/150/21 ( AST3) Technicians in Audiovisual, Building and Laboratory.
3. EPSO/AST/151/22 – Assistants – ICT infrastructures, cloud, networks and middleware Assistants – Digital workplace, office automation and mobile computing Assistants – Development/configuration, testing, operation and maintenance of IT applications and off-the-shelf solutions; Data management, data analytics and artificial intelligence Assistants – ICT security
4. EPSO/AST/152/22 Linguistic Assistants ET- HR-IT.NL-PL-PT

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).

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 web-page and our experience as candidates (yes, once we were where you are now) and trainers.

1.- Greek-Language (EL) ; French-Language (FR) ; Polish-Language (PL) Lawyer-Linguists EPSO/AD/376-7-8/20 –

Status: At the moment where we are writing this, a total of 70 candidates have made into the Assessment Centre (26 in Greek, 21 in French and 23 in Polish) after passing the Eligibility Check and the preliminary translation test (after 2 years, only!). An optimal number if we remember there are 45 spots (15,20 and 10 respectively), what makes a proportion of one spot per 1,5-2 candidates in each competition, not bad at all! So it’s expected all the candidates can be tested in just one month (one test per week). Remember that in the online Assessment Centre, you will do each test on a different day, not all the tests at the same time. However, don’t forget to check your invitation to the Assessment Centre for the full details (believe it or not, EPSO provides a lot of info in their communication to you – hint: click on the links of the letter!!!)

About the assessment: First, our old classic test the General competency-based interview in the company of another classic since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Situational Competency base interview (CBI). On top of that, you will have to sit the Field test interview. Careful!!! This is a particular one, in your competition the Field-related interview is aimed to assess your specialist knowledge and command of the language in the field of national law and European Union law. During the interview, you will also be asked to give an oral presentation.

Another aspect to remember in this competition is that your final mark will be composed of your results in the following tests: Translation into the competition language (from language 2 and language 3 – up to 120 points) + CBT (up to 40 points) + Translation review (up to 40 points) + Assessment competences (up to 80) and finally the field related interview (up to 20) , in total 300 points.

Of course, if you think we can help you with our training, 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.

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

Status: After a very long wait (check the analysis we did long time ago), candidates received their results of the Talent Screener. Kindly enough they did this before the summer so now it’s time enjoy the summer and the Assessment Centre all together. Who said you can’t practice an EPSO interview in the swimming pool? So the lucky 105 in AD7 and 165 in AD5 candidates remaining (+/- 3 candidates per 1 place) will have the opportunity to try this original method of training.

About the assessment: The trick here is the candidates will face a double written test, first the Case study (competences, not related to external relations) and then the written test in the field (yes, this one will be about competences for external relations, not knowledge). Be ready for an, at least, 5-hour exam (or even longer) between the two tests combined. The other tests you will need to take are and General competency-based interview; and the Field-related interview, which will be organised in different dates. Do you need help with the written tests? Or the interviews? Check the info about our next training sessions if you think we can help you (we don’t provide a swimming pool, but we give you all the EPSO stuff). Another way of staying tuned is to join our Telegram channel where we’ll alert you on more details.

3.- Irish-Language (GA) Lawyer-Linguists EPSO/AD/396/21

Status: This one is moving a bit faster, it helps when you only have 40 candidates for 35 spots (yes, 35 spots) who have completed and submitted their application by the end of January 2022. Since then, the translation test have passed and now they are eagerly waiting to take the CBT in October to end the year with the Assessment Centre.

About the assessment: First, you will have to face the General competency-based interview together with the Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) and the Field test interview. Careful with the last one!!! In your competition, the Field-related interview is aimed to assess your specialist knowledge and command of the language in the field of national law and European Union law. During the interview, you will be asked to give an oral presentation too.

Another aspect to remember in this competition is the marking. Your final mark will be composed of you results in Translation into the competition language (from language 2 and language 3 – up to 120 points) + CBT (up to 40 points) + Translation review (up to 40 points) + Assessment competences (up to 80) and finally the field related interview (up to 20) , in total 300 points.

If interested in our CBT training in English, write us to yasemoseuropeos@gmail.com, remember you can join our Telegram information channel too where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition. Of course, If you think we can help you with our training, you can register for the next ones. And yes, we also prepare the field-related interview, it’s all about the methodology 😉

4.-Administrators in the field of maritime affairs and fisheries EPSO/AD/397/21

Status: Do you remember the analysis we did? You should, it’s from the end of 2021, so not too long ago. This competition provides fresh evidence that EPSO competitions are sailing forward once the tsunami of the COVID has passed :). Initially, there were 913 candidates for 86 spots. After the Eligibility Check and the evaluation of the Talent Screener, only 260 candidates are left and even a lower number (as the CBT took place in June and not everyone passed it) got his/her invitation to the Assessment Centre. Now, starting on the 13th September (your new lucky day), with the case study, the competition-ship is arriving to its final ePsORT.

About the assessment: First you will face the Case study (competences, not related to fisheries) and then the interview, including the field related interview (yes, this one will be about competences in the domain of maritime affairs and fisheries, not knowledge) and the general competency-based interview. Do you need some help to row stronger in this competition? check the info about our next training sessions if you think we can help you (we have navigated these waters). And don’t worry, the bad jokes will be kept at bay during the sessions or we’ll throw ourselves overboard… oops!

5.-EPSO/AD/398/22 -All ICT competitions (AD Level) : Administrators -ICT infrastructures, cloud, networks and middleware ; Administrators – Digital workplace, office automation and mobile computing ; Administrators – IT and data governance, programme/portfolio and project management, project management office (PMO), business and enterprise architecture Administrators – ICT security

Status: Do you remember the analysis we did? Still fresh from February this year. The 5 different profiles collected a total of 2620 applications (respectively 404-186-769 -986 -375) for a total of 350 spots (by profile 71-49-70-73-87). While the ratio of candidates to spots is favourable, this competition requires excellent technical skills. Also, the complexity of the applications is rather high, which means that EPSO will need more time to evaluate them. Most likely, the Eligibility Check will be conducted shortly, but then they will need to evaluate the Talent Screener. Expect to hear news about the Assessment Centre by end of Autumn 2022.

About the assessment: First, we’ll have the computer-based tests (CBT). We know, you thought 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).

In addition, you will have to pass the following tests at the Assessment Centre: Case Study and Situational 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, the key part is the field-related test where you will have to demonstrate your capacities on the area of it (not exactly 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. Remember to visit this link when you are invited to the assessment. We can help you to prepare all the test or you can join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition.

BONUS TRACK.-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 (only this)

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 out (more or less as expected) 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 Summer, 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 was held the 30th May. and the SCBI test is still in coming in September!

AST competitions

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

Status: It has been a while since candidates were informed that this competition was moving towards the Talent Screener evaluation and now their patience bore fruit. The initial number of candidates who applied were high, specially for some languages as we got 732 candidates for Greek, 871 Spanish, only 67 for Estoninan, the record for Italian with 992 and more regular number 241 for Portuguese. Of all of them, only 51, 54, 33, 54, 42, 51 respectively have been invited to the assessment. How do we know? remember what is said in the notice «A maximum of 3 times the number of successful candidates sought for each language will be invited to this phase».

About the assessment: Now, right after the summer break, the Assessment Centre will be rolling full steam, but be careful!!! You will face 2 different computer test , one the classic CBT (verbal, numerical, abstract reasoning) then you need to take the Proofreading and correcting test. So as there are two test, there are two booking dates ; for the CBT you have to book between 09-13 September and take the exam 17-18 October (at home or in a Prometric/EPSO facility) ; for the Proofreading and correcting test you have to book between 29 September-5 October and take the exam 31 October – 4 November (only in a Prometric/EPSO facility), Don’t forget to read carefully all the indications from EPSO and when doing the bookings (believe it or not, they contain a lot information).

The tests you will sit besides the ones mentioned above are the General competency-based interview (which will take about 2 weeks for all the candidates to complete), as well as the Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) (another 2 weeks). Check the starting dates, as each language begins in a different one between mid September -mid October and their interview part last 1 month.

How can I prepare the Proofreading and correcting test test?

Our recommendation would be to practice with the Reform of the European Ombudsman’s Statute, you can divide it in two parts (it’s longer than 450 words) and you have it in Spanish ; French ;Italian ; German . Another example available in the 24 official languages are the Factsheets of the European Parliament as they cover a wide list of subjects and allow you to practice with some legal & policy terms. This test just implies translation, so any document from the institutions officially translated to our language 2 can help us practice.

Of course, we can’t forget about the State of the Union 2021 (which you have in the 24 official languages), or any SOTEU speech from previous years (here for instance 2020 and 2018). Finally, the documents about the Political priorities of the Commission or other similar documents can also help you practice for the test and the official journal with all its texts published in the 24 official languages. Overall, they want to be sure you know how to do the following:

• proofreading electronic manuscripts in terms of typography and inputting authors’ corrections,
• preparing and checking proofs for publication in various formats and media,
• preparing manuscripts in electronic format or on paper in terms of spelling, grammar and syntax, and checking texts for their coherence and uniformity,
• checking compliance with stylistic conventions and rules, and the compliance of the texts with the Interinstitutional Style Guide adopted by all the European Union institutions,
• checking the quality of work performed by outside contractors in the field,
• preparing the Institution’s documents for publication and finalising texts in typographical terms,
• checking texts translated into the language of the competition for consistency with the original language,
• monitoring linguistic developments and changes and informing colleagues of them,
• taking part in terminology work and in the quality control process for translations of documents,
• various other types of language work, such as moderation of content of website pages.

Last but not least, check our next training sessions if you think we can help you with the assessment interviews and write an email to yasemoseuropeos@gmail.com if interested for a training of the CBT in English.

2.-Technicians and support workers- Technicians( AST3) EPSO/AST/150/21 In 3 fields: Field 1: Audiovisual and conference technicians; Field 2: Building technicians; Field 3: Laboratory technicians.

Status : Do you remember our analysis laboratory technicians and for Audiovisual and Building? Yes, at that time we used to write more in Spanish but the audience became more international and so did we. Ok, stop the chit-chat. We knew the number of applications (389 candidates for 92 spots in Audiovisual, 663 for 114 spots in building, 378 for 20 in Laboratory spots and 176 for 15 spots on laboratory support) but now we know that 265, 340 and 65 respectively (670 candidates in total) have been invited to the assessment that will take place from mid-September until mid-December i.e Winter is coming!!!!

About the assessment: With the case study already done (last 4 July), only two tests remain pending, but they account for 130 out of the total of 170 points. The Situational competency based interview will be 30 points and the booklet for the exam should be published, at least, a couple of weeks before the exams begin, stay alert! For the field-related interview, 100 points are at stake, so make sure you prepare well to guarantee a good performance. The key factor is the structure of your information, no need to be an expert to talk about any topic but you need an expert to know what matters and how to explain it clearly and to the point. Remember you can join our Telegram information channel too where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition. Of course, If you think we can help you with our training, you can register for the next ones.

3.-EPSO/AST/151/22 – Assistants – ICT infrastructures, cloud, networks and middleware Assistants – Digital workplace, office automation and mobile computing Assistants – Development/configuration, testing, operation and maintenance of IT applications and off-the-shelf solutions; Data management, data analytics and artificial intelligence Assistants – ICT security

Status: Do you remember the analysis we did? The 4 different profiles collected a total of 1300 applications approximately (221-260-721-117 respectively) for a total of 205 spots (by profile 47-55-74-29). While the ratio of candidates to spots is favourable, this competition requires excellent technical skills. Also, the complexity of the applications is rather high, which means that EPSO will need more time to evaluate them. The Eligibility tests have finished and now the Talent Screener evaluation is ongoing, so expect news on your Assessment Centre by mid or end of Autumn, not earlier.

About the assessment: First, we’ll have the computer-based tests (CBT). We know, you thought 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).

In addition to the CBT, you will have to pass the following tests: Case Study (40 points) and Situational Competence Based Interview (30 points). Between the two tests you can gather a total of 70 points, with the particularity that in total you need 35 out of 70 to pass, but no minimum marks per competence are required.

Anyway, although the more points we get in competences part the better, the key part is the field-related test where you will have to demonstrate your capacities in your field (not exactly 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), where up to 100 points are in stake with a minimum score of 60 points, the bar is high! Remember to visit this link when you are invited to the Assessment Centre. We can help you to prepare all the test or you can join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition.

4.-EPSO/AST/152/22 Linguistic Assistants ET– HR–IT–NL–PL–PT

Status : Last but not least, the linguistic assistants is in the moment of organizing the CBT (verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning) with two language comprehension test. In total, about 4137 candidates (for 76 final spots) will take this exam in the last week of August and the first one of September.

We need to excel in the part of the comprehension test, as only the files of the candidates who obtained the pass mark in the reasoning tests and one of the highest overall marks in the language comprehension tests will undergo the eligibility check. That is, the eligibility check will be performed in the descending order of candidates’ overall marks obtained in the language comprehension tests. The files will be checked until the number of candidates deemed eligible reaches three times the number of successful candidates sought for each language, i.e 36 for Estonian, 42 for Croatian, 30 for Italian, 42 for Dutch, 36 for Polish and 42 for Portuguese. A proportion in line with the old times of generalist AD5 competition.

About the assessment: It will take some time to come, maybe you will hear of your invitation at the end of the year. If this is indeed the case, expect a single date for all profiles on the case study test and the finalisation of a text (check what we posted above for the proofreaders text, it may be of help). In addition, you will have to sit the General competency-based interview, where only 30 points are at stake and which will probably executed very quickly (over the span of few weeks). So be sure the day of the case study and the finalisation of a text is your best day here.

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 for EU competitions

1. El CBT o los test psicotécnicos (ES)
   • El test de razonamiento verbal.
   • El test de razonamiento numérico.
   • El test de razonamiento abstracto.
2. The Assesment centre (EN)
   • La entrevista estructurada
   • Presentación oral
3. 10 free resources (EN/ES).
   • Free webinar on the talent screener for the ICT (AD-AST) competitions – 2nd March
   • Youtube channel
4. 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?

Dear all,

The cold is coming but EPSO is warming up and speeding up all the competitions. As many of you are asking about what will happen in your competitions, particularly : what are the next steps? When will I be invited to the assessment? When should I start to prepare the assessment? How should I prepare? Then let’s try to answer to all of you with the latest information available and our prediction for the calendars of each competition. 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 in the field of Data protection EPSO/AD/393/21
2. Administrators in policymaking and law-making in the field of health, food safety, auditing inspection and evaluation EPSO/AD/392/21
3. Member States’ Structural Reforms and Experts in the Schengen acquis EPSO/AD/391/21
4. Administrators in the field of Chemicals Policy EPSO/AD/390/21
5. Administrators in the field of sustainable agriculture and rural development EPSO/AD/389/21 – AD6
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)
8. Administrators in the field of European Law EPSO/AD/381/20

AST and AST/SC competitions

1. Technicians and support workers- Technicians( AST3) EPSO/AST/150/21 In 3 fields and Laboratory support workers (AST-SC EPSO/AST-SC/11/21)
2. Proofreaders/language editors – Greek, Spanish, Estonian, Gaelic, Italian, Portuguese – EPSO/AST/148/21
3. Secretaries SC 1 and SC2 EPSO/AST-SC/10/20

Almost finalised Competitions

1. Administrators in international cooperation and managing aid to non-EU countries EPSO/AD/380/19 – AD7 and AD7
2. Nuclear inspectors EPSO/AST/149/21

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).

When should I start to prepare the Assessment Centre?

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 take several elements into consideration :

• 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!)

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 in the field of Data protection EPSO/AD/393/21

• Status: At the moment we are writing this, no news from this competition, but the Computer-based field-related Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) test is expected before the year ends announced for the beginning of 2022, good! few more weeks to study with the risk of Christmas time in the middle (mind that!). 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.
• Next steps: Computer-based field-related Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) test from EPSO’s accredited centres or remotely.
• What to prepare: obviously the field test. As regards the material you should study, we suggest to have a look at all the regulations and procedures on data protection quoted in the point «WHAT TASKS CAN I EXPECT TO PERFORM?» from the notice of competition and the Annex- I.

2.-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.
• Next steps: CV screening and Talent Screener evaluations will take a while so we expect the Assessment Centre not sooner than the beginning of 2022, even later in Spring, considering there are other competitions a bit ahead of this one and will overlap in time.
• What to prepare: When the Assessment Centre comes, you will have to prepare the following: Case Study , Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) and Field test (interview and written test). If you think we can help you with our trainings, you can check our next sessions or register for the next ones.

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3.-Experts in technical support to Member States’ Structural Reforms EPSO/AD/391/21 – 1
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 (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 (end 2021 or most likely beginning of 2022).
• Next Steps: drink some hot mild tea to relax, this will take a while. We don’t expect the results of the Talent Screener evaluations and the invitations to the Assessment Centre until Spring 2022 (if lucky by the end of winter 2022)
• What to prepare: When the Assessment Centre comes, you will have to prepare the following: Case Study, General competency-based interview, Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) and then 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.

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4.-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 lucky candidates are expected in any moment of the coming days (early November).
• Next Steps: EPSO usually prefers to execute the Assessment Centre in single blocks, without any holidays in the middle. Considering there are 135 candidates to be invited to the Assessment Centre, it will be difficult to get them through the oral test before Christmas. However, the written part could come before or right after Christmas time. Stay alert and ready!
• What to prepare: Candidates will face the following tests: Case study; General competency-based interview; Situational competency-based interview 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).

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

• Status: So the CBT was done in summer but results took time to settle on the earth and germinate (bad joke). So first, candidates got the CBT results and then the eligibility checks were performed (whole analysis here). The last week of October candidates got their results for that and were informed about who made it to the Talent Screener evaluation phase.
• Next Steps: Now EPSO has to evaluate more than 500 Talent Screeners, so this will take a while. We don’t count to see any results until February next year (at least), so your Assessment Centre invitations will blossom with the Spring lights.
• What to do: Wait for the formal invitation to the Assessment Centre, then the hard work begins! Make some slots in your agenda for the time the Assessment Centre comes. You will have to prepare tests such as: Case study ; General competency-based interview; Situational competency-based interview and the Field related ones (the interview and the written test). And stay tuned to any news by joining our Telegram channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.

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 in summer and now have been called to to the Translation Test (up to 8 times the number of available spots). It will take place in December and after its evaluation, those with the highest marks (4 times the number of spots) will be invited to the Assessment Centre.
• Next Steps: 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.
• What to do: Once the Assessment Centre becomes a reality, candidates will face: General competency-based interview; Situational competency-based interview and the not so common Oral presentation. 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.

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 by the end of September. But no further information was provided. EPSO is currently running the eligibility checks and we expect to know who has passed to the Talent Screener evaluation phase in the second half of November.
• Next Steps: Still in the preliminary phases, the evaluation of the Talent Screeners will take a couple of months (at least), so we bet its results will be published at end of winter (end-feb/begining march) and the Assessment Centre will come in Spring.
• What to do: Once the Assessment Centre becomes a reality, Candidates will face: Case study ; General competency-based interview; Situational competency-based interview and the Field related tests (Interview and written test). Stay tuned for our next training sessions if you think we can help you with our training. Another way of staying tuned is to join our telegram channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.

8.-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 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 now candidates are waiting to know the passing mark and with it, the invitation to the Assessment Centre.
• Next Steps: We can expect this Assessment Centre to be the first of the year and begin in January (there is no time to do it before Christmas). So make sure you devote some time during the Christmas season to prepare all the tests. After that, there won’t be any time.
• What to do: Right, after cheering for the new year, we can expect to face the following tests in the Assessment Centre: General competency-based interview; Role Play (yes, the new test); Oral Presentation and last but not least, well it’s even more important, the Field Written test. 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.

AST and AST/SC competitions

1.-Technicians and support workers- Technicians( AST3) EPSO/AST/150/21 In 3 fields : Field 1: Audiovisual and conference technicians; Field 2: Building technicians; Field 3: Laboratory technicians and Laboratory support workers (AST-SC 1) EPSO/AST-SC/11/21

• Status (updated after EPSO info release): At the moment we are writing this, the application period has just closed and no disclosure of the number of applications has just been released (389 candidates for 92 spots in Audiovisual, 663 for 114 spots in building, 378 for 20 in Laboratory spots and 176 for 15 spots on laboratory support) , and we know that EPSO will start with the Talent Screener evaluations, the computer-based MCQ tests (also known CBT for friends) will take place during the assessment. Full analysis here: 1st part, 2nd part.
• Next steps: check your EPSO profile regularly. In the unlikely scenario of the CBT coming first, it could be done by December. The most likely scenario is that the first thing to come will be the CV/eligibility check and then the Talent Screener evaluation. If so, don’t expect your Assessment Centre until end of Spring 2022.
• What to prepare: Good moment to briefly review your CBT notes and warm up a little, just in case, but don’t exhaust yourself practicing. Remember that the formula for success in the CBT is 3/4 of calm and 1/4 of practice.

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

• Status: It has been a while since candidates were informed that this competition was moving towards the Talent Screener evaluation. Results should be soon published.
• Next Step : EPSO usually prefers to execute the Assessment Centre in single blocks, without any holidays in the middle. Considering there will be135 candidates invited to the Assessment Centre, we see difficult to get them through the oral test before Christmas but the written part could come before or right after Christmas time. Stay alert and ready!
• What to prepare: Candidates will face: Case study ; General competency-based interview; Situational competency-based interview and the Field related tests (Proofreading and correcting a text). 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

• Status: 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 are expected in the second half of November, in December (following EPSO information) fingers crossed for all of you.
• Next step: If not done when they publish the results, they have to perform the eligibility check afterwards so the process will put us in the beginning of 2022 to get the invitations for the Assessment Centre.
• What to prepare: 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 (remember that 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 have to prepare 2 role play tests (yes, a new type of test but not such a big deal ;-)) and the Field-related interview. The positive thing about this Assessment Centre is that you can focus all your strength in 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.

Almost finalised

1.-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. 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 now.
• Next Steps: Only the case study is left for those candidates taking it again. We really hope this N-time will be the good one. Perhaps you will be lucky and get the results of this competition before the Christmas break (crossing our fingers for you!).
• What to prepare: to wish all the best of luck (with the IT platform) to the candidates for their exam and for those who trusted us to help them with preparation of the test: Do it as you know! You have prepared hard for it and you are more than ready.

2.-Nuclear inspectors  EPSO/AST/149/21

• Status: After a long struggle , this competition is about to end. Also, it is a good example of the evaluation procedure. Applications closed in April, and 440 brave candidates presented theirs. Around 80 didn’t fulfill the eligibility criteria, so 359 went to the Talent Screener phase, of which 118 were invited now to the Assessment Centre that took place this Autumn. As a souvenir, here some images of the process.
• Next Steps: Wait, then stock some hot drinks, amusements and think of any other activity. If lucky, results will come by the end of this year, otherwise by the beginning of 2022.
• What to prepare: Get ready for the Christmas holiday and get yourself a bottle of champagne. If you pass, open it to celebrate, if not, open it to close the long wait and boost your morale for next time. Your experience will be very valuable.

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Life after the competition… Let’s end with a sweet story

There is light at the end of the tunnel!! In the last months we got the results of three competitions, namely Specialists in legal research-Lawyers-EPSO/AD/365/19, to EPSO/AD/370/19, Administrators in the field of Audit EPSO/AD/372/19 – AD 5 and AD 7, and graduate Administrators (AD5 Generalist) EPSO/AD/373/19 AD5. Two dozens of former-candidates, now laurates, to join the reserve lists and become officers in the European Institutions. Despite the challenges, the long waiting periods, the uncertainty and the new SCBI, 24 people (our «croqUEtillas» as we fondly nicknamed them) are now in the reserve list and most of them are already or right in the process of becoming Officers of the European Institutions. They did their best and we helped them to perform at their maximum level, now this effort has its reward. In YaSemosEuropeos (YSE) we’ll remain at your service to help you with the EPSO challenge and sooner or later, to celebrate your success.