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Epso Style Eu Career Exam And Recruitment Competition Sample Tests For Eu Jobs In European Affairs And Eu Training

10 mistakes EPSO test candidates make (authorised copy from the www.eutraining.eu website’s Tips and Tricks section)

1. “I can prepare for the exam in two weeks.” Unless you’re a genius and don’t mind drinking ten Red Bulls a day, you will need at least two months to thoroughly prepare for the competition. EPSO will ask you many details, data and names that will take some time to memorize, especially if you first need to learn the basic institutional aspects of how the EU works. We advise making a day-to-day timeline for preparation with two days left for repeating challenging topics.

2. “Understanding how EU institutions work is enough for the exam.” While it is one of the most important parts to learn, knowing how EU institutions work is more of a pre-requisite than a goal by itself. You cannot really understand the policies, EU programmes or the basics of EU law without having a very clear idea about each institution’s role in the system.

3. “I can find all information on the Internet in no time.” You can certainly find most information you need, but the question is whether you really know what is needed? The European Union is such a vast topic with so many details that finding the right information takes meticulous collection of information. Luckily Online EU Tests has already done this for you and the most relevant links are available free on our Resources page.

4. “I may submit my application online on the last day of the deadline.” EPSO itself regularly calls applicants’ attention to the fact that too many people may try to access their server on the last day of application, which may cause technical problems that make application impossible. Also, you may discover that some documents or information is still missing so you better leave sufficient time for these emergencies, not to mention triple-checking formal requirements: if you forget to sign a paper or tick a box online, your entire application may be rejected altogether.

5. “I’m good in maths so I don’t need to prepare for numerical reasoning“. This is the most dangerous assumption you could possibly make: numerical reasoning is the test that takes out the highest proportion of candidates. Even if you’re good in calculus you should practice counting and logical arguments every day until the exam so that you won’t waste time with otherwise simple issues. The same goes for verbal reasoning: read as many articles in English as possible and make sure to look up each word that you don’t know to improve your vocabulary.

6. “The EU recruitment procedure will go fast.” Unfortunately, it won’t. It takes about 1 – 1.5 years from the publication of the competition until the reserve list is published in the Official Journal. Even this does not mean recruitment, it only shows that you are eligible for appointment to a specific post, which may again take some time. Recently EPSO announced that they are aware of this situation and from 2010 onwards a new and presumably much faster (5-9 months) selection process will be launched.

7. “There are so many candidates that I have no chance.” This is absolutely not true: look at all those 40,000 EU officials who have passed the competition at one point or another, and the large number of people placed on reserve lists every year. Keep this in mind: only a fraction of people who signed up online actually show up at the exam, and only a fraction of these people had actually spent more than two weeks preparing for the competition. So if you take things seriously, you are “only” competing with 20% of all those who have applied.

8. “I’m tempted by the EU salary though the job seems boring.” Well, if the only motivation you have to get an EU job is the salary, you better not apply for the exam at all. The main reason behind all these multiple choice questions, essays and oral exams is to test your motivation and persistence, not to mention the real competition between the candidates. Only if you are truly motivated to work for an EU institution should you start with the recruitment procedure.

9. “The recruitment will depend on who you know instead of what you know.” Actually, it will depend on what you know about who you know Jokes apart, the EU recruitment process is the most objective and balanced way of selecting people for the European public sector. You may challenge the various exams they make you sit but the overall transparency and equal treatment of the candidates is hard to question. Even if you feel mistreated, you can raise a complaint or turn to the European Ombudsman who will examine your case.

10. “EPSO-exams are only for people with good diplomas from elite universities.” Absolutely not. As long as you meet the formal requirements of a selection competition (e.g. to have any diploma or having x years of work experience), you are welcome to sit the exam. Given the nature of multiple-choice questions, they only measure knowledge, whereas written essays are always evaluated anonymously by at least two experts who don’t even know each other. Having a good diploma may help in the preparation, but it is certainly not a free pass to an EU job.

What to write in your EPSO application motivation section? (authorised copy from the www.eutraining.eu website’s Tips and Tricks section)

In the latest AD5 exams you are asked for your motivation to work for the EU. Giving EPSO good reasons why you would like to pursue an EU career can be a daunting task. Nobody wants to put common sense stuff or “jiberish”, so this can be a real thought-exercise for anyone taking it seriously (and we do recommend taking it seriously!). Here are some guidelines and tips that may be worth considering:

Be honest: unless your only motivation is the salary (which is way too bad…but who are we to tell?), be as honest as you can! This means that if you love being in an international environment that EU jobs offer, state if upfront. If you enjoy living abroad, make this as your main “selling point”. The idea is to avoid inventing issues and trying to read EPSO’s mind – there is no right or wrong answer here so just tell the truth.

Be resourceful: many candidates ask us why this motivation letter is needed as such. While EPSO says that it can be used in any stage of the competition, it is most likely going to be read in the Assessment Centre phase by the assessors who wish to get a better understanding of you and your background. This fits nicely with the Structured Interview and Situational Judgment Tests, so it is not a standalone exercise. We believe that another factor is that EPSO wishes to filter out “easy” candidates who may only apply “for the fun of it” but never actually mean to take the tests or eventually work for the EU institutions. In short, dedicate sufficient efforts to a decent motivation section as there is a valid reason why this is required for the registration.

Be unique: almost all candidates will write about their desire to deal with European affairs, tackle global problems, speak foreign languages, travel around or negotiate with diplomats. However, what can truly make you unique is the “why“: even if you say that you wish to tackle global problems, you can explain in detail your personal background, job history or other factor that created this desire in the first place. An example: if you are a Greek recent graduate of law, you can say that “I am very motivated to deal with maritime issues on a European level because of my strong interest in the law of the sea and the fact that I have spent my summer holidays volunteering for rural fishing communities. I understand their problems on a local level, therefore I wish to bring my experience and knowledge to a European level.”

Be concise: the length in each part of the motivation is limited to 4000 letters which is about 2 pages in a normal Word file. If you can structure your message in a clear way where your main points are numbered i) and ii) or in any other manner, this can convey your thoughts better and help the jury’s job too. Poetic and high-flying statements are rather for romantic novels than the EPSO application form: what you need here is a clear reasoning with some acceptable level of emotions (given that we’re talking about motivation, which is a very personal genre). Here is a bad example: “I have always felt that mankind is headed for a catastrophe with increasing levels of CO2 emissions, so Europe must spearhead the fight against climate change.” And a good one: “I feel strongly about fighting climate change and I have done my share in my community by organising a power saving day at my hometown school. Working for the EU could offer tremendous opportunities to take such ideas to the next level.”

Be empathic: not wishing to contradict ourselves regarding honesty, thinking with the EPSO board’s head can help you select and choose the elements you may want to put in your application motivation. This means that issues relating to your current personal situation (“I am very frustrated with my current job and want a change of air” or “I have just broken up with my boyfriend and going to Luxembourg seems a great option to get over my sadness”) is definitely a no-go. What EPSO is looking for is a genuine list with a sound reasoning why and how you can contribute to the EU institutions’ goals, policies, culture and objectives.

Be ambitious: motivation letters and inputs are challenging as they are not the place where modesty should prevail; however, an overly confident attitude can backfire. Therefore formulating your ambitions in a positive way should be done by using a sophisticated vocabulary: “I have a few friends who have pursued European careers for some time, and the work environment seems particularly attractive to me. I am confident to possess the right skills to coordinate EU policies as I speak four languages of which three are EU official languages. I do believe that my studies in financial management can be well applied to the upcoming reform of the EU budget. At the same time, the job security EU institutions offer is in fact a strong motivational factor for my application.”

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