Is it worth continuing it?

EPSO COMPETITIONS
rudastom_182520 Thu, 03/06/2025 - 16:46

Hi everyone.

So, I have just finished my first round of tests for EPSO/AD/416/24 and I couldn't answer six questions for the numerical reasoning part. Now I'm a bit confused about whether it's worth doing the translation and the revision tests since the notice says that those will be scored only if I pass the exam for the numerical and abstract reasoning tests. Since I'm sure I didn't get a maximum score for the abstract part either, is it safe to say that I have failed the whole thing already?

Simply because I don't want to waste my time and effort on trying to do a quality translation and revision if it doesn't make any difference anyway.

There is a combined pass

David @ EU Training Thu, 03/06/2025 - 17:40

There is a combined pass score of 22/40 for the three tests, of which 20 is the verbal. 

Also, even if you fail the reasoning tests, sitting a real exam is invaluable experience for future attempts. So I say, if you have gotten this far, don't miss the translation and revision exam.

Well, my verbal test also

rudastom_182520 Thu, 03/06/2025 - 17:50

Well, my verbal test also ended up quite atrociously, so I don't have much hope for this. 
 

Also, can I ask what's the reason for this "we don't show the particular results" policy? I suppose you don't really need to do much with the scoring since the correct answers are already in TestWe, so the whole process should be quite fast. I feel like it's rather unfair to ask the participants to do something which might worth nothing.

Thanks, David! I feel much

ryan.elt_181326 Fri, 03/07/2025 - 09:15

Thanks, David! I feel much better after reading that. My numerical/logical scores were awful but I'm pretty sure I aced the verbal ones. (As you'd hope for someone who works in languages.) 

(As you'd hope for someone

rudastom_182520 Sat, 03/08/2025 - 03:01

(As you'd hope for someone who works in languages.) 
 

You have no idea how much I would have appreciated if you hadn't added that part...

Does anyone know when the

l.louziotou_176682 Fri, 03/07/2025 - 11:13

Does anyone know when the results of yesterday's tests will be announed?

After the competition. 

rudastom_182520 Fri, 03/07/2025 - 14:22

After the competition. 

Hi, if you read all the

Medusa Sat, 03/08/2025 - 08:25

Hi, if you read all the documents available and watch the related video in this website, you´ll know that all the results are anounced at the very end, when the list of laureates is known. The Boards will need months to correct hundreds of translations and revisions (2 times the number of posts for each language), so embrace yourselves for a very long wait. No EPSO competition has ever lasted 'a few months', it always takes about a year for the whole process to end. Your best choice is do the second part the best you can and then wait and wait for months until you will know your results. They now call it resilience but it has always been sheer patience. This is the way :-)

Thanks for taking the time to

l.louziotou_176682 Sat, 03/08/2025 - 08:47

Thanks for taking the time to reply. This all makes sense but I'm wondering whether the results of the first day of the exams will be announced sooner? These were all multiple choice so they are corrected automatically, hence my question.

Also, judging by other

l.louziotou_176682 Sat, 03/08/2025 - 08:48

Also, judging by other competitions (CAST etc) where the CBT results are announced in 3-5 weeks.

Hi, I. CASTs are different,

Medusa Sat, 03/08/2025 - 11:09

Hi, I. CASTs are different, they´re for temporary or contract agents so it´s in the interest of the service to publish the CBT results early enough so that every institution, body or organ can timely organise their own interviews and select the right candidates. For civil servant competitions, given the high number of complaints lately, their approach has been lately to make candidates do all the exams and so they don´t need to repeat tests for anybody. I have done a competition last year, that is how I know.

For all of us it makes sense and it would be logical and desirable to know beforehand whether we have passed or not: if we knew in advance, for instance if we have failed, we wouldn´t need to bother to do the second part, but there is no way they will have the results, let alone publish them, within a week. The minute there is a complaint, they need to analise it, and with TestWE there´s always been a myriad of complaints and there´ll continue to be until they adapt their system properly.

You might think it´s stupid that all candidates have to do all tests, but it makes perfect sense for EPSO. Imagine you have had a miserable experience on the first day, for instance the calculator froze, and you complain. Then you do the second part and you do it fantastically. Best case scenario, your complaint will be accepted and you´ll repeat the whole first part another day, but only the first part. Now, you´ll have already done the second part, then you repeat the first part and everything is perfect this time and you end up passing among the first. Congrats! You´re a laureate. Now imagine they publish the results and, because the bloody calculator froze, you have failed. You have complained, but in a week they haven´t had time to solve your complaint. You´re left insecure and, in your dispair, you get discouraged, so you don´t do the second part. The result is that you fail altogether and it´s your own fault, because you got discouraged in the first place without knowing if your complaint would be successful.

For your own good, it´s better not knowing and do all tests, and simply wait. It´s not perfect, but it works for them and, if you think about it, it might be good for us candidates, whether we like or not.

Good luck and continue preparing hard for next week.

 

 

 

 

You can get discouraged even

rudastom_182520 Sat, 03/08/2025 - 17:37

You can get discouraged even without having any technical problems. Your test getting ruined by a technical issue is actually better than being in limbo about your results because of your own mistakes. With the former, there is at least some chance that you can redo your tests and therefore doing the translation and the revision makes proportionally more sense than with the latter. 

Well, rudastorm_182520, then

Medusa Sun, 03/09/2025 - 09:00

Well, rudastorm_182520, then it is indeed a matter of resilience: the ability to overcome your own feelings of failure, pull yourself together and do the job. If you´re not resilient enough, maybe you do not have what it takes to work at the EU, because it is an environment where you do need to be resilient.

David has put it bluntly: having the chance to do the exam is an invaluable experience. It was not so in the past, where you would only sit the last stages of a competition if you had passed previous ones. Use the experience to learn and if you failed this competition, you might pass the next one (AD Generalists´ in October).

I hope it helps. If this discourages you altogether, your opponents in this competition and future ones will be very happy :-D

What does after the

l.louziotou_176682 Fri, 03/07/2025 - 14:26

What does after the competition mean though? I am aware that this is what is stated on the competition anouncement, but the competition officially ends on 13 of March. So "after the competition" is not very clear to me.

I suppose a few weeks later,

rudastom_182520 Fri, 03/07/2025 - 14:39

I suppose a few weeks later, since they need would need additional time to score the translation and revision tests. And that exactly is what I don't understand. I think it's downright unfair to expect people who quite probably have other things to do to put time and effort into something which might be for nothing after all.