2019 EPSO AD5 Exams - Information Webcast

This is the complete recording and presentation of the 2019 EPSO AD Information Webcast (EPSO/AD/373/19):

Presentation slides

Q&A from the AD5 Information Webcast

You can access the 2019 EPSO AD5 Notice of Competition here

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Webcast Transcript

2019 EPSO AD5 Exams

Transcript Quick Links

Introduction
Where Will You Work?
Which EU Institution Will Hire Me?
2019 EPSO Administrator Generalists (AD5)
Are You Eligible?
Language Rules
Qualifications and Work Experience
Why is this a Good Opportunity?
Two Part Application
Pre-Selection
Verbal Reasoning
Numerical Reasoning
Abstract Reasoning
Situational Judgement Test
When Will It Be Held?
Pre-Selection Scoring
E-Tray Exercise
Assessment Centre
Motivational Interview
Assessment Centre Scoring
Reserve List
Preparation Methods
Resources
Q&A

Introduction
The Notice of Competition was released yesterday, Thursday, 23 May 2019, and we will share the essence of the NoC in a way structured to help you better understand what you need to do exactly, what the pitfalls are, what you should pay attention to, in order to maximise your chances of success at the competition.

One important disclaimer: everything that I tell you is not legally binding because it EPSO (the European Personnel Selection Office) which ultimately has the say on all these matters, the author and source of all the legally binding information. Obviously we do everything we can do provide you with the most accurate information. It may change from today to the moment you might be watching this webcast if you’re watching the recording. Always make sure to learn what the most recent information is via EPSO, which they may have communicated since the airing of this particular information session.

Where Will You Work? [1:15]
First question when it comes to EPSO competitions, more specifically the AD5 competition we’re talking about today, Where might you expect to work? This has a major impact on your family and professional obligations, and in your decision about whether or not you’d like to enroll in this selection process.

There are pretty much two options in regards to Place of Work which is either Brussels or Luxembourg. We did add Strasbourg here for a sense of completeness, but it is not a place where institutions will be hiring AD5 officials. Actually there are extremely limited positions available in Strasbourg. A lot of EU officials travel there regularly since the official EU Parliament seat is located there, but you will not be based there as an EU official. It is then just Brussels or Luxembourg where you may eventually be hired.

Which EU Institution Will Hire Me? [2:12]
The next point is which EU institutions will be hiring you once you have completed the selection tests. I would like to underline one important aspect: we use the term ‘selection’ and we use the term ‘recruitment’. EPSO is the European Personnel SELECTION Office - they are not recruitment, they are not an internal recruitment agency. They select suitable, appropriate candidates who have passed the various stages of the selection process, and eventually place you on a ‘Reserve List’. You are recruitable only after that point. So once you are on the reserve list, these are the EU Institutions, the one showing on the screen (3:23), these are the ones that can hire you, recruit you.

There’s a slightly different process from time to time when it comes to the recruitment of temporary agents, but this is not something we’ll cover in this particular webcast. We are focusing on the current AD5, Administrator at the level of 5, selection process and what it entails.

To underline a previous point, there are these EU Institutions, which is European Commission, Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the European Court of Justice, and the European Court of Auditors. These are the Institutions that can recruit from the reserve list that you will be placed on once you have successfully completed the various steps of the competition.

Which institution you will work for is actually decided only at the very end. You will not know in advance and you cannot decide in advance which institution will hire you, this depends on the current need of a given institution at the moment that they have an HR need to hire new staff.

2019 EPSO Administrator Generalists (AD5) [4:20]
There are a fixed number of places on the reserve list, that number is 147. That’s how many candidates will end up on the reserve list and will be in the position to be hired by the institutions. Each competition has a reference number. This one is 373/19, referring to 2019. This is the reference number that you need to look out for in every communication you may have with EPSO or the selection board.

Make sure to apply before the deadline, that is the 25th of June, a month from now. Be absolutely sure you apply on time, don’t leave it to the last minute. Dedicate 30 minutes to an hour to complete each and every field in the application form. Some candidates leave it to the last minute. But then - EPSO’s servers might crash, or an emergency may come up at the same moment and you will not be able to fill out all the forms, or you may not be able to pay as close attention to every little detail. The repercussions of this will be felt when you get invited to the exam and you did not choose the right language in which you are most proficient to complete the tests. So make sure you dedicate enough time and attention to filling out the form properly and in time.

Are You Eligible? [5:50]
Almost all EU citizens are eligible, so as long as you have citizenship in one of the 28 member states. We’re recording this on the 24 May 2019 - Brexit still has not happened, who knows if it will, in any case, even British citizens are fully eligible because they are still full member sof the EU just like other 27 countries.

There are a couple of formal but general requirements. You need to have completed military service obligations. You need to have the character requirements that the job entails, and the citizenship criterium that I have already mentioned.

Language Rules [6:39]
This a fundamental and truly important part of this information session and the application process. Let’s spend a few minutes going over the different language rules. There have been a couple of court cases where various candidates, occasionally even member states, challenged EPSO’s rules on the language process, making sure that their citizens, or those that speak a particular language, are not discriminated against. Because of this there have been a number of changes and legal tweaks when it comes to choosing the languages and how EPSO formulates the Notice of Competition in order to ensure there is no discrimination.

Language 1 - This is pretty much your mother tongue. But I don’t like to use this term because it is not legally accurate. It has to be one of the 24 official languages of the EU. For example, I’m Hungarian, I speak Hungarian as a native speaker, but I’m fairly good in English so I may as well choose English as my Language 1. But I could basically choose any language from the list in which I feel fluent enough to express myself well verbally and in writing. Therefore Language 1 is a fairly free choice, the only criteria being that it has to be one of the 24 languages that the EU recognizes officially.

Language 2 - This is where it gets complicated. It’s not that complicated, but it’s something to be mindful of. Language 2 is the top 5 languages indicated by applicants that match the needs of the EU institutions. That’s a pretty strange way of expressing which languages will be chosen. Looking back at the court cases mentioned earlier, this ensures that EPSO is not only democratically corresponding to the expectations of European citizens, making sure that the language diversity we have in Europe is properly reflected, but also at the same time remaining efficient and workable with the various steps of the selection process. What this means in practice is that the five most popular, as in most spoken languages as indicated by the candidates in their application forms.

Another important element of this is that your choice of Language 2 must be different from your Language 1. Going back to my own personal example I may choose English as my Language 1 and I could choose Hungarian as Language 2. Legally, technically, this is entirely possible and I would not be excluded from the competition… yet. Because the twist in this is that EPSO will look at what the top 5 languages are. Hungarian is most likely not going to be among those top 5 languages. So I would have shot myself in the foot by choosing Hungarian as Language instead of Language. So Language 2 has to be, as mentioned before, one of those ‘popular’ languages that other candidates are likely to choose.

An indication of what the top 5 languages might be: let’s look at what happened last year. Last year the following languages were chosen: English is very popular, then French, Spanish, Italian and German. The chances are if you choose one of these 5 as your Language 2 you will be safe and you will be able to proceed with the rest of the selection process. 

Bottom line: I would suggest that as Language 1 you choose whichever language you feel most comfortable in expressing yourself, also in writing, and even in reading comprehension because that will determine the pre-selection phase. Whereas Language 2 has to be a language with which you can really express yourself in a live setting, in an interview, in an oral presentation, in a group exercise, and which is among one of these top 5 languages that you see on the screen (11:46). This is what we recommend and it’s hopefully something that will maximise your chances of success in the process. 

Here is a question from someone in the live chat: EU agencies that are not included in the potential places of work for AD5 - do they not have access to the reserve list?

The main rule when it comes to EU agencies is that they’re not legally speaking EU Institutions. They are agencies, and there are a number of EU Bodies. These as a main rule do not have access to hire permanent staff, AD5, or other permanent staff, from the reserve list. Occasionally there are exceptions to this rule, so you have the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) based in Alicante, Spain, who have a special agreement with EPSO, so now they have a few EU Officials - whether they are EU Officials or Unlimited TEmporary Contracts, which sounds like an oxymoron, but they have a special situation in which they can hire from the reserve list. But this is a rare exception, not the rule, when it comes to EU Agencies. EU Agencies typically hire Temporary Agents and Contract Staff.

Qualifications and Work Experience [12:55]
You will need a degree issued by a recognized university within the EU, or if it’s from outside the EU, you will probably need to have it officially recognized and accredited by the Ministry of Education in one of the EU member countries. This would be a BA degree, and once you have that - that’s pretty much all you need. You are not required to have any work experience. Having work experience does not exclude you from the competition. So if you have a degree, at least a Bachelor’s, and no work experience then you’re eligible. If you have a PhD and five years of work experience you’re also eligible. Sometimes, in very practical terms, you might have a better chance of being recruited with some work experience. But for the purposes of the selection process this is not a prerequisite.

In terms of the degree, you need to receive it officially by the 31st of July, when the academic year typically closes. You can already apply for this competition even if you are in your last year of studies, you will be eligible.

When it comes to the languages it is the same rules as we discussed earlier about Language 1 and Language 2. You need to choose those according to the rules we just covered.

Having that in place, filling out the form and submitting it on time then you are, by all means, eligible to sit the competition.

Why is this a Good Opportunity? [15:00]
I probably don’t need to preach to the converted, you are probably already convinced that this is a great opportunity, not just for the various benefits that you would receive. Salaries are very attractive, the starting salary for an AD5 is typically around 4,000 Euros NET, with various other benefits that come on top.

When it comes to the other benefits I mentioned, you have extensive health insurance, not just for you but for your spouse. You get good access to the health care facilities with a good reimbursement scheme as well. Children get access to European schools, which abound in Brussels, there are even new ones opening where they can study in their native language, depending on the composition of the household in terms of languages and nationalities.

This is a pretty good package that the Institutions offer and certainly there is more to it. It is not just the salaries which is, nevertheless, a very important aspect. It’s also your commitment to the idea of European Integration. 

This is something we’ll come back to, because one of the tests that you will be required to sit in the process is called the Motivational Interview and that’s exactly what they would like to test and ask you about: What is your motivation? Why would you like to work for the European Institutions, most probably the European Commission? What is it that draws you to this job? Is it your commitment to European values? Is it working in an international organization? Is it because you like working in a multicultural environment? There could be various aspects and facets to your response. 

Two Part Application [16:50]

PART 1: ELIGIBILITY & LANGUAGE DECLARATION

This is pretty straightforward. This is where you make sure you meet all the criteria required of you to apply, as we discussed earlier, also make sure that the languages are carefully chosen - so do think about it carefully, which one will be your Language 1 and Language 2. And declare other languages that you may speak at a sufficiently fluent level. Make sure to declare this in your application. If you speak 3 or 4 languages, then do not hide it. Make sure you rank it and indicate the appropriate level to ensure you are not excluded from the competition once the top 5 languages for Language 2 are chosen.

The deadline is 25th of June, 2019 - I think we mentioned that before.

Once EPSO reviews all the applications and do their data crunching they declare the top 5 languages for Language 2 and if yours is not among them, then unfortunately you are excluded from the competition. That’s why it’s become such a crucial factor in ensuring you can be part of the selection process throughout.

PART 2: FULL APPLICATION

If you are not excluded and you make it to this stage, that’s when your full list of qualifications needs to be declared. So that is your university degree, or your Bachelor’s degree and any other qualifications that you consider relevant to the job.

At this point EPSO announces how many candidates have applied and the actual selection process starts.

Remember - always VALIDATE your application each round before the due date, whenever you are prompted to do so.

EPSO does not send out emails, for some reason, perhaps it’s a liability, because they do not want to be held liable about whether or not they have notified you. They might change this in the future if they put different systems in place. But for now, make sure to check your EPSO profile on a weekly basis because they might request additional information from you. They might request a declaration or a confirmation.

Here at EU Training we do our best to keep you updated. Whenever there’s major news released by EPSO we notify you and share the information in the various Facebook groups and on our social media as best we can, but EPSO is the original source and authority of this information.

The application for the full application will be announced by EPSO later, certainly after the 25th of June, the due date for the initial application. It’s hard to guess when this will be. Possibly mid-summer, or early September - but make sure to keep an eye out for that, and as I mentioned before we do our best to keep you updated so you don’t miss a thing! 

Pre-Selection [20:40]
What do you actually need to do to succeed at this competition?

First a question from the chat box: What is the advantage, or disadvantage, to applying to multiple posts in parallel? For example, if you are not only applying for this current AD5 but to other CAST competitions which have no deadlines?

Answer: For those of you who many not be aware: CAST refers to Contract Agent for Specific Tasks. It’s a contract agent selection process, which is independent of the current AD5 competition. You can apply for that in parallel - there are no limitations whatsoever. In general, the rule of thumb is you can apply to as many competitions as you like UNLESS it is specifically written in the Notice of Competition that there’s a conflict between two competitions. I know some people that have 2 or 3 applications in at one time, they sit various tests, ocassionally it’s good for practice, sometimes it’s more serious because they’re truly interested in that specific field. So it’s entirely up to you how many you’d like to take part in. So just to reiterate the CAST exams those are ongoing and open-ended tests with a slightly different method and you can find a lot of information about that on our website. Make sure to take a look because that may be an additional opportunity on top of the current one.

Let’s go back to Pre-Selection and the various tests you will be required to sit. There are 4 tests in the pre-selection phase: Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning and the Situational Judgement Test - or for the EPSO geeks it’s SJT. Let’s look at these one by one to see what each one entails. One important note: the SJT is administered in Language 2. The other 3 are done in Language 1. That is an important distinction to make. Again pointing back to earlier advice make sure to choose your languages carefully depending on your fluency or proficiency in each.

Verbal Reasoning [23:15]
This is sort of a reading comprehension test. Many of you might be familiar with that in various national systems, perhaps in the UK or in France they tend to use similar systems. Here are the specifics that EPSO uses: 10 questions in 18 minutes That’s less than two minutes per question. You need to read fast, judge fast and choose the best option fast. There’s always a passage of text followed by a question, there are multiple choice answers, usually four statements and one correct answer. So it’s not about choosing the wrong answer, it’s not about choosing the odd one out - one correct statement is what you need to choose.

A little methodology in a nutshell:
Sometimes the text contains outside information. For example, let’s take Brexit, everyone is following European politics - and there might be a piece of information there which you know from reading the news, but it’s not in the text. So the text may talk about British members of the European parliament, how they are elected, and then there is a reference to Teresa May, who at least today is still the Prime Minister, that may be in the text and you know about it. But if there is no reference to the person, just the position of Prime Minister, but you know the name of that Prime Minister because you have been following the news, that actually might confuse you. That is outside information that is put in the text to trick you, because the text did not mention but you know it from elsewhere.

Then a couple of other things: 
Generalisations, e.g. if the text says ‘one person’ versus ‘a number of people’, or they say ‘this is commonly known’ - these nuances play an important role and the answer you choose may not be accurate on that basis.

Possibility vs. Fact - these little words ‘may’, ‘might’ or ‘similar’ can change the entire meaning of a sentence.

Similar Wording - sometimes they use synonyms, sometimes just words that are close enough in meaning, but they do not necessarily mean the same thing. Hence your reading comprehension and vocabulary play a very important role.

Numerical Reasoning [25:50]
This is also in Language 1. It’s always a chart or a complex data sheet that you need to analyze to find the correct answer on the basis of that information. How do you do that? You do correlations, you do calculations to ultimately choose an answer. To be successful in Numerical Reasoning you need to be able to do the following four things:

  1. Data Interpretation - You need to interpret the data you are presented with and filter out the relevant pieces which are relevant to solving the task. Even if you have a huge, huge complex chart you probably don’t need to look at every single number in it. What you need to do is focus on 2 or 3 data points that you can turn into a calculation.
  2. Reasoning - How do I need to crunch those numbers?
  3. Estimation - Perhaps you are able to estimate or ‘guesstimate’, and you don’t need to use the calculator - which you are provided with, by the way, an on-screen one, or sometimes even a physical calculator, so you can tap away and do those mathematical operations, but sometimes it’s faster and more efficient to just estimate.
  4. Calculation - And finally, you may need to calculate the exact number if that is truly necessary.

As a result the same idea applies, you need to choose the one correct answer from multiple choice options. You have 10 questions and 20 minutes to answer them. So that is two minutes per question, that’s not a lot and you need to be fast with choosing an answer.

Abstract Reasoning [27:44]
Everyone’s favorite...that was meant to be cynical because most candidates dread abstract reasoning. Depends on your taste, on your mindset and how you feel about it. Abstract Reasoning looks something like this (27:59). This is not a Rohrschack test where you psychological associative imagination is being tested. You need to find logic in the movement of the different patterns and items on the screen. Whether the little square moves according to certain logic or the blank one moves in relation to the other blocks, you need to choose the answer of which is the next in the sequence.

For this you have 20 questions in 20 minutes. This is difficult for a reason because that’s one minute per question and that is really very little time. Therefore, practicing and understanding the methodology becomes imperative. Even more so, because as we will see in a few moments, the scoring of this test has become even more important than the others.

Situational Judgement Test [29:00]
The last test in the pre-selection sequence is the one called Situational Judgement Test. To remind you this is done in Language 2, not Language 1, so this might change your approach slightly. You have 30 minutes to answer 20 questions, so the timing is not particularly difficult. In this approach there is a situation presented to you, often work-related and not just any work, but work-related in the EU Institutions. Understanding the values, the system, the processes the mindset of the EU institutions because you need to imagine yourself being an EU official and then deciding what is the best course of action you should take in this particular situation.

The SJT is often criticised as not being an exact science of what is the best way to proceed. I do vouch for the best practices regarding how these tests are developed because they are created by occupational psychologists and experts in that field. The test does correspond to measurable, validated results and it does help the selection process. However, I do acknowledge there is a tiny bit of subjectivity in these tests. The good news is we offer dozens and dozens of such tests to practice on our website, there is a section in one of our free e-books about SJT methodology, there’s a lot of information out there to learn what these tests entail.

When Will It Be Held? [31:00]
These tests will most likely take place in September or October 2019. This makes sense given that the initial steps of the pre-selection process need to take place now, in the coming weeks. Then usually in August there is a longer summer break when the Institutions work slower because of vacations. Therefore it seems reasonable that these tests will take place in September/October. But it is not yet confirmed, so keep your eyes open for notifications from EPSO on choosing your exam date, we will notify you too as soon as we hear anything. Just as a side note, you can choose an exam date. The tests happen on different dates, staggered over weeks, and you can choose the date that suits you best. You can sit the exam not just in Brussels, but anywhere in Europe and even outside of The EU. EPSO has contracts with various accredited test centres around the world, whether it’s Washington D.C. or Beijing you can sit the Pre-Selection exam on a date and in a city that suits your needs.

Pre-Selection Scoring [32:16]
Now we will take a look at scoring, which is really important to understand. For the Verbal Reasoning and the Numerical Reasoning you need to just pass the test with the minimum pass mark of 5. You need to score at least 50%, so out of 10 questions you have to get minimum 5 correct, for both these tests. Whether you have 5 or you have 10 it doesn’t matter from the perspective of your chances on proceeding to the next stage, because these scores will NOT be counted toward your final exam mark.

What really does matter to a great extent is the Abstract Reasoning and the Situational Judgement Test. For Abstract Reasoning you have to have minimum 10 to pass, for the SJT you need to have at least 24 points to pass. However, it’s not enough just to hit the pass mark. You need to pass with the highest score possible, because with these tests there is actually a ranking among the candidates according to has the highest scores. This is how the Selection Board, which supervises this particular competition, decides the cutoff point and who will be invited to the next stage. So these are the two exams that you really need to focus on to ensure not only that you pass, but that you pass with a very high mark. Having said that, do not neglect or ignore the Verbal and Numerical Reasoning, because you must reach at least 50%. Some candidates make the mistake of saying ‘Oh, that’s easy!’, taking it too lightly - and they end up getting excluded from the competition because they didn’t even hit the 50% mark for either of these two tests.

NEXT STEP - INTERMEDIATE PHASE

E-Tray Exercise [34:18]
This is relatively new, introduced only three years or so ago. This is the E-tray Exercise. This is administered in Language 2. This is done only after you have passed the Pre-Selection phase. Not everyone gets to the E-tray Exercise, only those with a sufficient score from the Pre-Selection. Approximately 10 times the number of candidates sought will be invited to this stage. So let’s do the maths, ultimately there are 147 candidates placed on the Reserve List, so roughly 1,400 - 1,500 candidates are expected to be invited to the E-tray exam.

Here is a sample E-tray exercise, which, as the name suggests is based on emails that you need to read through with lots of information in them, sometimes conflicting information. You need to find the best course of action or how you should respond to them based on a scale of 5 points  - the least appropriate to the most appropriate answers. There is a special scoring system on the basis of which they will decide your final score and whether you can proceed to the next stage or not.

The E-tray exercise is actually based on Competencies. This term comes back when we move on to the third phase of the competition which is the Assessment Centre. The Selection Board looks at the existence of certain competencies and score them accordingly. These competencies are as follows:

  • Analysis and Problem Solving
  • Delivering Quality and Results
  • Prioritising and Organising
  • Working with Others

Based on your answers they will determine a certain score. You can get 10 points per competency but you need to have minimum 4 per competency. You won’t necessarily know which question relates to which competency. So all you need to do is focus on answering the questions to the best of your abilities. Then they will transfer that to a special scoring grid which will determine whether or not you passed to the next stage or not.

Assessment Centre [37:18]
You need to be among the top candidates to qualify for the Assessment Centre. Approximately two times the number of candidates sought will be invited to this sit this exam. Which means roughly 300-350 candidates will be invited to the Assessment Centre. The Assessment Centre is composed of various exams. It is a one day exercise, except for the Case Study which happens separately at an earlier date because it is computer-based so you will take it in a test centre. But, procedurally speaking, it is part of the Assessment Centre phase. The other exams at the Assessment Centre on the day are the Oral Presentation (OP), the Group Exercise (GE) and the Competency-based Interview (CBI).

Motivational Interview [38:10]
There is a new test that was introduced last year - the Motivational Interview. This is the one I referred to earlier where your motivation to work for a European Institution is being tested. They will ask you questions not only about why you would want to work for one particular EU Institution, but they will ask you about your knowledge regarding European integration, the decision-making processes on European level, your understanding of how the Institutions work and operate. This is where your personal drive and a bit of knowledge of the European integration questions will be evaluated. The good news is: we provided tons of materials, training courses, webinars and all sorts of educational materials for all of these. You can find a lot of material on our website and we are also available to answer questions.

Assessment Centre Scoring [39:15]
The final point is scoring for the Assessment Centre. There are eight competencies, which I will not list here because they are readily available on EPSO’s websites, EU Training’s website. These eight are measured by these tests within the Assessment Centre framework. You need at least 3 points per competency to pass and in total at least 50 points out of 80. Then there is the ranking based on the performance of all the candidates and you need to score high enough to be among the top ones.

The motivational interview is scored separately, there are 10 points total and you need to get minimum 5 to pass. With proper preparation, an understanding of what the Selection Board is looking for, turning within to find your true motivation and then expressing that in the best possible way will get you through it, no problem.

To complete this scoring section, they will add your E-tray Exercise score to your Assessment Centre score as well, so it becomes part of the overall scoring you recieve. So the E-tray is truly an important part of the process because it follows you throughout.

Reserve List [40:40]
Ultimately, if all goes well, you will be placed on the Reserve List where the number of places is already determined which is 147. There is a validity of one year for the Reserve List. Or in some cases until the same type of competition is announced again. In the AD5 it is mostly annual so the list for this year’s competition will most likely be valid for one year during which time you can be recruited. We have a webinar about how to increase your chances of getting hired once you are on the Reserve List.

Then you are recruited, as I said before, depending on your profile and the institutions needs at the time. They will invite you for a job interview and ultimately offer you a position. And that is when you open a bottle of Champagne, or in Belgium a bottle of nice Belgian beer, to celebrate - perhaps you will even send us a message when this has happened - please do! :D

Preparation Methods [41:45]

  • Practice for 8-12 Weeks - Practice a lot! I often compare this to preparing for a sports event, e.g. many people begin their preparation not being in the best shape. They can walk, and they can run, but they most likely could not do the Brussels Half Marathon. You need to be in good shape mentally, be dedicated and focused to make sure you are performing at your very best level.
  • Practice Regularly - Prepare for 30 minutes every day, or even just 15 minutes every morning, whatever the schedule, the point is to be consistent and make it a regular part of your routine. Just like with any skill development, like learning a new language, it will not just soak into your brain through a textbook under your pillow. You need to practice on a regular basis.
  • Learn Methodology - There are a lot of best practices for the preparation. I’ve already mentioned some of these resources and materials that are out there. You can definitely find good ideas, you can train yourself to read faster, you can train your brain to identify patterns in abstracts, or you can read about how to prepare for the Situational Judgement Test. There is a lot you can do for Assessment Centre prep - there are classrooms, coaching, you can practice with colleagues and friends. There is a method to it but you do have to dedicate time to learning it.
  • Persistence - This is very important. A lot of candidates may give up or lose their motivation. Forming a study group or joining forces with a couple of colleagues helps because you can motivate each other where you prepare as a team and don’t look at each other as competition.
  • Lots of Simulations - This certainly helps, especially if you are not so comfortable or familiar with the system or the methodology. 

Let’s take a look at some of the questions coming in:

Question: Once you have succeeded and get on the Reserve List how can you increase your chances of getting hired? How does it work?

Answer: I mentioned this webinar I did about this subject (link here). There’s a lot you can do in identifying the people who may hire you based on your background and profile. You can optimise your CV (or Resume for American-English speakers). Optimise your message through sending a great cover letter. These are all covered in this webinar. You can definitely increase your chances of getting a job.

Question: It looks like the best strategy is to put your "best" language as language 2... there are more tests in this language. Is it so?

Answer: It really depends what your languages are. Being a French and Spanish speaker is very different from being a Czech and Lithuanian speaker. These are different situations where some languages are more accessible given the number of candidates who speak them as well.

Question: Is there a big difference between your AD Test Book and the practice questions on eutraining.eu.

Answer: That is very kind of you to ask, because one of the recommended resources very selfishly is not just the EU Training website where you can see the Verbal, Numerical, Abstract Reasoning practice questions which are very closely simulate EPSO’s interface. But I also recommend the book that I’ve written which is called the Ultimate EU Test Book - and to answer the question  - the questions are completely different. There’s zero overlap between the two.

Resources [41:45]

There’s two ways of practicing on the website:

  1. Practice Mode - there’s no timer, take it at your own tempo
  2. Exam Mode - this truly simulates EPSO exam conditions

Verbal Reasoning Practice Tests online are available in 19 languages. We are very proud of this and we hope we can contribute to your preparation success. From Croation, to Greek, Bulgarian and many other languages.

Numerical Reasoning tests are available in English, French and Spanish. Abstract Reasoning tests are available in English and French. The Situational Judgement Test is available in English, French and German. 

For Abstract Reasoning, for understandable reasons, language is really not that important. Given the shapes and the figures which are the highlight of the exercise. For Verbal Reasoning it truly is linguistically important.

There are tons of methodology resources. I will quickly run through them. 

CBT Webinars - many of these are free. 

  • For beginners there are free Abstract, Verbal and Numerical Webinars.
  • Pro Tips Webinars for more advanced preparation.
  • Maths Refresher webinar is great if you have left school long ago, you went to university where math was not a prominent subject for you, then this webinar is great for refreshing basic arithmetic, algebra, etc.

Pre-Selection Classroom Trainings

  • "Mastering The EPSO AD5 Computer-Based Tests"
  • New dates are being advertised all the time here, so keep refreshing for updates.
  • Located in Brussels it’s a full day training (light lunch included). It is a hands-on CBT competency training for the EPSO competitions, a full day of EPSO test simulations in a live setting with an expert in the methodology.
  • Sample tests and feedback from the trainer are also included.
  • If there is demand for classroom trainings to be held elsewhere in Europe, not just in Brussels and you get a group together we're happy to organise it for you, get in touch!

E-tray Preparation

Case Study Simulations
Case Study Evaluation by an EPSO Expert

Assessment Centre Preparation

More Resources on EU Training’s Website:

Send us questions! We love getting questions from you because we not only want to help our candidates but it also gives us interesting and important information to understand what candidates may be struggling with and therefore we can improve and provide more services.

Like our Facebook page if you haven’t already - follow EU Training on Facebook for up to date information about EPSO competitions, Tips&Tricks, and sometimes some fun stuff too!

Join one of the many Facebook groups to get in touch with other EPSO candidates: EPSO Adminstrator Exams (AD5).

The Ultimate EU Test Book - New 2019 Edition for Adminstrators, with some new questions and the most up-to-date methodology as well.

The Assessment Centre 2019 - sample exercises, simulations and helping you understand the logic behind the competencies.

Q&A [50:05]

Question: Is there the possibility to get on the Reserve List and then not get hired?

Answer: This is important. Let’s be completely honest and transparent. Unfortunately, yes. Some candidates do get placed on the Reserve List within the validity period. This is very unfortunate and it’s a lose-lose situation. Neither party is happy about this. Candidates who went through the selection process successfully - they want to be hired, they put in a lot of time and effort. From the Institutions perspective they also want to hire this number of people. There’s a reason they announced 147 spots - they want to fill vacancies because the Institutions have a need for human resources. And if they cannot hire a sufficient number of staff that is a loss for them too. There is a joint interest in getting everyone hired from the Reserve list, but unfortunately it doesn’t always happen. And sometimes it doesn’t happen through the candidate’s choice. Life circumstances change - a candidate may move abroad, or their family circumstances change, or their job preferences change and they decide not to take the offer after all. There are multiple facets to this, but generally conversion rate, the number of people from the Reserve list who are eventually hired is relatively high. I think it’s around 80 or 85, perhaps even 90%.

Question: What about JRC, the Joint Resource Center of the European Commission, will they have access to the Reserve List? 

Answer: Yes. JRC typically has access to the Reserve List. Sometimes there are dedicated competitions for researchers in various fields. 

Question: Is there an age limit to apply to the AD5 (Concours) Competition?

Answer: No age limit. Certainly there is a retirement age in the Institutions, but that’s a different matter. The upper age limit is not defined because that would be discriminatory. But generally speaking it is up to the retirement age. So whether you are a fresh graduate out of university, or whether you are 35 or 45, you can apply for the AD5 competitions provided you meet all the eligibility requirements.

Question: Do you recommend to spend more preparation with the Abstract and the SJT vs. the Numerical and Verbal Reasoning? Or the same amount of time?

Answer:  Probably not the same time. If you are fairly confident that you can reach the 50% pass mark for the Numerical and Verbal Reasoning then focus your energy on the Abstract Reasoning and the Situational Judgement Test, because there you not only need to pass, but pass with the highest score, therefore you need to perform extremely well, and your preparation should reflect that. Whereas for the Verbal and Numerical Reasoning you need to perform good enough. This will determine your preparation strategy. 

Another aspect for your preparation strategy is What is your current situation? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Are you numbers oriented? Then you need much less preparation for the Numerical Reasoning tests, but maybe the reading comprehension will be more challenging. So this certainly determines how much effort you put into preparing for the Verbal Reasoning and the SJT. 

Question: If you are offered one job and turn it down does this mean you won’t get offered another one?

Answer: Well this is an interesting one. In psychology they call this the ‘prisoner’s dilemma’. If I turn it down will a better opportunity present itself, or should I play it safe and accept it. I say if the offer you get in the end is ‘good enough’ then take it. This is because there is an internal mobility system in the Commission but also among the Institutions where you can keep your grade level and salary but move to another job if the opportunity arises. So start out somewhere, and after two or so years you should be able to move to another position. Unless it’s really not suited to you, do consider accepting it. Even if you turn it down, there’s a good job you might be offered another one, but there is a bit of a gamble in that. 

Question: There’s no restriction in terms of Language 1, but can you be excluded from Language 2 if you’re language has not been selected?

Answer: This is a fundamental point. Yes, you can be excluded. Make sure your Language 2 is among the anticipated top 5 languages so you do not risk being excluded from the competition at the application phase.

MORE QUESTIONS?
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THANK YOU for your participation! We wish you lots of success in your preparation.