The Court of Justice and the European Parliament with the support of the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) has just released an official Notice of Competition calling forward applications from Proofreaders and Language Editors to join the team, who are fluent in Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Estonian, Spanish or Greek to be based in Luxembourg.
Below we explore the specifics of this competition and the selection process that you will need to undertake.
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THE RECORDING IS NOW AVAILABLE HERE:2021 EPSO PROOFREADER & EDITOR EXAMS - INFORMATION WEBCAST |
| Competition Snapshot I Eligibility Criteria I Selection Process I How Can You Apply? |
Competition Snapshot
- Open for Applications: 18 February, 2021
- Application Deadline: 23 March, 2021 (12-noon Brussels Time)
- Grades: AST3
- This competition covers six language profiles - you may only apply to one
- This competition includes a Talent Screener
- Posts will be based in Luxembourg
Under this competition, the following reserve list has been advertised, from which the Court of Justice and the European Parliament may recruit new members:
| Competition Code | Candidates Sought |
| EPSO/AST/148/21 - EL (Greek) | 17 |
| EPSO/AST/148/21 - ES (Spanish) | 18 |
| EPSO/AST/148/21 - ET (Estonian) | 11 |
| EPSO/AST/148/21 - GA (Irish) | 18 |
| EPSO/AST/148/21 - PT (Portuguese) | 17 |
| EPSO/AST/148/21 - IT (Italian) | 14 |
Proofreaders/language editors are required to perform linguistic tasks, including executive and technical duties, within their language services. Working under supervision in a computerised environment, proofreaders/language editors are responsible for proofreading manuscripts/language editing in the language of the competition.
ANNEX I of the Notice of Competition expands on the duties to be performed.
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates will need to satisfy the following:
- Have EU citizenship
- Fulfilled any military service requirements
- Meet the character requirements for the duties concerned
- Have knowledge of at least TWO official EU languages:
- Language 1: Have a perfect knowledge (C2 level - mother tongue or equivalent) of the language of the competition (Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Estonian, Spanish OR Greek) - will be defined as your Language 1.
- Language 2: Have a good command (minimum B2 level) of either English OR French and MUST BE different to your Language 1 choice - will be defined as your Language 2.
Qualifications & Work Experience
- Post-secondary education attested by a diploma, Plus a minimum of 3 years of professional experience in a field directly related to the nature of the duties described in the Notice of Competition.
- The post-secondary diploma and professional experience must have been gained in the chosen language of the competition.
- If this is NOT the case, the diploma giving access to the post-secondary education must have been gained in the chosen language of the competition. OR
- Secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education, Plus a minimum of 6 years of professional experience - of which at least 3 years must be in a field directly related to the nature of the duties described in the Notice of Competition.
- The diploma and professional experience must have been gained in the chosen language of the competition.
Please consult ANNEX II & IV of the Notice of Competition for examples of minimum qualifications.
Selection Process
IMPORTANT: You can complete your application in any of the 24 official EU languages, BUT your Talent Screener MUST BE completed in your chosen Language 2 (English or French).
1. PRE-SELECTION COMPUTER-BASED TESTS
This phase of the competition is made up of a series of computer-based multiple-choice reasoning tests. If the number of candidates exceeds a certain threshold, this exam will be held at the start of the competition process otherwise it will be held at the Assessment Centre phase.
|
Tests |
Language |
Question |
Duration |
Pass mark |
|
Language 1 |
20 questions |
35 min |
10/20 |
|
|
Language 1 |
10 questions |
20 min |
Numerical + Abstract Combined 10/20 |
|
|
Language 1 |
10 questions |
10 min |
||
| Language Comprehension | Language 1 |
24 questions |
60 min (30 min each set) |
28/48 |
- For the Numerical and Abstract Reasoning Tests reaching the pass mark is enough as this score will NOT be added to your final CBT exam score.
- The results of the computer-based MCQ tests are eliminatory and will not be taken into account in your final overall marks.
- However, you must reach the minimum pass mark in all tests and get one of the highest scores in the Verbal Reasoning and Language Comprehension tests in order to move on to the next stage of the competition.
2. ELIGIBILITY CHECK
EPSO will check the data provided by each candidate via their online application against the eligibility requirements of this competition. Remember that you can fill out your application in any of the 24 Official EU languages - except for the Talent Screener, which needs to be completed in your chosen Langauge 2 (English or French).
If the computer-based multiple-choice reasoning tests take place at the beginning of the selection process, eligibility will be checked in descending order of the overall marks obtained during this exam for each language profile until the number of eligible candidates reaches a certain threshold defined before the tests take place.
3. TALENT SCREENER
You MUST complete your Talent Screener in Language 2 - English OR French.
The selection board assigns a weighting to each selection criterion and based on the information provided in the Talent Screener each candidate will receive a score. Only those candidates with the highest overall marks per language profile will go through to the next stage. Therefore, you should include all relevant information in your Talent Screener answers, even if you have already mentioned it in other sections of your application form. The questions are based on the selection criteria included in this notice - see ANNEX II for the list of criteria.
Getting this part wrong can easily jeopardise your chances of moving through to the next stage of the selection process - which you don't want to risk. To better understand how the EPSO Talent Screener works it is advised that you view this webinar recording - Everything You Need To Know About EPSO's Talent Screener.
Need help with your EPSO application or Talent Screener?
Take a look at our Application Assistance service
4. ASSESSMENT CENTRE
Those who scored the highest marks in the Talent Screener will be invited to the Assessment Centre. A maximum of 3 times the number of successful candidates sought for each language profile via this competition will be invited to this phase.
You will be invited to attend an Assessment Centre (online or in-person) over one or several days and will need to be completed in your chosen Language 1 & 2. (Further details and instructions will be included in your invitation letter.)
7 general competencies, as well as field-related competencies required for such a role, will be tested through 4 tests:
- Case Study - Language 2
- General Competency-based Interview - Language 2
- Situational Competency-Based Interview (SCBI) - Language 2
- Field-Related Test - Proofreading and correcting a text in Language 1. Part of the test will be done with a comparison to a source text in Language 2. Aimed to assess your Language 1 & 2 skills.
Each general competency will be awarded a mark out of 10, with a total pass mark required of 35/70.
In addition to this, the Field-Related Test will require a minimum pass mark of 30/50 per part (the test is made up of 2 parts).
5. RESERVE LIST
After checking candidates’ supporting documents, the selection board will draw up a Reserve List of eligible candidates, for each language profile, who obtained the highest overall score, until the number of successful candidates sought is reached.
How Can You Apply?
Make sure to ALWAYS check the official Notice of Competition and understand the rules relating to the exams. For full details on this selection procedure read the official Notice of Competition and the General Rules Governing Open Competitions to ensure you have the required qualifications and satisfy the eligibility criteria before applying.
To start the application process, click below for the different language profiles:
- Proofreaders / Language Editors - Greek language
- Proofreaders / Language Editors - Spanish language
- Proofreaders / Language Editors - Estonian language
- Proofreaders / Language Editors - Irish language
- Proofreaders / Language Editors - Portuguese language
- Proofreaders / Language Editors - Italian language
Are You New to EPSO Competitions?
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If you have a question or need additional help in understanding the EPSO processes, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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Useful reading:
How To Make The Most Of Your EPSO Talent Screener
The Motivation Challenge - What To Write In Your EPSO Application?
13 Best EPSO Preparation Resources - Free and Paid