This free webcast recording covers the essentials of EPSO's Notice of Competition for the fields of Crisis Management & Migration and Internal Security. Find out how to get started on your EU Career - how to apply, the competition phases and how to get on the reserve list.
WEBCAST DOCUMENTS
FACEBOOK GROUP
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PREPARATION RESOURCES
- Discounted EPSO prep packages
- EPSO reasoning skills training sessions
FREE RESOURCES
- EPSO CBT Reasoning skills tips
- Field-related MCQ resources study list
- EPSO CBT reasoning skills webinars (Beginner's ones are free)
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Webcast TRANSCRIPT
ABOUT EU TRAINING
NEW EPSO SELECTION PROCESS
EPSO ECONOMIST COMPETITION OVERVIEW
WHERE WILL YOU WORK?
ARE YOU ELIGIBLE?
Break for Questions
WHY IS THIS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY?
EPSO COMPETITION PHASES
HOW TO GET ONE OF THESE JOBS
QUESTIONS?
INTRODUCTION
Welcome everyone to this live Crisis Management, Migration and Internal Security EPSO exam briefing webcast. It's my pleasure to share all the information that is at our disposal about this particular competition.
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ABOUT EU TRAINING
This opportunity in crisis management, migration and internal security is a one of a kind competition. I don't remember last when a similar topic was launched, but certainly a long time ago. This means that all of you who are in this field should certainly be very motivated to secure a permanent EU job by way of this competition run by EPSO.
My name is Andras Baneth. I'm a former EU official and have been dealing with EU careers for over 15 years via EU Training, our website, the various services we offer, and my book, The EU Ultimate Test Book.
EU Training has a very robust and engaged community of EU career enthusiasts and those keen to secure a permanent EU job. We are very proud to have helped thousands and thousands of candidates do just that, meaning they have passed the EPSO competition and are now working for one of the EU institutions in Brussels, Luxembourg and beyond.
Make sure to join our Facebook community as there is a dedicated group for these two competitions–which is actually one competition but with two very specific profiles–and share news and exam preparation ideas.
There are a lot of test packages available on our website with thousands of questions to help you prepare, as well as webinars and methodology. Additionally, we have dedicated questions that will help you prepare specifically for these topics. So, you can practice the knowledge part of this particular competition and not only the components that I'm going to walk you through systematically in the next couple of minutes. Everything is designed to help you succeed in this particular competition.
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EPSO SELECTION PROCESS OVERVIEW
This is, if I'm not mistaken, number three in the so-called “new” competition process. EPSO had a certain system in place since about 2010, but this was changed in some significant ways in 2023. The new system was launched in June this year. I’m mentioning this because if you have participated in EPSO competitions in the past, be sure you understand the changes that have been implemented.
The new system was introduced to streamline and speed up the old process. To this end, the Assessment Center is no longer part of the selection procedure. Furthermore, I should make a distinction with the terminology I am using. We are talking about selection and not recruitment.
EPSO, as the name suggests, is the European Personnel Selection Office. They do not deal with recruitment, which is done by the individual Directorate Generals, or more specifically, the units within all the EU institutions that can hire a Laureate–a successful candidate–from the Reserve List. EPSO only focuses on selecting the candidates and creating the Reserve List.
I must also add a disclaimer: the information I tell you is to the best of our knowledge. Although we do everything we can to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information, we are not the official source of information in these matters. The official channel of information remains EPSO itself and the Notice of Competition. The selection board can also guide you or give you official answers on certain unique circumstances.
Let’s look at this new process. You submit an application after filling out all the required forms online on EPSO's website: the candidate profile. At one point you will also need to upload the supporting documents, but this is possible to do a little later than the exam application deadline. This is in case you don't have all the official documents or if you need a translation, formal approval or to obtain some further documents describing the duties you performed from former employers. These documents will not be checked at this point (only later in the process), but you do need to make sure they are all uploaded into the system.
Once all of this has been done, that's when the actual exam happens. This is likely going to be around October or November 2023. We need to see exactly how the planning process happens, but that gives you a rough idea.
A very important point: all of this is done remotely and on your own computer, so be sure that you have administrator rights to that particular computer. If it's a work computer, chances are you do not have that level of access, and for the sake of the competition, you need to use a computer where you can install a certain app or software that will enable you to sit the competition. Everything is done in a single day, in a single sitting.
The exam consists of essentially three components. One is the so-called psychometric tests or computer-based tests. These test reasoning skills: abstract, verbal and numerical reasoning.
The second is the field-related multiple-choice questions or quiz. These are knowledge-based tests where you effectively need to demonstrate your knowledge in the particular field of the competition; here namely migration, internal security, etc.
The third component is a written assignment which is relatively short and, very importantly, not related to your knowledge in the field of the competition. It might be framed in the context of the competition’s topic, or more nuanced parts of these policy areas, but you are not tested on what you know about this particular topic. The written assignment is designed to test your written communication skills with a short case study.
We are hearing that it's probably going to be 45 minutes long and will test your drafting skills in the particular language you use (I will get to the language considerations in a moment).
The eligibility check happens once you have passed these tests. Your documents and formal declarations etc are verified during the eligibility check. If all goes well, that’s when you are placed on the Reserve List from which you can be hired, i.e., recruited for a specific position at one of the EU institutions.
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EPSO/AD/403/23 COMPETITION OVERVIEW
403 is the reference number, EPSO/AD/403/23 is the reference point and this is what you need to search for when you want to find information on the EPSO site, or use this code each time you want to file an official question to the Selection Board.
POSITIONS AVAILABLE
There are a lot of places on the Reserve List: 168 places for Crisis management and 118 places for Migration and internal security.
An important note regarding managing expectations and understanding what it means to be on the Reserve List: it's a necessary but insufficient precondition of employment. You need to be on the Reserve List to be considered for hiring and to be hired for a permanent position, but it's not a guarantee of employment. You need to pass the competition first of all, and then perhaps you need to do extra steps–dare I say lobbying–trying to find vacancies and applying for specific positions proactively.
Or you can be invited by a head of unit who looks at the database and finds you based on your profile, linguistic skills, experience, etc. A job interview would follow or you might even be subjected to some additional tests.
But at that point, it's no longer considered as part of the selection process and is entirely up to the hiring manager, head of unit or director general who wants to hire you. It’s an extremely important phase and achievement to be placed on the Reserve List, yet there's one more hurdle to jump. We do actually have a webinar from some time ago about how to get a job once you are on the Reserve List.
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WHERE WILL YOU WORK?
Typically Brussels or Luxembourg, depending on which institution or which Directorate General within the European Commission would want to hire you. Or you might end up working at one of the EU delegations, which would mean one of the EU offices anywhere around the world. These are accredited in countries outside of the EU or accredited to international organizations like the UN, perhaps in Geneva or New York or other places.
It's not specifically understood that you would immediately be placed there, but given the way EU jobs and the places of work are organized and the very nature of the topics we are covering today (crisis management, migration, internal security), there is a chance that one of the delegations might want to take advantage of your expertise in these particular fields.
In terms of institutions, all the EU institutions and even some agencies such as the European External Action Service, can be prospective employers. The Council also takes on migration and internal security experts or internal security EU staff to help them in these particular policy areas.
What are you going to do?
There is a pretty diverse range of duties in the Notice of Competition and many of these are not exhaustive lists but are examples as to what sort of job profile you can expect. The typical duties that are listed in Annex II of the Notice of Competition give you a rough idea.
For example, in the European Parliament when it comes to Crisis Management, you would support the creation of systems and backup methods for communication amongst members of the crisis management team. Or in the European Commission, design and evaluate professional training and exercises for emergency responders. And there's a whole range of other duties and tasks, whether in crisis management, migration, internal security, or in the EAS (External Action Service), providing support, or ensuring duty of care for security of staff based in delegations – although this is the type of job that would typically be based at the HQ in Brussels.
With migration, for example, you could be assisting coordination and operational policy and funding of legal issues related to migration and internal security. These are very broad concepts with a broad set of duties that can be turned into something more nuanced and more practical: liaising with international organizations in migration, asylum, and so on.
And then there is the Council of Ministers, where its own Secretariat is a potential employer. In terms of employment, it is not a huge client given the way the Council of the EU operates. The Secretariat itself only has a couple thousand staff I believe, but it gives you an idea of the scale compared to the European Commission, which has roughly 30-35,000 staff, including permanent, temporary and contract agents.
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ARE YOU ELIGIBLE?
Are you eligible for this particular job profile and are you eligible for this particular competition?
To decide that, there are some general requirements and some more specific requirements, including language and background, qualifications and work experience.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
You should:
- have EU citizenship.
- have fulfilled any required military service (or have received an exemption).
- meet the character requirements (i.e., not have a criminal record).
The general requirements are pretty straightforward. As in every competition, there is an EU citizenship requirement.
You need to be a citizen of one of the EU 27 countries. You need to have fulfilled your military service (if that is compulsory in your country) or have been provided with an exemption.
And then you need to meet the character requirements, which essentially refers to not having a criminal record or other issues with the criminal justice system. You might be required to present a certain certificate to that effect to prove this.
LANGUAGE RULES
Let’s look at the language requirements. You need to know at least two of the 24 official EU languages. There is no need for those languages to be connected to your passport; you can pick any two official EU languages.
But there are certain consequences to the languages that you choose in the selection process. The first language you choose, let’s call it language one, that is the language you will use to complete the computer-based tests (the abstract, verbal and numerical reasoning tests). These tests need to be done in one of the EU's 24 official languages except English.
You cannot pick English for the abstract, verbal and numerical reasoning tests. So, you should pick a language in which you can understand and process text and information very quickly.
Then there is a field-related, multiple-choice question element. So, if you picked crisis management, the topic of this quiz or test will be on crisis management; if you chose internal security, then the topic here will be internal security. This test will be in English, regardless of which language you chose to do your abstract, verbal and numerical reasoning tests in.
The case study must also be done in English. Here, you will need to draft a case study and complete this writing task in English. So, your English drafting skills need to be up to the job and on a level that proves your competence in that particular exercise.
QUALIFICATIONS
What about qualifications? This is an AD7 competition. That means the entry level for administrators and the policy officers who are working on decision-making, policy-making and financial issues. AD7 is already a more advanced level. Typically that requires three plus three years of experience inside or outside institutions. In other words, to be an AD7, you need to have at least six years of experience, but we're going to take a look at the more nuanced rules.
You need to have a three-year university qualification; that’s the equivalent of having completed three years of university study, plus a minimum of seven years of relevant professional experience. That is an important distinction, as your work experience needs to be relevant. That's one scenario, or one way of proving your eligibility for the competition.
Scenario number two is if you have a four-year university diploma plus a minimum of six years of relevant professional experience. If you have a master's degree, chances are you have completed four years of university study. In this case, you need at least six years of work experience. The particular details related to that are in the Notice of Competition.
One important point I want to mention here is that the university degree is not limited to a particular field of study. It is not stipulated that it needs to be in migration studies, law or economics. It's simply a three- or four-year university degree, and depending on which, seven or six years of work experience. However, the professional experience, and where you acquired it, is very important.
The rule is that it needs to have been acquired in one or more areas listed in the Notice of Competition. So, for your experience to be considered relevant, it needs to have a certain connection to those areas, and it has to be related to one or more of the activities listed in the Notice of Competition. These are particular activities that you need to have done in your past to qualify for the competition.
Ensure you check the details in the Notice of Competition. I'm certain there are going to be many variations as to your background, experience, particular areas and activities. So, there is probably going to be a lot of evaluation that needs to be done by the Selection Board to decide if someone qualifies or not for this particular competition.
For example: if the area of experience is in humanitarian crisis response, which is a huge area, you should have experience in operational activity. This means you shouldn’t have just been a researcher without having performed certain operational activities in this particular field.
Here is another example in the area of prevention and preparedness in response to disasters. The activity required would be coordination, negotiation, representation and liaison in those particular fields.
So, you need to have that hands-on experience and not just be a studious researcher, or someone who may have been, for example, a journalist perhaps in those areas. You need to have done specific activities.
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QUESTIONS BREAK
I’ll pause here for a moment to pick a few questions that are waiting for me:
Q: Can you also put a third language in the app? Does training count or is that not seen as relevant experience?
A: As far as I know, you can insert a third language in the application questionnaire. But it's not going to be relevant for scoring and it's not going to be relevant in any sort of evaluation of your profile. It might be considered at the point of employment. Once you are on the Reserve List, it might be a piece of information that is considered in relation to a vacant position, but it's not something that you need to be concerned about at this point.
Once you are on the Reserve List, you will be able to update your profile and CV so you can insert those pieces of information.
Q: On supporting documents, beyond diplomas and contracts, how can someone prove all the specific duties they claim to have had? What type of proof is requested for supporting documents?
A: I don’t want to say anything that may not be completely accurate. I have an idea that declarations from former employers (where they would list certain duties that you performed) might qualify, but this is something that only the selection board can decide. If you are uncertain, or you don't have formal documents, be sure to ask the selection board whether a particular format, or something with a letterhead and official signature, stamp or whatever (as long as it’s completely truthful, accurate and ethical), would be considered as proof for this particular issue.
Q: Concerning the multiple choice quiz that tests your knowledge in this particular field, that seems to be very central to this new format, since the other tests only require a pass mark. Can you confirm?
A: The short answer is yes. The knowledge-based part has grown in relative importance in this particular competition. The other parts are obviously important too because you don't want to fail those.
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WHY IS THIS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY?
There are great benefits and you are certainly aware of some or all of these.
GREAT BENEFITS
You will get great health insurance, access European schools if you have kids (they will be given an education according to the curriculum of your country of origin, as long as it's an EU country), and an attractive salary. That is certainly a big draw, aside from working on important policy areas and issues.
ATTRACTIVE SALARIES
EU SALARY CALCULATOR
We actually have a salary calculator on our website and did a simulation based on these factors. You are free to try it out and change some of the factors so you can find a more suitable simulation and therefore a more accurate number. But for example purposes, our simulation shows a salary of 6,300 EUR net per month, which is a pretty good salary, even in Brussels and Luxembourg, and certainly in other parts of the world. This is the estimated salary, but if you have kids this amount can be higher.
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EPSO COMPETITION PHASES
Let's look at the very specific competition phases, what they entail, and what the exams are that you are required to pass.
STEP 1 - APPLICATION
The application process is a straightforward administrative exercise where you need to
submit your application in any of the 24 official EU languages. Then you upload the supporting documents directly into your EPSO account. Make sure to apply before the deadline of 5th of September Brussels time. Don’t leave it till the last moment as you could face technical issues. So, whenever you get a chance, I encourage you to do that sooner rather than later.
Upload your supporting documents by 12th October. This is a big help because you don't need to rush in the middle of August to get documents together, when most people are on holiday. These documents will not be immediately checked, as mentioned before.
I'm guessing that these documents should be in English, but if I think about the way the institutions operate, and the legal framework in which they operate, you can probably submit your documents in any of the 24 official languages of the EU. Because these documents are about employment, work history, degrees, diplomas, any of the 24 official languages should be accepted for the supporting documents.
STEP 2 - EPSO TESTS
What are the actual tests that you need to pass to be placed on the Reserve List?
There is the computer-based test, the field-related test and the case study. These will be taken online and remotely proctored or administered on your own computer. They will all take place on the same day in one sitting.
Incidentally, we have a wonderful, quiet studio in Brussels (in the Ambiorix Center), and are actually creating a second one too, with secure, fast internet. If you need a computer that meets all the criteria to do the EPSO tests on, feel free to reach out and you can do the tests from here for a small fee.
EPSO COMPUTER-BASED TEST (CBT)
The computer-based tests (verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning) can be done in any of the 24 EU official languages, but not in English. These tests have pass or fail scoring, meaning you do not need to score in the top percentile of candidates. So, you “only” need to pass. What is the pass mark? Obtaining a pass does not mean getting 50% in each test separately, for the pass mark is calculated in a different way. We will get to that formula momentarily.
I'm assuming many of you already know the infamous verbal reasoning test which comprises 20 questions in 35 minutes. There's a text passage, then there's a question related to that passage, followed by usually four statements from which you need to pick the correct answer. There's only one correct answer. There are no deductions for wrong answers,
In the numerical reasoning test, there's a table and 10 questions that need to be answered in 20 minutes. Here, you need to interpret the data, do some reasoning and estimation, then a calculation at the end. If you can estimate the correct answer, that certainly saves you time.
Then the last one is the abstract reasoning test, where you have 10 questions to answer in 10 minutes. That tends to be the most challenging for most candidates, given the time pressure and the complexity of this particular exercise.
CBT SCORING
In the computer-based tests there is a pass/fail scenario.
For the verbal reasoning part, you need at least 10 points out of 20 to pass. That's clear. For the numerical and abstract reasoning parts, however, they decided to combine the pass mark or score, so you need to have a total of 10 points out of 20 to pass. That makes things a little easier, because if you get 10 points on abstract reasoning and 0 on numerical (or vice versa) you can still pass.
But given the number of candidates, you don't want to risk this. You want to be absolutely sure you clear this hurdle, because if you do not reach the pass mark, your exam is not going to be evaluated for the multiple choice quiz and the case study. And you're not going to know that immediately.
So, in other words, in order to have your scores taken into account from the field-related multiple-choice and case study tests, you’ll need to have passed the computer-based tests.
EPSO FIELD-RELATED MCQ and CASE STUDY
Let's take a look at the specific field-related multiple choice question element. It is interesting that there are only 30 questions here (I think it's pretty difficult to make a ranking on the basis of 30 questions). The poss mark here, however, is somewhat irrelevant because the candidates are going to be ranked according to their scores.
Certainly you need to have passed to have a chance of success, but the difficult part is to obtain a score in the range of 25 or 27. Or, it could be 23; the cutoff mark is determined according to how everyone performs on this test, and your ranking will be determined by how well you performed compared to the other participants. Here you have 35 minutes to answer these strictly knowledge-based questions that are in the particular domain of the competition. This is all done in language two, which is English.
So, as mentioned, a pass mark needs to be reached, but more importantly, you need to be among the highest scoring candidates. This determines whether your case study is going to be scored. Your case study scoring will only be taken into account if you have passed the other components.
Which brings us to the case study. Unfortunately, we have a somewhat limited knowledge about it, but we certainly have certain ideas on what the case study is. It's a written exercise and its sole focus is to evaluate your written communication skills. It may be about a topic linked to migration, internal security or crisis management, but it's not a knowledge-based test. It's not that you need to write an essay about the EU's crisis preparedness methods or approach. It is a written communication exercise for drafting skills.
Rumor has it that it will be 45 minutes long, but it might be 60 minutes. We do not have 100% confirmation of that yet. Scoring is from 0 to 10 and the pass mark is 5.
STEP 3 - ELIGIBILITY CHECKS
I must mention that there is still a formal process before being put on the Reserve List when they will check your eligibility. That's when the actual manual check happens of the support documentation and declarations that you uploaded with your application.
There's a tiny risk here of being disqualified, if there is something in your documents that doesn’t add up. But this is not a test. It's not an additional thing you must do at that point. And the eligibility test is only done for those who reach the pass mark (and for the ones who are among the highest scoring candidates in the field-related test). Once your documents check out and you are considered eligible, then you are placed on the Reserve List.
Step 4 - RESERVE LIST
The aggregate result and the scoring from all of these tests mentioned above will ultimately yield a Reserve List. If all goes well, you will end up on that list.
You will be notified in your EPSO account that you have been placed on the list. You're so close at this point to getting a new job, but as we said before, you need to still secure a concrete position. EPSO candidates are given access to certain vacancies, so you can proactively apply to those. There are usually far more opportunities at the institutions than what is communicated to EPSO candidates.
There are larger databases of vacancies or internal job opportunities where you might be considered an eligible candidate. Being aware of that involves implementing other techniques. But to be considered for a position, you will be invited to a job interview or to do some smaller assignments, depending on the whims of the Heads of Unit, Director Generals or the Hiring Managers.
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HOW TO GET THE JOB?
- PRACTICE FOR 10 12 WEEKS
- PREPARE FOR 1 HOUR A DAY OR 10 HOURS A WEEK
- LEARN TEST METHODOLOGY
- PERSISTENCE IS KEY
- DO LOTS OF TEST SIMULATIONS
There are many things you can do: practice, persistence and methodology. It's really so important that you regularly practice, just as you would prepare for a sports competition. You cannot win without the right methodology and techniques. There are techniques for the abstract reasoning, the numerical reasoning and the verbal reasoning test. There are also techniques you can use to write an effective, clear case study in the written exam.
It is even possible to practice for the field-related tests. You have an idea of the kind of topics that can come up, so that should give you suggestions on the kind of things you want to revise: the body of knowledge linked to migration, internal security and crisis management. There are certainly many institutions dealing with these topics, so you could look at their annual reports, their formal communications, press releases, what they communicate on their websites and the resources they make reference to.
These are all helpful sources of information that you can look through. You want to memorize key facts and pieces of information aside from what you already know. There's a good reason why you're listening to this webinar and why you are interested in this competition. You certainly already know a lot but be sure that you don't have any blind spots, that there are no areas you may not have covered, or something that you just simply never dealt with or looked at from a certain angle.
If you have experience from the UN or from certain national administrations, there could be aspects or policy issues that you just simply haven't thought about. Be sure that you check those. There are fact sheets on these policy areas that you can look up. These are very helpful resources to shape your thinking on what to cover.
Stay persistent and maybe form a study group or connect with peers or colleagues. That is helpful. Even though formally speaking they are competitors, they can help to keep up your motivation. You can share great resources with them. And certainly do simulations of the test. Once you are sitting in front of that computer and it's exam time, be sure you're not completely caught off guard as to the interface, what you need to do, or your time management.
We're happy to help. We have EPSO prep resources, the website and an enormous number of practice tests. We have verbal reasoning in all 24 official languages of the EU. That's something we're very proud of and it's certainly at your disposal to help your preparation. We also have specific questions on the areas of this particular competition (crisis management, migration and internal security). Use those tools as it will help give you an idea of what knowledge is required. We have studies as well, which you can do with or without manual or coach-driven evaluations; it's entirely up to you which option you choose. We also have workshops and we're coming up with a new version for a case study methodology webinar.
We have free webinars and paid webinars. The case study insights one is going to be updated in the second half of September and will be publicized and made available. Consider the Ultimate EU Test Book–the latest edition is 2023, but there's a new edition coming at the very end of this year or very early 2024. It will have brand new abstract, verbal and numerical reasoning tests and it's also going to have an extra number of EU knowledge tests, which is not directly tested in this particular competition. But it gives a good idea of what the EPSO competitions require.
WEALTH OF EPSO PREP RESOURCES
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QUESTIONS?
Let me take a couple more questions from the chat box.
Q: What can we expect from the multiple-choice questions? Knowledge in the field? Regarding the migration competition, there are currently 10 plus legislative initiatives at different stages of negotiation versus the legislation in force, mainly adopted long ago. And legislation that's currently not in force, is it worth studying commission proposals or the council's general approach, parliament opinions?
A: Anything that can radically change, like legislation that is currently being negotiated, is not going to be asked about in the competition in that form. So, they're not going to say well this commission proposal proposes this and this, A, B, C, D, which one is correct. They can’t really do that, because what if the parliament and the council pass that legislation while the competition is happening, or if there's a deluge of amendments and the proposal radically changes. That's a moving target, so for legal and practical reasons, they cannot ask those questions. What they can ask about is stuff that is well-established and legally sound, so legislation that's currently in force, things that are factual, historic events or anything related to trends, statistics etc. That is, things that cannot be debated and that are politically neutral. They do not want to be challenged by someone who claims that the test question was biased or favoured a certain position other than what the EU's formal position was.
When you're preparing for this particular competition, focus on facts and on information that is neutral and is completely established knowledge. That is not to say that certain things have radically changed, especially in these fields of internal security, migration and crisis management. If you open any news site, these are the topics that are the most talked about. So I am not saying you should only look at historic stuff. Anything that was adopted relatively recently, as long as it is neutral and established factual, can be part of the questions that the multiple choice quiz will test you on.
Q: Any tips to prepare for crisis management? Is it very broad? We have focused on EU legislation.
A: I would caution you against focusing just on legislation. This is not an exam for just lawyers, it's broader than that. Look at fact sheets which summarize a certain policy that is not purely just the legislation; certain best practices, whether it's the Dublin Convention (for example) or things that go slightly beyond the EU. Certainly there's a EU focus, but what does the UN do? What do other migration policy institutes or organizations do? What are certain key conventions, key terms, concepts and terminology that can be part of the test? Aside from that, look at what the EAS says and does; they have wonderful reports and very solid materials on their website in these particular fields and explain what the common position is on matters, what the approach and methodology is in those fields.
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Should you have more questions, we're very happy to help you and point you to the right resource. But when it comes to your very unique personal situation regarding your degree or work experience, although we can give you some suggestions, we're not going to be the official authority to decide on that. In those cases, you might want to ask the Selection Board or the EPSO contact centre.
Feel free to reach out to us as we're here to provide resources, and if you have suggestions, comments or feedback, we are also listening. We would like to provide you with the best possible tools out there so you can succeed at every phase of the competition.
And bear in mind that it is called a competition for good reason; there's fierce competition for these places, so you need to be among the top candidates to be considered. That requires serious preparation and dedication to the exam itself.