This free webcast recording covers the most important details from EPSO's Notice of Competition for the 2023 AD7 Transport exams. Get the best and latest info on how to get your EU Career in Transport started!
2024 UPDATE: EPSO reopened applications on 1 March 2024. See this article about the updated Notice of Competition for full details.
WEBCAST DOCUMENTS
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WANT TO BOOST YOUR EPSO EXAM PERFORMANCE?
- EPSO CBT (reasoning skills)
- EPSO case study
- Case study simulation with or without evaluation
- Webinar
- Personal coaching
- EPSO field-related MCQ
MENTIONED IN THE WEBCAST
- Notice of Competition - source of official information for this EPSO competition
- Official EPSO profile page and link to the application
- Contact EPSO directly - with questions about eligibility, supporting documents, etc.
- EASI - Experience Assessment Survey Instrument - check your eligibility for this competition
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Webcast TRANSCRIPT
ABOUT EU TRAINING
NEW EPSO SELECTION PROCESS
EPSO TRANSPORT COMPETITION OVERVIEW
WHERE WILL YOU WORK?
ARE YOU ELIGIBLE?
WHY IS THIS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY?
EPSO COMPETITION PHASES
HOW TO GET ONE OF THESE JOBS
QUESTIONS?
INTRODUCTION
Hello to everyone joining us today for this information webinar on the AD7 Transport EPSO Exams, 2023. I will try to make this session today as useful and practical as possible.
I don’t recall having a Transport competition for quite some time, so it is a wonderful opportunity. This will take place under the new EPSO system, which I will talk you through.
You might already know something about me as I’ve been dealing with EU careers for quite some time. We’ve been working in this field for over 15 years and that gives me a certain perspective that you can benefit from. We have the tools and resources you need to ensure that you pass the competition.
Before I forget, the usual disclaimer: we are not the official source of information, although we do our best to be as accurate as possible. The notice of competition and selection board remain the official source of information. .
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ABOUT EU TRAINING
Our company has a robust community of people interested in EU careers; past candidates, current candidates, and future candidates.
We do these kinds of information webinars for every upcoming competition and we also have a wealth of resources available on our website. Check out the practice tests and our webinars (lots of them are free). These can help you improve your skills and performance. Our question database is an ever-expanding tool for not just abstract, verbal, and numerical reasoning tests, but many other things beyond that.
We also have the EU Test books and the Administrators 2023 edition available. There is also a new edition coming up in probably January 2024 with even more updated content.
There is also the Facebook group that you can join where you can connect with fellow candidates and share ideas, information and best practices.
We are increasingly invested in LinkedIn, so that’s another platform where you might want to follow us and keep in touch.
We are here to help and support you in this journey. Let us know how we can help.
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EPSO SELECTION PROCESS OVERVIEW
You might be aware that the old EPSO exam system and selection procedure was reformed in the Summer 2023. Very broadly, there is no longer an assessment center. There is a five-step process consisting of:
- Application deadline
- Supporting documents deadline
- Automated remotely proctored tests
- done in one day
- types of tests vary
- Eligibility checks
- Compilation of reserve list
The new system is designed to be much more streamlined than the old one and the entire process from application to appearing on the reserve list shouldn’t take more than four to six months. In EU terms, this is a quick procedure, as opposed to the previous system which took a year or more.
One interesting aspect of this competition (at least at the time of recording) is that you can pass the entire exam without saying a word. There is no oral exam in this selection procedure. You do need to use your verbal communication skills after the selection procedure and once you are on the reserve list. At that recruiting stage, when you will be looking for a specific job, that’s when you will be subjected to an interview or similar.
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TRANSPORT EPSO/AD/410/23 COMPETITION OVERVIEW
POSITIONS AVAILABLE
There are 80 positions available on the reserve list, as most of you probably already know. That’s a pretty good number considering the positions are quite targeted.
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WHERE WILL YOU WORK?
You will be working in DG Move (The Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport) in Brussels. It’s not exclusively for DG Move, but they will certainly be the major client for this competition. Legally speaking, you might end up being recruited somewhere else–for the Commission but for a different Directorate-–or even be hired by another institution. But, considering the way the institutions work in selection matters, it’s essentially the Commission that is the biggest client of this competition. Other institutions are likely not going to “poach” candidates.
What will you do?
You are going to be working on tasks such as coordination, negotiations and representation, including at the international level in the field of transport. For example, if the EU (most notably the European Commission) negotiates on an international level with the International Air Transport Agency, or on shipping matters, or with UN bodies, then that’s the area where transport policy experts will be needed.
You might also be dealing with managing budgetary/financial aspects of transport-related projects, which could range from innovation in aviation and airport slots to financial aspects of making European transport greener.
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ARE YOU ELIGIBLE?
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
This is the first time EPSO has introduced this tool where you can self-check if you are eligible or not. It’s a tool aided by an algorithm, but it will not validate your profile officially. But I’ll come back to that in a moment.
There are broad, general requirements for this competition as well as specific ones related to your experience and background. First let’s look at the 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 third requirement here relates to receiving a security clearance. You may have to work with highly confidential documents, so confidentiality for these roles will be crucial as they could encompass military issues or logistics.
For that reason, you will need to receive security clearance.
Now for the specific requirements which relate to languages as well as qualifications and work experience.
All of these requirements are checked by this wonderful new tool called EASI (Experience Assessment Survey Instrument). When you fill out this survey, you will receive a score that informs you how likely you are to be qualified for this particular competition. It is not going to exclude you, it is simply a tool to use for your own information. Presumably, this is one way EPSO is trying to minimize the number of candidates who go through the entire process only to find out in the end that they are not eligible.
When we were playing around with it, we did notice that when we filled in our language one and language two as both being English, it did not flag this as an issue. In actual fact, though, you need to specify two different languages to be eligible.
But it’s simply a questionnaire that helps you determine if you are eligible or not.
LANGUAGE RULES
You need to know at least two official EU languages. A thorough knowledge of one and at least a good command of another. Presumably, for the vast majority of candidates, this will not be a problem.
Language 1
Minimum C1 level of one of the 24 official EU languages (regardless of your citizenship).
Language 2
Any other official language of the EU at a minimum level of B2.
However, please note that one of the above languages must be English.
You should give some consideration to which language you choose for your case study or for the abstract, numerical and verbal reasoning tests. There are some nuances involved in this decision.
If you know several languages, think of which one you can express yourself best in, which one you can write the most clearly in, or the one where you know the terminology best. So give some thought to which language you process information in best and in which one you can express yourself best in writing.
As there is no interview requirement at this stage, the language you would like to do that in is a separate story. In your profile, by all means, list the languages you can communicate in as that could be interesting information at a later stage.
QUALIFICATIONS
This is always a tricky aspect because there are so many variables. It is difficult to put this in a system. But as this is a specialist competition, EPSO has formulated different scenarios, one of which you should fit into.
Option 1:
If you have a Bachelor’s Degree (a three-year university degree), it needs to be in one of the following areas: law, economics, engineering, transport, logistics, or political science. If you are a history major or have a Bachelor’s in Linguistics, you're not going to be eligible in this particular bracket.
Furthermore, in this case, you need to have at least seven years of relevant experience; it needs to be connected to the type of tasks listed in the job description. Otherwise, it will not be considered relevant.
Option 2:
If you have at least a four-year university degree or diploma (Master’s or Ph.D. level or equivalent) in the fields mentioned above, you need to have at least six years of relevant professional experience. If you completed your degree outside the EU, you need the equivalence of that and ensure that it corresponds to the same level.
Option 3:
If you have a three-year university degree in any other field (not mentioned above), but have at least nine years of professional, relevant experience.
Option 4:
If you have a PhD relevant to the transport area, then there is some flexibility in terms of the work experience you require.
If you have queries regarding if your qualifications meet the above criteria, you should contact the selection board. They are the individuals, independent of EPSO, who are responsible for particular competitions. You simply need to send a message via the EPSO contact form and ask. In most cases they can guide you, but they might say it needs to be decided on a case-by-case basis. So, if things broadly fit, go into the competition. This would, however, leave open the possibility of being rejected at the eligibility phase later on.
All of this is stated in the Notice of Competition, but there is always quite a lot of variability here. If you are in any doubt, then please do ask for the official position.
Professional experience is considered relevant if:
a. it was acquired in one or more of the areas listed in the Notice of Competition.
AND
b. it must be related to one or more of the activities listed in the Notice of Competition.
Let’s look at an example. One of the areas listed in the EPSO Notice of Competition involves trans-European networks and military mobility with the activity of implementing, monitoring and evaluating existing policies and legislation and enforcement of transport rules. So, if you spent many years in a national ministry for transport, or mobility, or if you were responsible for sustainable urban transport or anything along these lines, then your experience is going to be considered relevant.
Although this is a very niche, specialist competition, it does include a broad range of policies and areas that candidates may fit into.
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QUESTIONS
I’ll pause here to take a couple of questions:
Q: I’m not sure if I am eligible or if I have enough relevant experience, but can I apply anyway? Will I be able to sit the tests?
A: You can absolutely apply if you fulfill the basic criteria. i.e. you are an EU citizen. When it comes to experience, if you do have six or seven or more years of experience but are not sure if it is relevant, you can still go through the entire process and sit the tests and so forth. If you succeed, the board will check your eligibility at the end of that process. That may be good or bad because although you cannot be sure you are eligible, you can at least go through the process without being excluded early on.
Q: Are unpaid internships considered as relevant professional experience?
A: What EPSO has been communicating is that the work experience needs to be paid to be considered eligible. Therefore, volunteering or unpaid internships would not qualify, typically. I say typically because there are always exceptions (e.g., you were seconded somewhere pro bono and did serious work in that field). If you can prove it with the right documentation (contracts, job descriptions, etc), it may be considered. If you are talking about work experience that was part of a Master’s program, then it probably would not be considered.
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WHY IS THIS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY?
Working for the EU has attractive benefits and career prospects, as many of you would know.
There are a lot of advantages including health insurance, European schools (if you have children) and of course attractive salaries that the institutions offer, especially at AD7 level.
Entry-level positions are categorized as AD5. The recruits that have typically a Master’s degree but no work experience usually start at AD5 level. You may already have work experience when applying for this level, it depends on the competition you are applying for.
An AD7 level role would usually require, at a minimum, six years of work experience.
We have done a rough salary calculation via the salary calculator on our website (which you are free to try out). You can configure it based on your personal situation. One of the variations is based on whether you were based in Brussels for less than six months or more than six months at the time of recruitment.
The net salary that came out in this instance was roughly 6,800 euros net. Add on top of that the expatriate allowance you are entitled to if you are living outside of Brussels.
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EPSO COMPETITION PHASES
Let’s look at the different stages of the competition.
STEP 1 - APPLICATION
You can submit your application in any of the official EU 24 languages.
You also need to upload supporting documentation to your EPSO account. This means copies of your diploma or degree, translations, and anything verifying your work experience, which consists of documentation that proves the relevance of your experience as well as the number of years of experience you have. These could take some time for you to get hold of, so you should go ahead and start doing that. EPSO affords some flexibility here; the deadline for supporting documentation is not the same as for the application itself.
The application deadline is November 7th, 2023 at 12:00 noon / Luxembourg time.
DO NOT LEAVE YOUR APPLICATION UNTIL THE LAST MOMENT.
2024 UPDATE - EPSO reopened applications on 1 March 2024
The application deadline is 9 April, 2024 at 12:00 noon / Brussels time.
STEP 2 - EPSO TESTS
First of all, there are computer-based tests (CBT) that test abstract, numerical and reasoning skills.
The second test is the field-related multiple choice quiz (MCQ). This is particularly important because it is broadly about transport topics as contained in the Notice of Competition. This is done in a multiple-choice format where you need to pick the right answer.
The third component is the case study, which I’ll get to in a moment.
Just to emphasize, we have a wealth of webinars, seminars, hand-outs, and sample tests on our website available for you, so please take advantage of that and practice whichever field you feel you need to work on.
One important aspect is that all these tests will be conducted online and remotely proctored, meaning you will need to download the software. For this reason, be sure you have a computer where you have administrative rights. This might be an issue if you have a company computer because you may not be able to install the software required to sit the tests. All that technical information will be communicated to you well before the test.
There is a 24-hour time frame available in which you can book your test.
I must point out, however, that the feedback and experiences of previous candidates taking the test in this way have not been great. The IT infrastructure is not without its problems, unfortunately, but we are hoping that it will be fixed ASAP because it is in everyone’s interest to have a hiccup-free process.
EPSO COMPUTER-BASED TEST (CBT)
These can be done in any of the official 24 languages except English. The area where the language choice really matters, in my opinion, is the verbal reasoning test. This is where you need to really understand, analyze and make logical deductions based on a text.
We have a lot of resources on our website concerning these tests, on best practices, methodology etc.
The verbal reasoning test comprises 20 questions in 35 minutes. Generally that tends to be the easiest of the tests, especially if you are good with words. This is not a linguistic or language test; this is a logical reasoning test. You will need to make logical assumptions or deductions based on the text you are given.
The numerical reasoning test comprises 10 questions in 20 minutes. Performing one question in two minutes is completely feasible if you have trained those mental muscles beforehand so you can do certain mathematical operations quickly.
The abstract reasoning test tends to be the most difficult for most people as it is 10 questions in 10 minutes.
CBT SCORING
These are elimination tests that are scored as only a pass or fail. The mark you achieve does not count towards your final score. A common question that comes up here is if you will know at the time of sitting the test whether you have passed or failed. The answer is no, you will not.
The marks are calculated as a combined pass mark for all three tests. So you need to achieve an overall mark of 20 out of a possible 40 in total.
FIELD-RELATED MCQ
Assuming you pass the CBT tests, the mark in this particular section will be looked at.
This will be conducted in English. There are thirty multiple choice questions to be done in forty minutes and the pass mark is set at 20/30.
The pass mark itself is important and needs to be reached as a minimum score, but is insufficient because the marks of candidates here will be ranked. So, you must be among the highest scoring applicants. This means having at least 25 or 26, depending on how the other candidates have done.
The content could include anything that the Notice of Competition mentions, most notably in the transport policy areas. And at a little over a minute per question, you really need to know your stuff.
CASE STUDY
If you pass all the above tests, then your case study will be scored.
What is it? Most likely it will take 45 minutes (we do not have confirmation of that as yet). But this is our estimate judging from the previous competitions run this summer.
The way EPSO has been running these competitions since this new system has been in place is that they will release background information for the case study two weeks before the exam date. We do not yet know when the exam date will be, but our guess is mid December or early January. This is because there needs to be some time set aside to book your exam time slot. I believe it goes in thirty-minute increments.
As for the subject of the case study, it could be related to transport, but not necessarily. This part of the exam is not designed to test your knowledge. It tests your communication skills and no other competencies. It is, however, framed in an EU context and occasionally refers to imaginary places or individuals. But it is rooted in reality and you will be given a task that you need to write about in the exam. The material you are given consists of a 20 to 25-page document that covers all sorts of background information that you need to have processed and analyzed before the exam to be able to effectively answer the question you will be given.
This part of the test can be done in any of the EU’s official 24 languages. However, we did find a statement in the Notice of Competition that stated it was strongly recommended that you complete this in English and that it is not a language test. Perhaps if it is in English, there are far more people who can evaluate the case study. Legally speaking, though, you do have the right to write the case study in any of the EU’s official languages.
One point to think about is the keyboard that you will be using. Make sure it corresponds with the language you will be using.
The scoring is done out of ten and you need to have a score of at least five. The marks here are NOT ranked. The ranking only happens in the knowledge-based multiple choice part of the exam.
STEP 3 - ELIGIBILITY CHECKS
If you have passed all the above tests, then you are almost on the reserve list! The only hurdle that remains is the eligibility check. Your background and qualifications will be checked at this point. Roughly speaking, 120 candidates would be checked for eligibility and their case studies reviewed.
So, it is vital that you include any documentation you can that supports your case in terms of experience and qualifications.
Step 4 - RESERVE LIST
If you make it onto the reserve list, you will be notified on your EPSO account. But you still have to find a vacancy, most likely within DG MOVE. They will be the ones looking at the reserve list to fill their recruitment needs.
We do have excellent coaches available who can help you prepare for this stage of the recruitment process. I also have a webinar on the website that takes you through some good techniques to use. You want to optimize your chances of getting hired by making sure your cover/motivation letter and CV are in the best possible shape.
As for further steps, interviews or assessment centers, this is a grey area at the moment. The hiring institutions may still ask you in for an interview, or for further testing on a particular job profile. Or, they might just look at the reserve list and hire someone directly.
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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
What is our general advice? Practice! Practice and have a methodology in place.
You will certainly want to do simulations but you could also create a study group with peers or colleagues to share ideas and motivate each other.
We certainly have materials on to help you prepare: the CBT reasoning tests, for example, which will help you with the methodology. We are also rolling out more practice with the case studies in the coming weeks. We have coaches and trainers also available to help.
This is a bit like preparing for a sports competition. You want to plan ahead, have a timeline and structured, process-driven preparation in place. And do the simulations! We’re proud to say that we have practice tests in all 24 languages for verbal reasoning. As for the webinars, some are free and some have a fee attached. We also have many other resources available like tips and tricks and books, so take a look at the links below and our website.
Use our resources, the practice tests, the webinars (lots of them are free). We are here to help and support you in this journey. Let us know how we can help.
We also have the EU Test books and the Administrators 2023 edition available. There is also a new edition coming up in probably January 2024 with even more updated content.
There is also the Facebook group that you can join where you can connect with fellow candidates and share ideas, information and best practices.
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QUESTIONS?
Q: Do wrong answers get penalized in the final score?
A: No. If you have the wrong answers in the verbal reasoning or other tests, it does not deduct from your final score.
Q: For the multiple choice quiz, will EPSO release some indication of the topic?
A: I assume you are asking about sources or how it will be covered. Because for the economists, the test was very theoretical and included university level topics, but in a broad field such as transport, people’s background might be in engineering or political science. I cannot give you a formal answer for that. I can only go on 15 plus years of experience working in this area and our general understanding of how EPSO assesses candidates. So the general answer is that they are looking for the policy perspective. You are going to be an EU official dealing with these topics, and there are no subprofiles separating those with a technical background from those with a legal background.
So, they will not ask questions that are extremely niche. However, there are areas, for example, in regulation, in road transport or the general principles in the security of aviation that are mentioned in the Notice of Competition that could be in the multiple choice quiz. We ourselves have tailored our practice questions on the basis of these topics. It’s a very large and broad area, but definitely look at what DG MOVE does. Look at their annual report, key initiatives they have had, or history of policy areas or subsections of the transport area, and how that is viewed in the context of EU policy making. There are fact sheets and other resources you can tap into. The fact that they are ranking candidates on the basis of this multiple choice quiz makes it tricky. Thirty questions is not that many in this case, which means that the questions themselves may be quite tough. That’s my hunch.
Q: What is the content of the practice exams based on? Has that been confirmed by EPSO or are they just a best estimate?
A: They are a best estimate. We are not in touch with EPSO regarding that and obviously they would never tell us anything more than they tell the candidates. And we are talking about the selection board which is legally speaking independent of EPSO and presumably has members from DG MOVE who put together the pool of questions they will use during the exam. We have based our practice materials on everything we know about the system, the policies and the EU, and we try to pinpoint and simulate those questions and topics that you are well-advised to revise.
Q: Could you explain how to prove how work experience is relevant to transport?
A: I haven’t checked the current EPSO application form. But, if you get a work certificate, or official job description stating what you needed to do in a certain position, you might highlight certain points that are relevant to the transport area in particular. You want to provide background information and certificates and other proof points, but it is the selection board who will assess the relevance.
Q: How long is the reserve list valid for?
A: Typically it is one year. But for specialist competitions, it may be possible to extend that beyond the year. A few years ago the principle was that it’s valid until a similar competition in the same field is announced. That may happen three or four years later. There is certainly a motivation to keep hiring from the reserve list as long as there are candidates on it. The general rule is one year, but I can imagine it could be longer as long as there are still available and qualified candidates on the list who have not yet been hired.
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