CASE STUDY = WRITTEN TEST
A Case Study is a realistic and relevant business problem presented through various types of documents (press releases, emails, reports, etc). Candidates are asked to analyse a problem, interpret the data provided, consider alternatives, and produce a written report describing their solutions or recommendations based on the task or the question(s).
2023 NEW EPSO selection process:
EPSO releases the documents related to the assignment approximately two weeks before the exam date. Going by the two case studies released by EPSO in 2023, the scenario is realistic but uses fictional countries and companies. By the date of the exam, a candidate should know these documents inside and out. This is because on the new style EPSO case study, candidates only get 45 minutes to compose their response to the task or the question. The task or question(s) are only revealed at the exam.
The only competency being assessed in the new EPSO case study exam is Communication skills.
Pre-2023 EPSO selection process:
A Case Study is a realistic and relevant business problem. Candidates are asked to analyse a problem, interpret data, consider alternatives, and produce a written report describing their solutions or recommendations.
Usually, the EPSO Case Study takes the form of a computer-based written exercise. You will receive information about an EU-related scenario, presenting various questions you will be asked to answer. Your replies must be solely based on the materials available. For this exercise you will need to be familiar with EU issues and the EU institutions, so that you quickly grasp the context of the simulations. The objective of the EPSO Case Study is to assess some of the candidate’s general competencies. The competencies that will be assessed in your exercise will be announced in the assignment. You receive the documents related to the scenario presented and the task/assignment at the actual exam. Time limits vary, but in the past, candidates usually had 90 minutes to study the documents and write their response
The Written Test for internal competitions is very similar, with perhaps a longer time limit, usually 120 minutes. The competencies assessed are somewhat similar to the EPSO competencies assessed
Related links:
8 Steps to Ace the EPSO Written Test
EPSO-Style Written Test Simulation