EPSO Competitions - Upcoming Opportunities

EU Training

A number of great EU career opportunities are currently underway or coming up very soon over Autumn 2020.

Below, we take a look at what EPSO competitions have been scheduled for release and check-in to see how other competitions are progressing. 

QUICK LINKS:

 

What's Coming Up?

Lawyer-Linguists Competition

APPLICATIONS OPEN: 24 September, 2020 ***UPDATE***
EPSO has changed the status of this competition back to "Autumn 2020 (indicative)"

Via this competition, the Council of the European Union, European Commission, and European Parliament will be looking for Lawyer-Linguists (AD7 grade) who are fluent in Polish, Hungarian, Irish, French, Czech or Bulgarian. Hence positions will be based in Brussels (Belgium), Luxembourg (Luxembourg) and Strasbourg (France).

Further details of the selection process will be known once the Official Notice of Competition is released. 

***THIS SESSION HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE*** To help candidates get up to speed with all the ins-and-outs of this competition, EU Training will host a FREE 2020 EPSO Lawyer-Linguist Exams - Information Webcast session on 25 September @ 12:30 p.m., to discuss the key elements of this competition and how best to prepare for each stage. Click here to register and join this FREE online event

If you can't attend the live session on this date/time, no problem! Register for this session anyway and we will add the recording to your EU Training account as soon as it is loaded to the website. This way you can view it any time you want, as many times as you want. Easy!

While you wait for the Notice of Competition to be released, join the conversation and connect with other candidates via the EPSO Lawyer-Linguists Facebook Group.

 

Administrators in Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Development Competition

APPLICATIONS OPEN: 8 October, 2020 ***UPDATE***
EPSO has changed the status of this competition back to "Autumn 2020 (indicative)"

The European Commission will be seeking applications from those who have expertise in the field of sustainable agriculture and rural development, to join the team as an AD6 level Administrator in Brussels. 

We will have to wait for specific details about qualifications and the selection exams until the Official Notice of Competition is released, but don't take your eyes off this one, as it is a highly unique competition that hasn't come up before.

***THIS SESSION HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE*** To help candidates prepare effectively for this competition, EU Training will hold a FREE 2020 EPSO Agriculture & Rural Development Specialists Exams - Information Webcast session on 9 October @ 12:30 p.m., to discuss all the key components of this competition and how best to get ready for each round of testing. Click here to register and join this FREE online event

If you can't attend the live session on this date/time, no problem! Register for this session anyway and we will add the recording to your EU Training account as soon as it is loaded to the website. This way you can view it any time you want, as many times as you want. Easy!

While you wait for the Notice of Competition to be released, join the conversation and connect with other candidates via the EPSO Administrators in Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Development Exams Facebook Group.

 

Proofreaders / Language Editors Competition

APPLICATIONS OPEN: 22 October, 2020 ***UPDATE***
EPSO has changed the status of this competition back to "Autumn 2020 (indicative)"

The Court of Justice and European Parliament will be seeking Proofreaders and Language Editors to join the team (AST3 grade), who are fluent in Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Estonian, Spanish or Greek to be based in Luxembourg.

Full details of this competition's selection process will be know once the Official Notice of Competition is released. 

***THIS SESSION HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE*** In anticipation of this competition, EU Training will hold a FREE 2020 EPSO Proofreader & Editor Exams - Information Webcast session on 22 October @ 17:00 p.m., to highlight all the important facts of this competition and how to prepare effectively for each stage of testing. Click here to register and join this FREE online event

If you can't attend the live session on this date/time, no problem! Register for this session anyway and we will add the recording to your EU Training account as soon as it is loaded to the website. This way you can view it any time you want, as many times as you want. Easy!

While you wait for the Notice of Competition to be released, join the conversation and connect with other candidates via the EPSO Proofreader & Editor Exams Facebook Group.

 

Administrators in the field of Chemicals Policy Competition

The European Commission will be seeking applications from those who have expertise in the field of chemicals policy, to join the team as an AD6 level Administrator in Brussels. 

Full details of this competition's selection process will be know once the Official Notice of Competition is released sometime over the Autumn period. 

While you wait for the Notice of Competition to be released, join the conversation and connect with other candidates via the EPSO Administrators in Chemicals Policy Exams Facebook Group.

 

 

Open For Applications...

Administrators in the field of External Relations

APPLICATIONS OPEN!
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 13 October, 2020

The European External Action Service (EEAS), with the support of EPSO, released last week a competition calling forward applications from specialists with professional experience in the field of External Relations seeking a career as part of the EU's diplomatic service.

In this article, we offer an easy to read overview of the specifics of this competition and the selection exams you will need to undertake.

Where to start...

  1. To help candidates prepare for this competition effectively, EU Training held a FREE Information Webcast last week to discuss all the key components of this competition and how best to get ready for each round of testing. Before completing the application form and Talent Screener, we recommend that you view the FREE 2020 EPSO External Relations Exams - Information Webcast recording.
  2. This competition includes a Talent Screener as part of the application process. Completing the Talent Screener correctly is a vital component to move through a key stage of the selection process. To gain detailed insights into how this selection tool works and strategies to use when completing it, view this webinar recording - Everything You Need To Know About EPSO's Talent Screener.
  3. Need help with your EPSO application or Talent Screener? Take a look at our Application Assistance service
  4. Complete, validate and submit your application by the deadline:
    AD5 Apply Here / AD7 Apply Here

Want to join the conversation and talk to other candidates about this competition? 
Get helpful hints and advice from other candidates via the EPSO Administrators in the field of External Relations Exams Facebook Group.

Getting ready for this competition?
Access practice packages here, and view methodology webinars here - some are even FREE!

 

 

Assessment Centres Moving Online

The following competitions have completed the Case Study component of their Assessment Centre, but there is uncertainty in how EPSO will proceed with the rest of the exercises.

  • Specialists in Law and Finance competition - Case Study exam completed in January
  • Administrators in the field of Audit competition - Case Study completed in February
  • Graduate Administrators AD5 competition - Case Study exam completed on 2 September, 2020
  • Specialists in Legal Research - Lawyers competition - Case Study exam completed on 3 September, 2020

Due to travel restrictions in place because of COVID-19, EPSO has made an announcement that will drastically change how candidates will be tested during the Assessment Centre component of their competition - testing is moving online!

At this point, EPSO has not disclosed too many details about how this online Assessment Centres will look and how they plan to counter the inequality in performance assessment that this could cause.

For an overview of the current situation, we recommend that you read this IMPORTANT EPSO Assessment Centre Update.

Despite the uncertainties, now is a good opportunity to make the most of this extra time to really perfect the skill required for each evaluation exercise included in your competition's Assessment Centre.

What preparation resources are available?...

 

 

Quick Update On Ongoing EPSO Competitions

2020 Secretaries Competition - CBT Dates Announced

It's time to get serious about your pre-selection test preparation! 

With thousands of applications received and the first round of testing coming up very soon, it's important to make the most of this practice window because the competition is going to be fierce. 

  • The test booking period will last from 23 - 29 October, 2020.
  • The Pre-Selection Exam will take place between 3 - 20 November, 2020

3916 applications were submitted for grade SC1, and 2829 for grade SC2. This means all these candidates will be vying to attain the highest possible scores in the pre-selection exam. So expect the threshold score to be high for both grades. 

Here's how to get prepared:

If you haven't already, this would also be a great time to join the conversation and talk to other candidates about this competition via the EPSO AST and SC Exams Facebook Group.

 

Administrators in European Law Competition - CBT Dates Announced

It's time to get serious about your pre-selection test preparation! 

With 7648 applications received and the first round of testing coming up very soon, it's important to make the most of this practice window because the competition is going to be fierce. 

  • The test booking period will last from 12-18 November, 2020.
  • The Pre-Selection Exam will take place between 25 Nov - 16 Dec, 2020

Here's how to get prepared:

If you haven't already, this would also be a great time to join the conversation and talk to other candidates about this competition via the EPSO Administrators in European Law (AD5) Exams Facebook Group.

 

Lawyer-Linguists (DA, EL, FR, HR, PL) Competition

For two languages the Translation Testing session has been announced:

  • Test Booking Period: 2 - 8 October, 2020
  • Croatian-Language (HR) Lawyer-Linguists: 20 - 23 October, 2020
  • Danish-Language (DA) Lawyer-Linguists: 22 - 23 October, 2020

It is not clear from EPSO's website when the Translation Tests will take place for the other three languages. 

If you haven't already, this would also be a great time to join the conversation and talk to other candidates about this competition via the EPSO Lawyer-Linguists Facebook Group.

 

European Commission's IT Specialist Competition

The computer-based exam phase of this competition is currently underway and will conclude on 21 September, 2020.

To get you comfortable with these tests and increase your test-taking speed we recommend that you complete some practice tests under exam conditions.

To get you up to speed with the exam methodology, be sure to check out our extensive library of webinars (many are free)...

If you haven't already, this is also a great time to connect with other candidates via the EPSO IT Specialists Exams Facebook Group.

 

Administrators In International Cooperation and Managing Aid to Non-EU Countries Competition

The Case Study exam date has been announced for those candidates that have successfully made it through the Talent Screener phase of this competition's selection process.

  • Case Study exam booking period: 8 - 14 December, 2020
  • Case Study exam date: 8 January, 2020

This offers a very comfortable amount of time to perfect your Case Study exam skills...and we have a great suite of resources to assist you in this endeavor:

If you haven't already, this is also a great time to connect with other candidates via the EPSO Administrators in International Cooperation Exams Facebook Group.

 

Conference Operators Competition

Congratulations to the 75 candidates that have made it through the Talent Screener round of this competition. Dates for this competition's Assessment Centre have not been announced yet by EPSO.

While you wait, you may find it valuable to watch our methodology webinar on the EPSO Competency-Based Interview: EPSO Competency-Based Interview Insights

If you haven't already, this is also a great time to connect with other candidates via the Conference Operators EPSO Exams Facebook Group.

 

Parliamentary Ushers Competition

It has been a long wait for this group and the wait is still not over. The Assessment Centre was set to take place between March and May of this year. However, due to the Corona virus pandemic this was postponed.  

According to EPSO's forward planning calendar, SC1 candidates will need to wait until January 2021 and SC2 until February 2021 for their Assessment Centres to take place. 

While you wait, you may find it valuable to watch our methodology webinar on the EPSO Competency-Based Interview: EPSO Competency-Based Interview Insights or get some practice in for the computer-based multiple-choice reasoning tests:

If you haven't already, this is also a great time to connect with other candidates via the Parliamentary Ushers EPSO Exams Facebook Group.

 

 

CAST Candidates

The new indicative dates for the next testing periods have been published on the web pages of the different EPSO CAST profiles.

If you get invited to take part in the computer-based test you will need to complete a Verbal Reasoning Test, Numerical Reasoning Test, Abstract Reasoning Test, and a Competency Test or Language Comprehension Test depending on the CAST profile.

To better understand the CAST selection process, we recommend that you watch this FREE webcast: EPSO CAST Demystified - Q&A

To get you comfortable with these tests and increase your test-taking speed we recommend that you complete some practice tests under exam conditions. We have special practice packages for each EPSO CAST profile.

To get you up to speed with the exam methodology, be sure to check out our extensive library of webinars as well (many are free)...

If you haven't already, this is also a great time to connect with other candidates via the EPSO CAST Exams​ Facebook Group.

 

 

Are You New to EPSO Competitions? 

EU Training offers a wealth of practice materials for all stages and levels of the EU institutions’ selection exams.

Check out our FREE E-books, webinars, webcasts and e-learning materials to help you excel.

If you have a question or need additional help in understanding the EPSO processes, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Want to see what these EPSO Pre-Selection exams look like? 
Try our FREE EPSO Exam Demo

Unsure how the EPSO selection process works? 
View our short video - ‘New To EPSO Competitions’