EPSO/AST/137/16 – Notice of Open Competition for Linguistic Assistants

EPSO/AST/137/16 – Notice of Open Competition for Linguistic Assistants

The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising an open competition for Linguistic Assistants (AST 1) *

Linguistic Assistants are sought for the following languages:

Danish (DA) — 16 successful candidates, Maltese (MT) — 16 successful candidates, Irish (GA) — 13 successful candidates, Dutch (NL) — 13 successful candidates, Croatian (HR) — 16 successful candidates, Slovak (SK) — 12 successful candidates, Hungarian (HU) — 12 successful candidates, Slovenian (SL) — 12 successful candidates

Eligibility Requirements

To be able to apply, you must meet the following conditions:

1. General conditions:

• Enjoy full rights as a citizen of a Member State of the EU
• Meet any obligations under national laws on military service
• Meet the character requirements for the duties concerned

      2. Specific conditions:

Languages:

• Language 1: minimum level — C2 in the chosen language of the competition from Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Hungarian, Irish, Maltese, Slovak or Slovenian.
• Language 2: minimum level — B2 compulsory in either English, French or German.

Qualifications and work experience (either of the following):

• A level of post-secondary education attested by a diploma relevant to the nature of the duties.
•  A level of secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post- secondary education, followed by at least 3 years’ professional experience relevant to the nature of the duties.
• Professional training (equivalent to European Qualification Framework Level 4 — please see here) of at least 1 year, followed by a minimum of 3 years’ professional experience. Both the training and experience must be relevant to the nature of the duties.

Selection Procedure

1) Computer-based Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) tests

If your application form is validated within the deadline the next phase consists of taking a series of computer-based multiple choice question (MCQ) tests in one of EPSO’s accredited centres.

These tests are eliminatory and will be organised as follows:

2) Assessment phase

If the eligibility requirements are met and if you reached the passing mark and scored one of the highest total marks for the MCQ tests you will be invited to attend an assessment phase for 1 day, most probably in Brussels, where you will take tests held in your language 1 and 2.

Out of the total successful candidates, approximately 2 times, but no more than 2,5 times the number of sought candidates for each language will be selected to take the tests in  the assessment phase.

Seven general competencies, each marked out of 10 points, and the specific competencies required for this competition will be tested during the assessment phase through 3 tests (competency-based interview, case study and a field-specific test) as described below:

3) Reserve list

After the candidates’ supporting documents are checked a reserve list per language of the eligible candidates who have obtained the highest overall marks following the assessment phase will be drawn up by the selection board until the number of successful candidates sought is reached. Names will be listed alphabetically.

You can apply here by 31 May 2016 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time**

*This notice of open competition covers 8 languages. You may only apply to one language. You must make your choice when you apply online as you will not be able to change it after you have validated your online application form

**You must fill in your application form in English, French or German

• No Comments
• Subscribe via Rss

EPSO financial officers and advisers in the fields of Finance and Project Management

EPSO financial officers and advisers in the fields of Finance and Project Management

Call for expression of interest for EPSO financial officers and advisers in the fields of Finance and Project Management

EPSO/CAST/P/1/2015 – Financial officer – Function Group III (FGIII)

EPSO/CAST/P/2/2015 – Financial adviser – Function Group IV (FGIV)

EPSO/CAST/P/3/2015 – Project/programme officer – Function Group III (FGIII)

EPSO/CAST/P/4/2015 – Project/programme adviser – Function Group IV (FGIV)

The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) announced it is organising an open-ended selection procedure to create a pool of candidates from which the Executive Agencies can recruit Contract Agents in the fields of Finance and Project Management.

Under the supervision of an official or member of the temporary staff, the contract agent staff member will carry out duties that include, but are not limited to:

Financial officer (FGIII)/ Financial adviser (FGIV):

– Budget planning and follow-up and budget information and reporting

– Financial coordination and advice, financial analysis and reporting

– Financial initiation and/or verification

– Financial support

– Management of financial information

– Preparation and following-up of calls for tender and calls for proposals

– Administrative tasks related to assets

Project/Programme Officer (FGIII)/ Project/Programme Adviser (FGIV):

– General programme management: grant cycle management and call for tenders management

– Preparation of technical specifications for calls for tender

– Evaluation, monitoring and promotion of calls for proposals

– Evaluation, monitoring and negotiation of projects

– Financial evaluation of projects and programs

– Preparation of reports and statistics

– Project/programme management support

Conditions to apply:

1. General conditions

-Full rights citizen of a Member State of the E.U.

-Meet any obligations under national laws on military service

-Meet the character requirements for the duties concerned

2. Specific language conditions:

-Language 1: minimum level – C1 in one of the 24 official EU languages

-Language 2: minimum level – B2 in English, French or German; must be different from language 1

3. Specific qualification and work experience conditions:

For FGIII:

-Post-secondary education attested by a diploma, or

-Secondary education, attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education, and appropriate professional experience of at least

For FGIV:

-Completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma, or

-When in an EU Member State access to a profession of an equivalent level to function group IV is by State examination, professional training or an equivalent procedure, the Authority Authorised to Conclude Contracts of Employment (AACC) may agree to recognise this qualification as being equivalent to a university degree.

 Selection procedure:

1. Recruiting services search the database of registered candidates
2. Pre-selection: computer-based multiple choice tests.
3. Job interview
4. Recruitment

1. Recruiting services search the database of registered candidates

When the need arises, a number of candidates will be shortlisted from EPSO’s Recruiter Portal database. The candidate best matching the specific job requirements will be selected.

2. Pre-selection: computer-based multiple choice tests.

Shortlisted candidates will receive an invitation to take a series of computer-based multiple choice tests in one of EPSO`s accredited centres. The testing results will be communicated via the candidate`s EPSO Account

Please note that once a computer-based multiple choice test is passed there is no need to take it again. However, the results achieved for a given profile are only valid for this profile and function group. The results will, nevertheless, remain valid and visible in the EPSO Recruiter Portal database.

3. Job interview

Upon passing the pre-selection tests, candidates will be invited via the e-mail address indicated in their EPSO Account to an interview.

At this point you may be asked to provide copies of diplomas, certificates and other supporting documents to prove that the information in your application matches your qualifications and experience.

A selection panel will assess suitability for the job, qualification, experience and linguistic knowledge to perform the tasks involved.

4. Recruitment

Candidates that are successful in the pre-selection tests and in the interview may receive a formal employment offer.

Before recruitment, you will be asked to provide the original of the supporting documents and certificates to check the information in your application and confirm eligibility.

You must apply online via your EPSO Account and choose the reference corresponding to the profile and function group, as indicated below. You must fill in the application form in English, French or German.

EPSO/CAST/P/1/2015 – Financial officer – FG III

EPSO/CAST/P/2/2015 – Financial adviser – FGIV

EPSO/CAST/P/3/2015 – Project/programme officer – FG III

EPSO/CAST/P/4/2015 – Project/Programme adviser – FG IV

This call is open for registration without any deadline for submitting applications.

• No Comments
• Subscribe via Rss

Epso Translators 2015 Competitions Announced

Epso Translators 2015 Competitions Announced

The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising an open competition – EPSO/AD/315/15, EPSO/AD/316/15, EPSO/AD/317/15, EPSO/AD/318/15, EPSO/AD/319/15, EPSO/AD/320/15 – based on tests to draw up a reserve list from which European institutions will recruit new EPSO translators 2015 (AD 5).

*Please note that this announcement is for six competitions, each with two options. You may only apply to one competition and one option. You must make your choice when you apply online and you will not be able to change it after you have confirmed your online application form.

EPSO Translators 2015 are sought for the following languages:

Finnish –  20 available positions for Option 1 and 9 for Option 2

Hungarian – 15 available positions for Option 1 and 10 for Option 2

Latvian –  20 available positions for Option 1 and 5 for Option 2

Polish – 23 available positions for Option 1 and 2 for Option 2

Portuguese – 32 available positions for Option 1 and 4 for Option 2

Slovak –  17 available positions for Option 1 and 3 for Option 2

The specific language conditions are as follows:

Option 1

Language 1: minimum level — C2 of the competition language,

Language 2: minimum level — C1 in English, French or German,

Language 3: minimum level — C1 in English, French or German, must be different from language 2.

Option 2

Language 1: minimum level — C2 of the competition language,

Language 2: minimum level — C1 in English, French or German,

Language 3: minimum level — C1 in one of the 24 official EU languages, must be different from language 1 and not English, French or German.

For details on language levels, see the  Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The testing process has three phases:

Computer-based multiple-choice MCQ tests for EPSO Translators 2015 (Numerical Reasoning tests do not count into the overall score. You must reach indicated pass mark in order to qualify for the next stage for all tests)

Language 1:

Verbal Reasoning –  pass mark -Verbal + abstract combined: 15/30

Numerical Reasoning – pass mark 4/10

Abstract Reasoning – pass mark – Verbal + abstract combined: 15/30

Language 2 and 3:

Language comprehension – pass mark 6/12

Translation tests (weight 65% of the overall mark)

Translation with dictionary (pass mark 40/80):

– from language 2 into language 1

– from language 3 into language 1

3) Assessment Centre (weights 35% of the overall mark and 40/80 pass mark needed)

If in need of more information it can be found on the EPSO website or in the Official Journal of the European Union.

You can apply to EPSO Translators 2015 competitions by 1 September 2015 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time.

• No Comments
• Subscribe via Rss

EPSO E-Tray Exam Guide

A guide to the EPSO E-Tray Exam

Are you interested to work in one of the European Union institutions? The EPSO is the perfect way to start! The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) handles endorsement to any European Union institution. With about 60,000 – 70,000 applications per year, how does one succeed?

He or she must definitely be able to pass the EPSO exams. For the Administrators and Assistants cycle, one of the exams that you will need to pass to succeed is the EPSO E-tray examination.

What is an EPSO E-tray exam?

An EPSO E-tray exam is a business inbox simulation activity that allows an applicant to experience the usual tasks and challenges in a position within the EU Institutions. The applicant has to take the test in his second language – English, French, or German – via a computer in which he has to answer a set of questions. The type of test, as well as the number of questions, will be dependent on the information released by the Notice of Competition published in the official Journal of the European Union, as well as the EPSO website.

This notice includes details on the criteria for selection, the job profile as well as the description, the slots for the reserve list, qualification and experience requirements, and the test format for each of the stages in the selection process.

Usually, the EPSO E-tray exam focuses on 4 out of 8 EPSO key competencies – analysis and problem solving, delivering quality and results, prioritising and organising and working with others.

Before you begin the test, you will be given a specific time to read the instructions as you can see below. Make sure to read everything carefully.The documentation that you will need to find relevant background information will be in a mailbox. You have to click on a box for your answer of choice using the mouse. You can click on another box if you decided to change your answer any time.

You need to rank the 3 options available for each question on the scale indicated in the question:

• – – totally agree
• – disagree
• -+ neutral
• + agree
• ++ totally agree

Each ranking symbol can only be selected once per question, which means that every complete answer must have the combination of the 3 different symbols.  Your answers show not only what ranking you assign to each individual option, but also your order of preference among the 3 options. In short, answers will only be recorded if you are able to rank all 3 options.

There are between 15 to 20 questions with 3 options each to be accomplished in 50 minutes. You will be guided with your remaining time on top of the screen during the whole period. Treat each question independent from the rest. Do not take into account one question with another. The navigation through the mailbox and navigation between the questions should be treated separately. The question in front of you is not necessarily linked to the email that is visible on the screen at that time.  A question can be related either to several emails or just one.

There could be from 10 to 15 emails for you to process. To be able to navigate through the mailbox displayed at the top half of the screen, click on the email titles at the left. Remember to only use the ‘Previous’ and ‘Next’ buttons at the bottom of the screen to navigate between the questions at the bottom half of the screen.

What does an EPSO E-tray exam measure?

The EPSO E-tray exam is the best tool to determine how the selected candidates work – their style and approach. It also enables the assessor to determine if they are able to show their skills in analytics, communication, written, and delegation as well as their business acumen.

The exam also defines their competencies (only 4 out of the 8 competencies will be tested but you will also have to be familiar with the ones remaining):

(1) Analysis and problem solving,

(2) Communicating,
(3) Delivering quality and results,

(4) Learning and development,

(5) Prioritizing and organizing,

(6) Resilience,

(7) Working with others,

(8) Leadership.

The EPSO AST/SC competitions for secretaries will not test “Working with Other” competency and will only test 3 competencies.

What happens in an EPSO E-tray exam?

Candidates competing for a permanent position need to undergo three stages –admission, intermediate test and Assessment Centre.  In the admission stage (a.k.a. epso pre-selection) candidates are tested in the skills in verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning through computer-based testing (CBT).  From there, they move to the assessment of their skills in situational judgment using their secondary language with scenario-based activities. The top scorers go to the second stage – the EPSO E-tray – with the prerequisite that their profile meet the requirements.

The assessment stage consists of four tests. In the first test, candidates will need to respond to a case study in relevant fields. In the second test,  the candidates will take group exercise test, third test is the epso oral presentation, and the last is the epso comptency based interview. This test has to be taken in Brussels or Luxembourg.  The highest performers will be included in the reserved list from where the EU institutions recruit.

How is Epso E-Tray exam scored?

Epso E-tray answers are scored based on the competencies and measured through specific tasks.  For each competency a maximum of 10 points can be obtained.

How to prepare for EPSO E-Tray?

Every year, only 1,500-2,000 applicants are chosen and recruited to be part of the different EU institutions.  What should an aspiring candidate do to be part of the fortunate ones?  Here are a few tips to help you ace the E-tray test.

• Preparation. Prepare yourself – mind, heart, and body. The exam requires a particular mindset to continuously open your mind to learning. You may have to sacrifice a bit of time for you to focus and learn as much as you can ahead of time. You also need to keep your body healthy in order to be awake and alert during your reviews and practice tests.

• Research. Know which key skills you need to prioritize and which are of less priority. This will allow you to focus on significant tasks and identify situations that you need to be familiar with. The roles presented during Epso E-Tray are generic. You could be a Policy Officer for Nuclear science so you do not need in-depth knowledge is the field, but the better you understand the key skills tested and recognize them during the exam, the better prepared you are to answer all the e-tray questions.

• Learn. Every day is a new opportunity to learn. Grasp the methodologies to identify the patterns, know the basics, and apply the shortcuts. You should not miss any relevant material and information. Gather strategies on how to successfully solve the required tasks of each competency. These will help you to answer the tests easier and perform better.

• Intensive training is necessary for you to apply all the preparations and learning you gathered prior to your actual exam. Epsotraining offers several materials accessible for you to simulate what happens in an Epso E-tray exam. This will allow you to be more comfortable in the exam environment especially with the clicking of your answers on the screen. As you practice in answering simulation exams, you also need to practice to use your time wisely. Time management is a major factor in this exam.

• Persistence. Your eyes should always be on the goal. Never let it slip. Don’t allow yourself to be tempted. No excuses. Be determined. Focus on what you want to achieve.  If you are focused enough, you’ll be able to handle the pressure with calmness and grace to follow instructions and to answer at your best.

Every candidate who wants to succeed and be an official of any EU institution should always look for an opportunity to learn and improve himself. Now is the time, and all we need to do is to take the first step. Practicing our EPSO E-tray tests is a good way to start!

• 3 Comments
• Subscribe via Rss