EPSO/AST-SC/03/15 – Secretaries/Clerks Competition Announced

EPSO/AST-SC/03/15 – Secretaries/Clerks Competition Announced

The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising the EPSO/AST-SC/03/15 open competition, based on tests, to draw up reserve lists from which to recruit officials as ‘Secretaries’ and ‘Clerks’ in the following fields:

• Administrative support;
• Financial support;
• Secretarial support;

The number of successful candidates sought per field and per grade is:

Computer-based admission tests are organised by EPSO. The selection board decides on the difficulty of the tests set and approves their content based on proposals made by EPSO.

A series of tests comprising multiple-choice questions to assess your general aptitudes and competencies as regards:

1. The reasoning ability will be assessed by a verbal, numerical and an abstract reasoning test.

If admission tests are not held, these reasoning tests will form part of the assessment centre. Also, various aspects of your professional experience will be take in consideration for the next step, the assessment centre.

At the Asssesment Centre for the EPSO/AST-SC/03/15, you will sit two types of tests, in your Language 2, the content of which is validated by the selection board, to assess your:

1. Specific competences assesed according to your application field:
2. If you applied in the field of administrative support you will be assesed by an office skills test and a practical test to assess your drafting skills (particularly spelling, syntax and grammar);
3. If you applied in the field of financial support, you will be assessed through a finance skills test and a practical test to assess your drafting skills (particularly spelling, syntax and grammar);
4. Last but not least, if you applied in the field of secretarial support, you will be assessed by a practical test involving the preparation and/or processing of an MS Word and Excel document and a practical test to assess your drafting skills (particularly spelling, syntax and grammar);
5. The general competences will be assessed for all 3 fields by means of:
6. An e-tray exercise;
7. a structured interview.

The Deadline to apply to the EPSO/AST-SC/03/15 competition (including validation) is 10th February 2015 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time.

For more details you can take a look here:

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EPSO/AD/294/14 Competition for Administrators (AD 6) in the Field of Data Protection Announced

EPSO/AD/294/14 Competition for Administrators (AD 6) in the Field of Data Protection Announced

The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organizing an open competition – EPSO/AD/294/14, based on qualifications and tests, to draw up a reserve list from which to recruit officials as ‘administrators’ for the European Data Protection Supervisor. The number of successful candidates sought is 20.

Admission tests:

The computer-based admission tests will be organized by EPSO only if the number of candidates exceeds a certain threshold which will be set by the Director of EPSO, as the appointing authority, after the deadline for applications.

You will be invited to sit the tests if you have validated your application on time and ofcourse, you must reserve a date to sit the tests.   You will sit three types of assessment tests, the content of which is validated by the selection board:

1. The reasoning ability will be assessed by a verbal, numerical and an abstract reasoning test.

If admision  tests are not held, these reasoning tests will form part of the Assessment Centre. Also, various aspects of your professional experience will be take in consideration for the next step, the assesment centre.

At the Assesment Centre, you will sit three types of assessment tests, the content of which is validated by the selection board:

The reasoning ability will be assessed by means of: a verbal, numerical reasoning tests and an abstract reasoning tests.

Your specific competencies  will be assessed by means of:

1. a structured interview on your competencies in the field, based on the information given in the ‘Talent Screener’ tab of your application.
2. A case study;
3. A group exercise and
4. A structured interview.

Deadline for the EPSO/AD/294/14 competition (including validation): 9 December 2014 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time

For more details, including the admission criteria and other specific requirements, you can take a look at the next link:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.CA.2014.391.01.0001.01.ENG

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EPSO/AST/134/14 — Competition Announced for Assistants (AST 3) in the Field of Parliamentary Work

EPSO/AST/134/14 — Competition Announced for Assistants (AST 3) in the Field of Parliamentary Work

The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organizing an open competition – EPSO/AST/134/14, based on qualifications and tests, to draw up a reserve list from which to fill vacant posts for officials as ‘Assistants’ in the European Parliament to work for one or more of the following sectors:

• Assistance in parliamentary work;
• Communication activities;
• Correspondence and mail management;
• Support tasks relating to the daily work of a committee/delegation/unit secretariat;

The number of successful candidates sought is 30.

The computer-based admission tests for the EPSO/AST/134/14 competition will be organized by EPSO only if the number of candidates exceeds a certain threshold which will be set by the Director of EPSO, as the appointing authority, after the deadline for applications.

At the preselection stage, your responses to the questions relating to the general and specific conditions will be processed to determine whether you can be included in the list of candidates who fulfill all the conditions for admission to the competition. The selection board will then screen the candidates eligible for the competition on the basis of their qualifications to identify those whose profile (particularly their diplomas and professional experience) best matches the duties and selection criteria set out in this notice.

You will sit three types of assessment tests, the content of which is validated by the selection board:

1. The reasoning ability will be assessed by a verbal, numerical and an abstract reasoning test.

If admission tests are not held, these reasoning tests will be part of the assessment centre. Also, various aspects of your professional experience will be taken in consideration for the next step, the assesment centre.

At the Assesment Centre, You will sit three types of assessment tests, the content of which is validated by the selection board:

The reasoning ability will be assessed by means of: a verbal, numerical and free abstract reasoning tests.

Your specific competencies  will be assessed by means of:

1. a structured interview on your competencies in the field, based on the information given in the ‘Talent Screener’ tab of your application.
2. A case study;
3. A group exercise and
4. A structured interview.

The Deadline for the EPSO/AST/134/14 competition (including validation) is 13 January 2015 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time.

For more details you can take a look at the next link:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:C:2014:434A:FULL&from=EN

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EPSO Oral Presentations Tips

EPSO Oral Presentations Tips

The EPSO Oral Presentations are an excellent opportunity to offer information and connect directly to your targeted audience. They are a fantastic outlet to present yourself in the best light possible and make a good impression on the assessors.  As many benefits as oral presentations offer, some find it challenging to speak in public and perform with confidence. You will find yourself tested on competencies such as Analysis and Problem-solving, Communicating, Delivering quality & results and Resilience. With the following tips you’d be able to get a handle on oral presentations and impress your audience!

• Consider your goal

Before any oral presentation, think about what it is that you would like to achieve. Do you need to convince your audience of something or are you simply presenting information? Are you to entertain or educate them? How would you like to be remembered? If you are able to formulate a clear goal, then you would have something objective to work towards and are more likely to be successful.

• Do your research

Even if you are well-informed on the topic you will talk about, do some additional research. This way you might discover new, intriguing facts. More importantly, you will ensure that you are thoroughly prepared for any questions your audience might ask, which will portray you as more respectable and trustworthy. Last but not least, if you are well-prepared your confidence will sky-rocket and nerves will have a hard time settling in.

• Organization is key

Even if the facts you will present are interesting, the effect may be lost due to poor organization. Think about the succession of individual facts on how to best tie them together. Also make sure you practice your EPSO oral presentation beforehand and consider the time frame.

• Know your audience

Let’s face it – nobody likes to be bored. If you don’t want your assessors to experience this feeling which will be well masked by their professional attitude during the interview, make sure you know what will captivate them. You don’t have to pretend to be one of them, but try to think about what they are interested in, what they expect to hear from you and how formal they would expect you to be. Consider European Institutions culture in order to make sure you stay appropriate.

• Captivate with your visual aid

While some people have a better vocal memory, they remember things they hear, others have a stronger visual memory – what they see remains in their mind. Having a strong visual aid will help captivate your assessors and will certainly enhance your presentation. You won’t be able to use generic slides but you could draw attention by referencing to a relevant paragraph from the papers you received before the interview – try incorporating something more colorful and creative, while staying occasion-appropriate.

• Use language to your advantage

Language can be a powerful tool if you know how to use it. Firstly, try not to read off of support papers or to memorize every word of your presentation. Both will likely come off as fake and dull. It is best to sound natural, so have flash cards with bullet points, but paraphrase the information as you go. Use engaging words such as “listen” “look” “imagine” – these expressions help your audience spring into action and pay more attention to you.  To keep people’s interest, try to speak loudly and clearly, while avoiding a monotonous tone of voice.

• Deal with nervousness

Taking the EPSO oral presentation exam can make you feel very nervous and undermine your self-confidence. Unfortunately, being overly nervous can make you forget information, freeze or act in undesirable ways. This cloud has a silver lining though – there are many relaxation techniques you can use to deal effectively with nervousness. Slow, calm breathing and positive visualization can really help. Try not to think of yourself and the way you might look – instead, focus on your audience and keep eye contact with them.

The EPSO Oral presentations could in the end be a great opportunity to stand out during the Assessment Centre and a fun way to get people to remember you. Although presenting might sometimes be a little stressful, with the tips above you will master this skill and captive your audience!

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