March 2021

Even though EU Institutions had to change to online mode because of the sanitary crises, life cannot stop: EPSO introduced the online version of the Assessment Centre in September.

As explained on their official site, remote testing means that candidates do not need to travel to an EPSO location but do tests from their homes. EPSO informs candidates of all details, logistics and technical requirements at least three weeks in advance via their EPSO account. Tests are run via web conferencing or a messaging software respectively and all technical details are provided by EPSO assistants before the actual assessment day.

The so-called “group exercises” are now replaced by Situational Competency Based Interviews, the aim of which is to assess general competencies by asking the candidate how they would react in a specific situation. Candidates are provided access to an online written assignment and background information that they have to use for preparation for a 30-40-minute interview. In this imaginary situation, candidates replace a colleague and assume responsibility for a variety of tasks and situations which are then discussed during the interview run by a trained interviewer. During the interview, additional situations are introduced by the interviewer that are independent from the assignment. The Selection Board is represented by two members who only observe the discussion, take notes and do the evaluation of the candidate’s performance according to a number of general competencies as indicated in the Notice of Competition.

So far several open competitions have been successfully finalised using this new methodology adapted to the present sanitary situation.

For further information and examples of situational competency-based questions click here.

USL wishes to call your attention to the following competitions where application is open:

• Nuclear Inspectors AST3,
• European Parliament’s Positive Action for Persons with Disabilities CAST,
• Proofreaders/language editors AST3 – Greek,
• Proofreaders/language editors AST3 – Spanish, and
• CAST permanent.

Upcoming opportunities:

• Experts in technical support to Member States’ Structural Reforms AD 7,
• Experts in the Schengen acquis AD 7.

Do you want to work for the European Institutions as “statutory staff”?

In order to recruit statutory staff, the EU Institutions have created the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) which organizes selection competitions on a regular basis.

The list of the upcoming competitions can be found on the EPSO website