Succeeding in the EU Examinations

Farewell message

2011-01-21T23:06:00.000+01:00

Dear readers of my book and my blog,

After a lot of thought, I decided to declare this blog as closed. I took this decision beacause the scarcity of my postings does not allow for this space to be called a "blog".

I would still answer all questions and/or comments, but will not actively support the further development of this space.

Thank you for buying my book and reading my blog,

Good luck in all endeavours :-)

EPSO Humour

2010-03-09T16:05:00.001+01:00

Humour is one of the most important behaviours of the human mind and Laugther is it's better representation. Here is our first story, courtesy of the unknown EPSO candidate.

THE NEXT SURVIVOR

40 000 expected candidates from all around Europe, New York and Beijing will try to get 400 tickets to maybe enter in a madhouse called "EU Institutions".

During that 9 months journey, they will have to face: Depression, no social life, lack of self-esteem, computer breakdowns, weird correction criteria from an almighty panel of judges (oops, I meant the jury) and other real or surreal problems.

The competition is not open to MEPs, Commissioners and other senior staff (they will fail during the first steps anyway).

There are other things that you can do during these 9 months to get anequally painful final result.

So start to prepare yourself, because Europe needs you.

Nota Bene: You should pass on this story to all known victims of EPSO (European Pain and Suffering Organization). If you do no do so, you will be forced to suffer from EPSO oppression until you will retire, and this is currently not before completing your 67 year of age. A friend of mine did not forward this story and not only his pet died but his girlfriend become a contrantual agent in the EPSO.

:-) Smile makes people wonder why :-)

Happy festive season

2008-12-23T12:22:00.002+01:00

Dear All,

I wish you a healthy and prosperous new year. May your study efforts be rewarded by a new European job.

The end of the year is usually traditionally the time to think about our future and our approach to all things. For me the last year was a period of sorrow and hibernation, but the sun is again shining, life keeps going on and I am now confident enough to promise for 2009 some new linguistic editions of your favorite book.

Enjoy your holidays but do not forget that only the well prepared will succeed.

Merry Christmas,

Christos

Lettre ouverte à EPSO - Utopia E concours EPSO AD-99-07

2008-06-16T20:53:00.001+02:00

Utopía E, la candidate à un concours EPSO qui aurait préféré être traitée comme un marché public.

20/04/2008 et 15/06/2008 pour la version finale.

Si j'étais assimilée à un marché public…

Je pourrais lire l'avis d'appel à candidature publié dans le JO Section S dans toute langue officielle de l'Union européenne et pas seulement en anglais, français ou allemand. Une section « sélection de personnel » serait même créée sur TED;
.
je pourrais communiquer avec EPSO dans ma langue et choisir ma deuxième langue pour les tests de présélection parmi les « 22 autres langues officielles »;
.
les critères d'exclusion, de présélection, de sélection, et d'attribution ne seraient pas confondus et seraient traités successivement dans cet ordre. Les procédures seraient définies et feraient l'objet d'un règlement similaire à la directive 2004/18/CE ;
.
lorsqu'un concours (très) spécialisé exigerait un diplôme particulier (comme ingénieur civil, secteur nucléaire, électricien, médecin...), ce critère (diplôme) serait examiné avant tout test afin d'éviter des pertes de temps, d'argent, des déplacements pour les candidats et pour EPSO (tests de présélection avec une grande majorité de candidats qui n'ont pas les diplômes requis dans l’ avis de concours). Une autre solution pourrait être la réintroduction des tests dans le domaine du concours dès la présélection; NB: Pourquoi ne pas demander aux candidats de présenter le diplôme le jour de ces tests quitte à examiner ce dernier plus tard?
.
si le point 4 ne pouvait pas être appliqué (certains commentaires oraux de collègues indiquent que l’examen des diplômes en 23 langues avec des cursus différents suivant les pays est une tache délicate) et que le nombre de candidats après l'examen des diplômes ou des CVs était insuffisant il y aurait alors un rattrapage systématique des candidats dont les notes seraient les plus proches de la note minimum appliquée pour la présélection; NB: il semble que ce soit la procédure utilisée pour les derniers concours OLAF et assistants publiés en 2008 par EPSO;
.
les tests de présélection pour un concours donné auraient tous lieu en même temps. cela éviterait le possible trafic des questions de la base de donnée induit par le système adopté par EPSO;
.
les questions pour évaluer mes capacités de raisonnement verbal, numérique et les connaissances sur l'union européenne ne seraient pas choisies au hasard dans une base de données "corrompue" (sic courrier de "mon équipe EPSO"); NB : Dans le cas des tests de raisonnement verbal, si ces tests continuent à avoir le même format (types de questions et temps pour résoudre) il devrait être clair que ce sont avant tout des tests de lecture rapide et rien de plus
.
les textes servant de base aux questions de raisonnement verbal ne seraient pas les textes ou notes de presse les plus obscures ou mal traduits du site web d'Europa;
.
les questions seraient toutes les mêmes pour les candidats à un concours donné (égalité de traitement);
.
il n'y aurait jamais de questions favorisant ceux qui connaissent une marque particulière (comme Microsoft par exemple) plutôt qu'une autre dont les prestations sont équivalentes;
.
les erreurs et notamment les erreurs de traduction seraient corrigées de façon transparente et en respectant l'égalité de traitement; NB : les erreurs dans les courriers d’EPSO seraient corrigées par de nouvelles lettres au lieu de subtiliser une lettre par une autre dans le dossier personnel sans aucune explication
.
les candidats auraient le droit de recevoir une copie des questions ou plus simple, EPSO publierait des annales ou les questions des épreuves mêmes seraient publiées;
.
a qualification égale, il y aurait autant de probabilité pour une femme qu'un homme de réussir un concours d'ingénieur, d'architecte ou de chef d’unité;

Les principes d'égalité de traitement, transparence, non-discrimination, respect de la diversité, protection des données, confidentialité et accès aux documents personnels électroniques, bonne gestion seraient donc la base du processus de recrutement du personnel organisé par EPSO pour les institutions européennes…

Utopía E.
Candidate Ecartée au concours général AD/99/07 domaine/lot 1 avec 20/30 aux tests de présélection.

New English edition

2008-05-17T21:39:00.002+02:00

Dear Readers of my blog,

I am at the happy position to inform you that the new English edition of my book (3rd Extended Edition, January 2008, 144 pages) is available from the usual bookshops.

The book continues to evolve based on the encouraging feedback and remarks I get from readers in many countries around the world.

The extensions of coverage to this edition include:

1. A section with a methodology for dealing with the numerical and verbal reasoning multiple choice questions
2. Updates to learning resources, including a series of new questions

Please note that I am currently working on translating the book in other languages.

Thank you for your support and trust in my book.

Request for feedback

2008-04-08T22:53:00.001+02:00

Dear readers of my book,

I would be glad to get some feedback about my book, both good and not-so-good things you have spotted.

Even though I am currently working on several new linguistic versions, I am also working towards preparing the forthcoming editions and to this extend I would be honoured to receive your constructive feedback.

I putt forward such question, since my main concern is to better the areas that the readers find more interesting to develop.

So, please let me have your thoughts, ideas, disagreement, advice and praise.

Failing the competitions...

2008-03-26T22:05:00.001+01:00

I have recently received the following comment: On the contrary I have just been informed that my name has not been put in the reserve list for the translators' competition, as my mark for the oral exam was below pass mark. too bad.

Dear readers of this blog that you did not pass the competition,

Please remember that life has a lot of twists and that you should always try to harvest the positive elements (even from a failure) and dismiss the negative.

I am persuaded that a failure is a failure, only if we feel like this. My personal advice is that after such a moment of a temporary set-back (it's not a failure :-) it is the time to take stock of why you had low grade for the orals.

I strongly believe that this sometimes painful but useful exercise could help you in your future career irrespestively if you are pursuing more open competitions or if you are preparing for job interviews elsewhere.

An interesting example is Jon, the author of the "So I won't be a Commission official" blog (although just a comment, it has grown so much in order to deserve that naming).

Happy to discuss further.

Equal opportunities

2008-02-29T20:59:00.003+01:00

In anticipation of the Women Day on 7 March, I would to start a discussion concerning equal job opportunities at the EU institutions.

I have read a lot of comments and opinions concerning non-equal opportunities, between men and women, between EU-15 and EU-10 (or EU10+2) candidates, between speakers of the three working languages of the Commission and the rest, between Catholic/Protestant and Orthodox Christians, between "big" and "small" Member States, between different level of recruitments, between cabinets and "normal" officials, etc.

What do you think? Do you believe that there are grey areas and/or problems? How do you propose that the EU Institutions should deal with them?

Vacancies

2008-02-21T21:51:00.001+01:00

The more common set of successful candidates recurrent questions vis-à-vis job openings are:

How do I find information vis-à-vis job openings?
Why are the job positions not published externally?
Am I allowed to postulate for a job opening?

Please allow me to explain How the system of job openings works.

The job opening is an internal position, that is open to internal candidates (officials) which are due for mobility. This is the reason why job positions are not published externally (with the notifable exception of same senior management positions). Thus, successful candidates are not allowed to postulate for such job openings.

NB: The EU institutions apply a system of obligatory job rotation (normally every 5 years) for all sensitive posts in order to avoid among other things the building of "cliantele" relations.

The simplified version of the whole "vacancy" procedure is as follows:

In anticipation of a vacancy for a (permanent) post, the unit decides to make a (first) publication of a job opening. Normally there is a period of around three weeks for officials from the same EU institution to submit their candidature.
If following the first publication of a job opening, there are no (suitable) internal candidates (officials) from the same EU institution, then the unit in question, will most probably redraft the job opening and will shortly after re-publish it for a second time.
If following the second publication of a job opening, there are still no (suitable) internal candidates (officials), then the unit in question, will most probably open the job for candidates from other EU institutions, thus transforming the post to an inter-institutional job opening.
If following this third publication, there are still no (suitable) internal candidates (officials in any EU institution - even in a different country), then the unit in question, will most probably be given the chance of looking to the available reserve lists for suitable candidates.
However, there is still the possibility that, i.e. the reserve lists of successful candidates of open competitions are depleted, so the unit cannot find any suitable person for the job opening. The unit may decide at that stage to opt for a short-term temporary contract in the form of a contractual agent contract from the CAST lists.

I hope that the above information will make the recruitment process of aspiring candidates a little bit more transparent.

Bibliographic resources for further studying

2007-12-23T22:05:00.000+01:00

In my quest for information to enhance the new editions of my book, I often come across books which I think could be of interest to candidates of EU competitions.

However, potentials readers before dipping into further bibliographic research should remember: Candidates should go through these extra resources only after having study their basic texts.

The latest list of books I have read are:

How to get a job you'll love by John Lees from McGraw-Hill
Ethics Matters by Paolo Giusta from European Court of Auditors
Body language at work by Adrian Furnham from Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

I hereby invite all readers of this blog to share their own bibliographic discoveries, especially if it concerns specialised competitions.

So you passed! What next?

2007-11-16T15:52:00.001+01:00

So you were successful and you managed to include your name in the reserve list. Furthermore, you have even been offered a place to work in the EU Institutions.

Do you just say Yes or do you your time to prepare a "plan"? It is evident that you need to evaluate all your options before relocating. In a way, you should make a cost/benefit analysis before replying to any offers.

Some of these considerations could be evaluated if you answer the following questions:

Do you know what is the cost of living in that country/city?
Do you want to relocate to that country/city?
Can your partner find a job in that country/city?
Is there a school for your kids in that country/city?

Happy to discuss further from your point-of-view.

Type of interviews

2007-11-06T14:47:00.000+01:00

Dear Readers,

I would like to invite you to share your fears and your experiences vis-à-vis the oral examinations that you have passed or are preparing for.

An important point that needs to be clarified is the difference between a job interview and an oral examination.

A job interview will try to align the specificities of a job to the competencies of a successful laureate, whereas an oral examination will try to see the possible fit of a candidate to the administrative culture of the EU institutions.

Preparation for the two different interview types should be focus at different issues.

Please note that oral examination type of interview is more common to open competitions, whereas the job interview type of interview is more common to the Contractual Agents competitions (aka CAST).

Happy to discuss your views.

Communication is the prolonged arm of politics

2007-10-30T15:30:00.000+01:00

There have always been plans to "Better Communicate Europe" by explaining in plain words the Brussels-based EU institutions policies to European citizens. The objective is to win back popular support for the European project.

Of particular interest is the effort to teach European integration at school via the usage of children and comics books, addressed at students of all ages from kindergarden to secondary education.

L'Europe au quotidien (file://www.europarl.europa.eu/brussels/4/uploads/web-FR.pdf) / De 24 uur van Europa (file://www.europarl.europa.eu/brussels/41/uploads/web-NL.pdf) / Europa - Spuren im Alltag (file://www.europarl.europa.eu/brussels/43/uploads/web-DE.pdf) from the European Parliament Information office in Belgium.
The publication describes how Europe is embedded and enriching the life of a typical European family. The story illustrates what the family is doing in their daily life from they time the get up until they go to sleep.

La petite étoile en Europe from the European Parliament Information office in Belgium.
An album to color for pre-school kids concerning the EU-27.

Der kleine Stern inEuropa (http://bookshop.europa.eu/eubookshop/FileCache/PUBPDF/QA7807029DEC/QA7807029DEC_002.pdf) from the European Parliament Information office in Munich, Germany.
An album to color for pre-school kids concerning the EU-25.

On the Farm, A la ferme, Auf dem bauernhof from the European Commission Directorate-General for Agriculture.
The publication has a series of images to color and is addressed to kindergarden children. It's aim is to present a series of images stemming from the agriculture environment.

United in Diversity (http://bookshop.europa.eu/uri?target=EUB:NOTICE:KC7806133:EN:HTML) from the European Commission Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
In colourful and joyful drawings the booklet gives basic facts (accession date, number of inhabitants, capital city, surface) on the European Union and its 25 Member States. It is also a quick reference if you want to know how to say 'Hello!' and to know the main cultural elements of each Member State.

Mικρά νέα της Ευρώπης (www.europarl.europa.eu/athens/1/ath4270eu10369.htm) from the European Parliament Information office in Athens, Greece.
Ενημερωτικά φυλλάδια με σκοπό να γνωρίσουν οι μικροί Έλληνες τους λόγους για τους οποίους φτιάχτηκε η Ένωση, τους ευρωπαίους γείτονές τους, τις προσωπικότητες της Ευρώπης, τις πολιτικές που τους ενδιαφέρουν και διάφορα άλλα θέματα ευρωπαϊκού περιεχομένου.

Let me tell you a secret about the environment (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/pubs/pdf/biodiversity/en.pdf) [Replace in the URL the requested language code* in order to get the publication in that language] from the European Commission Directorate-General for Environment.
A little fox explains to a small boy environmental issues.

Together! (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/pubs/pdf/biodiversity/en.pdf) [Replace in the URL the requested language code* in order to get the publication in that language] from the European Commission Directorate-General for Environment.
A small boy explains to an older person the linkages that exist in an ecosystem.

Let’s explore Europe! (http://ec.europa.eu/publications/young/Letsexplore_en.pdf) [Replace in the URL the requested language code* in order to get the publication in that language] from the European Commission Directorate-General for Press and Communication.
A new school book designed to make European studies fun for 9 to 12 year old children. Full of interesting facts and colourful illustrations, it gives a lively overview of Europe and explains briefly what the European Union is and how it works. The booklet is supported by a multilingual website (http://europa.eu/europago/explore/index.htm) featuring quizzes and games.

*Language code: Danish - DA, Dutch - NL, English - EN, Finnish - FI, French - FR, German - DE, Greek - EL, Italian - IT, Portuguese - PT, Spanish - ES, Swedish - SV

Please report other similar material in all languages.

Linguistic editions

2007-10-01T22:30:00.002+02:00

Following a question from the founder of the yahoo group UE-laureates Francisco Javier Moleon concerning the differences between the two current linguistic versions of my book, I would like to inform you that the reason that the French edition (March 2007, 120 pages) of my book is double the size of the English edition (October 2006, 60 pages) is trifold:

1) It includes more material, including new learning resources

2) It has a must better layout, which makes reading must easier

3) The French language usually uses 30% more words in order to express the same message

The above improuvements were based on feedback received from readers of my book such as yourself. Further comments/remarks/wishes are welcomed.

Corrigendum

2007-09-23T09:55:00.001+02:00

Because nobody is perfect :-)

The following typos have been discovered:

First English Version

The question :"What is the Gutenberg stategy?" should read either as "What is the Göteborg stategy" or as "What is the Gothenburg stategy". Spotted by William Ritcher.

Readers are invited to submit their remarks to this forum.

Discoveries in the European blogosphere

2007-09-07T11:22:00.000+02:00

A lot of readers of my books ask either for places to discuss European issues and/or for discussion forums to find out which are the current issues on Europe.

Why do you need this kind of information?

Because the future official should be able to understand and tackle complex issues from many different angles.
Because the jury will often pose questions related to "hot" general issues

One of the "hottest" places to participate in such discussion is the European blogosphere.

The best articles and blogs I have recently discovered are:

Blogs: Filling the EU's 'communication gap'? [Français][Deutsch]
Getting a grip of the Euro-blogosphere
Ennui and some new EU blogs
The blogosphere and the media - An analysis from Italy on how traditional media are giving way to blogs
Blogosphere: the voice of Europe? [Italiano] - A SWOT analysis of the European blogosphere
The Euroblogosphere - Advent of a social movement or source for expert information? - A Diploma thesis
Cartographie de la Toile européenne - An innovative graphical representation of the French and European blogosphere
La Blogo-carte européenne [Français] - A map based graphical representation of the European blogosphere
The European blogosphere - A thematical (by country) meta-directory
Jon Worth's pick of the euroblogs - A feed aggregator of a number of blogs

The official blogs of the European Commissioners are available at http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/, while the YouTube space of the European Commission can be found at Sharing the Sights and Sounds of Europe [Français] [Deutsch]

Following the success of the World Wide Web, the new "social media" (i.a. blogs, wikis, youtube) are to be considered as the upcoming "people grassroot journalism" information points.

Readers are encouraged to share their favorite links.

2007-08-08T14:44:00.000+02:00

Letter from the author to the EU competitions candidates

Today EU institution’s challenge is to recruit the best of the best. Knowledge of the process and adequate preparation is the answer to the basic question of candidates

Which is the recipe for success in the EU Oral Examinations?

Following the unavailability of a reference book concerning the EU Oral Examinations, I thought that it was important to share the guiding principles of the process with all candidates.

This book offers a pragmatic approach to the Oral Examinations…

… that will help candidates to overtake the last hurdle before being offered a position in the EU institutions. Built on the years of experience of the author & lecturer and improved from the comments of numerous course participants, it describes the specificities of the EU Oral Examination process.
Building on its sole intangible assets, each person needs to promote their “Unique Selling Proposal”. I believe that this publication will facilitate all candidates to find elements of knowledge …

… and help candidates to build their “Unique Selling Proposal”.

I take this opportunity to wish candidates all the best with their endeavour for a career in the EU Institutions and to encourage them to share with me their testimonials concerning their oral examination experiences.

Remember that only the best prepared candidates are succeeding.

Good luck

Christos Bezirtzoglou