The sheer number of comments at the main post ‘So I Won’t Be A Commission Official‘ has been causing problems, so all the old comments are here instead, and hence searchable.
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@John4: I assume you’re referring to the numerical part…? Actually, it’s way easier than SAT. As long as you can add, subtract, multiply and divide you’re good. However, note that the time per question is limited, and you really *should* do a lot of these in advance, as the data is presented in often complex scenarios.
@stefan, I wasn’t implying anything 🙂 I was just posting this here for information to laureates in Audit. However, a) As far I know for Audit in particular the ECA is the primary recruitment body (yes, I know — that’s not exclusive, we do have the Internal Audit Service (IAS) within the Commission for example) and b) I did take notice that the number of successful Bulgarian laureates in Audit is 15 vs. 30 for Romania. Yet, the ECA quota for both is 5 — this clearly is a disadvantage for Romanian laureates.
@breach
ECA means European Court of Auditors and the quota are quite generous. Take the Romanian EPSO/AD/47/06 reserve list of auditors: there are 30 laureates and 5 of these are booked at ECA (according to the document you posted). The rest will probably be interviewed by other EU institutions…
Hi everybody,
I’ve registered to take a verbal and numerical test for AD/102/07(Head of Unit) Two years ago I passed GMAT. Is this test harder? Also, since this is my first test for what seems to be a very long procedure, I’ll appreciate any additional tips
Thanks!
Breach,
National civil servants in Luxemburg make about the same as EU officials, but at least the former have some identifiable skill, ie speak Letzebürgs 😉
The banking crowd in Luxemburg probably make a better living than the EU officials going by the post-2004 payment schemes…
but hell, I would run those wages down even more now I know whom they are for 😉
@Breach
I’ve been reading your posts frantically for half an hour or so 🙂 Totally agree on every single point and am happy to have you for a compatriot.
Is their timing that flawed
my respect run so dry?
“Ethnic diversity
Racial discrimination of any kind is prohibited under the Staff Regulations and the mix of staff in the EU Institutions has to reflect racial and ethnic patterns of EU citizens. We are currently working on a policy document on the subject. This should be released by the end of 2007.”
http://ec.europa.eu/civil_service/admin/equal_opp/index_en.htm
I broached the topic last year, expecting nothing but more makeshift impracticalities from the apprentice-magicians at DG ADMIN, but the long-awaited doc is still not published.
What’s on… trouble in paradise?
@ frustrated
Are you Caulden ?
Same caustic humour, same tone, etc. (I like it…)
Rgds.
@ Sirena,
Don’t you ever google your own company/employer… I do and I find those informal message boards most informative to sound the “vox populi”.
My dissonant basso stands out marvelously from the squealing and cajoling voices in the choir of castrates on here.
Partaking in epso’s procedures has made a virulent eurosceptic out of me and I feel pretty apostolic about this 😉
@Breach (and any other)
“Reserve lists for auditors with a reasonable number of laureates exist (for example, EPSO/AD/25/05 (EUR15)”.
Does ECA really mean EPSO/AD/25/05? I am an EPSO/AD/25/05 laureate, which was a generalist competition, and have no idea of auditing. Don’t you have to have an auditing background/knowledge in order to be an auditor? If so, why the generalist EPSO/AD/25/05? Or are you trained “on the job”?
Anyway: Naturally, almost one year after the conclusion of the competition, I have heard absolutely nothing from our beloved institutions. Are perhaps the 40 quota auditors already working for the ECA?
Here’s something interesting I found re ECA recruitment:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/comparl/cont/adopt/discharge/2006/questionnaires/eca.pdf
The interesting passages namely read:
“Reserve lists for auditors with a reasonable number of laureates exist (for example, EPSO/AD/25/05 (EUR15): ECA quota 40 auditors, EPSO/AD/46/06 (BG) and EPSO/AD/47/06 (RO): ECA quota 5 of each nationality).”
“It should be noted, however, that, notwithstanding the improvement in the overall availability of laureates in the EPSO reserve lists, the Court continues to experience difficulties in attracting the laureates to work in Luxembourg, which has a higher cost of living than Brussels. Moreover, the salary at the basic grade of AD5 is not always attractive enough for professionally qualified staff.”
@ frustrated
You are right in most of your statements about the recruitment process, but I cannot help noticing that your anger towards EU officials is spit out in the wrong place. Most of the persons who visit this blog are actually trying to get inside, including to have those salaries that you so much wish to see diminished :)…
@sebastian, frustrated
Unlike all private companies, the Commission is required to act independently. In the case of recruitment, this means that previous work experience in national public administrations or in the private sector should be toned down. This explains the roots of the current system. testing hundreds of candidates for each vacacy has its cost, but it’s an extra cost which the Commission needs to pay for its independence when it comes to recruitment. And MCQs actually are the most cost effective way of testing hundreds of candidates.
Anca, it is downright weird to have one comp recruit 8 times less laureates out of a given number of candidates. I don’t know which budget constraint they have, but it’s pretty variable from comp to comp. I know the number of candidates is out of their discretion, but they should have some idea by now that if you ask a limited experience (in terms of years) and no specific degree, a few thousand people are likely to register. If you don’t use the few valves you have, the engine will explode one day.
Either the job description is very specific and then they screen general lists for a specific profile, lack thereof they hire through contracts… that’s what their own cookbook says.
I had some HR telling me it was impossible for her DG to hire an EU15 and that they were trying for some Italian guy, but that it wouldn’t work… etctera…. I checked the lists, one Italian got hired there, but the profile I googled on him showed no specific expertise with regard to his function/DG… to people like me, whose interviews get canceled on account of quota, this is pretty arbitrary and annoying stuff.
anyhows… private sector pays better by now, courtesy of the 2004 reform and I will support any political movement advocating even lower pay….
@Anca:
“The ideal future with computerized testing would be an open comp for each position with compulsery recruitment at the end.”
???
Sorry, that’s crap.
The MCQ part is only used to trim down the number of candidates to a manageable number, before you have written/oral exams which are far more conclusive.
The current CBT-system is btw getting a lot of flak with the own-initiative inquiry of the EU Ombudsman and countless complaints. Further, the current system, where specialist knowledge is tested at a later stage, leads to the problem that people participate in the CBT without fulfilling the eligibility criteria for the competitions. Was a major problem for the Communication competition (both AD/AST), so your brave new world ideas don’t seem to work.
In other words: the new system is even worse than the previous one.
The more concours you’ve got for each position, the more transparency and top quality you’ll get. Why recruiting for a new position inside a previous list would enhance EU transparency and efficiency ? it doesn’t make any sense.
Besides, more candidates entails better prequalified ones. And, at leat concerning MCQ tests, all candidates are exactly on the same footing. The ideal future with computerized testing would be an open comp for each position with compulsery recruitment at the end.
@ Anca
“o the OHIM open competition won’t cost anything more to the EU taxpayer than any other concours and the happy laureate will certainly be a very knowledgeable genious !”
The ideal way of assessing the value-for-money across comps would be the number of €/successful recruitments. Weighing recruits’ qualities is not straightforward, but one thing is for sure: it will only be one recruit,which probably will make it about a hundred times more expensive than your average comp. Besides, computers won’t check the candidates’ job experience ; people will have to do this. As any degree goes, but the job experience is pretty specific, this scrutiny will take long and probably this will be a very costly concours, even regardless of the 100 factor.
I feel they should have looked for people on existing lists and maybe foresee some in-house training as, after all, “concours généraux” are meant to select, well…. generalists and to avoid an overly emphasis on in-house experience, giving outsiders something of a break.
If the final recruit turns out to be some-one’s nephew, some-one already working there.. the commission will become even more of a laughing stock.
I resent my tax money going to these people, frankly, and will not hesitate to inform every-one I meet about how this place operates.
@ Sebastion
You noted: * (b) to make up for staff shortages in cases where competition reserve lists have been exhausted – ;
Funny…
I’m starting to think that Frustrated is really really right. There are so many hurdles put into the way, even when you’ve been successful in a competition, that it looks like the whole process is rigged. Especially when you’re management level. I’ve come to know the process from every angle except being on the inside (though I’ve got a lot of information from people on the inside) and it is rotten to the core.
A sad state of affairs for “transparency”.
MCQ are computer based and there is a global contract with provider (Thomson Psy), so the OHIM open competition won’t cost anything more to the EU taxpayer than any other concours and the happy laureate will certainly be a very knowledgeable genious !
The money will have been waisted only if (s)/he is not recruited …
EUR12 will also face extremly tough competition as 2000 of them will compete for only 4 positions.
When you consider who has been recruited in Alicante to the date (eu civil servants & local authorities’ progeniture ), it’s a big change and a good thing for Europe & European citizens.
From the EU’s civil service website:
Temporary agents may be employed to perform a wide variety of tasks, within one of the following categories:
* (a) for non-standard (highly specialised jobs) or temporary tasks;
* (b) to make up for staff shortages in cases where competition reserve lists have been exhausted – ;
* (c) for Commissioners’ private offices (‘cabinets’);
* (d) for specific requirements in the scientific sector.
Although the rules on the length of initial contracts and subsequent contract extensions vary, as a rule, temporary agents in types (a), (b) and (d) may be hired by the Commission for a maximum period of six years and temporary agents who work in Commissioner’s private offices are hired for a duration linked to the mandate of their Commissioner.
There shouldn’t be any indefinite TAs, but I guess in reality there are always exceptions to the rules.
Just very interesting to see that people from the EU 12 countries just jump on that bandwagon right away, even though they should be a little more sensitive to these kind of issues because of their past experience. But I guess, it’s all about making on own’s living, no more, no less
My favourite TAs for the time being are the ones who get hired after just passing the QCM stage.
But I guess if I had the “right” passport these days, I’d also take anything being offered. The system is just so ridiculous.
My favourite concours for the time being is the OHIM concours for exactly one successful candidate (with approx. 1500 registered candidates). Talk about wasting the taxpayer’s money….
“Internal comps”, “indefinite contracts”…. good to hear it’s still business as per usual.
@Dimitar and Kalin72
If you start as TA and have an indefinite contract, you still remain TA. You can become an official only through a concourse.
I work as TA in an agency and spoked with an expert from DG ADMIN. She told me that they have people who even retired after 30 years of service as TA with indefinite contracts.
It is OK to be TA with indefinite contract if your agency has indefinite period of existence. But some agencies are created for a certain number of years and when they close you have to start from the beginng.
@Dimitar
Hi Mitko 🙂
I am in the same situation like you, still waiting for offer from ECHA.
If you want, we can exchange info about how the things are going…so far veeeery slow 🙂
kalin_galin at yahoo com
Hi Stefano,
I’m been placed on a reserve list for at TA at the ECHA agency and I have some question for you … How do you feel in Helsinki ? How is the work environment ? I read on a job description that after three years they will organize an internal competition, in case we pass we will become official or just a TA indefinite ? and after many years ? I sent an email to the agency but I’ve never received and answer. Thanks in advance.
Cholesterol is not a big problem I guess, also because in our canteen we could eat Schnitzel today! 🙂
Don’t be scared about medical examination. You don’t need exceptional physical conditions, the EC/EU bodies are not the US Marines os SAS corp.
Take it easy.
Stefano
If high cholesterol was an impediment to perform an official’s duties, approx. 80 % of all officials (just my estimate) would have to be forced into early retirement.
Seriously people, a medical examination is quite a standard procedure in national public administrations as well.
Just watch which fats you are eating. Cut the butter and all the saturated fats and mean transfats and go for Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
BTW: Are there any “frittures” in BXL which make kind of healthy “frites”? Probably healthy frites amount to an oxymoron.
About half of the population over 20 would be borderline to high in cholesterol rates if you were to believe the Farma boys. Lipitor/zocor… are lush cash cows and physicians have been well groomed by the industry to screen for cholesterol levels… I wouldn’t worry a bit, really.
@Lia
Personally no problem with me, I understand your point. I agree with your point.
The medical examination is just another important step in the recruitment procedure and you must pay attention to it. Personally there are few cases in which, due to the health conditions, people where refused on that step (if I’m not wrong I coud read only three cases).
All things at the recruitment phase must be taken into consideration and everything is important to finalize the procedure. We have colleagues on wheel chairs, and they are scientific officers, they basically use only their mind. And the are welcome to join, as everyone else.
Keep in mind that EU C. is not only a public institution, but also an employer which must protect itself.
Anyway I took an “Early Warning” about cholesterol too, but the Medical Officer was calling to say that they just want to be sure we take care of us.
So, if you take a similar notice, consider it as a way to say “We care of you”.
Stefano
Well, Lia and Stefan,
I believe our discussion may be regarded a milestone in commission HR procedures by future generations.
Suppose we collect various medical data on new officials and then run those through prognostic models. Stefan has just doubled his chance of becoming a coronary heart disease patient, a condition which may see Stefan hemiplegic before the age of 63 at which he would have retired. This implies the emanated probabilities could be run through various Markov models and actuarial tables, allowing DG Admin to tag Stefan with an index number indicating the average % of time during his expected career at the commission he might suffer from a physical handicap (which could be weighed to in function of severity).
This brilliant feat could open up various quota to certain profiles of laureates and turn the very binary classification into a more real-life one and make us all realize minorities make up a huge majority!
Hi Stefano,
I’m been placed on a reserve list for a TA in Helsinki and I have some question for you …. How do you feel in Helsinki ? How is the work environment ? I read on a job description that after three years they will organize an internal competition for a permanent contract in this case we will became official or just TA with an indefinite contract ? and in case after many years ? I’ve written to the agency but I never had an answer .
Thanks
@Stefano, if a sound physical condition is a “condition sine qua non” for the job, then this should be part of the eligibility criteria. But if the job requires only “brains” why should even a major physical handicap matter? Just think of the disabled genius Steven Hawkins for example.
Please accept my aplogies if you feel personally offended. I was not attacking the Commission, I just wanted to know whether the medical examination is another elimination round or just an act of concern on the part of the Commission to make sure that the new employees pay attention to their health (and mind their cholesterol!). Maybe the latter is important if really your chances of getting a heart attack double once you start working there…
Stefano,
What Lia meant to say is that this internet community doesnot take kindly to disparaging comments on our physically challenged fellow-man… I mean fellow-person.
This has nothing to do with being overly politically correct. We are living in an era where a legless man is prohibited to partake in any other olympics than the paralympic one as officials fear he might beat “regular” athletes.
You should learn to think of the commission as a wonderful paralympics of the mind; it will make life so much more agreeable on you.
@Stefan
When you were told that most of Bulgarian and Romanian laureates are expected to be recruited in spring, did you catch if the guys from DG Admin had in mind your field in particular or all the people on the reserve lists
@lia
If you apply as a Facility Manager and your task is to move stuff (also heavy) from a part to the other of a very big building, do you think that the commission could be happy to have you if you can move only thanks to a wheel chair?
Every competition says that you must your physical conditions must give you the possibility to perform assigned tasks. So we are not speaking of bullshits, this is just common sense.
No one has never been fired because of diabet or high cholesterol. And in case you are on a wheel chair because of the commission, the commission cannot remove you.
The commission and the EU institutions give to all equal opportunities, but there are also some limits.
And I’m really sorry if someone could feel offended, it was not my intention, I wanted only clarify that at the EU Commission you can ask possible things, but you cannot expect the miracles.
Anyway there is a quota assigned to people with handicap, just for your knoledge.
Stefano
@Stefano, if a handicap is an obstacle to recruitment, then what about all the “equal opportunities” bullshit? If the handicap has not hindered a laureat from passing all the competition rounds, why should the medical check-up do it?
@Stefan, don’t worry about the cholesterol (at least not in terms of a recruitment impediment).
ooh gawd Stefan,
your relative risk of having a heart attack has just doubled (never mind the fact that your absolute risk is almost infinitesimally small given you’re probably in yar 30 ies 😉 ). They’ll have you on lipitor soon enough boy.
Sad to hear that quota bollocks hasn’t been sorted out yet.
@Stefan
No, there is no relationship between Cholesterol and rectuiring. If you have some mobility issues or some major handicaps could be a problem.
I think you should only wait for the contract now, with these consitions you are entitled of a post at EU Commission.
By the way, be careful with the request of elegibility criteria, they will ask you to prove them.
@sirena
The Medical examination must be done thru DG ADMIN, no way to do it outside the commission/institutions. The only thing you can do is that you do it outside Brussels Medicla Center (for us, we can do it here in Helsinki instead to fly to Brussels). It is valid 1 year, it is also used for the EU JSIS (Health Insurance).
It means that next year I’ll do it again. No problem at all, it is a common check-up.
Stefan, I think they were just informing you so that you are more careful with junk food :). But this certainly will not influence your recruitment, it’s not like you have some infectious disease.
Yes, I also heard this EU10 quota story, but I doubt they solve this problem in just a few months.
Btw, could we do this medical check up pro-actively, without being invited by them?
Thanks for the insights. I actually took the mediacal examination in december last year (when I went to some interviews but nothing materialised then). However, I have received a letter from the mediacal department saying that they have discoveder a high level of cholesterol in my blood. Now I really don’t know what to do…do yuo think that this may impede the whole recruitment process?
@lia…my field is audit. Now, when I went to the interviews on Monday somebody from the DG ADMIN told me that they expect to hire most of the Romanian and Bulgarian laureates in this spring. I asked them why I wasn’t hired in December and they said that they needed to fill up some quota from the EU-10 before reaching Romanians:). And I believe it’s true…So, Lia, if you are coming from any of these 2 countries, you will most probably get a jiob in spring.
@Tomaz, it is a normal practice to save costs so that you don’t have to fly over again for a medical check. But it doesn’t mean that the bird is already in your hand… I know quite a few people who passed the medical examination but did not get an offer after the interviews. Anyway, good luck!
@Stefan, congratulations! It is a ray of hope – at least things are moving for some of us. May I ask you what is field of competition?
@ Tomaz
A friend of mine, a translator who was invited for a position in Luxemburg, did the medical exam also before the interview. In his particular case the reserve list was rather small and he was offered a position after the interview.
He did not take the offer as the reserve list was small and he was offered some weeks later a position in Brussels where he started working.
Arne
Hi everybody…
I’ve been reading this blog for quite some time now and I must say it’s the most useful point of information available for the whole EU officials wannabes… so well done guys..
So now I have a question as well. I just received an invitation to a medical check. After the medical I am to call them and I will have an interview that same day… Isn’t it usual to have first a interview and then if they like you, you go for a medical check? Does this mean i’m real close to closing the deal, or they just wanna do all at the same time, so i wouldn’t have to fly in twice? any ideas?
thanks!!!
Tomaz
@stefan
If they say that they want to give you a job, then they really want and they are committed on the task.
Next events: if you have never been at the commission before you must pass the Medical Examination at DG ADMIN – BREY1, before this you could receive a formal letter stating the fact that you will be recruited after the medical examination.
After the positive result of the medical examination (it takes 1 month to take the final result) you could receive the contract or the final recruiting letter. Now you are elegible to receive at least an intent letter. Ask them if can send you it.
Anyway you are still 1.5 months from the commission.
Good luck and welcome on board.
Stefano
I would like to ask you all for an advice.
This Monday I had 3 interviews with different DGs at the Commission and at the moment 2 of them have sent me emails telling me that they want to recruit me. Question: Does anybody know what is going to happen next? should I receive a formal letter of emplyment from the Commission or they just start the formal employment procedures? How long will it take until I will effectively start working in Brux? Is there any possibility that they may change their mind on my recruitment?
Thanks folks.
@marco
Thanks!!
@chiara
try this one: http://www.esnips.com/web/oposicionesUE/
@Natalia
firstname.last name@ec.europa.eu
Hello everybody!
I am looking materials for the admission test, especially about the numerical test.
If someone have some files,please send to r.chiara@gmail.com
Quick question: what’s the email address format for the European Commission? (I mean is it first name_last name@ec.europa.eu, or something else? )
Is there a different format for the different DGs?
I am asking because at the directory on the website I can only see phone numbers but no email addresses — am I missing something?
Thanks!
Somebody interested in a course I made to pass EPSO/AD/25/05 (and I did pass). It is about 250 pages (double printed A4, typed, bound together), gives an overview of history, treaties, institutions, policies, case law, key figures etc. It also gives lots of multiple choice questions and handy hints (i.e. what questions you should be able to answer on the basis of the various treaty articles). Is basically the only thing I studied (next to the treaties of course) and I passed relatively easy. I have 2 copies that I did not keep up to date from mid 2006 on, that is why I would like to sell them at cost price of 30euro (Live in Brussels, so can easily drop a copy somewhere). Feel free to contact me at piente.vantieds@hotmail.com
Ah well… better luck tomorrow… just remember “an email a day, keeps epso in dock” and a lithium a day keeps the doc(k) at bay…
hooray…
No no… you young independent things… these days things are so different, with those pessariums and all… don’t forget to pick yee roses, don’t be like angry old frustrated who spent his days ruminating over spilled milk.
@frustrated
I am sitting in my appartment in good old Germany 😉 I am quite often in Brussels and, to a certain extent, popular with the EU folk. Getting drunk and silly with some married men? Well, I am afraid not to be that type, although, who knows, it could be useful, so maybe I should change my strategy 😉
By the way, as you know I am on the reserve list EPSO/AD/47/06; EPSO told me that I was not assigned yet::-(