The results of the concours for administrators are now out, and – surprise, surprise – I did not manage to pass. Here’s the extract of the letter:
The selection board for the above competition has now finished marking the pre-selection tests in which you participated. I regret to inform you that although the marks you obtained in these tests were above or equal to the pass mark, you were not amongst the top 630 candidates.
Point B.1 of the competition notice stipulates that only those candidates with the 630 highest marks in the pre-selection tests would be asked to submit a full application with a view to their possible admission to the competition.
Your marks are as follows (1):
Test a): 38.333 /60 (pass mark 30)
Test b): 15.263 /20 (pass mark 10)
Test c): 30.769 /40 (pass mark 20)Total: 84.365/ 120
For your information, the candidates who obtained the 630 highest combined scores had at least 92.611 points.
I would add that the Selection Board’s decision does not preclude you from taking part in any future competitions organised by the European Personnel Selection Office.
It’s beyond me how one can get 15.263 / 20 when there were 40 questions, but anyway, c’est la vie. All the best to all the geeks who know who won the Sakharov prize in the year X or other equally useful everyday facts.
FILE DOWNLOADS
Blog commenter ‘viking’ has made some new test files available for download, and he had also supplied the manual for electronic Reserve Lists. Some additional test files have been provided by Sorina (see comment #1003) – download 342kb, ZIPped. Enjoy!
SOCIAL NETWORKS
If anyone is a member of Facebook there’s the ‘So I won’t be a Commission official’ Facebook Group, and the EU Integration Traveler IQ challenge (you need to add the Traveler IQ Facebook application) – a more fun way to revise for the concours…
NOTE
Due to such an enormous number of comments here I have had to divide the comments function. The latest few hundred comments are below, and all the older comments are archived here. All should work technically now.
@ Gian_petr2
I guess it is not valid for ongoing competitions, like AD/126/08 or AST/5…/08
Reserve lists are planned for 2nd half 2009. It is not conveivable they issue a reserve list for less than 6 months (2 months in the case of assistants, if they follow their planning…) when it took them more than 18 months to complete the selection!!!
oral source….commission officer (high grade)
@ gian_petr2
What’s your source? Give us chapter and verse, please.
EPSO is changing all its procedures for recruitment, and new competitions are going to be launched according to these new procedures. As a consequence, Almost all reserve list will expire end of 2009 without extension.
Comments ?
@ Candidate X
Yes, it would have been about 3 weeks…
Hi,
Does anybody of you has succeeded in a revision procedure of written paper or appeal before EPSO and was retrospectively included in a reseve list?
I missed by 0,5 point to be among the best results and requested revision of my essay and annulment of some of test questions which were obviosuly eroneous. I wonder if there are any chances…
That sounds good, Kiwi. So you received a job offer 2-3 weeks after the interview?
@ Candidate X
Actually it turns out that the way it works is this: after the interview you wait for the offer to arrive, and then they suggest a date but say that you can suggest a different one, but it has to be within three months of receiving the offer. So no, it was quite flexible really.
Hi Kiwi,
Do you yet know whether you can start work later than only 2 months after the interview? If so, was it easy to obtain a postponement or did you have to do a lot of explaining?
I would really appreciate if someone can give me some hints on how a Microeconomics/Business administration written exam may look like (EPSO style). Thank you
@ dodo
I’d like the ones of cast relex please
should i send you audit? Let me know where to, my email address few posts above
thanks
@Misericordia
Thanks, but AD126 I have it too, I passed the written tests in december.
@sunflower,
I have just Cast Relex 2008 FG III +IV – Finance , and Ast3 exam on financial management for UE2 , UE10 and UE25 I think…
@ dodo
I have AD/126/08 (audit) in French if you need it.
Does anyone have CAST competence test for FG III and IV profile project officer/project adviser/financial officer ? Also ast3 financial management written test question (the one given in the BG and RO competition) would be very helpful to do some exercise.
Could you send it please to:
sunflowerfv at libero DOT it
Thanks in advance.
@ dodo
Thanks again – will wait
Those I have are from 2000, 2003, 2005
@ etni
I am on the AST44 financial management list and have been flagged imediately in november . I was recruited as official start with mid-december, as I was temporary agent on the same job during the 14 months before and my DG keept me … but 2 other Dgs tried to recruit me in the mean time…
Can you please write what audit exams you have for checking with what I have ? thanks
For EPA, I have to ask it so patience…
@A
no flag for CAST , there is in fact a database with eligible candidates and not a reserve list, as CAST is not a concous.
But Epso blocked my CAST CV when I was recruited , so there are connections between systems
I apologise for errors, but english it’s my third language…
@ dodo
Yes, I have audit AD and AST – would be pleased to send you the copies. EN preferred for me, but if you only have in FR, it will do as well
Thanks a lot 🙂
@ user2008
thanks for replying as well – i would prefer public admin written assignment, as I already have enough on fin management. If you change your mind and do want some papers, let me know.
Does flagging also apply to successful cast candidates? Or does it apply only to candidates on the reserve lists (open competions for candidates for EU civil service)?
Shortly, can I theoretically expect a flag in my profile as a successful cast participant?
@ Dodo
Thanks a lot for the valuable info!
@etni
I being on the reserve list of ast 43/07 financial management have on paper the tests from the second written exam in English for this same competition. Still I don’t need any EU tests.
Dodo, do you have any further notification such as getting flagged being on the reserve list?I personally grow more and more disappointed as nothing happens
@ Cosnic
Congratulations ! you have one month to write to epso if you don’t want your name published. normally, on the letter you can find already the merit group, if not , maybe there is not at all merit groups, it’s happen already … and the reserve list you can wait few months to see on the JO , but the institutions will have it very soon, so there is no problem for recruitement.
try to make some refresh on your epso account after updating personal data , I had problems too, but it seems to be Ok now
results for AD 99/07 are out…I could read only the french version of the results (“résultats du concours”) , does any of you had the some problem, i.e. english version of some documents not available in this period (guess due to changes in the website)? I have a basic passive knowledge of french, and it seems that agains all my thought I managed to pass; do you know how is it going to proceed in the future? i.e. when are they going to publish the reserve list on epso? just to know in which merit group a laureate is…besides that, do you know when a laureate can ask for his/her name not to be published on the reserve list? Also the explanatory note was available only in french…
Now it will probably be my turn to wait for years a call from EU insitutions… 😀
Thanks everybody!
@ etni
Maybe I can have the test that you need from some friends who passed that exam, wich language you need ?
Personnally I’m interested in all you can have as test in Audit AD level, preferable in french or english, but not AST3 financial management wich I passed already, being on the reserve list.
@etni
Thank you for clarifying this for me.
@ AAA
yes, it was
trust me, you don’t need more time than this – there is not much to think about, you either know the answer or don’t
According to “instructions to candidates” pdf file for AD5 147-151, there will be 30 questions testing the EU knowledge. Time allowed is 20 min. That gives you 40 sec. per question. Does this make sense? Was it always like this?
Thanks.
I would appreciate it if any of you could send me the written test (essay) sample of the European public administration AST3 competition (for Bulgarian and Romanian citizens) 43/07 or 44/07. In return, I can send you a few recent EU & V&N tests, or tests in financial management, or AD level tests in European Public Administration. In short – ask what you need, and I might have it.
Thanks in advance
asemforum@yahoo.com
Aren’t we are merry bunch; the dregs of the keg.
Yes I have been flagged at one point. However I was not contacted, so I am now unflagged.
I’m not surprised that you’re frustrated…
Yes, that happened (I got flagged and deflagged when quota hit, I know this as I was informally invited by a HOU and epso confirmed flagging by mail, but afterwards it got canceled)… whether it happens still (now that laureates can track this), don’t know.
frustrated,
True, nowadays flagging shows in one’s profile. My question was inaccurate. What I wanted to know was, have some people been flagged by an institution but never invited to an interview.
PB,
they are an infathomable bunch and excell in soft corruption.
I remember talking to some HR bint on the phone: “very very hard to get EU15 people in; tried with some Italian guy from your list, but failed”
I enter the Italian names in the who is who the same day and see some Italian laureate did actually start at the DG in question (must have started there before the HR person lied to me).
I google the guy’s profile… no experience whatsoever in the required field…. by now I work at senior level in that field.
I can give you an earful, mate.
Candidate X,
it shows up in your profile (at least for AD laureates).
PB and others who are on reserve lists – and have perhaps been on them for a long time – do you know whether you’ve ever been flagged?
It is very discouraging to read all the stories here, even if I tell myself that they are “other people’s stories”
I came here because I have a question. I passed all the tests for CAST27 for Translator. I was wondering if people from CAST’s also get “flagged” because I dont see any of that in my profile (not even the green flag) Is there a way to “lobby” as a translator? Because I imagine that there must be hundreds on the databases / reserve lists… *sighs*
I must be a masochist because after the CAST27 experience I am taking exams for another concours in a few weeks 🙂
Thank you
A: “Why? Out of mercy for all the temporary agents from eu10? In my opinion the reason why there are still not enough civil servants from eu10 and too many temporary agents from eu10 is that there were not enough concours for eu10. ”
Well, the problem is that they don’t even recruit off the reserve lists that they have. I have done the EU10 AD5 concours for economists, I have passed through all 3 stages and have now been on the reserve list for 2 years without being contacted even once with an offer of a position. I don’t see the reason for giving a temp agent a permanent position, if there are still people on the reserve lists who had to go through the entire process and they are not being offered positions.
A,
if the average career of an AD official with the commission will be some 30 years, then forcing the make-up of the personnel to reflect an extended EU within 7 years is sheer nonsense: the only way out is to lower the bar by a factor of 4 during those 7 years. If you join an existing club it is bound to already have members. Besides, I really don’t get the quota obsession… should we start organizing separate UK/Austria/… comps too to jack up their numbers?
The take-away message should be “if member states insist on getting a garantueed number of officials, let them do the selection… don’t get caught in this messy business”.
corrigendum:
1) Line 5 of the previous entry: word “bit” should be replaced by word “big”
2) “so many different people being involved in the process that expecting a pattern and justice would be simply unrealistic”
Just to clarify what I meant by “so many different people”:
– all the numerous selection committees composed of so many different people, often with no know-how about professional recruitment (they are just administrators working in the institutions)
– all the heads of unit with different approaches to using the reserve list or not using any lists at all exept their personal secret lists of …
– and so on
Different stories about individual recruitment patterns should not be a surprise. We are talking about so many different people being involved in the process that expecting a pattern and justice would be simply unrealistic.
For example: EU is not aiming at achieving national quotas when recruiting staff. But some reasonable balance is desirable. How then achieve a balance with bit push for working in EU institutions among e.g. French and Italians vs. much moderate expansion of candidates from e.g. Scandinavian countries? How to add staff from new member states starting from zero point approximately at the moment of enlargement? This all gives a lot of place for ad hoc recruitment actions which often do not correspond even with the best recruitment technics for the whole eu administration.
Another thing: Being outside of the eu structure at the moment, I heard nevertheless about an internal concour being organised for temporary agents from (please correct me if I am wrong) new member states. Why?????? They should normally compete with all other at regular open concours. Otherwise you limit the entry for others who were not lucky enough to get in before this internal concour began. EPSO should simply organise more open concours.
There have been some concours for eu10. However, the commission says we have still to many temporary agents from eu10, so we have to change it. And instead of organising more open concours for eu10 they run an internal concour!!! Why? Out of mercy for all the temporary agents from eu10? In my opinion the reason why there are still not enough civil servants from eu10 and too many temporary agents from eu10 is that there were not enough concours for eu10. More open concours for eu10 should be done. Yeh, but is there someone from the commission reading what we say on this forum???
@ Ava,
“blatant statements and easy conlusions”
All the more reason for DG Admin to delve into their files and come up with the definitive analysis. Just saying “we don’t publish that kind of data” will only add to the general morose ambiance.
Perhaps this document could be released by the end of 2009.
😉
As an aside, does any-one know what DG Admin is up to with the ethnic diversity policy?
I’ve been posting the below passage since 2007 😉 and the “end of 2007” announcement is still on their site, but no sign of the long awaited document. http://ec.europa.eu/civil_service/admin/equal_opp/index_en.htm
They look a bit ridiculous, don’t they 😉
“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.”
Shortly, I have been following this recent exchange quite closely but I’m afraid that there are quite some blatant statements and easy conclusions which are being fired left right and centre, so I decided to shortly share with you my personal experience.
I’m from EU10 with a strong academic background although no real professional experience also due to my age (below 30 yrs). At the big concour AD5 for EU10 nationals in 2006, I successfully passed all the stages to be then rejected by two points at the oral interview (for the record, I was a former stagiaire at the Commission and had just freshly graduated so in terms of the questions asked, I was well-prepared). Incidentally, a friend of mine (different nationality) for the same EU10 competition was also rejected by two points at the oral interview.
Then a year later from my rejection as a functionnaire and upon completion of the CAST competition, I was called for an interview to take up a post as contractual agent (for the record – no lobbying done) and here I am now working at the Commission as a temporary agent doing the same job as my other fellow colleagues at a substantially reduced salary with no job security as at the end of the one year contract offerred, you’re not sure on whether it will be renewed or not.
So, what’s my point? I keep on thinking what is the raison d’etre behind the EU recruitment and as much as I struggle, I fail to identify a common pattern (esp. after hearing different stories every day) … to such an extent that it is definitely an arbitrary one that leaves a lot of us hanging by the threat in one way or another
Sad but true…
Yes, PB, that is indeed scandalous. A lot is scandalous about the commission’s hiring practices. The most scandalous part, I believe, is that they assert their procedures are fair and transparent. At least with the UN, FAO, etc. you know not to waste any time when you aren’t in the loop and part of the gang to begin with.
Once more I urge DG Admin to provide us with data on the impact nationality, gender, merit group and previous employment (contractual) or internships with the commission have on average time-to-recruitment. Epso should then clearly showcase these analyses so people can inform themsleves whether they stand a reasonable chance of recruitment.
Anecdotal elements such as in the Ban report should be (in)validated by some serious number crunching.
Oskar: “this is untrue for people from EU10. DG ADMIN is making real efforts to convert temporary contracts to permanent, so you guys have an excellent opportunity”
Why are they giving temporary agents to permanent contracts, when there are still many people on the reserve lists (AD5) from those countries, who had to sit through 3 rounds of exams? I have been on the reserve list for almost 2 years now and have not been offered any position. Why isn’t DG ADMIN making real efforts to recruit people on the reserve lists? I am not much of an insider, so I want to know how to better my chances.
frustrated, interesting!
@ PG
no problems with asking
@ Candidate X,
General info on job interview: there were 3 people, two from the unit and one from HR.
It lasted about 45 minutes I guess. It was pretty relaxed and the questions mainly covered my CV and motivation for the job, experience of translation tools, attitude to learning new languages, how I felt about Luxembourg and issues like starting date. I also had a list of questions to ask, in fact I probably asked as many as they did. I had revised my preparation for the HR part of the oral test, and that felt about right in terms of preparing for it.
Besides, if contractuals make it to the oral exam stage of an AD concours, they are scott free:
“I sat on a jury once for oral exams, and I found it a pitiful experience. Because I had the head of the jury and three or four other colleagues, we get a CV, we have 30 seconds to prepare. How many points did this person get in the written exams? What should we look at? Who’s going to ask a question? Let’s move on and you’d have thirty seconds afterwards to say pass or fail. And I had a jury leader who said, “Well, she was very nervous and she was almost crying. I took pity on her. She reminded me of my niece. Let her pass through.” If you already worked in the Commission, you were a stagiare [intern], or you’d been employed, you had a 100% chance of passing your oral exam because this is already a colleague, so go through. A very strange experience. That’s why once but never again.”
http://carolynban.net/
RECRUITING AND SELECTING STAFF IN THE EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS:
MOVING THE SACRED COW OUT OF THE ROAD1
Well, Oscar, you knew all this beforehand.
The kind of situation you are describing is exactly why I would never ever participate in a selection for contractuals (that and the fact the passing rate for some of those casts is ridiculously high with only few vacant posts around, to me a clear symptoms of jobbery and croynism).