In the Museum of Fine Art...EPSO rules don't apply!

Have you ever wanted to see through all the fog surrounding EPSO's selection procedures?

Online EU Training is here to help you with that. Our new infographics will tell you everything you need to know about getting a job within the EU -  in less than 3 minutes!

Having decided a year ago to make a commitment to getting a job in the European Commission, I realised I had some serious work to do if I was going to be ready for the EPSO Competitions this year.

I started researching everything I could about the various stages of the process, and what competitions I would be eligible to apply for. For 2010-11, my options were Administrator (AD5-7) in the field of European Public Administration and Assistant in the secretarial field (AST1), so I applied...

2010 has been an eventful year at Arboreus Online EU Training:

• we launched our brand new website & interactive test engine
• we created packages & webinars for almost all EPSO exams
• we offered 10,000+ EU tests for ADs, ASTs, Specialists & Linguists
• we trained 500+ candidates from 20+ countries via webinars
• we held...
   

(click to read on & see our promise to you for 2011)

EPSO's recruitment reform from March 2010 has been a huge success. It has lowered the barrier to entry for many potential candidates by eliminating the much hated EU knowledge tests (think of "How many times has Viviane Reding been a European Commissioner until now?") and thus opening the door for some 37,000 applicants for the Administrator exams this spring.

But this new system has a huge inherent danger: many of the new recruits will know very little about how the EU institutions operate when they start working in them...

The Financial Times ran an article this weekend on 'Why proper English rules OK' about the disproportionate advantage native English speakers enjoy against their non-native counterparts, also in the EU institutions.

Is it true? Yes.
Is it fair? No.
Does it need to be considered by those dealing with EU affairs? Absolutely.


So why is the matter so serious...?

In the age of Google and Facebook, being findable has become the most important asset you can have.

Websites are optimised to show up as the 1st hit in Google when specific words are searched. But what about your CV when those searching for an EU expert, a Greek translator, a consultant with experience in the European Parliament, type in those magic words into LinkedIn, a recruitment database, or EPSO's e-laureates list? Adding the right words into your profile description can make or break a job interview invitation.

Are you a diplomat representing a South American country in Brussels? Are you a trade association covering renewable energy matters? Are you a lobbyist trying to have DG SANCO issue a positive opinion about a plant fertiliser? Are you an NGO going to great lengths to have the European Parliament condemn an act of racism in an African country? Well, the sad truth is that nobody cares about you.

To be fair, the truth is that everybody cares about you only as much as you offer them something they care about.

What does this mean? If you a...

What’s common in a Lamborghini driver, a sensational tabloid headline, a spam email and a job interview candidate wearing a provocative dress?

It’s the message they convey: craving attention but lacking content.

Those who buy these cars, write these headlines, send these emails and put this outfit do manage to fool certain audiences. But times are changing and people are realising that depth cannot be exchanged for loudness.

A Mini is more attractive these days because it conveys a message of cuteness; a nice play-on-words ...