In a somewhat startling about-turn, I have decided for the time being not to pursue secretarial jobs, having made it to the AST1 reserve list. Believe me, this has been a very difficult decision to make, but it feels like the right one for, at least for now. As much as I desperately want a job in the European Commission, so this is pretty heartbreaking, I have realised that to start in such a junior position would not make sense professionally, financially or... 

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...

When you see 100m sprinters run, you know the importance of a single second: the difference between the fastest and the last one. Those EU career candidates who have recently done the accuracy and precision tests have learned the same lesson: 9 seconds per question was nearly impossible to do...yet some candidates still managed somehow.

Performing in the middle ranks is easy, and you don't need much practice. If your aim is...

After browsing through EPSO’s website, we performed a task we do from time to time, namely updating our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page.

We could not help but notice something in common: in both places, lots of negative sentences were used...

The EU has been struggling with what they call 'lack of legitimacy' or 'democratic deficit'. This in plain English means that very few people actually know what EU institutions are doing in Brussels, and even fewer Europeans understand how these bodies work.

So, as they said before the Irish vote on the Lisbon Treaty: "if you don't know, vote no!", meaning not to support the European integration and its institutions.

What does the EU do to actually explain to citizens why it is needed? Not enough.

That is why we at Arboreus, without any EU or other public money or help, decided to create eight e-learning courses , many of them FREE, that explain, with dozens of examples, how each EU institution works, what they do, why they exist, which topics they deal with and ...

This video was just released by the European Commission in the ongoing debate on the EU budget reform (and especially in view of recent plans to introduce new sources to the budget). The question is: does the video reach its goal? By the way, what are its goals?

When it comes to social media, most EU officials, decision-makers and public affairs specialists are uncertain what it actually means, so their dilemma is translated into the question 'Should we use Twitter or Facebook in our online efforts?'.

This is the same as, when building a house, you would ask 'Should I build a kitchen or a bathroom?'. In short: focusing on building blocks instead of the building will not take you far.

The core concept of social media is ...
 

If you are selling bathroom design, where do you convince buyers that you are worthy of their attention?

In the showroom? Your catalogue? Online? Oh no.

Dozens of home remodeling stores polish their showcase every single day while forgetting that customers spend a long time in their salons browsing around: they will eventually end up visiting the local bathroom.

Suprisingly, they have not realised that it's not just a human need being catered there: it is prospects using items that are being sold right outside the toilet door....

If you are at a brunch party, which foods do you pick? The ones you like?

Partly yes, but much rather those that are easy to access: those with the wrapping off, item unpacked or sliced up nicely in a row. If you need to spend even a bit of effort accessing it, you'd rather pick something already prepared for you: even a minimal threshold will keep you away (except for that 1% of guests who are too hungry or too enthusiastic about a finger food to leave it behind).

A website registration to access a free demo, a hard-to-open door in the en...

Before the 21st century, you had to make your pick: you buy or make cheap mass products or high-priced customised products (or services). If you are a fashion company, you could either be H&M or Gucci, but not both at the same time. Mass or customised, but not both.

Today, in the age of Internet and online tools, a new concept has appeared: mass customisation. Companies are discovering that customers can create personalised version of their mass products without requiring the personal efforts (time and attention) that had previously been ...

EPSO certainly wishes to attract a large pool of candidates for its contract agent (CAST) exams, but the way information is presented seems quite inefficient. Here are some pain points I suggest improving:

'Call for Expression of Interest’ : would an average candidate know whether this is a simple indication of interest or an actual application for a selection exam? Would be worth clarifying what each term means already on the main page in one bullet point so that prospective applicants can have a quick overview

CAST or cast: the expre...

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...

One of the most commonly held urban legends in EU circles is the saying attributed to Henry Kissinger of "Who do I call if I want to call Europe?". As the FT revealed, he never actually said it. But how could it hold on so long there in Brussels and beyond?