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...