The Contract Agent for Specific Tasks (CAST) EPSO exams have been launched - read our tips why and how to make the most out of it to get an EU job!
1. Increase your chances by 1000x!
EPSO has announced the biggest competition of 2010 in terms of successful candidates which is well above 1000 and reserve lists are planned to be out around November. This means that if ever, now is the time to apply for a contract agent exam and get an EU job as chances are by far the highest to succeed and be recruited by this autumn. Whatever your area of interest, be it secretary, financial assistant, nurse or childcare worker for creches, educator or childminder for after-school centres or finance officer, you have great chances to succeed as there is such a large number of places available. Remember: this is a unique opportunity to get a European Union position from which you can work your way up the system, so why not give it a try?
2. Focus on verbal and numerical reasoning
The exams are highly efficient and straight-forward: the pre-selection exam essentially consists of verbal and numerical reasoning tests while profile-specific knowledge is only tested for those who have been pre-selected. This means that given the usually large number of candidates, your performance must be excellent in these two fields. Your focus should therefore be only on the verbal and numerical reasoning tests without losing time and effort on anything else. It is worth checking our free e-book on this topic, along with various tips & tricks, free videos and other great online tools to maximize your chances of success. Once you pass the verbal and numerical tests, you can move on to covering specific topics of your profile - but that's only a later stage and your attention should not be split in any way.
3. 100% performance is rather safe bet
While the number of places is really high, it does not mean you can take the pre-selection exam lightheartedly. A 100% performance, meaning that all your answers are correct, can certainly ensure your participation in the next stage of the selection in September. This may sound impossible to achieve, but it is feasible to do with tons of practice, a clear understanding of the methodology and razor-sharp focus at the exam to perform under time pressure and stress. We strongly suggest that you start preparing now, first just by getting familiar with the tests and then allocating less and less time for each question to simulate the competition better. If your goal is "the" perfect score, you can surely reach it!
4. Evaluate your chances for each profile
Just like in the case of all other competitions, carefully select which EPSO exam you are eligible for, where you have the highest chances to succeed in terms of potential applicants and number of available places and the requirements of the recruitment exam. A general trend is that the more specialized an exam is, the less people apply while sometimes even specialists tend to apply for general profiles (e.g. an economist may still decide to choose an assistant or public administration exam if they consider it easier to pass). Make sure you meet all formal qualification criteria as nursery educators need special background training; once you made clear which profile you are eligible for, the mini numerical reasoning exercise (that is, "which profile is the most suitable for me in terms of chances?") can begin!
5. Applied for the AD5? Apply for CAST too!
Some of you may have sat the Administrator (AD) competitions that were announced in March 2010 and wonder if you should apply for the CAST exams. If you are really determined to get an EU job and you don't mind starting on a short-term contract in view of getting the "big prize" a bit later, we strongly recommend that you apply for this one as well. Why? Because each exam is a great learning experience, because this increases your chances of getting a contractual job in an EU institution which may lead to a long-term contract, thereby making it possible that while working there you pass an AD competition or even an internal competition. Being inside in one way or another can increase your commitment to pass other exams and of course it is a superb work experience that is highly valued in the Brussels (or as a matter of fact, European) job market. There is no rule that you could not sit any number of EPSO competitions, the only limitation is that you cannot apply for exams that run parallel with each other (i.e. no application for two profiles is allowed within the same CAST exam). You may wonder what types of jobs these contract agent exams can lead to. Here is a quick list of sample EU jobs that can be useful to decide which profile to choose.