With more than 51.000 applicants and 37.000 effective candidates, many people will get their ”we're sorry to inform you” letters in a few days. Despair not! There are lots of ways to get into the EU system and secure your permanent contract at the next opportunity. Here are some tips to consider:
More opportunities ahead: there are lots of exams coming that make it possible to become an Administrator. The next ones in the row are the Linguist, Interpreter and Lawyer-linguist competitions in various languages which are open for EU27 candidates. No intention to become a translator? Remember: it is a highly common career path to enter as a linguist and make your way around the EU career system, especially since the Staff Regulations allows you to change to a new post while keeping your grade, salary and other rights. To avoid waiting for next year’s AD5 round, our advice is to go for each and every exam that you can, so don’t hesitate, apply for these as soon as they are announced!
Look around in the Agencies: EU agencies advertise a large number of temporary jobs every week, which do not require passing any verbal or numerical reasoning tests. True, there are lots of able candidates who are struggling to get a job in Brussels or elsewhere in Europe in these agencies but this should not discourage you from finding a suitable position. Having an EU agency experience in your CV can add a lot to your personal profile, not to mention the exciting work and competitive salary you can get.
Find an EU affairs job in Brussels: there are dozens of consultancies, trade associations, law firms, academic institutes and think tanks that need highly motivated staff for their projects covering European Union matters. This can have a highly beneficial effect on your CV and work experience as you will gain an insight to the political-financial-business side of EU affairs which may be a great asset even for the European Commission or the European Parliament. If you live outside Belgium, try to profile yourself as a flexible candiate who is willing to move there if need be, while your ”regional” experience and knowledge of languages can be a great asset wherever you may be coming from.
Analyse your results: your exam performance was a complex set of factors that should be carefully examined to improve for the next opportunity. Did you choose the right profile/domain where you had the highest chance to pass? (E.g. the economics, audit, ICT and lawyer profiles had a much higher chance to succeed than the public administration, so everyone who would have qualified for one of those profiles was advised to go for it). Did you spend sufficient time practising and rehearsing under time pressure? Were you fully aware of verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning methodology? Were you familiar with the exam procedure and knew what to expect? How can you do so much better next time that you will simply rock at the exam?
Make a 1-year plan: though new year resolutions are usually done on the 1st of January, why not sit down in a quiet corner of your favourite café and think over what your career plans are for the next one-year period. If you are serious about working for the European Union institutions (of course you are!), then you can create a calendar of the upcoming exams and events that offer a chance to get in either directly to the Brussels institutions or via the national channel, for instance by becoming a civil servant or diplomat who is sent to Brussels; you can also start to work as a freelance translator to get a solid understanding of terminology while earning a good income. You may need to brush up on your English reading skills or you realise that your EU knowledge is somewhat limited. Now that you made an honest analysis of where you are and where you’d like to be, these gaps can be filled in the coming weeks and months to help you realise your dream!