A common method of personnel selection in the public and private sector that has proven to be one of the best ways to find suitable employees for a given position. EPSO introduced Assessment Centres (AC-s) in 2010 as part of the reformed EU recruitment system so that candidates are evaluated on the basis of their competencies instead of solely on the basis of their specific knowledge. Assessment Centres are used for all profiles including Administrators, Assistants, Linguists and Specialists on all levels: entry level, head of unit and even directors or director-generals.
The Assessment Centre is always held in Brussels (travel and accommodation costs are reimbursed) where a number of trained assessors, who are usually seconded EU officials from various directorates and EU institutions, evaluate candidates in the different exercises during a full day. The tests depends on the given competition one is sitting, nevertheless they generally include a Structured interview, a Group exercise, an Oral presentation, a Case study and in some cases, a professional skills test or translation.
For those Specialist exams where the number of applicants has not reached a certain threshold (e.g. 600 applicants), the pre-selection tests comprising abstract, verbal and numerical reasoning tests are held as part of the Assessment Centre instead of being held a few weeks or months earlier.
See also:
Structured Interview, Group Exercise, Oral Presentation, Case Study, Translators, Specialists, Reserve List, Pre-Selection Tests
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