EPSO has just announced this year's biggest competition: 414 EU assistants are needed from any of the Union's 27 Member States.
Check our quick question & answer analysis below. Wish to know more? Sign up to our FREE webcast on 30 November where we offer a free online presentation about the EU Assistant (AST) exams, available anywhere in the world.
Who are the EPSO Assistant (AST 1) exams for?
These exams are announced for anyone who wishes to work at an EU institution as a secretarial assistant. There will be other, specialist assistant exams as well, to be announced on 16 December 2010 (indicative date). Assistants are highly respected in the institutions and work as event organisers, helping a head of unit, assisting translation teams or dealing with staff management.
Which qualifications or work experience do you need to apply for this EPSO exam?
You either need a "relevant" qualification in clerical or administrative studies, e.g. a vocational school for secretaries or college for administrative assistant , in which case no work experience is required at all. You can also apply with a high school diploma with three years of experience as an office manager, secretary or personal assistant, but it is said that this must "form an integral part of the qualification", so someone with a secondary school certificate with a specialization in biology and three years of assistant work experience may not be accepted. If in doubt, make sure to ask EPSO to be certain that you are eligible.
Which citizenship do you need to have?
Any of the EU's 27 citizenships. Therefore anyone with a Romanian, Portuguese, Irish or any other citizenship may apply.
Which language(s) do you need to speak and on what level?
The Notice of Competition lists the following languages, one of which you must speak "thoroughly" (i.e. fluently, but you don't have to be a native speaker of that language!): English (EN), French (FR), Danish (DA), German (DE), Spanish (ES), Maltese (MT), Dutch (NL), Portuguese (PT), Swedish (SV). We are glad to offer all of our online tests in English and French, and verbal reasoning tests in German and Spanish as well.
How much can you earn as an EU assistant?
The salary for an AST1 job is around 2500 EUR net, this may be +/- 500 euros higher if you are married or if you have children. Your job experience may also have some small influence on your starting salary. European assistants are also given a generous health insurance, and European schools are available for children of EU officials.
How many places are there available? What are your chances to pass the recruitment exam?
Based on EPSO's Notice of Competition, there are altogether 414 places available. It requires a careful analysis of the places and your linguistic knowledge to decide which language to apply for. Most people will apply for the English or French channel, so if you speak both English and Swedish on a high level, better choose Swedish to increase your chances despite the lesser number of places available there.
Which institutions can you work at if you succeed?
You can get a European Commission job and you may as well be recruited at the European Parliament either in Brussels or Luxembourg, or you could work at the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) or the Committee of the Regions (COR) in Brussels. The Council of Ministers also employs EU assistants.
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