Candidates can fill in their application form in any of the 24 official EU languages.
Which supporting documents should I provide?
The Selection Board will only consider the documents you have duly uploaded and linked to the relevant entries of your competition application in your EPSO Account. These documents must justify the information provided in your application form, and based on which you have been admitted to the competition.
Each entry of your online application form (education, professional experience and Talent Screener if applicable) must be supported and confirmed by relevant documents. Every document uploaded should be linked to the entry it refers to in your online application. Instructions on how to upload your documents are available under How should I upload / link my supporting documents?
1. Identity: a copy of your valid identity card or passport
2. Education
- Diploma that gives you access to the competition as required in the Notice of competition, Specific conditions — qualifications and work experience:
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- For AST competitions: secondary and post-secondary diplomas;
- For AD competitions: post-secondary diplomas.
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- Official recognition of your diploma, if needed: diplomas, whether issued in EU or non-EU countries, must be recognised by an official State body, e.g. an EU Member State’s education ministry;
- Documentation on trainings followed, provided it gives access to the competition (please refer to the Notice of competition).
3. Professional experience
Periods of professional experience that are not corroborated by a job description will not be taken into account by the Selection Board. Make sure you provide documents proving the nature of your duties and the duration of your experience:
3.1. For salaried work:
- Documents from current and former employer(s) stating the nature and level of the duties performed (letters from hierarchical superior, appraisal reports describing your tasks, job descriptions provided by your employer, contracts including detailed descriptions of the duties performed, …)
- Employment contract(s) with beginning and end date, or first and last pay slips.
Documents must be dated, bear the official company's header, stamp, as well as the name and signature of the person in charge.
3.2. For self-employed - liberal professions:
- Invoices, contracts, order forms;
- E-mail correspondence;
- Minutes of meetings;
- Tax bills;
- Membership of a professional association.
For more information, please check the notice of competition, in particular the section “Supporting documents” and the FAQ sections Eligibility and Selection based on qualifications (Talent screener).
If you fail to provide sufficient documentary evidence by the required deadline, you may be considered non-eligible and excluded from the competition based on the lack of supporting documents.
What are the main instructions to apply for an EPSO selection procedure?
- Before starting with your application, make sure that all the details in your EPSO account are up-to-date.
- You must read the Notice of Competition/ Call for Expression of Interest and the General rules governing Open competitions/ General Rules governing Contract Agent Selections to make sure you meet all the eligibility requirements.
- You will find the link to apply on the EU Careers website once the registration period opens.
- Leave yourself plenty of time to complete your application, as it requires considerable work. The responsibility to validate your application before the deadline is entirely yours.
- Before validating your application, check the content of the application tab by tab as once validate the application can no longer be modified.
- You must complete your application in the language specified in the Notice/Call.
- Some application forms are currently only available in English, French and German, refer to this table to find the labels/components in all EU official languages.
- Indicate any special arrangements needed for taking the tests. Information is also available on EPSO’s web site. Contact us immediately if you need help with your online application.
- You should only copy/paste from a pure text file (.txt), using a simple word processor (e.g. NotePad on Windows, TextEdit on Mac OS X) to avoid inserting unnecessary spaces or incompatible characters.
- Avoid using the ‘forward’ or ‘back’ browser buttons to move through the application form and when moving between different application forms in your EPSO account (for example to access data from your previous applications) but use the on-screen buttons instead.
- EPSO’s systems support the most commonly used Internet browsers. If you encounter issues, please consider changing the browser first before contacting us. The use of mobile devices to fill in the application form is not recommended.
- As soon as you start your application, you will receive an application number. Please always mention this number in your correspondence with EPSO
- Candidates will be invited at a later stage of the selection procedure (usually together with the invitation to the Assessment Centre) to upload documents supporting their declarations in the application form.
- Questions sent to the EPSO Candidate Contact Service during the last days of the application period might not be answered before the deadline for applications.
How will my personal data be handled?
The privacy statement provides information about the processing and the protection of your personal data.
By creating an EPSO account, candidates agree to abide by the rule regarding EPSO accounts (creation of a single EPSO account).
Should I indicate all my qualifications/diplomas in my application form?
Yes, it is mandatory to mention all your diplomas/qualifications.
Point 1 of the “declaration” in your application states: “I declare on my word of honour that the information given in this application is true and complete.” Failure to comply with this provision may exclude you from the selection procedure.
How can I allow my Member State authorities to offer me assistance with preparing for the selection and recruitment process?
Candidates in EPSO competitions can choose to have their contact details disclosed to the national authorities of their Member State, to allow these authorities to contact them with offers of support and assistance for the selection and recruitment process (such as training, information sessions, publications, etc.).
Candidates make this choice when applying for a competition, by indicating their agreement or disagreement in the relevant section of their electronic application form. This agreement or disagreement is valid only for the competition for which it was given, and therefore needs to be indicated each time you introduce a new application.
By answering “Yes” to the relevant question in your application form, you give your unequivocal consent for EPSO to transmit your first and last name, e-mail address, and the reference of the competition you are applying for, to the national authorities of the EU Member State of which you are a citizen. The purpose of this data transmission is to allow your national authorities to contact you in view of offering assistance with the selection and recruitment process in the context of the competition for which you are applying.
The transmission of your personal data to your national authorities is governed by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC, in particular its Articles 7 and 9.
By answering “Yes” to the relevant question in your application form, you also unequivocally consent that the national authorities of the EU Member State of which you are a citizen process your abovementioned personal data, with the purpose of offering you assistance with the selection and recruitment process in the context of the competition for which you are applying. Your national authorities are authorised to process your data for as long as you are a participant in the competition in question, or until the closing of the competition’s reserve list if your name is included in it, or until you withdraw your consent for the processing of your data.
The processing of your personal data by your national authorities is governed by Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (the General Data Protection Regulation).
You can withdraw your consent at any time, by making a written request to that effect to your Member State. However, please note that if you decide to withdraw your consent after your data have already been transmitted by EPSO to your Member State, this will only prevent your national authorities from further processing your data, but will not affect the lawfulness of past data processing based on your consent that took place before its withdrawal.
Your consent for EPSO to transmit your personal data to your national authorities does not imply any obligation for you to accept any offers of assistance that those authorities might approach you with.
Your consent for EPSO to transmit your personal data to your national authorities does not imply any obligation for those authorities to contact you, or to offer assistance; this is entirely at the discretion of the EU Member State of which you are a citizen.
How do I complete the talent screener questions?
For each question, you must answer by clicking "yes" or "no".
If you respond yes, you must answer a sub-question.
If you respond no, please go to the next question.
What kind of questions can I expect to find in the talent screener?
Emphasis is put on different elements of professional experience and qualifications, reflecting the institutions' current recruitment needs.
Generally you will be required to describe aspects of your education, training and professional experience pertinent to the question. Such information as employers' names, job descriptions, start and finish dates, percentage of time spent on a given task, etc. may be asked for.
How many candidates will go on from Talent Screener to the next stage?
You can refer to the Notice of Competition to see how many candidates will be invited to the next stage of the competition. However it is often a maximum of 3 times the number of laureates.
How does the selection board decide how many points to award each response in the talent screener?
The selection board adopt objective evaluation criteria prior to the selection and in accordance with the competition notice.
The scoring then reflects the selection board's judgment on how well the information provided in your application form met the criteria in the evaluation sheet.
Will the selection board look at my full application while scoring the talent screener?
No, the selection based on qualifications is based SOLELY on the responses you provide within the Talent Screener tab.
The selection board will not refer to information provided elsewhere in your application.
Who is invited to the next stage?
As only a set number of candidates can go through to the next stage, only those with the highest scores are invited. These candidates have a score equal to or above the threshold.
A list of successful candidates is drawn up by the Selection board in descending order of the total score obtained.
What detail do I need to provide in the talent screener and how long will it take to complete?
Set aside enough time to ensure that within the Talent Screener you provide the selection board with all the information it will need to assess your responses. Make it clear for the selection board to assess whether you match the criteria specified for the profile sought. By structuring your responses around these criteria, you will make your Talent Screener more relevant and easier to assess.
Pay particular attention to what is asked and respond accordingly. Generally you will be required to describe aspects of your education, training and professional experience pertinent to the question. Such information as employers' names, job descriptions, start and finish dates, percentage of time spent on a given task, etc. may be asked for.
The Board will award points based on the relevance, duration, level of tasks and responsibilities specified in the Talent Screener tab of your online application.
How are the Talent Screener selection criteria set?
The choice of the selection criteria are defined on the basis of the skills required for the posts to be filled and the interests of the recruiting service.
The selection criteria are then presented in the TS as a series of questions.
What is meant by 'weighting' of the talent screener criterions?
The selection board will assign each selection criterion or question a weighting that reflects its relative importance, from 1 to 3.
How does the scoring of the talent screener work?
Each of the candidate's responses will be awarded between 0 and 4 points.
The points are multiplied by the 'weighting' and added up to give a score. This score is ranked against other candidates' scores to identify which candidate profiles best match the duties to be performed.
What is 'Talent Screener' and how does it work?
Talent Screener is designed to help the selection boards of competitions for specialist profiles identify the candidates whose profile best matches the duties and selection criteria set out in the competition notice.
You will have to answer a series of questions in the talent screener section of the online application form. The questions are based on the selection criteria given in the competition notice and your answers will be assessed by the selection board.
All candidates in a competition answer the same set of questions. In this way, the selection board is presented with each candidate's answers in the same structured framework helping it to carry out a careful objective assessment of the comparative merits of all candidates.
The selection board ensure this objective assessment by using the same pre-established evaluation criteria for all candidates within the same field of a competition.
I cannot create, access and/or navigate my EPSO account with the technical assistance tools that I use as a result of my disability. What should I do?
Accessibility is very important to EPSO. We continually work to improve the accessibility of our communication and selection procedures.
However, if you run into difficulties linked to the accessibility of your EPSO account or of our website, please contact us straight away to share your observations, problems and recommendations.
If necessary, EPSO produces adapted formats accessible to assistive technology
For more information on EPSO's work to improve accessibility please visit our webpage dedicated to equal opportunities.
I'm encountering issues with my application form. What should I do?
EPSO’s systems support the most commonly used Internet browsers. If you encounter issues, please consider changing the browser first before contacting us.
The use of mobile devices to fill in the application form is not recommended.
Avoid using the ‘forward’ or ‘back’ browser buttons to move through the application form and when moving between different application forms in your EPSO account (for example to access data from your previous applications) but use the on-screen buttons instead (Back to account).
You should only copy/paste from a pure text file (.txt), using a simple word processor (e.g. NotePad on Windows, TextEdit on Mac OS X) to avoid inserting unnecessary spaces or incompatible characters.
If you cannot validate your application, you should check the “Overview” tab of your application. Information that appears in red is either missing or in error.
In case of persistent problems, you should contact EPSO’s Candidate Contact Service immediately and in any case well before the deadline as we cannot guarantee a reply if your question is sent less than 5 days before the deadline. Please note that applications that are not submitted by the deadline cannot be taken into consideration.
Where can I find the application form?
You must apply through the EU Careers website.
Please log out of your EPSO Account before you click on the 'Apply' button. You will be asked to log in again on the next page.
Can I use my application from the EU CV online database or my previous EPSO applications?
No. You have to create and submit a new application via your EPSO account for each selection procedure you want to apply for.
Can I apply for multiple selection processes, profiles and/or function groups?
Yes, you may apply to any selection processes for which you are eligible, unless stated in the Notice/Call. Please note that you may have to submit one application per profile and/or function group.
When is the deadline for registration?
The deadline for registration will be clearly stated on each Notice/Call and on the EPSO website.
Should I send my diplomas and other documents related to my professional experience?
You do not need to send any supporting documents when submitting your application.
You will be asked to provide copies of your supporting documents, diplomas and certificates to confirm your eligibility at a later stage of the selection procedure.
How do I apply?
Apply online for one of the selection procedures published on the EPSO website. You need to have an EPSO account to be able to apply. Spontaneous applications cannot be taken into account.