Related FAQs

Contract staff positions are available for a wide range of jobs, requiring different levels of qualifications. They are divided into four function groups:I. manual and administrative support-service tasksII. clerical or secretarial tasks, office management and other equivalent tasksIII. executive tasks, drafting, accountancy and other equivalent technical tasksIV. administrative, advisory, linguistic and equivalent technical tasks.Please consult the European Commission specific rules for employment of contract agents.

At the time of recruitment, you may be offered a so-called "3a" or "3b" contract, depending on the needs of the service and legal arrangements of the recruiting institution. Please refer to Annex III, point 5 of the Call of expression of interest for detailed information about the contractual arrangements.

The CAST Permanent (see more information) selection process is different from Competitions. Only shortlisted candidates will be invited to sit the selection tests.If shortlisted, you will receive an invitation to book a test in your EPSO account. Please check your EPSO account at least twice a week. You must book and sit your test within the given timeframes.The tests will take place in testing centres worldwide. A list of available test centres will be accessible in your booking invitation. Please note that no reimbursement for travel costs is provided by EPSO.

With the exception of the CAST Permanent (see more information about this selection procedure), once validated, you can no longer modify the content of your application, as EPSO will immediately process the data.For CAST Permanent, candidates who have submitted an application are encouraged to update it every six months to indicate their on-going interest in that selection procedure and to remain visible to the recruiting services.You can upload or update your CV within your EPSO Account at any time. However, this information is only used by the recruiting services, and plays no...

If you pass the selection tests for a certain profile and function group, your results will remain valid and visible in the database according to the rules defined in the Call for Expression of Interest (10 years for reasoning tests and 5 years for competency test).Recruiting services can select and invite you directly to a recruitment tests. Please note that the recruiting services can invite several candidates for each vacant position.Success in the selection tests and invitation for a recruitment tests do not guarantee recruitment. You may only be offered a position if you are...

If you don't obtain the minimum pass mark in each test (as specified in the call), you will not be invited for the recruitment tests (interview and other optional tests) and you will be blocked for six months (from the day when the results were published in your EPSO Account) from being invited to sit any other tests for that same or higher function group. Competency tests will only be marked if you pass the reasoning tests.If you pass the reasoning tests but fail the competency test, you will only need to sit the competency test if invited after the 6 months period. Please note that there is...

The recruiting services will search, at regular intervals, the database of all registered candidates and shortlist those who best fit the specific requirements related to each vacant post. Make sure to update your application every six months, to indicate your on-going interest and to remain visible and searchable in the database.Only shortlisted candidates will be invited to book and sit a selection test organised by EPSO via their EPSO Account.Check your EPSO Account regularly, as if shortlisted, you will receive an invitation to book a test date about a week before the...

CAST selections usually attract a high number of applications. However, the recruiting services only select and shortlist candidates whose profiles best fit their requirements and needs. Recruitment needs may vary across jobs and institutions.

All application/s for EPSO/CAST/P/1-4/2015 (CAST for Executive Agencies) validated by 25.11.2016 (noon Brussels time) were automatically migrated to the CAST Permanent (EPSO/CAST/P/1-4/2017).If you have already successfully passed the selection tests organised by EPSO for the EPSO/CAST/P/1-4/2015, your results remain valid (10 years for reasoning tests, 5 years for the competency test).

If you are no longer interested in sitting the tests, you can simply choose not to book the tests. If you have already booked, you can cancel the appointment online up to 48 hours before the date of the test (via the link in the booking confirmation in your EPSO account). If you decide not to sit the tests, your application is not blocked, and you can be preselected to test again by other recruiting services in the future. 

Should you have a serious doubt about the content of a test question please contact EPSO's Candidate Contact Service within three calendar days of your tests clearly stating the circumstances and your candidate number (see the procedure in the Call for expression of interest).If an identified item does not comply with EPSO's strict quality criteria despite thorough quality controls in place, the following corrective measures will be applied:- The item will be corrected or taken out of the database;- Compensation may be applied if you were negatively impacted.See more information...