March 2019 Traineeship

NCOMP wrote:Hello again,

I just accepted the informal offer from one Unit (which was my second best, so I took it). They give you no "written" confirmation, only their word which I guess it still must count something. They told me that I am going to receive the final offer at the end of January by the Traineeship Office.

In order to avoid any risk, my suggestion is to leave at least one door open, sending an interlocutory email to your "way-out unit" and confirming your potential availability. This is an example of a piece I sent: "As I already brought to your attention during our call, other (merger) Units and also an antitrust unit few moments ago contacted me. As we both know, the final call is on the Traineeship Office, so should your Unit take into consideration my nomination for the traineeship, I hereto confirm, in principle, my availability and eagerness to work within you and the other colleagues"

Should other Units tell me spontaneously I am their first choice I will only at that point make things very clear, saying I have another official offer. It then will be up to them to step back or insist for my nomination.

Congraaats NCOMP!!!!! Which unit?

Still nothing from DG NEAR - have they rung anyone yet?

Doris1964 wrote:Still nothing from DG NEAR - have they rung anyone yet?

Haven't heard from them. That said, the only person to acknowledge my lobbying email was the Russia desk at the EEAS to say they aren't being allocated a trainee for this session...

Congrats to all of you!

Has anyone been contacted from the Translation Unit?

Hi all !

Congrats to those who have been contacted by DG's and a super big good luck to those still waiting to hear back from their DG's of choice!

Today I was contacted by two units under DG Research and innovation (which is my first preference)....I am confused by this process....both units originate from the DG I chose so, let's say I am equally interested in both units...who decides where I shall go?! Also, is anyone aware of when we will know what unit we have been allocated to?!

Thanks in advance !

those who have passed the interview already, would you mind sharing what questions they asked you?

thanks in advance

negue_kaz wrote:I also had an interview and the interviewer asked me to confirm my interest in a follow-up mail after the interview (it was good, but my French got sooooo rusty, that was pretty embarrassing..). So my question is: Is the request to confirm my interest  like an informal offer by the Head of the Unit? I am little bit confused... Congrats NCOMP!

My interview was more or less like yours, in which I was asked to confirm my interest. Were you interviewed by the HR of the DG or by the unit? Which DG are you applying for?

ohanoka wrote:those who have passed the interview already, would you mind sharing what questions they asked you?

thanks in advance

I had two interviews so far, they asked questions such as:
- strengths and weaknesses
- future career path, where do you see yourself in 5 years
- area of interest

best of luck to all

I was asked to sum up my academic and professional background and explain how it could fit with their Unit.
Then specific questions about competition law and I was also asked to solve a mock case. I

I just had a short interview with one of the units of DG EAC. The woman told me that according to the email from the Traineehsip Office, the official contracts will be sent out on Jan 31....
She didn't want to give any promises or disclose much, but she just said that units should send the candidates lists in the coming weeks. So everything will be decided more or less in the coming weeks (I guess before Christmas), but the contracts will only be sent in the end of Jan.

Lars29 wrote:Has anyone been contacted from the Translation Unit?

Not so far, no, but there's still a lot of time then... I can't believe we will only hear the official word one month before the traineeship starts!

I also have applied for the DG Translation but have no offer yet. I have been pre-selected but that was the last I heard of them. Does lobbying also apply to us? Anyone pre-selected for translation?
Thanks.

To those who had interviews/received informal offers:

If I understood it correctly, once you have been shortlisted and asked to confirm interest and availability, it means that you are their top choice and should await confirmation i.e formal offer from the Traineeship Office.

Does anyone confirm this based on their experience so far?

I struggle to understand the actual meaning of "shortlisted" in these circumstances, since it could also mean that you are their 2nd or 3d choice..

Hi everyone! Anyone contacted by the EEAS? Thank you!

DanielJW wrote:Hi everyone! Anyone contacted by the EEAS? Thank you!

Nope I have not yet. Have you lobbied?

autonoito wrote:To those who had interviews/received informal offers:

If I understood it correctly, once you have been shortlisted and asked to confirm interest and availability, it means that you are their top choice and should await confirmation i.e formal offer from the Traineeship Office.

Does anyone confirm this based on their experience so far?

I struggle to understand the actual meaning of "shortlisted" in these circumstances, since it could also mean that you are their 2nd or 3d choice..

I have the same question - I was contacted just to ask my availability and confirm my interest in the unit. Not sure if that means I'm their 1st choice or it was just to put me on their shortlist.

I hate waiting

Congrats to all for being pre selected ! It is great to have this forum and to share our experience.
I just got contacted from a DG and he asked me some questions about the actual work of the DG, innovative ideas, ideas of global policy and my favorite sub DG to do the trainee.... and some more specific questions, not easy to answer.
We spoke three languages, so be prepared.
But the selection process is so unclear and I don't have a clue whether it means I'll have an offer or not. Guess just have to wait !

And I had the same answer as vikktoria : they must send names by next weeks and then he couldnt say

@man44GG Which DG?

Hi everyone:)

Today I received a phone call from DG ECHO. I wasn't expecting it and I wasn't really prepared. I wanted to postpone the interview for another day because of my small child talking aound but the person said it is not possible because today they are closing the preselection list. So I got pretty nervous and emotional. I got some easy classical questions like my strong points and why I have chosen DG ECHO. He said that they might contact the chosen ones at the end of December.

Did anyone else apply for DG ECHO?


warm regards from Poland:)!

Closing preselection list today already? :O Wow, that is quick..

Adding to the EEAS messages, I have lobbied them, HR and few units, plus they are number one in my priority list. But nothing at all from them so far, except of generic email :

"Thank you for your message.

At this stage of the procedure the divisions will soon make their choices amongst the pre-selected candidates and the reservations will take place. If your application is successful you will be contacted shortly.

Should you not be selected, you are welcome to re-apply for the next traineeship session.

Please check the relevant internet page on a regular basis:
https://ec.europa.eu/stages/home_en

Thanking you in advance for your patience,

Oh no, that's not exactly true. I received one reply from the unit that they do not have intern intake for the next session. That was the Unit for Eastern Partnership & OSCE

@viktoriia

This sounds... interesting? I really dont know what to think of his whole procedure...

And if selection is closing now why are they only sending out official offers by the end of January? It seems to be an unnecessarily dragging procedure for no reason

I lobbied a couple of days after receiving the eligibility check results. 90% never replied.

Yesterday I received two calls from different Units and DGs. The first one was pretty straightforward: they told me they were going to select me and I only needed to confirm my interest and availability. I was quite shocked since I was prepared for some kind of interview, but in the end the guy made clear that they already decided to pick me and I didn't have to do anything. I asked about the timeline of the whole procedure and he said that in these days they are going "to fill quite a lot of papers" to complete the selection, then I may receive some informal/unofficial email at the beginning of January (I haven't really understood this). Then, as you all know, the formal offer will only arrive at the end of January.

The second unit also did not interview me properly. The guy said a couple of times "this is not an interview because the whole process is centralized, i.e. the Traineeship Office makes the final decision on who goes where". He talked about the kind of work they do in the unit and asked me my thoughts about a couple of topics. In the end he said he will be happy to have me onboard. I asked the same thing about the timeline of the procedure, but he couldn't tell me much. He told me to write directly to the Traineeship Office for any information.

I am thinking about emailing the Traineeship Office to ask what the heck could we receive at the beginning of January (if anything), as it would be nice to have some kind of written confirmation.

Hi, guys, I want to ask if someone has received any news from legal services?
Also, I was also thinking about asking the traineeship office about this "end of January" thing. My biggest concern is that I'm already employed and I'll need to have some information at least in "mid January" to arrange things with my current employer?

@TS.K This is exactly my concern too!  It would be so stupid if only in the “end of January” I receive some offer, possibly that I haven’t even heard of before in case some unit let’s say puts me as the second priority, and then I have to cancel it because I have one month notice at the current job ;( this is really  disappointing, given that internship at the EC has been my dream and I have applied so many times before finally getting to this stage.

@AC92 that would be great if you could contact Traineeship Office about that and share it with us here if you get any reply!

Same with me! I lost counting how many times I've applied
I want to point out something for all!
I was pre-selected last time, I received an "informal offer" from one unit in DG Comp. However, in the end I received a completely different offer from other DG that never even contacted me (no idea why and what happened) and had to say no.
My biggest problem is that I am employed in a competition authority, they acknowledge the fact that it is my dream to work for the EU and support me. However, they were completely straightforward that they will provide me with an "unpaid leave" ONLY if I receive an offer from DG Comp or legal services and I inform them at least one month in advance! For the rest, I have to resign I was again offered a "position" by DG Comp with an offer but until I see it in my account I don't believe it is happening!!

scarletenred wrote:

rosalp wrote:

scarletenred wrote:

rosalp wrote:cmaaati, normally is name.surname@ec.europa.eu

thx. so did you email both the HR and unit directors?

Yes. From HR I received just a generic response, while the heads of unit were quite nice. From DG SANTE they told me they haven't started yet with the selection, in case someone is also interested.

thank you.

Thank you @rosalp
@scarletenred yes, I also emailed both the Head and HR, but unfortunately only the HR replied with a generic response.

I also found out that EEAS Heads of Unit, they have a different email address: name.surname@eeas.europa.eu
BTW, to me no one replied from EEAS so far, not even the HR.

TS.K. wrote:Same with me! I lost counting how many times I've applied
I want to point out something for all!
I was pre-selected last time, I received an "informal offer" from one unit in DG Comp. However, in the end I received a completely different offer from other DG that never even contacted me (no idea why and what happened) and had to say no.
My biggest problem is that I am employed in a competition authority, they acknowledge the fact that it is my dream to work for the EU and support me. However, they were completely straightforward that they will provide me with an "unpaid leave" ONLY if I receive an offer from DG Comp or legal services and I inform them at least one month in advance! For the rest, I have to resign  I was again offered a "position" by DG Comp with an offer but until I see it in my account I don't believe it is happening!!

I think you should somehow point that out, that you are interested exclusively with their unit and they should insist on you!
The lady from DG EAC told me that even despite a lot of bureaucracy not really clear even to her, it’s still possible for the unit to somehow make effort that you stay with the. And also NCOMP was told that too. If I were you, I would have somehow mentioned to the unit who booked you  that you had this kind of situation last time, but you are only exclusively interested to work with DG COMP, so if they could do something to make sure  you stay with them.

In any way, best luck with your dream!

Hello. Did anyone from non-EU states get any answer? I wrote to some units and HR, but haven’t heard back.