Interviews

Hey guys,

This is a question mainly for those who were already accepted for the traineeship in previous editions or those who applied before and were not selected.

Has it happened to any of you to receive contact from one or more units, have an interview, get that reply that they were going to indicate your name to the traineeship office and the next contact would be from them and, in the end, you received an e-mail saying you were not selected?

I'm trying to understand what are the chances for those of us who had interviews already and were told our name was going to be indicated to the traineeship office, however this was a non-binding interview and that we had to wait for a next contact from the traineeship office. I wanted to know if this means we are praticaly in, or if there are people who applied in previous editions who got to this stage and in the end it meant nothing and they were not selected.

Thanks

pal00norbert wrote:Hy everyone,

I received an e-mail from the Commission letting me know that my traineeship application has successfully passed the first stage of the selection procedure. I didn't lobby, because I didn't think it's necessary, big mistake... I was not contacted by them. However, I would like to know how to do things the next time I apply. So I would like to pose a couple of questions hoping that somebody will be kind enough to answer them.

1. How do you find the contact details of the heads of DGs? I tried searching on their sites, but no personal e-mail addresses.

2. Could someone maybe send me a sample letter of what do you exactly write to these heads of DGs and how long your letter should be? Any help would be highly appreciated, my e-mail address is: pal00norbert@yahoo.com

p.s. don't worry, I won't steal your place, I just want to know how to do it next time if I'm selected.

Hello, I think that you should not worry now. As some units do not call for interviews and some people just receive the e-mails with acceptance.
Besides, I did not lobbied at all, and I got 4 phone calls. So, I do not think that it depends so much on lobbying.
All the best for you and good luck.

Hey people, just to establish something... being on some unit's "wishlist" does not mean that your are flagged by them in the blue book, right? Other units can still look at your application and consider you available?

mdenic85 wrote:Hey people, just to establish something... being on some unit's "wishlist" does not mean that your are flagged by them in the blue book, right? Other units can still look at your application and consider you available?

Yes. That's right. I have been told that I am on shortlist, but still I got two calls one week later. So, you're right.

Information from DG Agri, that I received today:
Final selection will be closed on Monday 07.01.2013 and at this stage, no traineeship may be guaranteed.

OK, good... so I think I get the whole picture now... we can be on several wishlists and they are submitted to the traineeship office and depending on our ranking on those lists (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - more 1 more chances you will get it), they decide will we get the position and in witch unit.

mdenic85 wrote:OK, good... so I think I get the whole picture now... we can be on several wishlists and they are submitted to the traineeship office and depending on our ranking on those lists (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - more 1 more chances you will get it), they decide will we get the position and in witch unit.

I think that's exactly it! And while it is good to know that we are in the wishlist of some Heads of Unit, we will only know for sure we were selected when we get an e-mail from the Traineeship Office in January.

So agony continues! Dear lord!

But at least some encouragement is that you know that you are on some wishlist!

Indeed, this seems to be the procedure. And some units does not seem to know if they recieve a trainee, so even beeing on the top of a wishlist does not ensure that we are in. Anyone heard from ESTAT yet? A HoU sent me a mail that I have to be patient and he will come back to me but since one week no news from him.

I am with you mdenic85... My agony also continues I want this traineeship so much, that I could not even concentrate on my work

Tell me about it Natalia1988! I suppose to finish my master thesis!

Hello guys,

today I got a phone call from DG EMPL, they told me that I'm on their shortlist. We had discussed the main functions of the Unit and my experience. They asked me to tell my main taks at work as well. And finally I asked if I could expect to hear the final decision of their choice soon - they told that they hope to be done with the selection at the end of this week.

Good luck for all of you!

I've got my second call, but in fact it didn't went to well. I was nervous this time.

I know it's good to be in the "wishlist" of more than one DG, but at the same time it is awkward because, in the end, I had to say 'yes' to both. She told me it will be decided by traineeships office who gets who, but I feel like we're put at an awkward position.

Today I'm pessimistic. But I wish the best luck to all of you.

Congrats to the people who've been contacted by a DG so far!

I'm, on the other hand, still waiting for a phone call from DG EAC or EACEA. Did anyone of you hear from them yet?

I sent out a couple of lobby e-mails to different units where I'd like to do the traineeship...but no response so far. Not even a rejection e-mail

nr_9 - maybe this DG and the Agency they don't take any trainees this year. They were of my interest too but I haven't received any e-mails nor phone calls. nothing. I haven't lobbied.

It's kinda frustrating not being notified even once cos all I can read on this forum is calls or e-mails that people receive every day or couple of times a day. I am not very desperate for this traineeship offer but hmm would be inetresting to receive a phone call or an e-mail from DG at least once.

Thanks Billy_Joe for your reply Maybe the DG and agency don't do interviews...I would find it strange if they didn't take any trainees at all.

Yes, indeed, it's just frustrating not hearing anything -- although I'm not too desperate either, I'd just like to know where I stand and whether I should have any hope!

Anyway, good luck to you!

Has anyone been interviewed by the EEAS?

Hello everyone!
I got a phone call from someone in one of the agencies asking me if i wanted to work with. i obviously said yes and then they sent me an email saying that they will choose my profile on the Book and that i should expect a formal letter.
However, they have now sent me another email saying that i was already booked by another DG (Entr.), and that i have to choose which one i want!

The thing is, i did send an email lobbiyng for that DG, bu i have not received any info from them about the selection... and i don't want to say no to the Agency without knowing who chose me from the DG, because it might not be an office of my interest.

Any suggestions!!?

Good luck to everyone!!

You can try to contact the HR of DG ENTR and see if they tell you who selected you, but I doubt they will help much. But they should be the ones managing those lists, so the only people that can help you. I suppose you will not know, so probably you will have to take a decision without knowing any details.

Oh, and also I wouldn't send an e-mail, rather call the HR and try to investigate if you have any chances of getting the info. It is holiday period now so your e-mail might get lost somewhere and you get a reply when it's already too late. Or most probably you get a reply that they can't give you any official information, so they will not reply per e-mail, but possibly on the phone they can give you a hint on who chose you.

My experience with how it all works

hi guys,

few days ago I got a call from the unit to which I have written previously. although the HoU who made the call said she would put me on the list, I think I did terribly (the phone call was in the worst possible moment, I was nervous, could barely think what to say, etc.), and I'm not sure if this influenced the ranking I would be given on their list.

now I am in a dilemma: I'm not sure if I should write to another Unit, where hopefully I would make a better impression, or I should stick with the Unit which already, supposedly, booked me. any suggestions? I suppose now is the last moment to lobby, if most units should send their lists before the holiday season.

thanks a lot, and good luck to everyone!

Has anyone been contacted by DG SANCO/Environment DG/DG Research?

If yes, what background do you share if you don't mind me asking?

I have a degree in chemistry with research experience and environmental policy work experience. I have contacted about 10+ units expressing my interest but so far I have only been told they will make decisions in January.

I greatly appreciate if anyone reading this can respond sharing their experience thus far. I want to know if the units within these DGs are having phone interviews.

Thanks!

nr_9 wrote:Congrats to the people who've been contacted by a DG so far!

I'm, on the other hand, still waiting for a phone call from DG EAC or EACEA. Did anyone of you hear from them yet?

I sent out a couple of lobby e-mails to different units where I'd like to do the traineeship...but no response so far. Not even a rejection e-mail

nr_9, I received an email from EAC at the end of last week saying that the process will not be completed until the 7th of January. They also said that they may or may not interview candidates before selecting them. I suppose it's best to keep our fingers crossed and we'll see how things turn out. Good luck!

Thanks a lot Aneena!
I did call the HR and I was able to get some info on which office apparently booked my profile. It is being hard to reach them though!

However, both the person that wanted to choose me and the HR officer at the DG were very nice and very insisting on the fact that it is up to me to choose. Nice to know that they leave that to you!

good luck everyone!

KS2012 - thanks for the info. Which unit have you e-mailed?

I just got an email that I am no. 1 choice for the Unit which is in in my TOP 3!! We agreed that we are no. 1 choice from both sides, so in case HR contact us if I am book by other unis, we know what to say!

It's DG ECFIN!

mdenic85 wrote:I just got an email that I am no. 1 choice for the Unit which is in in my TOP 3!! We agreed that we are no. 1 choice from both sides, so in case HR contact us if I am book by other unis, we know what to say!

It's DG ECFIN!

Congrats!

What Unit is it, may I ask? I applied for some units within DG ECFIN and was told that such DG was going to host only 1 trainee per directorate, but that HoU didn't know how was the distribution going to be and which unit within each directorate was going to receive the trainee.

It is D.1 Economies of Candidate and pre- candidate countries.

Thank you!

I wish to all of you a lot of success in finding the place.

I did not even talked to this unit, they did not even interviewed me, they just sent me an email, 2 weeks after my "lobbying email"offering me the position!

mdenic85 wrote:It is D.1 Economies of Candidate and pre- candidate countries.

Thank you!

I wish to all of you a lot of success in finding the place.

I did not even talked to this unit, they did not even interviewed me, they just sent me an email, 2 weeks after my "lobbying email"offering me the position!

I think DG ECFIN was selecting their candidates last week, because I sent a bunch of e-mails to units of that DG right after knowing I was pre-selected and only last week I got several replies telling me they were not taking trainees this session and explaining me that only one trainee per directorate was going to be accepted.

I then sent an e-mail to the Director of Directorate B (Structural reforms and competitiveness) and she said this: "We have only one traineeship post in our directorate and we are in priority recruiting trainees with a macroeconomic or a labour economics background. "

Also, I have checked the composition of DG ECFIN and saw little to none legal advisors, everyone seemed to be an economist. So I believe the trainees they look for will have a background on economics and not on law (even if with experience in economics), which is my case.

I saw you have a background in economics, so you would be interesting for any unit in that DG, I believe it's very good they picked you, congrats once again!

Thank you again!

Yes, my profile fits perfectly to that DG, regarding my education, work experience but also my personal interest. My master thesis is exactly about what this unit does.

Again, good luck to everyone!