Language and work experience proof

lisa1989 wrote:Concerning the internships during university courses:

"During my studies I had one or more internships. Can I declare them under Work Experience?
- No, if this was part of your university courses (mandatory or not) and the university is part of the contract/agreement with the employer. Grouping education or training is not admitted.

- Yes if this was an external activity while you were studying and the contract/agreement with the employer does not include your university."

If your university wasn't part of the contract, you should be fine

yeah, I saw this, quite interesting differentiation. But what if my internship was in the university itself, therefore, the contract was with the university? It was not part of any course, nor obligatory. And I have right if I want to include it into my degree.
So does it count or not?

marble wrote:Hi everyone,

I'm also a bit worried about language proof.
In my case, I don't have a certificate (like TOEFL or IELTS) stating my English level, but English was a major part of my BA studies, as I have a degree in translation. I can provide a confirmation letter from the head of study program though, saying that in order to pass those exams a minimum level of C1 was required. This was fine when I applied for my MA studies that also required language proof, but I'm not sure now whether the EC will accept it. What do you think?

I'm doing the same, since the language of instruction of my degree program is English, and it is not stated anywhere in the transcript or in the attandance certificate that my program is in English, so I asked my academic director to issue me such paper as you have mentioned. I hope that it will work.

Interstellar wrote:Another question here, I have a TOEFL iBT certificate with a score of 105 which has recently expired. Am I still eligible for traineeships with this certificate or should I get a new one?

In the end what did you do? I mean, it shouldn't be a problem... For example, French Government Exams (DELF/DALF) are valid for life... I mean, as long as it isn't like 10 years old I would bet that you should be fine...

viktoriia wrote:

marble wrote:Hi everyone,

I'm also a bit worried about language proof.
In my case, I don't have a certificate (like TOEFL or IELTS) stating my English level, but English was a major part of my BA studies, as I have a degree in translation. I can provide a confirmation letter from the head of study program though, saying that in order to pass those exams a minimum level of C1 was required. This was fine when I applied for my MA studies that also required language proof, but I'm not sure now whether the EC will accept it. What do you think?

I'm doing the same, since the language of instruction of my degree program is English, and it is not stated anywhere in the transcript or in the attandance certificate that my program is in English, so I asked my academic director to issue me such paper as you have mentioned. I hope that it will work.

Fingers crossed that this will work out fine!

Anyone who has an idea what to do with the work experience issue? I am facing the same problem since I declared work experience gained during my master. I have included the contract in my documents (I think it is better than no proof at all) but is there anyone who has passed the eligibility test in the past despite having an internship during their studies?

Baionarra wrote:

Interstellar wrote:Another question here, I have a TOEFL iBT certificate with a score of 105 which has recently expired. Am I still eligible for traineeships with this certificate or should I get a new one?

In the end what did you do? I mean, it shouldn't be a problem... For example, French Government Exams (DELF/DALF) are valid for life... I mean, as long as it isn't like 10 years old I would bet that you should be fine...

TOEFL scores do expire after two years, and "word on the street" is that expired scores do not constitute valid proof for the BB. (Don't take my word for it though - it's just what I heard.) I have included my old, expired TOEFL score along with the valid proof just in case (cheesy, but I was quite proud of my 118 back in the day), specifying in the tables of contents that it's expired.

I suggest getting the CPE (Cambridge Proficiency Exam - that's C2) instead next time, unless it's purely for US uni admission purposes. It doesn't expire, and it's not a purely for-profit venture that forces you re-take tests at regular interval just so they can make more money. Not sure about the EU institutions, but most people in the UK don't take the TOEFL seriously these days. (And given the some of the students I had while teaching who were supposed to have passed the TOEFL but barely spoke English, I can see their point.)

Oh, and one of my official certificates which I got as an undergrad is in fact almost ten years old - it does not expire, so I can't see how they could make it an issue.

viktoriia wrote:

lisa1989 wrote:Concerning the internships during university courses:

"During my studies I had one or more internships. Can I declare them under Work Experience?
- No, if this was part of your university courses (mandatory or not) and the university is part of the contract/agreement with the employer. Grouping education or training is not admitted.

- Yes if this was an external activity while you were studying and the contract/agreement with the employer does not include your university."

If your university wasn't part of the contract, you should be fine

yeah, I saw this, quite interesting differentiation. But what if my internship was in the university itself, therefore, the contract was with the university? It was not part of any course, nor obligatory. And I have right if I want to include it into my degree.
So does it count or not?

Anyone who figured out something about this issue? I have searched previous internship forums, they don't seem to have such problems. Is this a new rule?

Hi everyone.

I went through the selection process for the previous session. I was in the same case as some of you concerning languages and the proof I provided was enough to be selected.

Concretly:
- As proof of my level of French (C2), I provided my master's diploma from a French speaking university (it doesn't explicitly state that tuition was in French, but it seems obvious, since the university is French speaking and the documents are in French. I don't remember if last year they also required that the language is explicitly stated when providing uni diplomas as proof of language knowledge; so this year I'm adding the page of Europass supplement which does state it, just in case).
- As proof of my level of English (C2), I provided my bachelor diploma from a British university. Again, it does not state the tuition language, but it seems obvious. Since the Brits don't have a Europass supplement, there is nothing I can add there; but I'm guessing it should be fine. I did mention an IELTS certificate from 2005 in my application, but since it's well expired (and also previous to my studies in the UK) I didn't bother adding it to the proofs.
- As proof of my basic German I provided high school transcripts (I also provided these as proof for English and French, but it was probably unnecessary). It seems this year they're only accepting university transcripts and not high school ones like last year. But as in my application it was clear that I only studied German at school (and a short summer course), I don't think that would be enough of a reason to be disqualified.

Concerning work experience during university studies. I did not do an internship, but I did get a student job at the university as a student assistant. I included that in my work experience and it was fine. Not sure whether some of your cases might be similar or not.

As long as you have 'reasonable' proof for what you declared in your application, I don't think you should worry too much. If you were pre-selected it means you have the qualifications/experience required. The current procedure is just about providing official proof of it. I don't think that having put an internship in the work experience section would be a reason to be disqualified at this stage; it was already in your application, so they'd have done that in the previous stage. But this is just me guessing.

@olmons Thanks a lot for sharing!

Hi guys, does anyone put one date on the application form, but has different date on the certificate. E.g. for one I put 1 September, but on the certificate it says 1 October? I have two dubious documents like this one.
Thank you and congrats

Hey guys.

I just sent my supporting documents and thought I'd research the whole preselection process, which explains how I stumbled upon this forum. A part of me wishes I hadn't.

I just realised that the documents I provided about a graduate experience (call it an internship) only have an end date. The internship is referred to as a "summer internship programme" and the documents are signed, stamped and have a date. I naturally thought that they couldn't possibly be nitpicking for such things but I'm starting to think otherwise, having read some posts here.

I still hope that they will consider a recommendation letter and a second stamped document as proof of the internship existing but now I kinda think there is someone with a loupe, checking every single date up to the exact day. Otherwise everything from Diploma dates to languages is there.

I'd be very happy for inputs from people who've already gone through the whole tedious process. Thanks in advance!

Hey guys wazzup? So i uploaded all the docs yesterday like 10pm (13nov). however i forgot adding the id scan. which i emailed them today like 9am with my candidate nr , name surname nationality. I was wondering if this is an issue or not since is not attached to the uploaded pdf file. Secondly, in my Transcripts it says i had russian language course which is not an eu official language. would this suffice. And finally , jesus my original pdf file has like 28 pages. cheers and looking forward for your input

lisa1989 wrote:Wrong date for the diploma and no language proof (doesn't matter what language) at all are definitely  reasons to be ineligible...

As for languages: They accept any official certificate with a stated level (so A1-C2), grade, stamp and signature. May it be from your/some university, IELTS, DELF or whatsoever... (I asked them before I applied) basically all what is stated in the replay Victoria got. You can also find this information on the traineeship website

Rule Nr. 1: If you cannot proof what you wrote in your application, you'll be rejected.

Hey there,
And thanks for all the valuable comments. So correct me if I am wrong, in case I am doing currently my MA in Germany and the official language of all the courses taken is English, I still need to provide a language certificate? Or would it be sufficient to declare a C1 level and just to attach a certificate of enrolment and the transcript of records later on?
Cheers!

Hello everyone!

I am going to apply for an internship at EC for the October-session 2017 and I am quite confused regarding the certificates of the language skills. I have obtained Goethe-Zertifikat C1 in German in January 2015 and I am just wondering if I could also include this certificate in my application since now at the time of application is still valid but in case I am preselected and they request certificates (maybe in March or April) the certificate will be older than two years and so invalid. So, I would like to ask you if it's the time of application that plays role or the time that the eligibility check will take place?

In addition, regarding the reference letters I would like to ask you if the e-mail address of the referee must be other than gmail,hotmail, etc.

It would be really helpful if we could answer to my questions!

ch_kesk wrote:Hello everyone!

I am going to apply for an internship at EC for the October-session 2017 and I am quite confused regarding the certificates of the language skills. I have obtained Goethe-Zertifikat C1 in German in January 2015 and I am just wondering if I could also include this certificate in my application since now at the time of application is still valid but in case I am preselected and they request certificates (maybe in March or April) the certificate will be older than two years and so invalid. So, I would like to ask you if it's the time of application that plays role or the time that the eligibility check will take place?

In addition, regarding the reference letters I would like to ask you if the e-mail address of the referee must be other than gmail,hotmail, etc.

It would be really helpful if we could answer to my questions!

Hey kesk,

In my case I claimed C2 knowledge in a language and my certificate was already expired for more than 1 year and they still took it (I passed the pre-selection and was included in the BB). However, I do have extensive experience using it as a working language, experience that I documented in my application and with supporting documents, so I don't know if it was the 2 things that played a role or one or the other.... YMMV...

What referee are you talking about?

Thank your for your reply!

I see What you mean..But do you think that it would be safe to include it in the application now? Since it is valid at the time of application why not to include it? I have already sent an email to EC traineeship department but they didn't provide me with a clear answer.

Since my strongest asset are my multi-language skills I would like to include also German in my application.

I meant recommendation letter from previous employer. Does an internship (which is not mandatory for the attainment of university degree) but I took it after graduation can also be included?

Thank you!

If I were you, I would put it, as long as when you apply is valid you should be fine.

edit: as for the referral, I don't know if it can be included, I don't see a place to put or where it would be relevant. I know that you try to make your cases as strong as you can, but I don't se where or why you can put it...

Just my two cents, some people may think otherwise.

I provided a copy of my TOEFL certificate from 2012 and they accepted it. Do include it, it would be such a pity if you didn't, especially since languages are given such a big weight in the selection process.

ch_kesk wrote:Hello everyone!

I am going to apply for an internship at EC for the October-session 2017 and I am quite confused regarding the certificates of the language skills. I have obtained Goethe-Zertifikat C1 in German in January 2015 and I am just wondering if I could also include this certificate in my application since now at the time of application is still valid but in case I am preselected and they request certificates (maybe in March or April) the certificate will be older than two years and so invalid. So, I would like to ask you if it's the time of application that plays role or the time that the eligibility check will take place?

In addition, regarding the reference letters I would like to ask you if the e-mail address of the referee must be other than gmail,hotmail, etc.

It would be really helpful if we could answer to my questions!

As far as I'm aware, the Goethe-Zertifikat doesn't expire (it certainly didn't when I obtained mine!) The TOEFL does, but it's a joke anyway - get the CPE instead. I submitted my Goethe-Zertifikat B2 from 2010, CELI3 (Italian) from 2009 and TORFL (Russian) from 2007. My most recent certificates in two other languages were from 2011, so nothing in the last two years! It all went through without any issues.

Thank you very much guys! Your answers have encouraged me to include it! And something more.. Regarding English, I have obtained ECPE and IELTS IN 2009 and 2015 respectively while also at this period of time I am doing a master which is taught in English in Sweden. Do you think that I should state C2 Level in English in my application? Personally I believe that I have a proficiency in oral ans spoken English but I would like to be sure.

Hi!
If I were you, I definitely would. In my case, I took TOEFL over two years ago (score 116, but the certificate was expired) and I am doing my Master's in English. I included the "rules" of my Master's program, where it was stated that all courses found place in English. They accepted that, so you should be fine! Good luck