EC Traineeship March 2018

At this point I really feel like they only provide traineeships to Europeans. And in case Europeans turn down the offer, they call the second European in their shortlist, and only in case that second European rejects it as well, they have no other choice but to offer it to some Non-EU. And that is why Non-EU are still waiting for the results. We are waiting to see if any Europeans turn down the offer so that we are considered

l.one wrote:Nat nat, are you EU or Non-EU?

Hi there,

I am EU and I did not lobby. I had a short interview before I got my offer.

There are some ppl who do not accept their offers so fingers crossed. A friend of mine received the offer in late February last year.

Good luck,
Nat

one of my friends informed me today that she received a rejection from TO on Friday. I don't know how to interpret it. Maybe they are sending rejection letters in batches, maybe they've already sent out all the rejection letters.

Hi guys,

I am a non-EU and just got an official letter of rejection. The message in my account, however, stated that there may still be a chance that somebody declines the offer and I got contacted. In view of my non-EU nationality this sounds unlikely though. It really seems incredibly difficult for somebody from outside EU to get in.

same here, received the rejection notification (I'm EU):

"Dear candidate,

The Commission services and Executive Agencies have now selected their trainees. I regret to inform you that you have not been selected.

Please note that some late selection will still take place:
If a given candidate declines the offer, services will make new selections. Late selection continues until all available places are filled or the deadline has been reached. Please do not contact the Traineeships Office or the services in relation to late selection. If you are selected, we will contact you."

Congrats to all of those who got an offer

Rejection here as well after all this waiting. Non-EU

any Non-EU who received an offer?

There should be someone except me for sure (I'm Ukrainian), but I think they just do not follow the forum.

Nat_nat wrote:Hi there,

I received the offer yesterday from the Research and Innovation

Hey, we'll be in the same DG. What's your unit? I'll be in RTD.DDG3.R.3 - Strategic Programming, Planning and Compliance. Not really related to anything I've ever done, but the DG was my first choice because I'm a researcher. Turns out I'll be doing HR/audit stuff, from what I can tell.

For us who weren’t selected, do you know how much we’re going to stay in the Blue Book?

Also non-EU here got rejected but already got new job offer from another place. Replaced at the last minute by a EU citizen. The previous unofficial confirmations do not mean anything. The final decision goes to TO. My advice for the non-EU. Don't waste your time on this. We are just back up plans from the beginning. As long as the TO have other EU choices for the unit, they won't bother spending time getting us a visa. I've learned my lesson.

jesss139 wrote:Also non-EU here got rejected but already got new job offer from another place. Replaced at the last minute by a EU citizen. The previous unofficial confirmations do not mean anything. The final decision goes to TO. My advice for the non-EU. Don't waste your time on this. We are just back up plans from the beginning. As long as the TO have other EU choices for the unit, they won't bother spending time getting us a visa. I've learned my lesson.

First, congratulations on your new job offer. Most probably this was the place that was destined for you! However, your story sounds infuriating. It is not right to let you hang on a promise for an offer for sooooo long and then last minute the TO to choose someone else. They should have the courtesy to bother getting you a visa. It is true that for non-EU citizens the chances are so slim but come on... if there was a match between a unit and a trainee - it seems very unfair to me. I wish you, though, the best of luck!

I totally agree with jesss139. As I said before in case Europeans turn down the offer, they call the second European in their shortlist, and only in case that second European rejects it as well, they have no other choice but to offer it to some Non-EU. Honestly, if I'm selected at a later stage from the "reserve list", I wouldn't accept it.
What I don't seem to understand is why would they pre-select so many Non-EU to reject them all at a later stage. I mean, wouldn't it be more logical to include around 1000 or less in Blue book, some 900 EU and 100 Non-EU. It would have saved both their and our time.

gerda666 wrote:

jesss139 wrote:Also non-EU here got rejected but already got new job offer from another place. Replaced at the last minute by a EU citizen. The previous unofficial confirmations do not mean anything. The final decision goes to TO. My advice for the non-EU. Don't waste your time on this. We are just back up plans from the beginning. As long as the TO have other EU choices for the unit, they won't bother spending time getting us a visa. I've learned my lesson.

First, congratulations on your new job offer. Most probably this was the place that was destined for you! However, your story sounds infuriating. It is not right to let you hang on a promise for an offer for sooooo long and then last minute the TO to choose someone else. They should have the courtesy to bother getting you a visa. It is true that for non-EU citizens the chances are so slim but come on... if there was a match between a unit and a trainee - it seems very unfair to me. I wish you, though, the best of luck!

Thank you Gerda. Best wish to your traineeship too.
I knew two other non-EU had exactly the same situation as me, probably more. We were all shocked when we got the call from the HR who we were in contact all the time. Even from different DGs. The HR didn't know this until the last minute either. So it's all about the TO. They don't know the candidate, but they get the power to replace them. Another candidate told me the TO will contact the unit SEVERAL TIMES TO ASK IF THEY WANT TO CHANGE to a EU candidate. I understand they will do extra work for non-EU. I was just too naive and believed there's some fairness left. This is my first and last EC application.

l.one wrote:I totally agree with jesss139. As I said before in case Europeans turn down the offer, they call the second European in their shortlist, and only in case that second European rejects it as well, they have no other choice but to offer it to some Non-EU. Honestly, if I'm selected at a later stage from the "reserve list", I wouldn't accept it.
What I don't seem to understand is why would they pre-select so many Non-EU to reject them all at a later stage. I mean, wouldn't it be more logical to include around 1000 or less in Blue book, some 900 EU and 100 Non-EU. It would have saved both their and our time.

The more choices the better. People decline their offers. Due to the long and tedious procedure,quite some offers are declined. That's why they include 2000 in BB. More back ups to select from for the second round.

I got an email today saying that I haven't been selected. I've never been contacted by anyone and I didn't lobby. But a few hours later I got an offer from a department I didn't apply for. Totally different area. I was very surprised.
I accepted the offer. At the end of the day EC traineeship is a very good reference for my CV.

Don't give up!

Congratulations, mp999! you are probably EU, right?

Yes, EU here

Does anybody know what security checks for non-EUs consist of?
Thank you!

No idea. But if you haven't received a rejection so far, I guess, you'll get an offer.

Hey guys!

I will be doing a traineeship at the EACEA DG Unit A5. Someone else? Hope to see you in Brussels!