October 2020 Traineeship

brianstorm wrote:

kmh504 wrote: I e-mail one of the e-mails from the list they actually told us to use and the secretary said she would pass on my CV. That's it for now.

Wow,  you already got a message from someone? Was it on Friday?

I actually sent the e-mail Thursday afternoon right after seeing the BlueBook results lol a tad too excited then. I got a response from the secretary for DEVCO on Friday saying she would pass it along as she does not know all the units that will have a trainee this upcoming term. Who knows if that means anything but it was nice to have a response. For the other e-mails, no response yet. We shall see what happens for all of us this week!

kmh504 wrote: I actually sent the e-mail Thursday afternoon right after seeing the BlueBook results lol a tad too excited then. I got a response from the secretary for DEVCO on Friday saying she would pass it along as she does not know all the units that will have a trainee this upcoming term. Who knows if that means anything but it was nice to have a response. For the other e-mails, no response yet. We shall see what happens for all of us this week!

Hm, interesting. I sent an email on Thursday evening as well, but I assume that the EEAS is busier than other agencies, maybe they won't even respond to me at all That's why I decided to message the HoUs directly, to make sure my application actually reaches the units.

Also I lurked the threads from past sessions and apparently it's still not too late to lobby - some DGs do send emails or call for an interview right after the pre-selection results are out, but in many cases the units take a week or so to make their decision and pick those 3-4 candidates. It is pretty reassuring since I kept reading (both on this forum and on facebook) that many DGs supposedly had decided their trainees way earlier and we were supposed to lobby in May haha.

brianstorm wrote:

kmh504 wrote: I actually sent the e-mail Thursday afternoon right after seeing the BlueBook results lol a tad too excited then. I got a response from the secretary for DEVCO on Friday saying she would pass it along as she does not know all the units that will have a trainee this upcoming term. Who knows if that means anything but it was nice to have a response. For the other e-mails, no response yet. We shall see what happens for all of us this week!

Hm, interesting. I sent an email on Thursday evening as well, but I assume that the EEAS is busier than other agencies, maybe they won't even respond to me at all That's why I decided to message the HoUs directly, to make sure my application actually reaches the units.

Also I lurked the threads from past sessions and apparently it's still not too late to lobby - some DGs do send emails or call for an interview right after the pre-selection results are out, but in many cases the units take a week or so to make their decision and pick those 3-4 candidates. It is pretty reassuring since I kept reading (both on this forum and on facebook) that many DGs supposedly had decided their trainees way earlier and we were supposed to lobby in May haha.

I know what you mean! This forum/facebook does not help calm nerves at all. People seem to have been emailing HoUs for months somehow. A week ago, I barely knew what units in each DG interested me the most I honesstly dislike the lobbying process. I wish The TO would just handle decisions with the units themselves, but apparently they do in many cases, just as you said.

I read through the thread of a past cohort on this forum and someone was placed with Frontex in Warsaw. He said it was not his top choice, not his area of interest/academic study and not one of the agencies he even lobbied. So goes to show we could all be very surprised in the end. I guess we should keep our phones on this week and hopefully get one of those informal interviews.

kmh504 wrote:I read through the thread of a past cohort on this forum and someone was placed with Frontex in Warsaw. He said it was not his top choice, not his area of interest/academic study and not one of the agencies he even lobbied. So goes to show we could all be very surprised in the end. I guess we should keep our phones on this week and hopefully get one of those informal interviews.

I put Frontex as my third choice and as a Pole I hope I'll not have to experience the same scenario as this guy lmao. Hopefully we hear some news next week! Gotta keep my phone charged haha.

nadinae wrote:

nev.bos wrote:TBH, contacting the email addresses provided with the preselection letter might be a waste of time. I just noticed that the addresses are repeated throughout the list, eg one address for more than one DG (with a few exceptions, like SG). Are you guys only sending emails to the DG of your choice or diversifying?

Since, I am not sure if any of the preferred DG's will be taking in any trainees I tried to reach to others as well. I still have a few emails left for tomorrow, but, without any proper knowledge of who is taking in, it feels like a game of guessing.

Yeah it totally is a game of guessing! I’m going to try emailing a couple of the ones they provided us just to see if they can pass on my CV too! I mean we have to try it all

brianstorm wrote:

kmh504 wrote: I actually sent the e-mail Thursday afternoon right after seeing the BlueBook results lol a tad too excited then. I got a response from the secretary for DEVCO on Friday saying she would pass it along as she does not know all the units that will have a trainee this upcoming term. Who knows if that means anything but it was nice to have a response. For the other e-mails, no response yet. We shall see what happens for all of us this week!

Hm, interesting. I sent an email on Thursday evening as well, but I assume that the EEAS is busier than other agencies, maybe they won't even respond to me at all That's why I decided to message the HoUs directly, to make sure my application actually reaches the units.

Also I lurked the threads from past sessions and apparently it's still not too late to lobby - some DGs do send emails or call for an interview right after the pre-selection results are out, but in many cases the units take a week or so to make their decision and pick those 3-4 candidates. It is pretty reassuring since I kept reading (both on this forum and on facebook) that many DGs supposedly had decided their trainees way earlier and we were supposed to lobby in May haha.

Yeah I started receiving replies saying that the HoUs had already started their selection process by the first week of june

brianstorm wrote:

kmh504 wrote:I read through the thread of a past cohort on this forum and someone was placed with Frontex in Warsaw. He said it was not his top choice, not his area of interest/academic study and not one of the agencies he even lobbied. So goes to show we could all be very surprised in the end. I guess we should keep our phones on this week and hopefully get one of those informal interviews.

I put Frontex as my third choice and as a Pole I hope I'll not have to experience the same scenario as this guy lmao. Hopefully we hear some news next week! Gotta keep my phone charged haha.

And I have to put my phone on high volume hahah

I have heard that the units that usually receive the less amount of applicants are from DG ENER, GROW, ECHO, MOVE, FISMA, TAX, Maritime Affairs and fisheries and the Joint Research Centre

Laura Torres wrote:I have heard that the units that usually receive the less amount of applicants are from DG ENER, GROW, ECHO, MOVE, FISMA, TAX, Maritime Affairs and fisheries and the Joint Research Centre

Great! I have 2 of those in my top choices!

Any idea what the time-line would be for the offers given the delay in the pre-selection notification?

nev.bos wrote:

Laura Torres wrote:I have heard that the units that usually receive the less amount of applicants are from DG ENER, GROW, ECHO, MOVE, FISMA, TAX, Maritime Affairs and fisheries and the Joint Research Centre

Great! I have 2 of those in my top choices!

Any idea what the time-line would be for the offers given the delay in the pre-selection notification?

I’m guessing that since the trainees who aren’t renewing will be gone by the end of July then they will need the new ones to start at around the same time as last year! So I’m thinking they will be sending the offers between the third week of August and the first week of September

nev.bos wrote:

Laura Torres wrote:I have heard that the units that usually receive the less amount of applicants are from DG ENER, GROW, ECHO, MOVE, FISMA, TAX, Maritime Affairs and fisheries and the Joint Research Centre

Great! I have 2 of those in my top choices!

Any idea what the time-line would be for the offers given the delay in the pre-selection notification?

But I’m thinking the HoUs will have to have their trainees chosen by the end of July! Because they will have August off

Hey guys. So I got a reply from two divisions of the EEAS, the secretary from the first division said they don't have any positions available. The second one said they don't have either, because "due to Covid-19, the term of our current trainee has been extended for a second session", but there's a chance there will be a free position available at WEST.3 division, which is Turkey. I'm not gonna apply for it, because Turkey isn't in my field of interest, but maybe there's someone here that would want to do so.

brianstorm wrote:Hey guys. So I got a reply from two divisions of the EEAS, the secretary from the first division said they don't have any positions available. The second one said they don't have either, because "due to Covid-19, the term of our current trainee has been extended for a second session", but there's a chance there will be a free position available at WEST.3 division, which is Turkey. I'm not gonna apply for it, because Turkey isn't in my field of interest, but maybe there's someone here that would want to do so.

Ohh thank you for letting us know!!

You guys!! The units from DG MARE who are looking for a trainee are: A2, A4, C4, D3 and E2

Laura Torres wrote:You guys!! The units from DG MARE who are looking for a trainee are: A2, A4, C4, D3 and E2

Also from DEVCO: DG 04 (evaluation and results)

For potential PARLIAMENT trainees: Did anyone else get an email about an interview? I'd love to know whether this would mean I'm the first choice or if the interview is just part of the shortlisting/narrowing down of applicants? Thanks so much.

DGTapplicant wrote:For potential PARLIAMENT trainees: Did anyone else get an email about an interview? I'd love to know whether this would mean I'm the first choice or if the interview is just part of the shortlisting/narrowing down of applicants? Thanks so much.

How does it work for the Parliament? Do you also have to lobby? Haha I haven’t received any emails yet

DGTapplicant wrote:For potential PARLIAMENT trainees: Did anyone else get an email about an interview? I'd love to know whether this would mean I'm the first choice or if the interview is just part of the shortlisting/narrowing down of applicants? Thanks so much.

I haven't received anything. Do I understand correctly, someone reached out to you already?

DGTapplicant wrote:For potential PARLIAMENT trainees: Did anyone else get an email about an interview? I'd love to know whether this would mean I'm the first choice or if the interview is just part of the shortlisting/narrowing down of applicants? Thanks so much.

Has the preselection process already started? Were you informed that you were preselected? Because if it has I haven’t made it hahah does the information in the platform gets uploaded or are you supposed to receive an email?

Sorry, I don't know how to reply to specific comments. Nope, I haven't been pre-selected or shortlisted yet, so I wasn't expecting to get an email about an interview.

DGTapplicant wrote:Sorry, I don't know how to reply to specific comments. Nope, I haven't been pre-selected or shortlisted yet, so I wasn't expecting to get an email about an interview.

Hit the “quote” symbol (“) up on the right corner of each comment. Maybe they interview the people they have in mind to be shortlisted! Because I have just read that all the shortlisted people get notified the 1st of August. So I’m guessing that the people who get shortlisted are almost sure to be the ones selected! Because the HoUs take August off! So they wouldn’t be able to use this summer time to do more interviews! So the shortlisted people would just have to send their validating documents by the 15th of August and if those are correct then you’re in! (I’m just guessing all of this because I don’t know haha) And you get your email saying that your documents are correct and that you have been selected, between the 1st and the 15th of September!

Laura Torres wrote:I have just read that all the shortlisted people get notified the 1st of August. So I’m guessing that the people who get shortlisted are almost sure to be the ones selected! Because the HoUs take August off! So they wouldn’t be able to use this summer time to do more interviews! So the shortlisted people would just have to send their validating documents by the 15th of August and if those are correct then you’re in! (I’m just guessing all of this because I don’t know haha) And you get your email saying that your documents are correct and that you have been selected, between the 1st and the 15th of September!

Ah great, more waiting

Thanks for the reply! I actually fished deep in this forum and saw that in the past, EP trainees on the shortlist were notified in mid-July, so maybe we won't have to wait until August after all.

Laura Torres wrote:

DGTapplicant wrote:Sorry, I don't know how to reply to specific comments. Nope, I haven't been pre-selected or shortlisted yet, so I wasn't expecting to get an email about an interview.

Hit the “quote” symbol (“) up on the right corner of each comment. Maybe they interview the people they have in mind to be shortlisted! Because I have just read that all the shortlisted people get notified the 1st of August. So I’m guessing that the people who get shortlisted are almost sure to be the ones selected! Because the HoUs take August off! So they wouldn’t be able to use this summer time to do more interviews! So the shortlisted people would just have to send their validating documents by the 15th of August and if those are correct then you’re in! (I’m just guessing all of this because I don’t know haha) And you get your email saying that your documents are correct and that you have been selected, between the 1st and the 15th of September!

ehi there! DG DEVCO just contacted me for an interview, so they're starting to contact people.

leti13 wrote:ehi there! DG DEVCO just contacted me for an interview, so they're starting to contact people.

From which unit did you receive the call?

Laura Torres wrote:

leti13 wrote:ehi there! DG DEVCO just contacted me for an interview, so they're starting to contact people.

From which unit did you receive the call?

Directorate F: Asia, Central Asia, Middle East/Gulf and Pacific

I just got third reply from one of the EEAS divisions and I don’t know how should I interpret it:

,,Thank you for your interest for a traineeship in our division. Should there be an opening, your candidacy will be duly taken into account.”

Should I even have any hope that I’ll get in?

brianstorm wrote:I just got third reply from one of the EEAS divisions and I don’t know how should I interpret it:

,,Thank you for your interest for a traineeship in our division. Should there be an opening, your candidacy will be duly taken into account.”

Should I even have any hope that I’ll get in?

It looks like those general replies.. they don’t even mention anything specific about your candidature, it’s one of those replies they give so they have something to say, that’s how I see it. By “taken into account” is that they will look at your CV! Just like they will look at the other people who are emailing them, so they can take into account all the CVs of people who are interested

Unless by the end of July we get an email from a HoU saying that we are being selected, I wouldn’t get my hopes up! I wouldn’t loose them either! Because some HoU don’t bother doing interviews or even emailing back their candidates and they just send the name of their selected candidate to the TO. This way you can receive an offer in september from all of the sudden! Your CV can actually be being considered by anyyy unit without us being even aware of it

brianstorm wrote:I just got third reply from one of the EEAS divisions and I don’t know how should I interpret it:

,,Thank you for your interest for a traineeship in our division. Should there be an opening, your candidacy will be duly taken into account.”

Should I even have any hope that I’ll get in?

I received similar e-mails. They're just confirmations of receipt, personally, I wouldn't built my hopes based on them. However, it is at least reassuring to know that they might / will look over our profiles.

Everything I have read so far only shows how different every experience is, you have candidates who go through many interviews and you have others who don't even get contacted and still get a place in the end.