General Discussion

fab wrote:don't worry loba, there are plenty of people who had been selected with no prior interviews, phone calls and emails. just as well there were a number of those who were told they were short listed, but who in the end received no invitation. no one is 100% in, and no one is 100% out--at least until friday

I agree. I also think some of the reasoning behind the units having to shortlist more than one candidate and indicate them to the TO for final decision refers to the fact that there are quotas for nationalities and the TO has to assure they are met. For example, imagine all units selected their favorite candidates and there were chosen 150 italians and only 10 germans. I think the TO will go through the shortlisted names and assures that there's an even distribution between nationalities (in the "old" website there was a part where they had the formula on how they calculated how many candidates per country were going to be accepted, I remember it was a ratio between the number of applicants from that country for that traineeship period and the percentage of places which are attributed to that country each year).

So I think that even if we were interviewd and informed we are on a shortlist (which is my case), we can never know our fate... as well as someone who got no interviews or replies to e-mails can end up having a good surprise

ECandidate,
Have you already been able to contact HR and found out to which DG you have been reserved?

I am still dying a bit everyday. Reserved or not, I really need to see the offer email from the TO with my own eyes.

I don't like this new website of the EC Traineeship Office. On the old website there were indeed statistics available on nationalities and much more other information.

Missy_S wrote:ECandidate,
Have you already been able to contact HR and found out to which DG you have been reserved?

I am still dying a bit everyday. Reserved or not, I really need to see the offer email from the TO with my own eyes.

I don't like this new website of the EC Traineeship Office. On the old website there were indeed statistics available on nationalities and much more other information.

I ended up not contacting him... I figured we are so close to know the final decision and, like you said, only with that TO e-mail we will be completely sure, that I rather just wait some more days for it eheh.

I agree the old website was better! Much more information.

Yes, I cannot also find the statistic section now...

Oh, God! The anxiety is going to kill me!

I just received a call from HR of DG ECFIN, the nice lady that is charged for trainees, told me that I was booked and reserved by my preferred unit, as I assumed, no conflicts with others... and that deal is pretty much secured, considering her previous experiences with trainees, and I should receive the TO mail in next days.

Congratz Mdenic85,
I guess you can add yourself to the Facebook group for March 2013 trainees, as I saw a few have already been added and already know for sure they are in.
I hope I can join you in 2 or 3 days.. fingers crossed..

mdenic85 wrote:I just received a call from HR of DG ECFIN, the nice lady that is charged for trainees, told me that I was booked and reserved by my preferred unit, as I assumed, no conflicts with others... and that deal is pretty much secured, considering her previous experiences with trainees, and I should receive the TO mail in next days.

Lucky you. Congrats.

Thanks, but I won't be 99% relaxed until I see that TO email!

Missy... I am already there! I hope I did not jinx it with that!

Congrats! Ah the wait is killing me...!

I was reading the traineeship rules and I have a question regarding this part: "If recruited for a traineeship, certified copies of all diplomas declared and, if applicable, official certified translations will be required."

Can't we just take the originals with us and show them at the TO? I don't know about everyone else, but in my country it's kind of expensive to ask for certified copies at a notary.

@KitKat, all those documents were submitted with the application form in August so i don't expect they would require us to send them again?

Any other thoughts on this topic everyone?

I think we will have!

I think when we receive the contract, we will sign it and with it, send back the official translations of the documents... maybe not of all, but of diplomas for sure.

mdenic85 wrote:I just received a call from HR of DG ECFIN, the nice lady that is charged for trainees, told me that I was booked and reserved by my preferred unit, as I assumed, no conflicts with others... and that deal is pretty much secured, considering her previous experiences with trainees, and I should receive the TO mail in next days.

I also contacted the HR of DG ECFIN trying to find out about my application (as I was interviewed by an unit of DG ECFIN) and she replied today with this:

Dear Ms,
Thank you for your mail to * and for your interest in a traineeship with DG ECFIN.
After checking the situation with the reservation of Blue Book trainees, I can confirm to you that you have been requested by DG JUST. Should you need or wish to contact the HR colleagues dealing with trainees, you can call: *

The Traineeship Office will send the Traineeship offers in the coming days, with all the necessary information. I wish you take the most of your coming traineeship and an excellent continuation in your career.

Best regards

So I guess it is 99% sure I am in the first Unit interviewing me as from DG JUST, so I guess they were the first to reserve me and I will make the traineeship there. Anxious for the e-mail from the TO to confirm it

Great!!

So see you in BLX 99,999999%!

KitKat wrote:I was reading the traineeship rules and I have a question regarding this part: "If recruited for a traineeship, certified copies of all diplomas declared and, if applicable, official certified translations will be required."

Can't we just take the originals with us and show them at the TO? I don't know about everyone else, but in my country it's kind of expensive to ask for certified copies at a notary.

This is from the FAQ section of the website:

Translation of documents

My diplomas are written in one of the Official languages of the European Union (e.g. Polish, Spanish)? Should I provide a translation in English, French or German?

- No. We accept documents in all official EU languages.

My diplomas are not written in an official language of the European Union (e.g. Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew).Should I attach a translation?

- Yes. For all documents that are not written in an official language of the European Union, you have to attach a translation in English, French or German.

Should I provide certified translations?

- No. At this stage of the application process a simple translation will do. If you are selected for a traineeship, you will have to provide certified translations and copies of your documents.

So I understand this: for selected trainees whose documents are written in one of the official languages, I think we only need to provide certified copies of them. As for those which are written in a non official language, you have to provide certified translations and copies.

guys, I think it`s like this:

- when you apply:
if you are from EU, you can send only the copies of the diplomas
if you are from non-EU, you have to send also translations of the diplomas (however they can be selfmade, not certified)

- when you are selected:
it doesn`t matter where are you from, EU or nonEU, you have to send certified translations


I think this is the difference, if I made myself clear enough

I don't think it matters if you are from the EU or not, but the language of your certifications. All EU official languages ( http://ec.europa.eu/languages/languages-of-europe/eu-languages_en.htm ) are accepted, but if your qualifications are in an European non-official language (e.g. I have a Master Diploma in Catalan), or a non-Eu language (say, Chinese or Japanese), then you have to get a certified translation.

What matters the most, if you are selected you have to present your official diplomas or a certified copy (then I guess I'll go with the originals to Bruxelles and ask them to certify them themselves, because I cannot really go to 3 different universities in 3 different countries asking for certified copies right now..)

Just got an email offering me a position. They asked me to confirm. I was like, "yeah, sure; I'll do it"

In all seriousness though. Real happy

I want it to be official official though. Waiting for TO's email.

Good luck to all those waiting!

Congrats! What DG was that from if I may ask?

zlorine wrote:I don't think it matters if you are from the EU or not, but the language of your certifications. All EU official languages ( http://ec.europa.eu/languages/languages-of-europe/eu-languages_en.htm ) are accepted, but if your qualifications are in an European non-official language (e.g. I have a Master Diploma in Catalan), or a non-Eu language (say, Chinese or Japanese), then you have to get a certified translation.

What matters the most, if you are selected you have to present your official diplomas or a certified copy (then I guess I'll go with the originals to Bruxelles and ask them to certify them themselves, because I cannot really go to 3 different universities in 3 different countries asking for certified copies right now..)

Zlorine, I believe you are right! My only doubt was if we had to have certified copies of the diplomas, but I guess it will be enough to take the originals with us.

Has someone received an official acceptance letter?

vvlv wrote:Has someone received an official acceptance letter?

Received mine just now.

Is there anyone who did not receive anything yet? I did not...

Hello everybody! I have just read the e-mail about the selection, I'm going to Brussels DG SANCO.

Do you know if the amount of the living allowance indicated is already comprehensive of taxes or if we have to pay taxes?

Thanks a lot and hope to see you up there

Am I the only one who haven't received any email yet?

hi guys,

as asdqwerty,
I would also like to ask about taxes ...if anyone knows something?

Hi guys!

Do you think we have to send an e-mail to the head of unit that selected you to introduce ourselves?

Hello everyone. I am completing my application for October 2013. I am about to get a confirmation form an Institute in Vienna confirming my research stay there, but they ask me to provide them an address of the recepient, as they do this for official letters. What address were you sending the documents to?

Traineeship Office
European Commission
B-1049 BRUSSELS
Belgium

asdqwerty wrote:Hello everybody! I have just read the e-mail about the selection, I'm going to Brussels DG SANCO.

Do you know if the amount of the living allowance indicated is already comprehensive of taxes or if we have to pay taxes?

Thanks a lot and hope to see you up there

They say somewhere in the FAQs that in the end of the traineeship they will provide us with a statement saying the amount of money we received from the EC during the traineeship and that it's up to us to investigate what taxes shall we pay/not pay on those amounts. In my case, in my country there's an exemption of taxes for citizens of my country who are working for international institutions, so I kow those amounts will not be taxable, even though I still have to declare them in my income tax statement. You have to check how it is in your country.

Here it is:

Do I have to pay taxes on my living allowance?

- The living allowance awarded to trainees does not fall under the special tax regulations applying to officials and other servants of the European Communities. At the end of the traineeship the Traineeship Office will provide a financial declaration on the amounts received. You will have to consult the tax authorities in your country of residence on if and how your allowances will be taxed