On Tuesday 5th June, we went to Rue du Commerce in Brussels to take the EPSO tests for the 2018 AD5 competition. The test centre was almost empty! This is quite normal when the test period just started the day before.
Many candidates wait for the last days before taking the tests. A few additional days or weeks of revision can clearly be useful, especially when it is the first time you take the test.
Category Archives: Articles
The computer-based testing day
Today, you take the MCQ computer-based tests organised by EPSO.
This is how your day should unfold.
Abstract reasoning: is the test getting harder and harder?
Until 2015, you may have reached high marks in the abstract reasoning test of EPSO competitions. However, since then, it’s been a nightmare: you no longer see anything and you can hardly reach 50% of correct answers. What has happened since 2015? Have test creators invented new logical sequences? Do elements go through new transformations?
The EPSO E-tray test: a question of organisation
The e-tray test was first introduced in 2011 in the AST Generalist competitions. It was then gradually extended to the AD competitions. The candidates for the AD Generalist competition first faced it in 2015. For them, it represents the intermediate phase between the admission tests and the assessment centre.
Generalist AD5 competition in Spring 2017
This is EPSO’s announcement mid-February at the 2017 EU Studies Fair. For this competition, no previous experience will be required. So why not take your chance? To be successful, you will have to face three series of tests.
Numbers do not scare me anymore
You’ve decided to register for a competition or exam and you have to sit a numerical reasoning test. Don’t panic. We can help you!
You’ve decided to register for a competition or exam. You start looking at the content of the tests. No chance! You have to take a numerical reasoning test! You feel gripped by panic. You can’t remember how to set out a division or work out an average. Words like fraction and percentage leave you unable to think straight. You start remembering the poor marks you got at school…
But you’re good in the other areas and have all the skills required to fill the post or get into your chosen school. All you need are a few more marks in numerical reasoning to pass the competition or exam. So why give up?
First of all, ask yourself why you have problems with maths. Maybe it’s because you find the language of maths a bit like double Dutch (and you don’t speak any Dutch at all!). And yet you use this language every day – when you withdraw money from your bank account, when you get a discount in a shop, when you’re following a recipe … and so on.
All you need is a method. If you’re not a mathematician at heart, you may find learning and applying a formula hard going. But, if it’s explained to you in a simple and fun way it will suddenly seem much more obvious and you’ll end up using it quite naturally.
ORSEU’s latest publication: ‘http://www.orseu-concours.com/en/epso-eu-training-books/375-book-numerical-reasoning-a-training-guide.html’, is specially designed for those who have (or believe they have) a poor level of maths. This book explains in detail the basic concepts of numerical reasoning: performing mathematical operations, calculating percentages, completing number sequences logically…and so on. It is the ideal way to prepare for EPSO, Selor, GMAT and GRE tests.
The case study: An approach-based exam above all else
The case study is aimed at all candidates who are invited to take exams in the assessment centre in the AD cycle, AST cycle and specialist competitions.
7 tips to prepare successfully for European competitions
- Check regularly the EPSO competitions’ calendar
The competition calendar is updated regularly on the EPSO website (open for application, upcoming opportunities & in progress).
You can also subscribe to our newsletter so that you do not miss important updates on upcoming competitions.
EPSO Reasoning Tests
The 3 reasoning tests – verbal, numerical and abstract – can be found at different stages of the EU competitions organised by EPSO.
Verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning as part of the computer-based multiple choice tests.
For the generic Administrator or Assistant competitions and for the Translator competitions, the candidates will sit these 3 reasoning tests as part of the competitions’ first stage called computer-based multiple choice question (MCQ) test or CBT (Computer-based tests).
Translating for Europe
With 28 EU member states and 24 official languages, multilingualism is an important part of the EU’s cultural diversity to give equal access to information to all member states. There are several bodies in charge of translation: the two Directorates General for Translation of the European Commission and of the European Parliament, and the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union based in Luxembourg, which serves the EU agencies. The other EU institutions also have their own translation units.