General Conditions

 

• Permanent staff are recruited by competitive examination only.
• Two types of competitive examinations exist:
  • a. general competitions limited to the nationals of one or more under-represented member States;
  • b. specific competitions open to nationals of all member States or to one or several under-represented states.
• Competitions are advertised on our recruitment website via official Vacancy notices. Please do not submit any unsolicited applications.
• The selection procedure consists, in general, of three stages: preliminary selection, examinations or professional tests and interviews.
• Only those candidates who meet the required standard at each stage will be invited to proceed.
• All applicants receive a written reply (by e-mail), either positive or negative, after each stage of the selection procedure.
• The three stage process makes the selection process relatively long, taking on average six months to complete.

 

Recruitment procedures

 

• Official Vacancy notice

The Official Vacancy notice includes a job description and lists the requirements which candidates wishing to participate in the competition must meet.

 

• Preliminary selection

A panel makes a preliminary selection of candidates on the basis of their qualifications and professional experience. Candidates who meet all the requirements are invited to the next stage in the process (examination, tests, or interviews). For some competitions, candidates may be asked to sit tests to complete this preliminary selection.

 

• Assessment

Examinations are usually held in Strasbourg and in the capitals of the countries concerned.

 

• Interview

The candidates having obtained the best results in the assessments are invited for an interview with a panel and, for some competitions, to sit additional tests. Interviews are conducted in English and French. The Appointments Board then assesses candidates' merits on the basis of their results in the exams, their competencies and professional experience and their interview performance. The Board then formulates a recommendation to the Secretary General specifying which candidates are considered suitable for the vacant post(s).

 

• Employment

The Secretary General decides, after considering the recommendations made by the Appointments Board, which candidates may be offered a fixed-term contract (CDD) or a contract of indefinite duration (CDI) after a probationary period of one year. Candidates not offered immediate employment may be placed on a reserve list valid for 2 years. Reserve lists are taken into consideration whenever a vacant post is to be filled by an external candidate. However, attention is drawn to the fact that being placed on a reserve list does not create any entitlement to an offer of employment.