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How to apply for a competition - Overview

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On EPSO’s website you will find all the competitions that are open for applications.

Carefully select the competition you would like to apply for.
 

Before you apply for a competition, you must read the information contained in the Notice of Competition, found on the right-hand side of the competition-dedicated page on EPSO’s website (under "Important documents"). A link to the competition-dedicated page on EPSO’s website can also be found on all the pages of the application form.

It is very important that you read on EPSO’s website all the relevant information available on the competition you are applying to, before submitting your application. 

 

Fig 1.

competition page

 

The competition-dedicated page will be updated with important information for candidates throughout the competition procedure. EPSO invites you to subscribe to the competition page to get an e-mail notification each time EPSO adds important information on the competition.  


form to subscribe
 

Some Member States offer support to their citizens interested in applying to EPSO’s open competitions. More information can be found on the Member's states contact page.

Once you have:

 

Clicking on the "Apply" button on the competition page will redirect you to the EU Login authentication interface if you are not yet logged in the Single Candidate Portal.

Once authenticated you will be redirected to the homepage of the Single Candidate Portal.

 

Fig 2.

home portal

 

Via the menu “Competitions” you can access the list of all "Open competitions". Chose the competition you want to apply for and click on "Apply here". The application form opens, and you can start to fill it in.

 Fig 3.
 

list of competitions


You can save the application as draft and complete it later.  You must complete all the sections before submitting your application.

You must submit your application before the deadline in the Notice of Competition. Applications that are not submitted before the deadline are not considered. In line with the Data Privacy Statement - EU PORTAL, they will be deleted after the deadline.

 

In case of an issue with your application, you must contact EPSO via the Contact form well before the deadline for applications is over.

Mandatory information is marked by an asterisk (*). You cannot leave these fields empty. If fields in your CV and/or your application are empty, you will not be able to submit your application. A list of the fields that must be filled can be found at the bottom of each CV/application page (under “Required information”).

You can navigate through the different sections of your application form via the links on the left-hand side of the application form:

 

form sections

 

Eligibility

On the first page of the form, you must declare that you fulfil the general and specific eligibility conditions as indicated in the Notice of Competition. Candidates who do not fulfil all the eligibility conditions by the deadline for applications should not submit an application.

Fig 3.

eligibility form

 

Registration data

Fig.4

registration data

 

Carefully select the languages you want to sit the tests in (Language 1, Language 2, etc). These languages can no longer be changed after the deadline for applications is over.

Remember that the application can be filled and submitted in any of the 24 official EU languages. The language of the Portal is in the language you have chosen in your profile. You can change the language of the Portal at any time. You can choose to fill and submit your application in another language then the language of the Portal.

EPSO provides the opportunity to all candidates to indicate whether they have any specific needs due to a disability or a medical condition, which would require reasonable accommodations (i.e., adjustments) at any stage of sitting the tests. Candidates must inform EPSO as soon as possible about their needs via the application form if possible. Further details are communicated on EPSO’s dedicated webpages.

Fig 5.

special adjustments

Make sure that the registration data is complete and correct.

 

My CV

The CV will be automatically uploaded into your application. Any changes must be done in the CV section of your candidate account (click on “My CV Portal Link” to access your CV). After the deadline you will no longer be able to upload a different CV to your application.

You can check the instructions for setting-up of your CV.

Fig 6.

cv upload

 

Motivation and strengths

The information in the motivation and strengths section of your application is not used for assessment purposes during the selection procedure, but you should draft it keeping in mind that it will be transferred to the recruiting services if you make it to the reserve list. 

 

Declaration

Before you submit the application form, you must declare that the information in your application is complete and correct.

 

Keep in mind that candidates for recruitment by the EU institutions and bodies are expected to act with the highest possible integrity, in accordance with Article 27, first paragraph, and Article 28(c) of the Staff Regulations. In case of fraud or attempted fraud, EPSO may decide to declare a candidate ineligible for future competitions for a limited period of time.

 

Do not forget to submit or resubmit your application before the deadline is over.

 

My applications

From the menu you have access to an overview of your submitted and draft applications. You can still delete or modify them any time before the deadline for applications is over.

You can easily find the end date (deadline) for applications and the status of your submitted applications.

What’s the status of my application? 

DRAFT: When your application is in DRAFT status it is : 

  1. Either a temporary version of the application that was not saved.  

  1. Or a validated application that you decided to edit. You saved the edited version, but you did not validate the application again. 

Draft applications are deleted after the deadline for applications if they were not submitted before the deadline. 

 

VALIDATED: the application was submitted before the deadline. 

ONGOING:  After the deadline for applications, the status of the application will change from “VALIDATED” to “ONGOING”.  

CANCELLED: the application was cancelled by the candidate 

CANCELLED MODIFIED: the application was modified. The new version gets a new application number, and the previous version keeps the initial number. The status of the previous version is “CANCELLED MODIFIED”.  

Your draft applications are listed separately.

 

Fig 9.

my applications

When you submit your application, only the last saved version of your CV will be linked to the application. When you modify your submitted application, you have to agree to the Declaration again before you can resubmit.  If you want to change your CV after the submission of your submitted application, you should edit and resubmit your application again.

Please note that your application will NOT be visible in your EPSO Account but only in the Single Candidate Portal.