nextEUjob

If you’ve just submitted an application for an EU agency vacancy and received an invitation letter for the assessment phase, you might assume every agency runs that phase the same way. Two real invitation letters sent recently to AD-level candidates show just how different interviews can look, depending on which agency you’re dealing with. Traditional approach A candidate invited for an AD 8…

When applying to an EU institution, a natural question is whether age affects the outcome. The Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union offer a clear answer: age is, in principle, irrelevant to selection, with only a few narrow, justified exceptions. A General Ban on Age Discrimination Article 1d of the Staff Regulations prohibits discrimination on several grounds, and age sits…

When we published our first piece on NextEUJob, the goal was simple: give serious candidates the insider knowledge that the EU institutions never quite spell out for you. Five years and one hundred articles later, that mission has not changed. To mark the milestone, we went back through the full archive and asked ourselves one question: if someone had an hour to read the most useful things we…

So you’ve decided to pursue a career in an EU agency. You’ve polished your CV, you’re brushing up on your competency-based interview technique, and you’re scanning job boards daily. But then you stumble across a reference to “Implementing Rules” in a vacancy notice or contract clause, and suddenly you’re in a rabbit hole of legal jargon that nobody warned you about. Don’t worry. This is one of…

What to Do and What to Do If They Turn on You Working for an EU agency carries real responsibilities, and sometimes, those responsibilities put you in an uncomfortable position. You witness something that looks wrong. Procurement that doesn’t add up. A decision that bypasses the rules. Funds are being used in ways they shouldn’t be. What do you do? The starting point is knowing your legal…

The EU Benefit That Often Gets Overlooked If you have been researching salaries in the EU civil service, you have almost certainly come across the expatriation allowance — the headline benefit that adds 16% on top of your basic salary when you relocate abroad for an EU job. It is well known, widely discussed, and rightly considered one of the most attractive perks of working for an EU…

Recently, an unusual position for a Legal Officer has been advertised on the EPSO website. Much like Schroedinger’s cat, it appears to be in two states at once. Or even more states in this case. Legal Officer’s cat You can see the text below, including the link to see for yourself: Legal Officer Domain(s): Law Reference number: eu-LISA/26/CA/FGIV/3.1 Deadline: 01/06/2026 – 11:59 (Brussels…

The first five years of nextEUjob nextEUjob has recently reached a huge milestone that we are really really proud of. Our newsletter has reached over 2000 subscribers, which means we can now talk about thousands of subscribers in our promotional materials! 🙂 But we wanted to this opportunity to look back at everything we have achieved together in these past five years too and share some of the…

Job descriptions tell you about duties and salary scales. Interview guides prepare you for competency questions. But nothing gives you the texture of EU institutional life — the politics, the camaraderie, the absurdities and the genuine idealism — quite like a good book. Whether you’re preparing your first application or already working inside an EU agency, these five titles offer rare windows…

The Geography Problem Nobody Talks About Our original article made a passing mention of location: you can always turn down the opportunity of interviewing for a position in a location you don’t find appealing. But this undersells just how disruptive geographic mismatch can be. The latest “secret” trend in EU agency recruitment EU agencies are scattered across the continent — from Helsinki to…

Did you know EU staff have their own union representatives? If you’re exploring a career in the European civil service, you’ve probably spent a lot of time thinking about EPSO competitions, grades and function groups, and how to write a competitive application. What most newcomers don’t think about — at least not until they’ve landed their first position — is who actually represents their…

Describe your experiences with EU agencies and help others navigate the journey more wisely. Based on several recent queries, we decided to offer some guidance on article proposals and draft contributions from current and former EU agency staff, as well as candidates who have been through selection procedures and have something useful to report. Articles published by third-party contributors are…

Italy Leads the Pack In order to close our cycle of articles on the recent unprecedented EPSO AD5 graduate competition, we wanted to take a look at the nationalities breakdown of typical eurocrats. The results are in! More than 174,900 people applied for the latest EPSO AD5 Graduate competition before its deadline on 10 March 2026. A figure that dwarfs every comparable competition of the past…

Five things the 2014 Staff Regulations Changed If you are eyeing a career in the European civil service, you probably know that the “Staff Regulations” are the bible of your professional life. The rules governing your pay, career progression, and retirement were significantly overhauled in 2014 — building on, and in some cases tightening, the framework that had been in place since the 2004…

Does a Career Gap Hurt Your EU Job Application? If you’ve taken time away from work — whether to care for a family member, deal with a health issue, travel, study, or simply regroup — you may be staring at your CV wondering: will this gap cost me the job? It’s one of the most common concerns of job applicants. And the short answer is: a career gap will not automatically disqualify you. But how…

A First-Timer’s Guide If you’ve conquered the EPSO competition, impressed at an EU agency interviews, and received that coveted job offer from the European Commission or an EU agency, whether as a temporary agent or permanent official – Congratulations! But before you start planning your move to Brussels, there’s one final step: the medical examination. If you’re feeling nervous, you’re not…

Your gateway to the European Commission civil service. While we usually focus on EU Agency vacancies and recruitments, there has been a flurry of activity on the European Commission (EC) side. If you’ve been following EU career pages on social media lately, you’ve probably noticed EPSO posting about their latest recruitment drive. Posts announcing new competitions pop up across LinkedIn,…