John Wouters (38) was one of only 159 people left in the running after most of the more than 11,000 initial candidates had dropped out. After a 16-month selection process and an extremely difficult exam, Wouters now qualifies for a position in the administration of the European Union in Brussels. But that doesn't mean he is guaranteed a job: people who pass what EU employees call the ‘concours’ are merely placed on a reserve list. Passing the concours means that Wouters is now allowed to apply for a job.

Even though he still doesn't have a job in Brussels, Wouters is already part of a past generation: he was one of the last candidates required to take the infamous European knowledge test. Some of the questions in the test included: ‘How many presidents has the European Commission had to date?' or 'When was the Single European Act signed?'

Outdated

The structure of the concours will change starting at the beginning of next year. The knowledge test, the first round in which the majority of the candidates drop out, will disappear. In its place, the office that carries out personnel selection, EPSO, wants to put more emphasis on candidates' skills.

"The job application procedure was really outdated," says Nick Heenan of EPSO. The procedure had to change in order to compete with the international business sector; it had to be shorter and less focused on factual knowledge.

The fact that the knowledge test is being scrapped is good news for Dutch nationals who aspire to a job in Brussels. The Dutch are not used to memorising facts, so that has traditionally been a stumbling block, says Stijn Ruyters, who coordinates the information about the concours for the Office of International Officials (BIA) in The Hague.

"The Dutch labour market is more focused on competencies, we are much more familiar with that," Ruyters says. Anyone who made it through that first test had a good chance of making it through the rest of the competition: the Dutch success rate was 4.5 percent above the European average.

Poor communication

The European Audit Chamber also voiced criticism this past summer about the current job application procedure in Brussels. The Audit Chamber concluded that the number of successful candidates was on average about two thirds of the target number. The language barrier plays an important role, the Audit Chamber concluded: candidates may only take the exam in French, German or English. The communication to candidates was also poor and the selection procedure took much too long.

EPSO has cut the current year and a half to five to nine months. Instead of three rounds the application procedure will now only take two days. On the first day the candidate must take cognitive tests in a testing centre in his home member state. If he advances from that stage, he goes to Brussels for a day. EPSO is currently building an assessment centre.

Whereas candidates used to have to take the written tests - with pen and paper - in a large examination hall, in future they will be given group assignments and interviews which will test communication skills, but also knowledge of their subject area and the EU. Since the extensive written exams will be scrapped, grading the exams will also take less time.

Language barrier

The new procedure should prevent candidates from becoming irritated with the scheduling of the tests. One candidate who has passed the test – but who wishes to remain anonymous because his employer doesn’t know he took part in the concours – found the poor communication and unclear planning from Brussels annoying. "They could never tell you when the next round was. You only found out a few weeks in advance."

As a result he was constantly thinking about the application procedure. "You are preoccupied with it all year because of that uncertainty." Even now that he has passed, after two previous attempts, the only thing he has received so far is a letter of congratulations. "That was several weeks ago now. I would really like to know where things go from here."

The European Audit Chamber also advised that something be done about the language barrier. EPSO is investigating whether it is feasible to offer the test in all 23 official EU languages. At the moment the announcements for the concours are issued in 23 languages, but the tests can still only be taken in French, German or English. The geographic spread is not good enough, the Audit Chamber found, even though candidates from Eastern Europe have enjoyed some priority over the past years.

Dutch underrepresented

Interest in the concours has traditionally been low in the Netherlands. As a result the Netherlands is underrepresented in Brussels – although this is not the case in the higher echelons of the official apparatus. The weak interest in the concours is due to the fact that the Dutch are not used to taking part in a competition in order to get a job, says Ruyters: "In countries like France and Spain workers are used to that from an early age, the phenomenon is unknown here."

It remains to be seen whether Brussels, under the new rules, will be able to compete better with the business sector. Applying for a job with a private company takes far less than three to five months. It takes a very enthusiastic candidate to put up with the excruciatingly long process.

Wouters applied for the concours for accountants -– there are separate competitions for each subject area -– in March 2008 and found out just a few weeks ago that he passed the exam. "You know in advance you are in for a long procedure, but from time to time that uncertainty was indeed difficult,” he says.

Wouters prepared in his free time: during evenings and on weekends. He especially devoted a great deal of his spare time to the knowledge test. "You never know exactly what they are going to ask, that is why I went through all sorts of hefty text books. You can keep on studying. You have to remember every little fact."

For the other laureate who is now waiting excitedly for news from Brussels, the concours was a challenge. He failed twice, it was third time lucky. He is glad the knowledge test will be scrapped as of next year. "I really enjoyed preparing for it. But for 95 percent of the facts you really had to wonder: why do I have to know this?"