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Events, News

EU Careers event, February 2016

5 February 2016
Ian Thomson

Ian Thomson

A woman speaks to an audience of male and female students.

We hosted our third annual EU Careers evening on 4 February. The objective was to help students find out about the procedures for getting a job or traineeship with the EU Institutions and Agencies, and to hear from people who are working or have worked for the EU.

This year we had two speakers:

  • Delyth Evans, the Press and Communications Manager for the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO)
  • Kim Feldewerth, who had just completed an internship with a Member of the European Parliament.

Delyth Evans and Kim Feldewerth with Ian Thomson at the EU Careers evening

EPSO is responsible for selecting staff to work for the Institutions and Agencies of the European Union. Each institution is then able to recruit staff from among the pool of candidates selected by EPSO.

Delyth talked about the procedures to become a permanent official, contract staff or temporary staff member, and touched upon the opportunities for traineeships within the EU Institutions and Agencies, and also the role of Seconded National Experts (SNEs).

While the highly competitive nature of the process was mentioned, as were the language requirements, nevertheless Delyth also both highlighted and exhibited the satisfaction and rewards that working at the European level can offer.

Kim talked about the exciting time she had recently experienced as an intern with a Member of the European Parliament from Germany. She highlighted how busy you are in such a post, being given numerous tasks and responsibilities. It had been a wonderful opportunity for learning about the EU in practice after years of academic study, and for meeting a huge range of interesting and influential people. The social aspect had also been great!

For us it was great to see Kim again as she was a student at Cardiff University until the summer of 2015 and had been a very loyal and hard working part time intern at the Cardiff EDC for the academic year 2014-15.

Quite a number of the audience indicated they were interested in following up on the possibility of working permanently or temporarily with the EU, and asked a range of questions.

Following the presentations we offered a buffet and drinks to all who attended.

To find further information on EU careers see our Careers and internships guide or download Delyth’s EU Careers Presentation.