Ever thought of working for the EU?
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office is encouraging British nationals to consider a career working in the European Union.
Working for the EU institutions can be one of the most satisfying and rewarding careers in Europe. This is not a single career. It is a lifetime of different, challenging and rewarding jobs. There are a wide variety of roles available to you as an EU civil servant: one year you could be drafting EU policy; the next you could be working on free trade agreements with emerging economies.
The UK is currently under-represented in the EU institutions; we represent 12% of the EU population yet only 4.8% of staff working for the institutions are British. The UK needs to be equally represented in the institutions so that British culture, attitudes, laws and ways of thinking are considered throughout the organisation.
Foreign Secretary, William Hague said:
“The EU plays a very important part in the lives of the people of the United Kingdom, and in the fortunes of the UK in the world. The EU needs talented individuals to work in its institutions, to make the right decisions, to work efficiently and effectively. It would be a good thing for Britain for people who know this country, who understand this country, to be working in the EU’s institutions.”
The application window to apply for a career in the EU Civil Service opens on 15 March and will close on 15 April 2012.
For further information visit the EU Careers website.
Benefits of a career in the EU can include:
- A lifetime of different jobs
- Excellent training and development opportunities
- A competitive remuneration package
- Final salary pension scheme
As a British citizen, to apply you will need to be a graduate in any field as long as you have an honours degree of at least three years in length.
If your main language is English you will need to speak either French or German as a 2nd language. However, if you are highly fluent in another official EU language, e.g. Spanish, you could choose this as your first language and English as your second.
This year the EU is recruiting a number of generalist policy officials at graduate entry level (AD05) and graduates with 6-7 years work experience (AD07). It is also recruiting a number of specialists in the following areas; Law, Auditing, Communications and International Relations. Candidates will need to have a relevant degree or skill-set to be considered for these roles.
