The European Union institutions will soon hire new interpreters and translators. The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) will launch, on 13 July a selection procedure to find translators into Danish, German, English, French and Slovenian. The competitions for interpreters into Bulgarian, English, Dutch, Romanian and Slovenian will be launched a week later. The recruitment of translators will be at graduate entry grade (AD5), while for interpreters, recruitment will be at both AD5 and AD7, the latter of which requires more professional experience.

These are the first of the EPSO’s new annual recruitment drives. The selection process will be renewed every year and the languages sought will vary in terms of needs. These are also the first linguist competitions under the new streamlined selection procedures that were unveiled on 16 March. Under the new procedures, reserve lists are valid for only one year and applicants are evaluated not on the basis of knowledge but on their skills.

For translators and interpreters, the selection procedure includes two phases. The first consists of a set of computer-based tests that can be taken in all the member states. Part of these tests can be taken in any official EU language. Candidates obtaining the best results will then report to an evaluation centre in Brussels. This second phase will last one day for translators and a day and a half for interpreters.

Further information is available at www.eu-careers.eu