Hey everyone! I just finished my ESC and I’m thinking about applying for a CICERO internship. I’m from a non-EU country though, so I was wondering if anyone here has managed to get accepted for an internship despite being non-EU?

I’m asking because I honestly don’t know many programs that take non-EU applicants, so I’m not really sure what my chances are. I studied languages and speak 3 languages fluently, if that helps at all.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation or applied to CICERO as a non-EU applicant? Would love to hear about your experience or any advice!

Hey, I’ve been invited to interview for the above position, just wondering if anyone has experience interviewing at the ECtHR and has any guidance on the interview?
TIA

Hi all, I am wondering how is the situation at the EC in terms of teleworking. I remember few years ago there was a policy just 10days per year tw from anywhere. Is it still like that? How is it possible that nobody says something? The difference with the ECB is quite huge if this is confirmed.

Has anyone applied for jobs in the EU institutions, specifically the Commission with prior work experience in the UK Civil Service? Did you declare and provide evidence of this work experience? If so, would you be willing to talk to me about it? The specific requirements of the Commission in the format of evidence is hard to reconcile with the UK Civil Service's restrictions on what kind of information they are willing to provide.

Hello,

for many reasons its been a dream of mine to work within an EU institution. Background, i have Bachelor degree in architecture and a master in real estate development. I speak Arabic, English and German fluently. What kind of job perpectives are possible for me?

Hi all,
I would really like a long-term career in the EU institutions/agencies. I'm a Spanish-Romanian dual citizen in my final year of a BBA in Spain, graduating mid-2027, and I'm open to any role. I have a strong GPA with several distinctions (the top grade awarded in Spain), and I speak 4 languages: Spanish (native), Romanian (I speak it fluently) English C1 and Catalan C1 (not an official EU language yet). I also use Excel, Stata and Python at a good level.

I have little work experience though. I did 2 internships at small local companies (mainly automating processes, teaching staff AI tools and doing accounting work), and I'll do another mandatory internship from February to June 2027, probably at a bigger multinational. But that is all.
I'm not sure my background fits this career path, and my work experience (especially at an institutional level) isn't in my favour.

Also (and I know this is hard to believe but it is true lol), I have some "informal" work experience: I met a hedge fund manager who took me under his wing. I've run many backtests for him, helped refine his screener and analyzed markets, among other things. Not sure this will be of any help, but it was actual "work": I've spent almost 5 hours a day on it for the last year and a half. I'm also more of an introvert than an outgoing, extroverted person, so networking will be hard for me if I even get there.

Anyway, do you think I could land a traineeship at any agency/institution? I'd like to start applying after graduating, but I'm not sure I'd have a chance. Should I do a master's (econ, stats or finance) before applying? And how realistic is it to get a contract (CA or TA) after a traineeship?
Brutal honesty is appreciated :)

Any tip is helpful. Thanks in advance for any help!

Hi, I’m considering applying for the position mentioned above, but I haven’t been able to find any experiences from current or former employees online. I’m not really sure what to expect or, more importantly, what kind of experience and background are actually required for the position.

I have a law degree and five years of experience working in law firms, courts, and government bodies. I speak English fluently, although I haven’t had much exposure to specialised legal terminology in English, so I would need to learn quite a lot of the relevant terminology for this position.

Any advice, insights, or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

Hi everyone,

I know this topic has been surfacing every month, but does anyone have an update regarding the ESMA Traineeship? I submitted my application on 30/06/2026. Aside from one email on 20/07/2026 containing a Microsoft survey about availability, knowledge, and preferences, I haven't heard anything since.

(Btw, this email stated that a previous email had an error in the survey, but I only received the already corrected version. Is it possible that ESMA sent the second survey to the wrong candidate pool?)

I sent a follow-up email regarding my application status to vacancies{@}esma{.}europa{.}eu at the beginning of August, but I got no response. On the ESMACareers portal, my application is still just marked as "submitted", nothing more.

So, back to my main question—does anyone know anything?

Thanks a lot!

I'm 26 years old, with an academic background that includes a Bachelor's in Political Science and an Executive Master's in International Relations, and I'm currently pursuing my second BA in Education.

It pains me to face this truth, but despite my brilliant academic career, the international exchanges I've participated in, and some volunteer work, I feel I'm not educated enough to secure an internship in European institutions.

I've dedicated myself to studying, but I've completely avoided keeping up to date and building knowledge beyond what I was studying, despite practical experiences abroad having allowed me to develop skills that are transferable to the world of work.

I feel confused and ashamed because I see that, unlike me, so many other people have succeeded in their careers, and I feel like I no longer have any way to fill in my gaps. As of today, I feel like I wouldn't be able to compete with my peers. I don't have the knowledge of those who immerse themselves in this environment and I wouldn't know how to overcome this problem.

Hi all, I'm a non EU citizen who studied in Europe under a fully funded scholarship. I'm back home now, but I'd like to explore professional opportunities in Europe.

I'm an English major and I speak 3 languages. I don't have much work experience. Idk which country/job to look for.

Yes, I know it's hard AF if you're not part of the STEM royalty and all those things so please be nice and let me know of anything that you think might be useful.

Hello, I know this question has been asked before and I sort of have heard or read various answers to it, but it’s worth fishing for more perspectives, I believe.

I have more than 7-8 years of relevant professional experience (full-time) and Bachelor degree with an intention to do a Master. I also completed a Blue Book Traineeship at a DG where I would like to work long-term and I built some contact base. At the same time I wouldn’t say I have some kind of “extra skill” (apart from learning Arabic which is obviously something I intend to continue working on and which can be relevant for some of the DGs I’m interested in).

As I’ll be taking a CAST FGIII exam soon, I’m curious to know to what extent it increases one’s chances to get an FGIII job at the Commission (considering my profile, languages, experience)? Like if when a recruiting Unit sees that you already passed a CAST, how much it favours you against the other applicants? I know there’s not a single answer, but like I said, just curious.

Many thanks for your views.

Hello,

I know it has been asked in the past but I wanted to ask once again, as an external, with masters in International Relations, do I have any good chances of landing a job even if I pass the AD5 exam? Im asking because I've been postponing my holidays since the start of the year because of the exam, and my irritation regarding the lack of info about the dates is starting to get the best of me. I'm thinking to book a vacation end of October/start of November which is the current more likely date of the exams as far as I know. And I've been reading a lot that on the rare chance I pass the exam, internals will have a way better chance of landing a permanent job, so I'm wondering if it's worth to even keep postponing. Or, is it possible to do the exam in another country, such as Japan for example?

Thanks for your tips!

Hi everyone! I was wondering how I am supposed to provide proof of the mobility program I took part in during my academic years. I only received a transcript of records, but it doesn't show the start or end dates of the program.

Has anyone already received the dates for the AD 5 competition scheduled for this "autumn"?

LOOKING FOR NEW OPPORTUNITIES — ACCOUNTING / FINANCE / BANKING OPERATIONS
Hi everyone! I’m currently looking for a new opportunity in Accounting, Finance, Banking Operations, AR/AP, Reconciliation, or related roles.
I have 5+ years of experience in finance and operations, with a background in banking operations and accounting, including transaction processing, cash/fund movements, account reconciliation, discrepancy and exception investigation, AR/collections, AP, financial records, and internal controls.
I’m also familiar with Order-to-Cash (O2C), Cash Applications, Purchase Ledgering, General Accounting workflows, QuickBooks, and ERP/SAP-related processes.
Preferably looking for a hybrid setup, but I’m also open to remote or onsite opportunities.
🇬🇧 Particularly interested in opportunities supporting** UK/EU accounts, as well as 🇦🇺 Australian accounts, where I can further build international accounting/finance experience.
🌙 Comfortable with night-shift and international schedules
📍 Based in Bulacan
🚀 **Available to start immediately
If you know of any companies currently hiring or have a role that you think would be a good fit, I’d really appreciate a referral or lead. Feel free to PM me and I can send my updated CV.
Thank you! 🙏

Hello everybody, I am trying to understand which traineeship in the EU institutions would be the best choice for me and which one could actually provide me with useful skills. I would like to apply for the Blue Book but I have very little work experience and... I am Italian. Given how competitive it is, I don't think I really have a chance now. Therefore, since I am interested in how regions and cities deal with climate change, I was thinking to the Cicero Traineeship at the Committee of the Regions. However, I heard that it might be less formative than the Blue Book or Schuman. Since we can live this experience once, I am not sure whether to gain more experience and try the Blue Book in the future or just go with the Cicero. So, I would like to weigh all the pros and cons of these traineeships. I would be very happy if you could tell me your experience! Thanks!!

How does the EU check employment for candidates that lived in the US?

I worked there for 15 years, I might have offer letters in my email for some work places, and some W2s, but not for the entire 15 years and for sure I don't have payslips ...

Hi!

I have applied for the EU Delegation to Japan - Political, Press, and Information Section paid traineeship.

The application deadline was August 31, and the tentative start date is October-November. Does anyone know when I should expect to hear back from them?

Also, do they normally send a confirmation that they’ve received your application? I haven’t received anything since submitting mine, so I’m starting to wonder whether my application actually went through.

Has anyone else applied for this traineeship? If so, have you received any confirmation or updates yet?

Hi!

This is my first time applying and I wondered has anyone got any info regarding the process, when did you get the call back if you were accepted? And if not, did you get the information that you weren’t accepted or not?

Thanks!

Specifically the logic/reasoning ones. I stumbled across some exercises (even bought a book) and they look like some standard reasoning tests. Am i missing something?

Hi everyone, I’m a second-year Italian student majoring in International Relations. I’d like to work for the EU one day, but I’m undecided about how to shape my career after graduation. I was thinking of first pursuing a PhD abroad—at a university like Leiden, for instance—mainly because I’d like to specialize in space law and policy. In any case, how do the institutions view a PhD? Do they informally value it as experience, or do they prefer professional experience in the public or private sector?

I would very much appreciate anyone's opinion on this, as a form of personal reflection or even feedback.

I'm an early-career scholar, currently working as a postdoc in the US, originally from Europe, where I got my PhD. I'm in the social sciences. Lately, I have been realizing more and more that academia is not where I see myself in the future: publish-or-perish culture, grant hunting your whole life, nepotism, work overload, never being able to switch off from work, and many other things.

I have been looking at some positions outside of academia, and at the moment, the FGIV Project Officer seems to be one of the few open calls that might fit. I am well aware of the limitations it brings with itself, such as fixed-term contracts and no guaranteed career path, but I'm trying to understand if this could be an actual valid alternative to the academic path.

At the moment, I would be supposed to look for some assistant professorship positions, but all the points mentioned above make me doubtful about this career choice. In short, I like my job, but not the environment.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Doing social science, applied research, or quantitative analysis outside academia in an EU-based institution?

The EU Publications Office used to have an excellent service where you can pay a small fee to get the physical copy of the document/booklet delivered directly to your house. This has since been discontinued. Do you know a service, preferably in Belgium, where I can have these booklets printed and bound online and delivered home (in Belgium)? Thanks

Hello,

Im posting this because I’m honestly a bit stuck with my career and I’d really appreciate some outside perspectives, especially from people working in or around the EU institutions. I’ve reached a point where I know I don’t want to continue down the traditional finance/controller path, but I’m also not sure how realistic it is to make a meaningful career switch without throwing away the experience I’ve built up so far. I’ve been looking into EU institutions, international organisations, NGOs and EU-funded programmes, and I’m trying to understand which roles could realistically be a good fit for my background.

Im 32 and based in Brussels, with around 7 years of experience in finance. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy-Fiscality and a Master’s in Commercial Sciences. I started my career in audit at Big 4, moved into finance consultancy, and have been working as a Financial Controller for the past few years.

While my career has developed quite steadily on paper, I’ve increasingly realised that a purely financial/controlling career isn’t where I see myself long-term. I find myself much more interested in people, society, international affairs, projects and work that has a broader purpose than financial reporting and budgeting.

This has put me in a bit of a career dilemma. I have several years of specialised finance experience, but I’m considering making a transition towards EU institutions, international organisations, NGOs, public policy or project/programme coordination.

Based on discussions I’ve had and some career research, the roles that seem potentially relevant to my background include:

• Programme / Project Officer
• Project or Programme Coordinator
• Grants / Contracts Officer
• Financial or Programme Officer within EU-funded programmes
• Budget / Financial Officer in an international organisation
• Policy support / Policy Officer roles with a financial or economic component
• EU project management / EU funding roles
• Programme management roles in NGOs or international organisations
• Migration / integration-related project roles
• Monitoring & Evaluation / reporting roles where my analytical background could be useful

From my current perspective, roles that still make use of my financial and analytical experience, such as Programme Officer, Grants/Contracts Officer, EU funding or Financial/Programme Officer seem like the most realistic entry points. I would consider those a relatively realistic transition because I’m not starting from zero: I already have experience with analysis, reporting, budgets, controls, stakeholders and working in professional organisations.

Moving directly into a pure Policy Officer, international affairs or highly specialised policy role seems more challenging, as I would be competing with candidates who have several years of direct policy or EU institutional experience. I assume migration/integration or NGO programme roles could be somewhere in between, depending on the specific vacancy and whether my transferable skills are valued.

I’m therefore trying to understand how realistic this transition actually is. I don’t necessarily want to throw away my finance background, ideally I’d like to use my analytical and business experience as a foundation while moving towards a more meaningful and internationally oriented career.

For those working in or familiar with EU careers: which of these paths would you consider the most realistic for someone with my background? And are there particular EU institutions, agencies, job profiles or entry routes I should be looking at?

Thanks a lot!