Here is my experience of the test.
Preparation
I tried to prepare the test as much as I can but unlike the computer based test I had a hard time finding materials online. There are few e-tray simulators available on the internet but they are, in my opinion, slightly different from what EPSO is using.
Most of them are used by the big 4 audit firms recruitment process. I am not exactly sure what those firms are trying to assess but I found it dangerous to train with the wrong mindset.
EPSO has given a very limited sample and instructions. What we know is that they are focusing on 4 competencies:
- - Analysis & Problem Solving
- Quality & Results
- Priority & Organizing
- Working with Others
With all this in mind, I decided to train mainly in:
- 1. Speed reading to develop the ability to read quickly email, identify critical information and identify the links between the mails. There is a vast amount of materials available on youtube, coursera, and whatnot.
2. Refreshing my memory with learning the appropriate behaviours for each competency, just like the SJT. For that I had bought a book (a second-hand for 15€) and downloaded few ebooks on the subject (for free. One being The Ultimate Eu Test Book 2010)
The test
I booked the test for monday 9am. I arrived in the test center at 8am. I took an expresso shot in a bar near by and went in at 8.30am. I was behind 5 or 6 people (2 were taking the etray for the AD5).
We waited 30 minutes for the room to be prepared. After being thoroughly searched as a Guantanamo prisoner I sat the test.
You have 15 minutes to read the instruction with a mini sample system. Just like this sample given by EPSO. It's a 50 min test. There is 18 questions and maybe 15-20 emails (not sure how much because you just have a list of title on your left).
The context was this: Your a project leader replacing Jane X. It's the 24th March 20XX and your project is about Y.
My strategy was as follow:
- 1. I first read all the questions to get an idea of what is actually assessed? How? Is there some calculus? Some analyzing to do? Where are the difficult questions (to do last). And in what proportions the questions are like a SJT (how to communicate, to whom, etc...) to those who are more related to the emails, which would requires some digging-up.
This took me 7 or 8 minutes. I took notes but in retrospect I shouldn't have, because I didn't use them.
2. I scanned through the emails and did a mind mapping. My initial plans was to read only the title, the sender and the date. But I, unintentionally, still got a glimpse through the core of the emails.
In the end, this took maybe 10-12 minutes.
I started answering the questions with 30 minutes left on the clock.
Reading the 18 questions first, I realized:
- 1. There was approximately 5 to 6 questions assessing your global comprehension of the issue and in effect testing your ability to find critical information in a large amount of data.
Ex:
- - What would you answer to Mr X (Where Mr X is someone who hasn't send an email directly to you but was mentioned somewhere in an email of someone else)
- Order the action you would take by order of priority in the context of X:
- A) Action A, Action B and Action C
B) Action B, Action A and Action C
C) Action C, Action A and Action B
- A) Person A
B) Person B
C) Person C
2. The majority of the questions were assessing a situational judgment.
Ex:
- - One of your team member is complaining about the behaviour of Mr Y. How would you handle the situation:
- A) You summon Mr Y
B) You send an email to everyone reminding them of how critical the project is.
C) You let them handle the situation themselves.
- A) you call the organizer asking him to wait for you
B) You ask the organizer to move your slot to later in the morning
C) You don't do anything thinking people will have more time to finish their complementary breakfast.
3. A lot of the questions gave you answers to critical information, issues arising, etc...
Conclusion
I manage to answer all the questions on time after 3 rounds (starting by easy questions first). I, however, didn't have time to completely review all of my answers at the end.
In the end, I didn't read every emails thoroughly. For the 5 or 6 questions assessing the comprehension of the projects and its issues, I scanned the email to find the information in questions. I found most of the answer like this. I failed to find one though. For this one I answered in what seemed the most logical.
Sure, it wasn't a walk in the park. But nothing shockingly surprising. For this reason I think I managed to stay focus on my strategy.
Right now I can only speculate on how well I did. The results will either confirm that my strategy was good or destroy it.
