Administrative traineeship (ADMIN)

Phase 1

If you have successfully passed the preselection procedure and are included in the Virtual Blue Book, you will be invited to apply for up to three traineeship positions.   

You will receive instructions to connect to Virtual Blue Book portal, where Commission Directorates-General (DGs), services and agencies offer various positions for the next traineeship session. The number of available positions corresponds to the number of trainees for each session.

Please note that pursuant to article 4 of the legal basis, certain Directorates General, Services or Agencies may not recruit nationals from non-Member States.    

1. Consultation of the posts:

During the first days of Phase 1, you will be able to view all available traineeship positions.

You may mark as many positions as you like as favorites.

2. Application for the posts: 

The consultation period will be followed by 3 application rounds.

You may apply for a maximum of 3 posts, one post at a time, following a schedule communicated in advance.

General Motivation and Cover Letter:

When applying for your first post, you will be required to fill in a general motivation section (min. 500, max. 1500 characters). Use this section to explain why you are interested in a traineeship at the European Commission. 

• Keep in mind that there is only one general motivation for all posts. If you modify it when applying for your second or third post, the changes will be reflected for the 3 posts. 
• The same applies to any skills or achievements you declare: the latest update will be shown for all posts. 

Once you will have identified a post to apply for, you will have to upload your cover letter (a motivation letter specific to the post, in PDF format) and click "Apply online." We recommend tailoring each cover letter to the specific post. 

Both the general motivation text and the cover letter(s) will be reviewed by recruiting services and can significantly influence the outcome of your application. 

Recruitment Process and Confirmation of Selection: 

During the first phase, recruiting units have access to all applications submitted across the 3 rounds. 

They do not have to wait to reach the maximum number of applications per post to start the selection process. They may select in the first round or wait until the final round. 

Recruiting units have no obligation to inform candidates about the outcome of their application, or to justify their selection. 

You may be contacted for an informal interview. You may also be informed of your potential selection before you apply for a second or third post. 

However, such contacts are not binding. Only a written placement offer from the Traineeships Office will confirm your selection. 

As long as you have not received an official placement offer in your candidate account, we advise you to keep applying for up to three posts to improve your chances. 

Non-EU Candidates: 

The recruitment of non-EU candidates involves additional administrative steps required by national authorities. As a result, the selection of non-EU candidates concludes at the end of the first phase.