Back in December 2017, EPSO interviewed Pavel Zbornik, a EU civil servant and member of AEGEE
since 2009. Pavel holds a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering and Management at the Czech
Technical University in Prague, and he’s currently a Business Analysis Assistant in DG Research and
Innovation, working in Unit J5, Common service for Horizon 2020 information and data, in Brussels.

What does your job involve? What are the best/ worst bits about your job?  What has been your
greatest achievement?
I support the elaboration of policy analysis on the basis of data and statistics and prepare related
report. It includes management of requests for statistical information (analysis, research, drafting
replies) from internal and external stakeholders and contribution to the improvement of the
reporting environment.
What are the best and worst parts of your job? 
The best would be probably being part of well-functioning international team and be able see
meaningful results of my work. On the opposite side it would probably be having quite often very tight
deadlines, the word urgent has lost meaning for me. It is difficult to describe any concrete achievements from the nature of my work, one could say that meeting my deadlines is an achievement.
What did you do before working for the EU? What year did you start working for the EU?
I was on the opposite side of the barricade, as board member of AEGEE-Europe for 2 years I was
responsible to write and manage grant proposals for EU and other funders. When my responsibilities
in AEGEE finished in 2014 I was selected to be Blue Book trainee in EACEA where I stayed
another two years as external IT Consultant to help with training users and testing internal grant
management tool. I would consider myself working for the EC more as a series of coincidences than deliberately
trying to get it, triggered by moving to Brussels to work for AEGEE-Europe. To use a cliché quote from
Forest Gump: “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get”.
What has been the most surprising thing about working for the EU?
As an engineer I never paid too much attention to importance of languages and my arrival to the
multilingual environment that the EC is, was sort of a reality check. Having meetings where language is
changed back and forth requires certain adaptation.

Since 2010, more and more students across Europe have been finding out about job opportunities in the EU institutions. This is thanks to the EU Careers brand Ambassadors who represent us at universities throughout Europe.

The scheme involves finding innovative ways to promote the great opportunities we have to offer. For starters, all of our Ambassadors receive comprehensive training to prepare them perfectly for the role. You’ll be able to develop the skills you need to be a successful Ambassador, and we’ll give you loads of support and ideas on getting started.

Is your university part of the programme this year? You can check the list here.

If so, are you interested in:

–      Finding out more about EU Career opportunities and promoting them to your fellow students?

–      Building a fantastic network across Europe?

–      Gaining work experience during your studies?

–      Developing your skills in public speaking, marketing and HR?

–      Receiving a full induction and coaching throughout the role?

–      Giving your CV extra clout with future employers?

The webpage will give you all the information you need on how to become an EU Careers Student Ambassador.

The ambassadors will be acting as a point of contact for students interested in EU Careers, researching target groups and contacting university media, setting up mailing lists and distributing information on EU Careers through the appropriate channels, giving presentations, attending university careers events and finding interesting speakers, completing monthly tasks and regularly reporting back on your activities, managing and regularly monitoring a dedicated Facebook page/online presence.

The deadline to apply is 1 April 2016, 12.00 midday (Brussels time).

Please don’t forget, in a super-competitive graduate job market, a position of responsibility like this could really make you stand out. As well as developing your communication and presentation skills, you can develop your CV with the international perspective future employers are looking for.

We are looking forward to your application!

Written by the EU careers team

To introduce ourselves, we’re the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO), and we’re responsible for selecting staff on behalf of all the European Institutions and Agencies, including the European Commission, Parliament and Council. You can find out more about us on our website, eu-careers.eu.

We’re looking for motivated, outgoing people with enthusiasm to promote EU Careers on your university campus!

As a highly-regarded employer of top graduates, we’re looking for a brand ambassador at the best universities in Europe. Part of an established and successful initiative, the EU Careers Ambassadors scheme involves finding innovative ways of promoting the great opportunities we have to offer, including through:

attending careers fairs, or giving presentations to your fellow students
developing university networks and providing information
maintaining an active online and social media presence
answering questions and queries about EU Careers
Of course, there’s a lot in it for you, too!  For starters, all of our Ambassadors receive comprehensive training which will prepare them perfectly for the role. You’ll be able to develop the skills you need to be a successful  Ambassador, we’ll give you loads of support and ideas on getting started.

Secondly, in a super-competitive graduate job market, a position of responsibility like this could really make you stand out. As well as developing your communication and presentation skills, the international perspective you’ll demonstrate will give your C.V. extra clout with future employers.

Practical details:

In the 2014/15 academic year, the programme is represented 112 universities across all 28 EU Member States. We are looking forward to continuing with this programme in 2015/2016. You can be part of it! You will find all detailed information on the programme here.

The deadline to apply is 16 April 2015, 12.00 midday (Brussels time).

– Ulrike Mangold and Rita Hinek, EU Careers Team

And here some testimonials:

Ana Lah, Croatia – Being an EU Careers Ambassador is definitely one of the best experiences I’ve had during my studies. I see it as an opportunity to improve organizational and communicational skills, learn more about business communication and interact with people of different backgrounds. EU Careers project managers encourage us to make activities at our universities on our own initiative and let us decide on which activity we are willing to participate in. This is important because we can arrange our activities in a way that they don’t interfere with our faculty obligations, and it also makes it a very pleasant working environment. But, being an EU Careers ambassador for me personally is also a challenge and a test for me to see how I function and how good I can be at doing something, which I see as a great preparation for my future career. However, for me, being an EU Careers ambassador is more than achieving something for myself, it is also a privilege being a part of the process of bringing together excellent students and excellent employer and knowing that if I make an effort, I can make a change for someone.

Christopher Scicluna, Malta – If I had to say that the experience as EU Careers Ambassador to the University of Malta was an excellent one, it would surely be an understatement. My experience was more than excellent. The post of EU Careers ambassador did not only enhance my communication and public speaking skills and general knowledge of the institutions of the EU but also opened new paths for me. This year, apart from being an EU Careers ambassador for the second consecutive time, I was also nominated and elected as President of Young European Federalists Malta, a dream which surely, without the knowledge and experience gained from the eu careers post, would not have been so easily realized. Moreover this post looks great on my CV and employers are always very keen to know more about this post. I highly recommend it to everyone!