As many people are looking for hints and tips about the recruitment process, I'll give as much info as I can.
The process will happen in 4 steps:
1/ The online assessment.
A few days after the application closing date you will receive an invitation to undergo an online assessment. It consists of 4 short tests (about 30 min each).
- a logical test: you see sequences of 4 patterns and for each you have to select which pattern should follow.
- a mathematical test. Several exercises mainly related to percentages, currency rates and reading charts. Review your basics beforehand and you'll be fine.
- a comprehension test. You'll have a short journalistic abstract along with yes or no questions. The goal is to see with if you can understand advanced texts.
- a personality test. I'm not sure what's the point of this one :)
For each test, there is a practice. Do them several times in order to feel comfortable.
2/ The technical interview.
If you have a good result to your online test and if your profile matches with EPO requirements, you'll be invited for a technical interview on Skype. I received the invitation about 2 weeks after completing the tests. There was a board of 3 persons and they asked me a LOT of very various technical questions. I sign an agreement, so I cannot disclose the exact questions, but they covered many fields of my specialty, even some totally unfamiliar to me. But when I didn't know, I didn't play smart and just said "I don't know, but I assume that maybe...." and they seemed satisfied. However, they didn't ask any question about patents.
Also, they tested my French and German skills. As I hadn't spoken one of those languages for 15 years, I explain that I wasn't able to discuss in that language and seems it was not a problem. In total, is lasted about 1 hour. They were very nice and friendly. They didn't try to trick me. In the contrary, they gave me hints when I was not sure of the answer. That was very pleasant.
The day after, I received confirmation that I passed and they told me I would be invited to another HR skype interview.
3/ The HR interview.
The second skype interview is held by an external company. They ask typical ''competency based interview'' questions. Google it, you’ll find a lot of resources to train for that kind of interview. Some questions were like''tell me how you handle repetitive task'' or ''how do you work under pressure, give me an example''. The best way to answer that is to use the STAR technic (Situation, Task, Action, Result). Once again, just google it and train yourself.
Once you passed this 2nd interview, you’ll be automatically invited for a face to face interview. I waited 3 weeks before receiving the invitation, don’t stress out.
4/ The face to face interview.
It took place in the EPO premises with 3 people: an HR person, a manager and a staff representative.
Once again, they were very nice and professional. They asked typical questions such as:
- What do you think the typical examiner's week look like?
- What does your typical week looks like?
- Describe a one time when you worked under pressure
- How did you handle when your boss gave you an impossible deadline?
- How do you manage conflict?
- How do you expect to handle expatriation?
The meeting lasted about one hour. Don't forget to also prepare relevant questions. There's nothing worse than a candidate that doesn't have questions to ask.
Then, I received the final answer 3 months later but that was exceptionally long because the EPO went through an administrative reorganization. Usually, they give a feedback within 4 weeks maximum.
