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Lindsay Gilbert graduated from Leeds Met in 2006 and made a flying visit in April 201 1 to
speak to current students about career opportunities for them in the European Parliament
and how she got her job there 3 years ago.

She spent 2 hours talking to small groups of students and then gave us an interview with
useful information which will h elp many students to see the value of studying languages and
consider some of the exciting career opportunities they can lead to.

   
    


   
  
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Lindsay: I did BA (Hons) Spanish and Public Relations but also took Italian. I graduated in
2006.


 

 

 
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Lindsay: I was good at languages at school and it seemed that it was something different
and exciting and would give me wider opportunities for a career. That is exactly what has
happened. I had no idea I would end up in Brussels working in the EU Parliament with
people from all over Europe. It͛s a really exciting environment, always changing and with so
many different opportunities. I͛m so glad I did a languages degree. The course at Leeds
Met was great because we learned useful language skills, not from literature etc but the
language used in all sorts of careers and jobs.

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Lindsay: I applied through their formal application process 3 years ago. It is all on -line now
at http://www.eu-careers.eu/

My communication skills are vital for success in my job (I have to constantly persuade
people, convince people of certain arguments, build relationships etc to win votes) and this
is something that I think is enhanced significantly with a languages de gree. However, doing
a degree with another subject, like I did, and acquiring lots of practical language skills, is also
very valuable. The MEP who employed me liked the joint degree I did and wanted someone
with business experience too so it really helped!

There are aptitude tests with verbal and numerical reasoning etc to take on -line. If you͛ve
not done these before it is best to get a bit of coaching from the Careers Office to help you
get used to doing them before you apply formally.



 
 
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Lindsay: I work as an adviser for the political group to which the Conservative Party belongs
(European Conservatives and Reformists Group) in the European Parliament (EP).

I am responsible for advising all the MEPs belonging to our political group in matters relating
to the Internal Market (also known as the Single Market) and Consumer Protection and then
trying to win as many votes as possible! One of the reasons I wanted to work in Brussels was
due to the language opportunities, I also advise our MEPs on the EU -Chile and EUROLAT (EU
and Latin America relations) delegations so I can use the Spanish. My degree gave me
excellent language skills thanks to my great tutors. I absolutely love my job. I find it
fascinating and the opportunities are fantastic!

I do research into the policies being proposed within the EU and see how they relate (or
not!) to the policies of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group. Then I write
short reports and briefing documents (all in English) for the MEPs in our Group to suggest
what approach they should take in debates and when voting. I also attend committees and
report back on anything to do with consumer protection ʹ it might be telecoms pricing
policies across Europe or the safe design of children͛s toys.

Of course in Brussels they speak mainly French but all languages are used and some
committees I am on are run in Spanish. There are always opportunities to use your
languages and they help you get more opportunities an d more experience.

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Lindsay: Yes, I always enjoyed learning and using languages but never thought I͛d end up
using them so much. Strangely, though, there are not enough English speakers in the EU
Parliament or Commission so now is a great time to apply if you are a UK graduate with
French, German, Spanish, Italian etc.

  

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Lindsay: First I lived at home in Birmingham and worked 2 years for a PR agency. It was
good experience but I missed not using my languages. I saw the EU jobs advertised through
an agency in Birmingham and applied. The application forms are very detailed so I worked
really hard to demonstrate how my skills matched what they were looking for from th e Job
escription and Employee Specification. It can be quite a tough process but it was certainly
worth the effort and having English as my first language was actually an important factor.

  
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Lindsay: The EU Parliament only employs about 5,000 people but the EU Commission
employs 25,000 and there are hundreds of places available every year for UK graduates of
all disciplines. It is really useful to have at least one other language because it gives you so
much more scope but it is not compulsory.

There are actually loads of jobs available throughout Europe and they are all open to UK
graduates as we͛re part of the EU. There are jobs in all areas and for gradua tes of all
disciplines on-line at: http://ec.europa.eu/eures/home.jsp?lang=en

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Lindsay: No, just that ideally I͛d use my languages. Although I work for a political group I͛m
not very political myself, I͛m just interested in what goes on and that͛s more important.
You also need your general communication skills, listening skills, report writing and
summarizing etc.

 
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Lindsay: For me it͛s just so much more vibrant than working in an office in Birmingham.
You͛re surrounded by people from all over Europe and everyone has different attitudes and
ideas but they just get on with each other and en joy working together

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Lindsay: No, there was a lot of help and support given plus expenses etc. They are used to
having people move around and from one country to another so a lot of the organising is
done for you. And, also, you͛re being paid, not living off a student loan!

April 2011