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Not surprisingly the first thing to see when you open the EU Careers webpage is the "Face a bigger challenge" banner. EU Institutions and their websites do indeed qualify as a bigger challenge than being unemployed.

Most EU Institutions have webpages that perfectly reflect their functioning- messy & disturbing at times. Bad design and user interface which will confuse even the most computer savvy among us is the first obstacle to find, say, an internship at European institutions. Even if you have for some reason lost the battle with EU Institutions though, you still have a chance to win the war. Brussels offers a variety of opportunities at NGOs and think thanks. Here's a short overview of the most important websites for vacancies.

The bibles for every graduate looking for a job or an internship in Brussels are:

• The job site of EurActiv 
• And Eurobrussels

Both offer a very good and up to date database of the current vacancies in Brussels and the region. The websites are really useful, especially for positions in marketing, communications, EU policy or general administration. A user-friendly filter allows you to specify job category, location and your experience (or the lack of it ;)) The downside, of course, is that many other applicants follow the same websites.

Here's one which I personally just discovered. Judging on the quality of the website, it is worth a try.

Something similar could be found here.  Although I have to warn you to look carefully at the vacancies before applying. It is possible that the vacancy is 2-3 years old. Also some of the links are often broken. What this website is highly useful for is that it provides a really good overview of organisations with internship programmes. By simply scrolling down, you can see a very extensive list of NGOs and think tanks. Even if they have no openings at the moment, it is definitely good to keep an eye on them. 

A Guide to Internships at EU Institutions

Ever wondered where and how to apply for an internship at the EU Institutions? Personally, I do it all the time (I mean wondering). The procedures are quite unclear, slow, confusing. Websites are extremely user-unfriendly, but given the potential they're worth giving a try. Here's an overview of the main EU institutions in Brussels where you can apply for an internship.

Traineeships and Study Visits in the European Parliament 

Traineeship at the European Commission  

Traineeship at the European Ombudsman service

Traineeships at the European Economic and Social Committee

Traineeships at the various Community Agencies

And although I am pretty sure that you can do an internship at the Committee of the Regions, I couldn't find any link with further information. 

Connect the dots, said Steve Jobs

If you’re one of the thousands of young graduates that have recently applied for a job, then you most likely know the feeling; the feeling of disappointment when you found out that you’re not going to get the job (internship) you’ve applied for. The bitter feeling takes over you and you start questioning your skills, personality and even the significance of your achievements. The feeling is even worse if the job was one that you appreciated, sincerely wanted and believed to be experienced enough for.

Most HR specialists will always manage to take a rabbit out of their hat and tell you a reason why you are not suitable for a position. To name just a few: lack of experience, not the right qualifications, or an unsatisfactory interview.  As I was reflecting on this today, I came across, not surprisingly given the circumstances,  SteveJobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address. It is quite moving, regardless of whether you're an Apple-maniac or not, so if you haven’t heard it, now is the perfect time to do so. To make the long story short, Jobs explains how everything in his life had happened for a reason.  Dropping out of college and being fired from the company that he established was his destiny, the route he had to follow. Without following exactly the same (career)path he wouldn’t have been the visionary Steve Jobs that we knew. 

This made me think and re-think my perspective. Maybe it’s not you, your application, personality or qualifications. What if it is simply destiny? So if you’ve also quit college, have been recently fired, are doing the third (un)paid internship in your life, a PhD, or a third MA or you’re simply not getting the dream job, it is (maybe) because this is your destiny, the route you have to follow. All these things are just dots. And even if now, from the perspective of an unemployed job-seeker, you fail to see how these dots could be related to each other, how these unfortunate career steps could actually be part of your way up, a sort of destiny master-plan for you, one day you will. Because:

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your guts, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

So next time when you hear that you’re not the person they’ve been looking for, remember that maybe it's exactly the opposite - this is not the company YOU're looking for. A failed job opportunity is just a dot, a dot, which will soon make sense. A blessing in disguise...