EUROPASS AS A GUIDANCE TOOL

1. EUROPASS AS A GUIDANCE TOOL

Since its introduction in 2004 Europass has grown into a recognisable European job search brand. The most popular tools among Europass users by far are the CV Creator and the Cover Letter Creator, and these two have been used in countless job applications across Europe for almost two decades.

The Europass portal is designed as a support tool for European citizens to present themselves to potential employers or educational institutions and actively engage in their continuous professional development with their access to relevant learning and working opportunities throughout Europe. Thanks to these aspects, Europass is a widely applicable tool suitable for many different user profiles.

It can be used as a support tool when users apply for different study or volunteering opportunities, student practices, Erasmus+ mobilities and many more. It can also be used when users wish to compete for their first job or when they are transitioning from one job to another or moving from one country to another in search of interesting job or learning opportunities.

This makes Europass an important tool, not only for those who want to apply for jobs and educational opportunities, but also for guidance practitioners and their clients, as well as employers and educational institutions, who all need reliable tools and information to efficiently assess many different applicant profiles.

In the following sections we will explore how guidance practitioners can approach and counsel different target groups and show them the benefits of using Europass, tailored to their own specific needs. Where possible, we will provide practical materials and case studies which can be used in day-to-day work with applicants, students and employers.

2. HOW TO USE EUROPASS TOOLS IN CAREER GUIDANCE?

Guidance professionals often assist their clients with career advice and counselling at important times of transitions, and people who seek guidance may be in very different situations and stages of life. Some may have specific goals in mind, such as training, starting a career or further education. Others may be at the very beginning of their reflections and are looking for orientation or help to become aware of their goals and possibilities. As different as the starting points for educational counselling and career guidance may be, the aim is always to work with clients to identify their personal strengths and competences and to show them educational and employment perspectives.

Guidance practitioners can make use of the Europass CV and profile as a valuable support tool during career counselling by helping clients to engage in self-reflection, identify their professional strongholds and present their skills and experiences more transparently.

After creating the Europass profile and taking stock of personal competences, it is easier to plan the next steps with clients to realise their development goals. Does the person want to pursue further education or postgraduate studies? For example, is she interested in learning or working abroad, or does she need support with her application? The Europass portal provides career guidance counsellors with up-to-date information and practical tools for this purpose.

These Europass tools are suitable for use in counselling:

Job search: By linking to the job portal of EURES, the European network for job mobility in the EU, it is possible to search for jobs all over Europe.

Course search: Since the Europass portal is also linked to national databases for further education courses in Europe, it is also possible to find suitable learning offers to expand or deepen competences. This function is currently still in the beta stage but will be further developed in the future.

Qualification comparison tool: The Europass portal also contains information on national qualifications, such as training courses and their contents and levels in the National and European Qualifications Framework. The new Europass portal thus provides access to learning and work opportunities in Europe and promotes cross-border mobility.

Information on learning and working in the EU: If you advise people who want to apply for jobs across Europe, the Europass portal also provides contacts to guidance centres and websites in each EU country, as well as background information on recognition and validation

3. JOB SEEKERS AND OTHER APPLICANTS

Job seekers and other applicants often face significant challenges when navigating the complex job market, especially when they are seeking opportunities across borders or transitioning between careers. This group includes not only young people entering the job market for the first time but also individuals changing careers, returning to work after a break, or seeking international opportunities. Their needs are diverse and depend on their personal situation, yet they all require clear guidance, useful tools, and tailored support to present their skills and competences effectively.

Guidance professionals play a crucial role in helping job seekers navigate these transitions. Many job seekers may be unsure about how to structure their CV, what to include, or how to present their skills in a way that resonates with employers. They may also need assistance in identifying relevant job opportunities or educational programs that align with their career goals. It is here that Europass tools can be incredibly valuable in supporting the process and empowering applicants to take control of their career development.

HOW EUROPASS CAN ASSIST JOB SEEKERS AND OTHER APPLICANTS

Europass offers a variety of tools that can be adapted to the needs of job seekers, applicants, and career changers. The Europass CV and Cover Letter Editor remains the most popular, providing a simple, structured way to present a professional presence. However, the platform offers much more. Here’s how Europass can support different job seeker profiles:

Europass CV and Cover Letter Editor

Job seekers are often unsure about how to structure their CVs or what to include. The CV Creator offers a structured format that is widely recognized across Europe. Users can present their competencies in an easy-to-read format, and the Cover Letter Creator offers a simple way to draft a personalized motivation letter that complements the CV.

EURES Job Portal

Europass is linked to the EURES job portal, providing job seekers with access to a wide range of job across Europe. This feature enables opportunities that match qualifications and preferences, whether individual is looking to work in their home country or abroad.

Digital Competence Self-Assessment Tool

Job seekers can improve digital literacy and further assess their digital skills using the Digital Competence Self-Assessment Tool, which helps them identify areas for improvement in today’s digital job market.

Learning Opportunities and Qualifications

The portal is linked to national databases, making it easier for users to find relevant courses and qualifications across Europe. The Learning Opportunities and Qualifications helps individuals expand their skills, whether they are looking for short-term training or longer academic programs.

National Qualifications Frameworks across Europe, Comparison tool

The tool provides valuable information on national qualifications, training courses, and their content and levels in both the National and European Qualifications Frameworks. This tool helps job seekers understand and compare qualifications, facilitating smoother cross-border mobility and job searches.

Europass Profile

A digital library that allows individuals to store and organize their skills and key documents in one place. It offers a flexible way to present a broad range of capabilities, making it especially useful for those returning to the workforce or changing careers. The Europass profile can be easily updated and used to quickly create tailored CVs for multiple job applications, ensuring that relevant skills are highlighted and presented efficiently.

4. PUPILS AND STUDENTS IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

In addition to their home environment, educational institutions play a key role in supporting their pupils/students in developing their career management skills and strengthening their informed career planning. Institutions can contribute to the career readiness of pupils/students and empower them to make a successful career choice, but it can also discourage them from planning their future career. Experiences in primary and secondary education strongly influence pupils'/students' self-efficacy and work motivation. One of the efficient methods school staff can use to help their students develop a strong sense of efficacy includes continuous analysis of their individual characteristics, skills and abilities.

Regardless of the student’s attitude towards work and school commitments, their characteristics, skills, and abilities can be compared to identify each student’s strengths. Pupils’/ students’ further development should be supported, individual progress should be recognized, and students should be encouraged to think about how to apply their skills and abilities in different areas of work.

Europass is a valuable tool for guiding pupils in exploring their skills, interests, and future learning paths from an early age. While often associated with job seekers and professionals, Europass can also be effectively used with younger learners to help them reflect on their achievements, document their progress, and prepare for future educational or career opportunities. Depending on their age and education level, pupils can benefit from Europass in different ways.

USING EUROPASS IN CAREER GUIDANCE FOR PUPILS AND STUDENTS

Students in primary and secondary education have diverse career guidance needs depending on their stage of development. Primary school pupils are at the beginning of self-discovery, while secondary and vocational students start making concrete decisions about their education and career paths. Guidance counsellors can support these students by using Europass tools to help them reflect on their skills, document their achievements, and plan their future learning and career opportunities.

Primary School Pupils (Ages 11–14)

At this stage, pupils are still discovering their interests and abilities. Europass can be introduced as a self-reflection tool to help them recognize their skills, whether gained through school projects, hobbies, or extracurricular activities.

• • Self-Assessment Tool for Digital Competences: A fun and interactive way for pupils to evaluate their digital skills and track their progress.
  • Europass Library: A space to store certificates, awards, and achievements that may later support their educational journey.

Secondary School Students (Ages 15–18)

As students begin exploring academic and career options, Europass provides them with structured tools to document their experiences and plan their future.

• • CV Editor: Helps students create their first Europass CV to document school projects, part-time jobs, and volunteering experiences.
  • Cover Letter Editor: Guides students in structuring and writing their first job or study application letters.
  • Europass Profile: Enables students to track their achievements and skills over time, making future career planning easier.
  • Europass Certificate Supplement: Provides information on vocational qualifications, helping students understand potential career paths.

Vocational Education Students (Ages 15–18)

Students in vocational education and training (VET) need to showcase their practical skills and work-based learning experiences when preparing for internships, apprenticeships, or jobs. By using Europass, VET students can systematically document their learning progress, increase their employability, and confidently take their first steps into the workforce.

• • Europass CV and Cover Letter Editor: Helps students create professional application documents for apprenticeships or job opportunities.
  • Europass Mobility: Documents international learning experiences, such as Erasmus+ exchanges or training placements, ensuring acquired skills are recognized by employers and institutions across Europe.
  • Europass Certificate Supplement: Supports students in understanding how their vocational qualifications align with different career opportunities across Europe.

5. STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Europass is a widely applicable tool used by many different user profiles. Europass is a particularly convenient and popular tool for students in higher education when they need to apply for their first job or volunteering experiences, student practices, Erasmus+ mobilities and many more. In the following sections we are going to explain what makes Europass such a natural choice for students. Why do students need a Europass profile, CV or Cover Letter in the first place.

Students are often first-time job seekers, which means they may not have a particularly long or thorough CV writing experience. In addition to having difficulty showcasing their skills and experience on a CV, newer job seekers can find it equally challenging to write a CV of good quality, which includes all the information to help them shine and which is in line with the CV structure desired by the prospective employer. While job seekers with several years of experience will highlight their work accomplishments, newer job seekers can put more focus on education and non-work experience sections of the CV. Lastly, students can often focus too much on making sure that the content is right, that they will forget the obvious fact that „Presentation is everything“- their CV also needs to look good as well as sound good. Research shows that the average length of time spent by an employer reading any applicant's CV is approx. 10 seconds. If we have such a short time to hold the reader’s attention, we need to make an immediate impact.

There are many opportunities where students may need to provide their CVs. Students may be asked for a CV when they are applying for their graduate studies, research positions, student practices or student jobs, traineeships, volunteering opportunities, Erasmus+ mobilities and scholarships or grants.

For students with little or no work experience, writing a CV may seem like a difficult task. Even experienced professionals can have difficulty showcasing their employability on a CV. Of course, this challenge is much greater for students and recent graduates without an impressive work history. Europass is ideal for candidates who want to present themselves to their prospective employers in the best possible light but still do not have considerable work experience to impress their potential employers. Therefore, they often find it difficult to think of relevant information to include in their CVs.

Even if they have little or no work experience, students can still stand out among other similar candidates by showcasing skills gained in different educational or non-educational environments. Very often, students think of CV writing mainly in terms of listing their education data and job experiences. In turn, they are often not aware that this is also a place to showcase the skills they gained in different educational and non-educational contexts. These skills may not have only been strictly gained through a formal study or work experience and may have also been developed in many different student jobs, volunteering experiences, etc. not necessarily related to students’ field of study. Europass portal offers several sections where students are encouraged to analyse and reflect on their skills and interests, as well as experiences, in order to include them perfectly in their CVs and cover letters.

USING EUROPASS IN CAREER GUIDANCE FOR STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Europass CV and Cover Letter Editor helps students create their first Europass CV to document projects, part-time jobs, and volunteering experiences. It guides students in structuring and writing a first CV for applying for different job, volunteering or mobility opportunities.

Below, you can find some examples of discussion questions that can encourage students to think in depth about the activities they have been involved in during their education or student work that can help them in preparing their CV.

• • Have they worked as a brand promotor in a supermarket? Skills they have developed here are communication and presentation skills.
  • Have they done a group project in a sociology class? Skills they have developed here are communication and teamwork.
  • Have they ever created their own simple mobile app, a piece of art or music? They have creative skills.
  • Have they ever studied Dutch, Croatian or another language? Even if they are not fluent, learning a language shows discipline and commitment.
  • Are they good at interpreting research results or solving mathematical problems? They can think critically.
  • Have they ever organised a study group to revise for exams? They are adept at time management and organisation.
  • Let them think about their interests, hobbies, or any other activity they have been involved in. Do they play an instrument in a band? Do they volunteer at a retirement home or, perhaps, run long races? These show they have enthusiasm, focus, dedication and discipline.

Europass Profile enables students to track their achievements and skills over time, making future career planning easier, finding interesting jobs and learning opportunities, managing applications, and creating CVs and cover letters as well as prepare for the interview. It allows reflection on their skills and experience: registered Europass users will have access to the My Skills, which helps users self-assess their skills and have a clearer idea on the jobs that match those skills with descriptions that will help them understand the related sets of skills by describing and defining them in the context of different jobs. Registered users of Europass can also use the My Interests, which guides them in reflecting on their interests and career goals by adding topics they are interested in, where they want to work or study, and what goals they want to achieve. These transversal skills can be easily adapted or transferred to their future job environment, and employers are well aware of that (and they take it into account in the job selection process). Transferable skills that many employers look for include time management, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, communication, organisation, working under pressure, enthusiasm, customer service, meeting deadlines, and many more.

Europass Library - Europass helps students prepare for their European job search by creating a Europass profile, students get a platform where they can regularly list and update their skills, experiences, and store many other documents relevant for their job search. In case a job opportunity presents itself, students can quickly and easily make a tailored job application and respond to any job ad within a few minutes.

EURES Job Portal - Europass is linked to the EURES job portal, providing access to a wide range of job vacancies across Europe to explore opportunities that match their qualifications and preferences, whether they are looking to work in their home country or abroad.

Europass Mobility documents international learning experiences, such as Erasmus+ exchanges or training placements, ensuring acquired skills are recognized by employers and institutions across Europe.

Digital Competence Self-Assessment Tool - beyond just helping users create documents, Europass serves as a tool for developing essential skills. Students can further assess their digital skills using the Digital Competence Self-Assessment Tool, which helps them identify areas for improvement in today’s digital job market.

Learning Opportunities Search (Course Search Tool) - Europass supports job seekers who wish to pursue further education or training to enhance their employability. The portal is linked to national databases, making it easier for users to find relevant courses and qualifications across Europe. The Learning Opportunities Search (Course Search Tool) helps individuals expand their skills, whether they are looking for short-term training or longer academic programs.

National Qualifications Frameworks across Europe, Comparison tool provides valuable information on national qualifications, training courses, and their content and levels in both the National and European Qualifications Frameworks. This tool helps students understand and compare qualifications, facilitating smoother cross-border mobility and job searches.

6. EUROPASS FOR EMPLOYERS

Recruiting in the modern job market comes with many challenges. In addition to the common struggle to find the right candidates for their vacancies or to attract talent with hard-to-find skills who are often receiving several job offers at the same time, employers often need to conduct their hiring process as fast and as efficiently as possible, because vacant positions cost money and delay the implementation of day-to-day activities.

In addition to challenges mentioned above, the shortage of skilled workers and demographic change pose another set of challenges for recruiters and HR managers in companies and organisations. More and more often, suitable employees cannot be found on the domestic market.

• • But, how can potential applicants from abroad be approached?
  • How can the skills and qualifications of applicants be traced in international applications?
  • How can applications be compared in a time-saving manner and how can suitable employees be identified?
  • Is it possible to align recruitment processes more closely with the needs of job seekers and make them easier?

Europass can be a useful tool in helping employers create a more efficient recruitment process. Hiring teams need to communicate fast and evaluate candidates easily and efficiently. The recruiters often spend less than 10 seconds to scan each CV and unless the CV catches their attention by clearly demonstrating the candidate’s strengths and the benefits they can bring to the company, it will most likely end up being disregarded.

Europass is a CV format known and accepted by many employers in Europe. Its clear format allows employers to easily identify their candidates’ skills and experiences to see if they are the right fit for the job.

HOW EUROPASS CAN ASSIST EMPLOYERS

• • Europass CV and Cover Letter: The structured Europass CVs make them quicker and more efficient to read. The candidate's knowledge of foreign languages will be more precise and differentiated. With the Europass profile or a CV created from it, employers receive structured information about applicants. This allows them to reliably assess their skills and qualifications and quickly see what skilled workers have to offer.
    Employers can compare CVs easily, because clearly designed CVs offer good readability and a high degree of transparency, especially when recruiting internationally. This is because the requirements and expectations for a formally correct CV are not the same in all EU countries. For applicant selection, this means that the sifting of applications and the pre-selection of qualified candidates from home and abroad is made much easier.
  • Europass Profile: Employers can quickly gain an initial impression of applicants: Candidates can share a direct link to their Europass profile, allowing employers to efficiently review their skills and qualifications without unnecessary paperwork, making it easier to identify the right candidates.
  • EURES Job Portal: Europass is linked to the EURES job portal, providing employers access to a wide range of job seekers across Europe and recruiting skilled workers from home and abroad. By linking Europass to the European job portal EURES, employers can target Europass users with a job offer.
  • National Qualifications Frameworks across Europe, Comparison tool: Provides valuable information on national qualifications, training courses, and their content and levels in both the National and European Qualifications Frameworks. This tool helps employers understand and compare qualifications, facilitating smoother cross-border mobility.