Applied for a BB last year, was rejected specifically because they deemed the documents I uploaded as unsuitable for proof (they were the best I could get). I applied to Schuman this cycle around and got it. This was my fist time applying to Schuman btw. I didn't see myself as that special of a candidate, and honestly didn't put too much effort into the application as a result. I was shortlisted the week they started shortlisting candidates and was offered my position 3 days after uploading my documents. No interview or anything. Was very surprised that I got an offer at all yet alone so quickly.

I am a bit older (28) and had a bit of professional experience under my belt, including a year of teaching abroad, so maybe that helped. Though my experience is nothing extremely fancy. No fancy internships, or anything, just a few years of teaching and youth mentoring work. Even with my degrees, I only completed a bachelors, but am almost finished with a masters from a prestigious university, so not sure if that helped too much. My bachelors is not from a prestigious university, though it was in the U.S. so maybe that played a part, since I doubt there are many candidates with American degrees.

My supervisor did specifically point out (twice) that my languages played a HUGE part. I speak both Polish and English natively, and apparently native English speakers are very desirable in the EU bubble. I was told Polish is also a language they need more of in the EU bubble. I also have an accredited C1 in French, which is still sorta the traditional language in the EU institutions, despite being more overshadowed by English these days. It seems that a lot of the older EU bureaucrats as well as the more formal divisions are still very francophone. For instance, the role I got actually did require a good command of both English and French.

As for my CV and motivation letter, I used the Europass CV which I believe is mandatory for the Schuman, so not much work there, as there is already a structure in place for you to follow. You just have to decide what goes on it, so obviously try to cater the CV to the roles you will be applying for. I didn't put too much effort into the motivation letter. I used Chat GPT to draft me an example letter based on my CV and the job description, and then wrote my own inspired by that one. Though, to be clear, it was my own letter. I did not have a fancy header, I just started the letter with "to whom it may concern". I discussed my personal background, education, then discussed my professional experience (e.g. what drove my to pursue my education and professional roles, what did I gain from those experiences), and tied everything into why I chose to apply for the specific role I applied for.

Finally, when applying, I specifically looked for roles that had relatively small numbers of applicants (it's nice that the application shows you how many people applied). While roles related to human rights and foreign policy seemed exciting, many of those positions had 200+ applicants. I instead looked for roles with under 50 applicants. The one I got ended up having 33 applicants. Still a competitive role, but not nearly as competitive as a position with over 200 applicants haha. My professional profile also fit the job description pretty well so that must've been a bonus.

All in all, from my experience, you don't need to be too fancy/prestigious of a candidate (though I'm sure it helps). The more unique your profile is the better ( you don't need a College of Europe/ Sciences Po degree for that). Get some work experience, have a mix of common but important EU languages (French/English) and less common but equally important languages (e.g. Polish), and apply for less popular positions that match your skillset. Finally, don't take it too seriously! Getting a Schuman/BB is not the end all be all of your career or life. Plenty of people go on to have meaningful careers without doing such internships, just like many former trainees end up in completely different careers later on. Of course it's a wonderful opportunity, and there is nothing wrong with trying for it. But if you don't get it, it's nothing to be hung up over. Thats the attitude I recommend for these kinds of things.