Careers at the UN? Forum

[Bodhicaryavatara]

I'm thinking like Policy Analyst positions. I'm particularly interested in UNICEF, UNESCO, UNHCR, and UN Women. What kind of background would be ideal? Is prestige (school rank, grades) important for hiring?

[Anonymous User]

I'm thinking like Policy Analyst positions. I'm particularly interested in UNICEF, UNESCO, UNHCR, and UN Women. What kind of background would be ideal? Is prestige (school rank, grades) important for hiring?

BUMP. Anyone?

[Anonymous User]

I can speak a little bit about UNICEF. I've had 2-3 conversations with three different individuals that had policy-related careers (ranging from 5-15 years) with UNICEF. The impression that I got was that general prestige mattered but not the traditional law-school-bubble-TSL prestige. In other words, the concept of T14 is nonexistent but everyone knows well regarded universities and institutions. So if a school has a well-respected "prestigious" reputation in general, then that is advantageous.

The main piece of career advice that they gave was to get international experience, be able to speak one of UN's official languages besides English (so Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish), and that any advanced degrees, certificates, or other formal qualifications are very desirable.

Edit: I also forgot to mention: under the old Executive Director of UNICEF (Tony Lake) there was a big push to hire natives/locals for individual UNICEF offices. So in other words, the UNICEF office in Brazil would look to hire Brazilians for all positions (thus U.S. citizens or Europeans would be disadvantaged). Not sure if this hiring preference is still in place.

[Anonymous User]

I can only speak from the perspective of a short-term unpaid intern. Like what has been said on the thread, they value international experience and language skills. If you are proficient in several UN official languages, that's a big plus. They also look for people who agree with their core competencies, and people with significant experience in their chosen field.

However, almost everyone I met has had at least 5 years of solid experience in their profession before coming to work for UN. The odds of a recent grad getting hired by UN isn't favorable unless you possess some unique skills they happen to need. It kinda makes sense to me because once you're UN employee, the career progression is really slow, and it's frustrating for young people looking for promotion and salary raise.

Another thing, make sure to actually talk to someone working at UN before you apply. I'm not sure how much you know about UN. It sounds like you believe in what the UN tricks people into believing. If you are an idealist, I suggest staying away from UN for a while. You'll be disappointed that UN is nothing more than any other places to work. The funding is limited. The internal politics can be daunting. It's a highly bureaucratic and dysfunctional environment where you can end up working for idiots who shot down your ideas only based on their personal bias. As entry-level employee you won't be respected based on your merits.

There are upsides about UN like generous maternity leave, prestige (even my grandma living in mountains knows about it!) and some positions have good work-life balance. But UN isn't the only place offering those. If you really want to change the world, even starting a business changes more than being a UN employee.

[Bodhicaryavatara]

I can only speak from the perspective of a short-term unpaid intern. Like what has been said on the thread, they value international experience and language skills. If you are proficient in several UN official languages, that's a big plus. They also look for people who agree with their core competencies, and people with significant experience in their chosen field.

However, almost everyone I met has had at least 5 years of solid experience in their profession before coming to work for UN. The odds of a recent grad getting hired by UN isn't favorable unless you possess some unique skills they happen to need. It kinda makes sense to me because once you're UN employee, the career progression is really slow, and it's frustrating for young people looking for promotion and salary raise.

Another thing, make sure to actually talk to someone working at UN before you apply. I'm not sure how much you know about UN. It sounds like you believe in what the UN tricks people into believing. If you are an idealist, I suggest staying away from UN for a while. You'll be disappointed that UN is nothing more than any other places to work. The funding is limited. The internal politics can be daunting. It's a highly bureaucratic and dysfunctional environment where you can end up working for idiots who shot down your ideas only based on their personal bias. As entry-level employee you won't be respected based on your merits.

There are upsides about UN like generous maternity leave, prestige (even my grandma living in mountains knows about it!) and some positions have good work-life balance. But UN isn't the only place offering those. If you really want to change the world, even starting a business changes more than being a UN employee.

Awesome, I'm fluent in Spanish.

[Bodhicaryavatara]

I can speak a little bit about UNICEF. I've had 2-3 conversations with three different individuals that had policy-related careers (ranging from 5-15 years) with UNICEF. The impression that I got was that general prestige mattered but not the traditional law-school-bubble-TSL prestige. In other words, the concept of T14 is nonexistent but everyone knows well regarded universities and institutions. So if a school has a well-respected "prestigious" reputation in general, then that is advantageous.

The main piece of career advice that they gave was to get international experience, be able to speak one of UN's official languages besides English (so Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish), and that any advanced degrees, certificates, or other formal qualifications are very desirable.

Edit: I also forgot to mention: under the old Executive Director of UNICEF (Tony Lake) there was a big push to hire natives/locals for individual UNICEF offices. So in other words, the UNICEF office in Brazil would look to hire Brazilians for all positions (thus U.S. citizens or Europeans would be disadvantaged). Not sure if this hiring preference is still in place.

This is very helpful. Thanks!

[confitdecanard]

Another thing, make sure to actually talk to someone working at UN before you apply. I'm not sure how much you know about UN. It sounds like you believe in what the UN tricks people into believing. If you are an idealist, I suggest staying away from UN for a while. You'll be disappointed that UN is nothing more than any other places to work. The funding is limited. The internal politics can be daunting. It's a highly bureaucratic and dysfunctional environment where you can end up working for idiots who shot down your ideas only based on their personal bias. As entry-level employee you won't be respected based on your merits.

There are upsides about UN like generous maternity leave, prestige (even my grandma living in mountains knows about it!) and some positions have good work-life balance. But UN isn't the only place offering those. If you really want to change the world, even starting a business changes more than being a UN employee.

I haven't worked directly as a UN staff but was in international affairs for two years before law school and have many friends in this field. Very much agree with the above. Definitely talk to as many people as possible before you commit and be cautious about entering this field as a junior. If you still decide that this is the career you want, good luck. It might be necessary to do a few unpaid internships at various international agencies before a paid full-time offer. This field values proven track record and prior experience and competition is brutal. The pay/lifestyle is pretty attractive though.

[Bodhicaryavatara]

Another thing, make sure to actually talk to someone working at UN before you apply. I'm not sure how much you know about UN. It sounds like you believe in what the UN tricks people into believing. If you are an idealist, I suggest staying away from UN for a while. You'll be disappointed that UN is nothing more than any other places to work. The funding is limited. The internal politics can be daunting. It's a highly bureaucratic and dysfunctional environment where you can end up working for idiots who shot down your ideas only based on their personal bias. As entry-level employee you won't be respected based on your merits.

There are upsides about UN like generous maternity leave, prestige (even my grandma living in mountains knows about it!) and some positions have good work-life balance. But UN isn't the only place offering those. If you really want to change the world, even starting a business changes more than being a UN employee.

I haven't worked directly as a UN staff but was in international affairs for two years before law school and have many friends in this field. Very much agree with the above. Definitely talk to as many people as possible before you commit and be cautious about entering this field as a junior. If you still decide that this is the career you want, good luck. It might be necessary to do a few unpaid internships at various international agencies before a paid full-time offer. This field values proven track record and prior experience and competition is brutal. The pay/lifestyle is pretty attractive though.

How did you support yourself while doing the unpaid UN internships?