Fifteen Accounts of Getting Started at International Organizations

In the last semester of university, I read whatever I could find about the places people went after graduating. I wanted more than a list of job titles before I had to choose where to apply.

A book I borrowed out of curiosity

I borrowed this book because the phrase “internships at international organizations” sounded so far from the choices I had been imagining. Curiosity was enough to take it home.

Fifteen contributors describe internships and how they found their way to them. The accounts are short and written from the point of view of people who were still getting started.

Hearing from people who had gone before me

I had assumed a career at an international organization belonged to people who had planned for it a long time in advance. The book made it easier to picture people from South Korea entering that work in different ways.

Ban Ki-moon was the most visible example I knew. The interns were a different kind of example, closer to the stage of working life I was trying to understand.

• See also — Ban Ki-moon’s 2006 acceptance speech

What it takes to make an application

The applications sounded demanding. They also became easier to imagine once I could see how an applicant had chosen an organization and found something specific to offer it.

Some contributors had sent many applications before hearing back. I paid more attention to why a person wanted a particular assignment after reading what it took just to get one.

Many different places to work

“The UN” covers work across many entities. UNDP, the ILO and UNICEF belong to the wider UN system, but they have different functions and recruit through their own processes.

Hearing about an opening and applying for it

Some contributors talk about relationships and informal ways of hearing about work in 2011. Those stories show how they learned what was out there.

For a current application, the official vacancy or programme notice tells you where to submit it and what the organization will consider. The UN Careers site has a distinct category for internships.

Two formal entry programmes

The book names two formal early-career programmes. Both are separate from an internship.

1. JPO — Junior Professional Officer Programme.
2. YPP — Young Professionals Programme.

JPO positions are generally funded under arrangements with participating governments. Eligibility, terms and national recruitment procedures depend on the sponsor and opening.

The YPP is a UN Secretariat recruitment programme for early-career professionals. It has an examination process and a list of eligible nationalities that can change from year to year.

Learning how a particular organization hires

What I took from the individual stories was the value of learning what a particular team did. That made it possible to look for a relevant opening and apply with a clearer idea of why you wanted it.

Some routes a reader might come across include the following.

1. A Junior Professional Officer opening through an eligible sponsor.
2. A position advertised by a particular organization.
3. A UN Secretariat Young Professionals Programme examination.
4. A separate assignment through UN Volunteers.

Contributor An Seon-yeong also shared resources for people looking into internships.

• Daum community — The United Nations and international organizations (ICUNIA)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs — International organization recruitment information

Education and language requirements

I had also heard Lim Hyeong-jun speak about working at an international organization. A talk could give me a sense of what a person in that line of work had found useful.

Relevant graduate study can matter for some professional positions. The required education and experience depend on the vacancy. Some programmes admit candidates with a bachelor’s degree.

The UN has six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The Secretariat’s working languages are English and French. Additional languages can help, and the vacancy sets out what a given role requires.

I valued the book for letting me hear fifteen people explain what they learned in the work. That was the part an official posting could not have told me.

I kept one thought from Choi Jun-hui’s piece: there is something to be said for making the most of the choice you have already made.

Book details

Fifteen Stories of Interning at International Organizations

Editor

Lee Jong-hyeon

Published

October 14, 2011

ISBN-13

9788997170029

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