Many often view international organisations as enigmatic, seemingly impenetrable fortresses. There's a pervasive belief that securing a position within such establishments is an arduous task. However, that's not necessarily the case. In fact, these organisations often face their own set of challenges in finding suitable candidates, a subject we'll delve into in our forthcoming posts.
If you're a university graduate, there's a wide spectrum of opportunities in various international organisations around the globe. And for those with secondary education, there are ample roles within such organisations' offices right in your home country.
Arguably, the most pivotal skill in this journey is proficiency in English. We'll touch on the required competency level in our future discussions.
If you're a university graduate, there's a wide spectrum of opportunities in various international organisations around the globe. And for those with secondary education, there are ample roles within such organisations' offices right in your home country.
Arguably, the most pivotal skill in this journey is proficiency in English. We'll touch on the required competency level in our future discussions.
So, on the English language's role in international organisations. Let's dive a little deeper into that.
You might be surprised to learn that the language of international communication isn't perfect English - it's what we might affectionately term 'crappy English'.
Numerous UN officials and international organisation representatives might not have flawless English, yet they wield the language effectively to get their point across. Often, cultural nuances come into play. For instance, a Latin American with a very basic grasp of English may come across as more eloquent than a proficient English speaker from Eastern Europe.
And about accents - they're not the be-all and end-all. Your accent isn’t something to be hidden or corrected; it's a part of who you are. Sure, clarity and comprehensibility matter, but let your accent shine - it's a badge of your unique cultural heritage in the diverse world of international communication.
You might be surprised to learn that the language of international communication isn't perfect English - it's what we might affectionately term 'crappy English'.
Numerous UN officials and international organisation representatives might not have flawless English, yet they wield the language effectively to get their point across. Often, cultural nuances come into play. For instance, a Latin American with a very basic grasp of English may come across as more eloquent than a proficient English speaker from Eastern Europe.
And about accents - they're not the be-all and end-all. Your accent isn’t something to be hidden or corrected; it's a part of who you are. Sure, clarity and comprehensibility matter, but let your accent shine - it's a badge of your unique cultural heritage in the diverse world of international communication.
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Have you ever wondered if your chances of getting a job at an international organisation are higher than winning the lottery? You're not alone.
In reality, there are numerous international organisations—about 160 that we know of, and we're sure there are many more out there. Some of these organisations are in expansion mode and are recruiting like there's no tomorrow.
Just to give you an idea, over the past week alone, the UN system published over 90 job vacancies, and this is during the summer lull season.
We'll be sharing job vacancy statistics on this channel from time to time, to show you the plethora of opportunities that await in international organisations.
In reality, there are numerous international organisations—about 160 that we know of, and we're sure there are many more out there. Some of these organisations are in expansion mode and are recruiting like there's no tomorrow.
Just to give you an idea, over the past week alone, the UN system published over 90 job vacancies, and this is during the summer lull season.
We'll be sharing job vacancy statistics on this channel from time to time, to show you the plethora of opportunities that await in international organisations.
A little secret hidden in plain sight is how international organisations often downplay their financial attractiveness to prospective employees. It's a strange phenomenon, but it is true - you'll often not find complete details about compensation in a vacancy announcement.
The reasons? Unknown. It may have to do with the desire to hide the fact that international civil servants are quite well-off from the general public and taxpayers. The official explanation is typically that everything apart from the base salary varies based on individual circumstances, making it risky to include in the vacancy announcement.
As usual, civil servants have a rich benefits package. Let's use the UN as an example (although other international organisations offer the same or sometimes even better conditions). Along with your base salary at the UN, you'll get:
💰"Post adjustment": a variable payment based on your duty station. For locations in Europe and North America, this can add up to 50% of your base salary.
👵 Pension fund: The UN offers a generous pension scheme. You're entitled to a UN pension after just five years of service, and your UN pension can outstrip any national pension benefit you might earn over a 40-year-long career in just a few years.
🍼 Dependency allowance: a subsidy for a spouse with income below the UN threshold, small children, and children in education.
🎓 "Education grant": The organisation compensates up to 80% of expenses for your children's secondary and higher education, which can equate to tens of thousands of dollars per year.
🪑 Appointment and repatriation grants: The UN compensates for the cost of moving your family and personal belongings when you start or finish employment with them, with typically generous lump sum payments.
✈️ Home leave: Every two years, internationally recruited staff and their families receive free travel to their home country.
🏠 Rental subsidy: The organisation compensates your rent so it doesn't exceed about 30% of your salary, which can be thousands of dollars per month in high-rent locations.
This is just the tip of the iceberg - there are many more benefits. So if you're a high-earning professional, don't be too quick to dismiss international organisations because "they don't pay enough".
The reasons? Unknown. It may have to do with the desire to hide the fact that international civil servants are quite well-off from the general public and taxpayers. The official explanation is typically that everything apart from the base salary varies based on individual circumstances, making it risky to include in the vacancy announcement.
As usual, civil servants have a rich benefits package. Let's use the UN as an example (although other international organisations offer the same or sometimes even better conditions). Along with your base salary at the UN, you'll get:
💰"Post adjustment": a variable payment based on your duty station. For locations in Europe and North America, this can add up to 50% of your base salary.
👵 Pension fund: The UN offers a generous pension scheme. You're entitled to a UN pension after just five years of service, and your UN pension can outstrip any national pension benefit you might earn over a 40-year-long career in just a few years.
🍼 Dependency allowance: a subsidy for a spouse with income below the UN threshold, small children, and children in education.
🎓 "Education grant": The organisation compensates up to 80% of expenses for your children's secondary and higher education, which can equate to tens of thousands of dollars per year.
🪑 Appointment and repatriation grants: The UN compensates for the cost of moving your family and personal belongings when you start or finish employment with them, with typically generous lump sum payments.
✈️ Home leave: Every two years, internationally recruited staff and their families receive free travel to their home country.
🏠 Rental subsidy: The organisation compensates your rent so it doesn't exceed about 30% of your salary, which can be thousands of dollars per month in high-rent locations.
This is just the tip of the iceberg - there are many more benefits. So if you're a high-earning professional, don't be too quick to dismiss international organisations because "they don't pay enough".
Alright folks, let's talk about the selection process within international organisations. Here's an overview of the process:
📄 Application: When applying, you don't just submit a CV. Nope, you'll need to fill out a form with some unusually detailed information about yourself. The UN calls this a "personal history form" or P.11. You can see an example attached to the next message.
🥱 Acknowledgment and Waiting: After you've hit submit, the organisation will let you know they've got your application. Then comes the waiting game - it can take weeks, if not months, for them to get back to you.
🔍 HR Screening: The first step is HR screening. They'll look at your education, experience, any potential criminal convictions, age, and so on to determine if you're formally eligible. Those who are, get put on the 'eligible' list, and those who aren't, on the 'ineligible'. Don't lose heart if you're on the latter. Sometimes, hiring managers sift through the ineligible pile for an overlooked gem, although it's not common.
✂️ Shortlisting: Then, the hiring manager takes over and shortlists the candidates. They'll decide who's the most likely to be suitable for the job, which can be a pretty subjective process.
🧪 Pre-Interview Test: To whittle down the list of candidates even further, some organisations administer a test. This could be about hard skills you'd need for the job. The top scorers then proceed to the next step.
👨👩👧👦 Competency-Based Interview: Next up, an interview. Depending on the grade of the job, this might be a video interview or an in-person panel interview with agency staff who are at or above the level of the post.
✍️ Selection Report: Once the interviews are done, the hiring manager writes up a report about the selection process. This might include their recommendations on who to hire, and who to put on a 'roster for appointment'. This report needs to be agreed upon by everyone on the panel.
🧐 Review Board: Before any final decisions are made, a 'review board' scrutinizes each recruitment action to make sure the process was fair.
💀 Executive Decision: Then, the executive of the agency makes the final decision. They could factor in things like gender or country representation in their agency.
🥂 Offer of Employment: If you're the lucky one who gets picked, HR will send you an offer. It might be negotiable, so don't be too quick to sign on the dotted line.
😭 Notification for Unsuccessful Candidates: If you didn't get the job, you'll only hear about it once someone else has accepted the offer. This could be several months after the application deadline.
The process might differ slightly from one agency to another, but this is a rough guide of what to expect.
This might seem like a drawn-out, convoluted process, but remember, you're dealing with large international organisations. Bureaucracy and collective decision-making is the name of the game.
Which steps would you like me to elaborate more?
📄 Application: When applying, you don't just submit a CV. Nope, you'll need to fill out a form with some unusually detailed information about yourself. The UN calls this a "personal history form" or P.11. You can see an example attached to the next message.
🥱 Acknowledgment and Waiting: After you've hit submit, the organisation will let you know they've got your application. Then comes the waiting game - it can take weeks, if not months, for them to get back to you.
✂️ Shortlisting: Then, the hiring manager takes over and shortlists the candidates. They'll decide who's the most likely to be suitable for the job, which can be a pretty subjective process.
🧪 Pre-Interview Test: To whittle down the list of candidates even further, some organisations administer a test. This could be about hard skills you'd need for the job. The top scorers then proceed to the next step.
👨👩👧👦 Competency-Based Interview: Next up, an interview. Depending on the grade of the job, this might be a video interview or an in-person panel interview with agency staff who are at or above the level of the post.
✍️ Selection Report: Once the interviews are done, the hiring manager writes up a report about the selection process. This might include their recommendations on who to hire, and who to put on a 'roster for appointment'. This report needs to be agreed upon by everyone on the panel.
🧐 Review Board: Before any final decisions are made, a 'review board' scrutinizes each recruitment action to make sure the process was fair.
💀 Executive Decision: Then, the executive of the agency makes the final decision. They could factor in things like gender or country representation in their agency.
🥂 Offer of Employment: If you're the lucky one who gets picked, HR will send you an offer. It might be negotiable, so don't be too quick to sign on the dotted line.
The process might differ slightly from one agency to another, but this is a rough guide of what to expect.
This might seem like a drawn-out, convoluted process, but remember, you're dealing with large international organisations. Bureaucracy and collective decision-making is the name of the game.
Which steps would you like me to elaborate more?
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P11.pdf
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Sample personal history form used by the UNICEF
Are you pondering whether you're at the right point in your career to join an international organization? Understanding the types of employment that exist can guide you on when it might be most advantageous or easiest for you to join. Let's delve into these categories using the UN system as an example.
🎓 Professional and Higher Categories (P and D): Mostly located at the headquarters locations, P and D staff require higher education and a variable number of years in relevant experience. These prestigious positions offer full international benefits and are highly sought after. The nuances of "relevant experience" and its calculation will be further explored in a future post.
✍🏻 General Services (G or GS): Recruited locally, G staff must possess secondary education and some years of experience in roles such as secretarial assistance, office support, and logistics. Although not as lucrative as P and D positions, their compensation most often surpasses similar non-UN jobs at the same location. The potential risks and further details of joining as G staff will be elaborated upon later.
🪖 Field Service Staff: Specializing in peace-keeping missions and UN telecommunications systems, these staff members may have lower base salaries but are compensated with field-related benefits. They are internationally recruited and enjoy a range of international benefits.
👨🚒 National Professional Officers (NPOs): Reserved for nationals of the employment country, NPOs engage in professional-level work with local salary scales and a reduced benefits package. These localized positions offer unique career opportunities.
👨🎓 Interns: The UN's internship programs, often unpaid but sometimes offering a small living allowance, provides international recruitment and usually lacks benefits like relocation assistance. Despite well-founded criticism for favoring those with substantial means, internships can be a stepping stone into a UN career.
We will look at other ways of working for the UN, like becoming a Junior Professional Officer (JPO), a UN Volunteer, working as a consultant or a contractor in our future posts.
With 5-15 years of relevant experience, Mid-career Professionals and General Service Staff stand as the most sought after in the UN system, mirroring needs of other industries.
The intricate world of UN recruitment offers diverse opportunities for a range of skills and experiences. Whether it is the right time for you to consider joining depends on many factors, which we'll delve into in subsequent posts, including topics like negotiating employment offers and understanding the unique aspects of each employment category.
🎓 Professional and Higher Categories (P and D): Mostly located at the headquarters locations, P and D staff require higher education and a variable number of years in relevant experience. These prestigious positions offer full international benefits and are highly sought after. The nuances of "relevant experience" and its calculation will be further explored in a future post.
✍🏻 General Services (G or GS): Recruited locally, G staff must possess secondary education and some years of experience in roles such as secretarial assistance, office support, and logistics. Although not as lucrative as P and D positions, their compensation most often surpasses similar non-UN jobs at the same location. The potential risks and further details of joining as G staff will be elaborated upon later.
🪖 Field Service Staff: Specializing in peace-keeping missions and UN telecommunications systems, these staff members may have lower base salaries but are compensated with field-related benefits. They are internationally recruited and enjoy a range of international benefits.
👨🚒 National Professional Officers (NPOs): Reserved for nationals of the employment country, NPOs engage in professional-level work with local salary scales and a reduced benefits package. These localized positions offer unique career opportunities.
👨🎓 Interns: The UN's internship programs, often unpaid but sometimes offering a small living allowance, provides international recruitment and usually lacks benefits like relocation assistance. Despite well-founded criticism for favoring those with substantial means, internships can be a stepping stone into a UN career.
We will look at other ways of working for the UN, like becoming a Junior Professional Officer (JPO), a UN Volunteer, working as a consultant or a contractor in our future posts.
With 5-15 years of relevant experience, Mid-career Professionals and General Service Staff stand as the most sought after in the UN system, mirroring needs of other industries.
The intricate world of UN recruitment offers diverse opportunities for a range of skills and experiences. Whether it is the right time for you to consider joining depends on many factors, which we'll delve into in subsequent posts, including topics like negotiating employment offers and understanding the unique aspects of each employment category.
In our previous post, we highlighted the risks of accepting a GS position. To comprehend these risks fully, let's delve into how the "years of relevant experience" are evaluated:
Education Levels:
Experience starts counting from:
🧑🎓 The moment you graduate from high school or its equivalent if the position requires "completed secondary education" (typically for GS staff).
🎓 The time you received your bachelor's degree if a "university degree" is needed (usually for P1 or P2 levels).
😅 Upon obtaining your Master's if an "advanced university degree" is required. Sometimes, positions might note that a Bachelor's degree combined with extra experience could compensate for the lack of an advanced degree. This often implies a deduction of two or three years from your professional experience to ascertain eligibility.
Relevance of Experience
Experience should align closely with the job description and setting. If it doesn't match, the years might be considered only partially relevant, applying a reduction coefficient (like 0.5 or 0.25), or dismissed entirely.
🕸 A Significant Challenge here: For P positions, relevant professional experience is a must. Accepting a GS role means any UN experience you gain won't be seen as "professional," irrespective of your academic qualifications before or after joining the UN. Essentially, you find yourself anchored to the GS track permanently.
✳️ Internal Promotions: While some agencies acknowledge this issue and initiate "G to P" programs outlining conditions for GS staff to ascend to the P category, these paths are often more stringent than the initial criteria for external P candidates.
Thus, a general guideline is: If you currently qualify for a P position, do not apply for GS positions. If you foresee acquiring a university degree soon, it might be more strategic to delay your aspirations of joining the UN.
Education Levels:
Experience starts counting from:
🧑🎓 The moment you graduate from high school or its equivalent if the position requires "completed secondary education" (typically for GS staff).
🎓 The time you received your bachelor's degree if a "university degree" is needed (usually for P1 or P2 levels).
😅 Upon obtaining your Master's if an "advanced university degree" is required. Sometimes, positions might note that a Bachelor's degree combined with extra experience could compensate for the lack of an advanced degree. This often implies a deduction of two or three years from your professional experience to ascertain eligibility.
Relevance of Experience
Experience should align closely with the job description and setting. If it doesn't match, the years might be considered only partially relevant, applying a reduction coefficient (like 0.5 or 0.25), or dismissed entirely.
🕸 A Significant Challenge here: For P positions, relevant professional experience is a must. Accepting a GS role means any UN experience you gain won't be seen as "professional," irrespective of your academic qualifications before or after joining the UN. Essentially, you find yourself anchored to the GS track permanently.
✳️ Internal Promotions: While some agencies acknowledge this issue and initiate "G to P" programs outlining conditions for GS staff to ascend to the P category, these paths are often more stringent than the initial criteria for external P candidates.
Thus, a general guideline is: If you currently qualify for a P position, do not apply for GS positions. If you foresee acquiring a university degree soon, it might be more strategic to delay your aspirations of joining the UN.
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