The United Nations was established in 1945 by 51 countries committed to preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security. Photo Credit: Flickr

Almost everyone who contemplates an international career, at one time or another envisions working for the United Nations (UN). While the organization has been criticized for its bureaucracy and some unsuccessful peacekeeping operations, it is also held as the pinnacle for promoting social development and peace and alleviating world poverty. As a work opportunity, employment in the United Nations Secretariat still holds unquestionable value.

As one professional working in the Secretariat said, "The chance to be a part of a truly global workforce, travel the world, and, most importantly, contribute to the mission of the UN charter, has provided a terrific, rewarding work experience."

The Reality of UN Employment

It is exceptionally competitive and very difficult to penetrate the UN system. This is the case for several reasons:

• The UN, in response to criticism (especially from the US Congress), has trimmed its staff and thus has fewer jobs.
• It's mostly only highly skilled specialists in need.
• The important caveat that the UN be representative of the constituency it serves, so it must balance its hiring with nationals from all over the world.

Despite criticism, the UN is held as the pinnacle for alleviating world poverty.

What does this mean? You have a much better chance of getting a job at the UN if you are from an underrepresented country; your odds are even better if you are a woman from an underrepresented country.


Where Would I Be Working?

The UN Secretariat is based in New York, but there are also UN Secretariat offices and related agencies in Chile, Geneva, Vienna, Bangkok and Nairobi. The staff is expected to rotate through different offices and spend a significant amount of their career in the field.

How Do I Get Started?

Junior professionals (a.k.a. P1 and P2) may only enter the UN system through National Competitive Recruitment Examinations. These exams, given annually, are administered to country nationals who are underrepresented in the UN system, and consequently the countries where the test is offered can change from year to year. Contact your country mission to the UN to find out if the exam will be offered there this year and to learn if you qualify in terms of age and educational background. Americans, take heart: For the first time in many years, the UN will offer the competitive exam at the P2 level for US citizens.

Students may have the easiest time gaining access to the world of work at the UN, because there is a large graduate school internship program.

Internships

Students may have the easiest time gaining access to the world of work at the UN, because there is a large internship program. However, undergraduates are not eligible to apply; UN Secretariat internships are only available for graduate students currently enrolled in a master's or doctoral program. Internships are offered three times a year: fall, spring and summer. Information on the internship program and how to apply is available through the UN Web site.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

The UN Secretariat has opportunities in several different areas, but social development and political affairs are two of the first area that come to mind when considering work at the UN. Jobs in social development focus on everything from humanitarian assistance and institutional development to the support for civil society, be it elections monitoring, popular participation or social welfare. Political affairs officers monitor political events in order to report to the Secretary-General on a variety of relevant issues.

Beyond those two fields, there are positions in administration, including human resources, logistics, procurement, telecommunications, technology and finance. Statisticians and economists are also needed to design and conduct research in a variety of areas relevant to the UN's work. And if you have a law background, the Secretariat has a legal division that employs lawyers from a variety of countries.

If you love languages and are fluent in one of the UN's six official languages, translators and interpreters are often needed.

Do you love language? If you are fluent in one of the UN's six official languages, translators and interpreters are often needed. If not, librarians provide assistance managing the large amounts of literature and archived documents. There are also public information specialists needed to educate citizens and promote the United Nations by explaining and publicizing its activities around the globe.

Peacekeeping Operations

Many individuals are interested in participating in one of the UN's peacekeeping missions abroad. The opportunities vary, from political affairs officers to back-office jobs in finance, logistics and human resources. As with other UN jobs, the system is incredibly hard to penetrate.

According to one individual currently working in the division, there are "literally thousands of resumes that have not yet been read" as there is no capacity to process the number of requests received. As is the case with many jobs in the Secretariat, jobs are often filled through word of mouth. It is incredibly hard to enter the system if you don't know someone within who can walk your resume through the UN hiring maze or someone on the outside with a great deal of influence who can make a telephone call.

---

References

United Nations Web Site




Contributed by Nina Segal, a career counselor with more than 10 years of experience in international work issues and coauthor of International Jobs: Where They Are and How To Get Them. Reprinted with permission from Monster. Copyright 2007 - Monster Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved. You may not copy, reproduce or distribute this article without the prior written permission of Monster Worldwide. This article first appeared on Monster, the leading online global network for careers. To see other career-related articles, visit Monster.

To read another Global Envision article about international career opportunities, see Becoming an Aid Worker.



Return to top