Ask Devex: Landing a job with the UN

Devex Executive Vice President Kate Warren returns to answer your career questions and help you land a job in the global development sector. This month’s Ask Devex looks at how to start working with the United Nations, among other common career challenges. The U.N. is a diverse organization with many different individual agencies, explains Warren. Each has their own way of hiring, working, and evaluating. It is important to acknowledge this and look at the individual agencies, she advises, to hone in on the agencies that best align with your experience and networks. Like many big organizations, landing a job with the U.N. is very much about networking. Many staff working there start out by doing consulting of some capacity, explains Warren. The organization is often interested in people who have experience working within the U.N. system and who understand how to navigate the bureaucracy there. “Often, the way people demonstrate that is by first starting out doing consulting work,” said Warren, “and then they might be able to transition into a full-time staff position.” Consulting assignments are not always posted, however, so it is important to build a strong network and tap into that network to stay informed of up-and-coming opportunities. “It does take a bit of legwork, but once you are in and have built a strong reputation for yourself, people tend to rely on those same consultants that they have worked with before and trust,” said Warren. Try to connect with people working in the U.N. agency you are most interested in, to get a sense gaps in your competencies, the language you are using or the techniques and approaches you are putting forward. “Make sure that you understand where you align with their approaches,” Warren advised, “and that you are really effectively communicating that and using the same language in your CV.”