Tip #3 Strategies for a UN Job Search: Review Recruitment Options

Part 3 of a 5-Part Blog Series

By Katarina Holm-DiDio

Last week we blogged about how to increase your chances of being noticed when you apply for UN jobs by seeking opportunities with remote Duty Stations. Competition is high for the main Duty Stations and learning more about some of the other Duty Stations may work to your advantage. If you missed that blog, you can find it at Tip #2 Strategic Job Search for UN Jobs: Research the Duty Stations, or for the first part of this series, you can find it at Tip #1 Strategic Job Search for UN Jobs: Learn about the UNCS.

We will cover a new tip each week to help you with your UN job search. So be sure to return next week for the next tip! The 5 Tips are:

1. Learn what the United Nations Common System (UNCS) is and does.
2. Diversify your job search and research the Duty Stations.
3. Review the different recruitment programs and options to work at the UN.
4. Identify what the hiring UN organization is seeking.
5. Submit well-written, appropriate job applications.

This week we’ll share tips on the variety of recruitment programs that you may want to consider when applying for jobs at the UN.

TIP #3:  Review the different recruitment programs and options to work at the UN.

The most well-known hiring program is the UN Secretariat’s Young Professional’s Program or formerly called National Competitive Recruitment Exam. This is a great program to consider, but only if you are less than 32 years of age and represent the nationality and professional background that is pre-selected for the current year. For more information, review the UN Young Professional’s Program.

The UN Development Program (UNDP) has a similar program, called LEAD.  Find out more by going to UNDP LEAD Programme.

There is a bilateral program between a donor country and a UN Organization. To find out more, go to the UN Associates Expert Programme.

There are internship programs for those of you in graduate school. Each UN Organization and, in some cases, duty station has its own program and recruitment system for internships. Do your research to learn about the ones of interest to you! You can read more at UN Internship Programme.

For those over 32 years of age, there are other ways to get your foot in the UN:

Consultancies can be found either jointly listed with regular jobs or through the Procurement division at the UN Global Marketplace website. For access, you must first register as a vendor. Be sure to check out more information about the UN Global Marketplace where you will also find instructions on how to register as a vendor.

Lastly, you can find many UN jobs posted online, including international and local staff positions for field-based and HQ-based positions and Peacekeeping jobs. Check out the various resources to find these jobs at the UN Job List.

NOTE: If you are a member of Passport Career (meaning your organization or university/college pays for a license so that you have access), then you can access the all five tips immediately in the My Global Career Briefcase section. There are also many other tips and strategies available to you in this section. If your organization is interested in more information about how to purchase a license to access Passport Career’s 12,000+ pages of career information and resources for 250+ cities in 78 countries, contact info@passportcareer.com.

Katarina Holm-DiDio is a cross-cultural career consultant and trainer working with expatriates moving to the US and clients interested in global careers. She is also a cross-cultural trainer specialized in the US and the Nordic Countries and a columnist interpreting current events in the US for newspapers in Finland. She writes her own blog at KHD Consulting International’s Global Skills for Life and Work.