How to get a job at unesco. How to take part in UN humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, with further employment in the UN? About UN Radio

Working in a team with people from different parts of the world, participating in decision-making that affects global politics, traveling to different countries - a career in international organizations has a number of advantages.

There is no universal recipe for making a career in an international organization. "Viele Wege führen nach oben," says Hans Willmann, host of the podium discussion "Careers in International Associations and Organizations" at the German Foreign Ministry at the end of January. "There are many paths leading to the cherished goal", but these are not always wide straight highways with signs; often you have to tread a bypass path on your own - through practices, internships and volunteer programs.

United Nations

United Nations building in New York

The United Nations, the largest international organization, needs no special introduction. Created at the end of World War II, today it has 192 countries, including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Germany. The working languages ​​of the UN are English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.

"The United Nations Secretariat is constantly looking for knowledgeable and hardworking specialists of various profiles from different regions of the world," - these words open the "Employment Opportunities" section on the organization's official website. Getting into the UN is not easy, but nothing is impossible. In order to maintain a "geographical balance", the selection of employees to the UN Secretariat is carried out on a national basis within the framework of the National Competitive Recruitment Examinations (NCRE) program.

Every year, the organization's website publishes a list of countries whose citizens can apply for employment in the most important body of the UN. Russia and Germany are widely represented in the Secretariat, so in 2009 neither Russians nor Germans were recruited. "At the moment, the recruitment system in the UN Secretariat is being reformed. The electronic system "Galaxy" in the spring of 2010 will be replaced by a new, improved program," - says an employee of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Theresia Redigolo (Theresia Redigolo). She advises to regularly visit the organization's website and check if there are any quotas for recruiting employees from your country in the current year. The start of the qualifying round for the NCRE program is in August.

Practice at the UN

Getting an internship at the United Nations is easier than getting a job there. For example, an internship at the New York headquarters is theoretically open to any senior student who is studying a specialty related to the work of the UN (international relations, law, economics, political science, journalism, demography, translation, public administration), is fluent in English or French and ... able to independently take care of the financing of the practice.

The UN budget does not include funds for the payment of fees to interns. Experts estimate the cost of living in New York at five thousand dollars a month. If this amount did not scare you away - the next deadline for applying for a two-month internship in New York (The United Nations Headquarters Internship Program) in September-November 2010 is mid-May.

You can, of course, find a city where the cost of living is not as high as in New York for an internship at the UN or one of the related organizations (UNICEF, UNESCO, WTO and others). For example, Nairobi, Madrid, Hamburg, Bangkok or Turin. A list of current vacancies can be found at the link at the bottom of the article.

OSCE

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe includes 56 countries, including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Germany. The history of the OSCE goes back to 1973-1975, when at the peak of the Cold War the warring parties at a meeting in Helsinki decided to conclude a truce. The goals of the organization are conflict prevention and crisis management. The official languages ​​are English, German, Spanish, French, Italian and Russian.

Christo Polendakov

A great way to try out for the OSCE is the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) program. "The program includes three months of work in the secretariat in Vienna and six months of so-called "field work" in the OSCE representations in Central Asia, the Caucasus, South-East Europe or the Balkans," says Head of the OSCE Recruitment Section Kristo Polendakov ( Christo Polendakov).

Participants of the JPO program receive about a thousand euros per month. "This is not a lot of money, but practice shows that this is enough. The main "profit" of the program interns is the experience gained," adds Kristo Polendakov. This experience provides, according to him, advantages when applying for work in the OSCE, but does not guarantee employment.

The OSCE staff member notes that the university that the candidate graduated from also plays an important role in the selection of personnel. "Cambridge, Oxford and MGIMO are a sign of quality. However, in the modern world, the requirements are much wider. The knowledge of any of us can be useful in a certain situation. You need to be in the right place at the right time," says Kristo Polendakov, himself a graduate of MGIMO.

Practice in the OSCE

Practice in the OSCE - invaluable experience

You can take an internship at the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna or at one of the offices in the Czech Republic, Moldova, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan or Ukraine. There is no OSCE office in Russia, the nearest representations are in Minsk and Kyiv.

Practice in the OSCE lasts from two to six months and is not paid. Students of the last courses not older than 30 years old from countries that are members of the organization can apply. To do this, you need to fill out a questionnaire on the OSCE website and send it along with an essay in which you need to justify your desire to do an internship, and (optionally) a CV by e-mail or regular mail three months before the planned start of the internship.

European Union

Plenary Hall of the European Parliament, Brussels

Citizens of countries outside the European Union, the entrance to the EU as employees, in theory, ordered. However, there are no rules without exceptions. "If a candidate from Russia, for example, wants to do an internship under a member of the European Parliament who deals with EU-Russia relations, then an exception can be made for him," says Brigitte Müller-Reck, an employee of the European Parliament's personnel department. ).

Another opportunity to get an internship in the European Parliament is the Robert Schumann Scholarship (Robert-Schuman-Praktikum). It is of two types - for all specialties and for journalists. One of the conditions is that the candidate must be a graduate of a university in one of the EU member states. The practice lasts five months. The nearest deadline for submitting documents is from March 15 to April 15.

Russian Irina Figut participated in the Robert Schumann program in the fall of 2008. Her tasks included communicating with the press and working on a corporate publication. “I did an internship at the European Parliament in Luxembourg. But we also attended sections in Brussels and Strasbourg,” says Irina. She especially liked to watch the parliamentary sessions, and to be an eyewitness of how the voting takes place and political decisions important for the whole world are made.

Context

How to find a place for an internship, how to properly prepare for it, and what should you pay attention to when receiving a certificate of completion? The answers to these and other questions can be found in the Deutsche Welle Help. (30.04.2009)

The Russian-speaking diplomat spoke incognito about her experience of moving to the United States. Photo depositphotos.com

A Russian-speaking diplomat incognito told ForumDaily about her experience of moving to the United States and how the diplomatic statute interferes with renting housing.

Living in the USA has become for me rather a consequence than a cause or even a purpose of life. And if everything started as a temporary phenomenon, now, after about nine years, I remember the saying:

"Nothing is more permanent than temporary."

Since 2007, I have been living in New York, where I arrived on a United Nations (UN) work visa. The United Nations Diplomatic Visa was issued on the basis that I was selected to be an assistant in one of the departments of the Secretariat. I remember receiving an email from New York City from a Human Resources representative on August 29th: “Congratulations on your position…see you back at work October 1st.” I immediately answered in the affirmative and began collecting documentation and medical certificates for obtaining a visa.

From receiving the signed contract to the interview at the Embassy, ​​no more than two weeks passed. The interview was short and went without much delay, since I had all the necessary documents on hand, and the UN itself sent a special letter directly to the Embassy, ​​confirming my status and the duration of the contract - 3 months with the possibility of extension with satisfactory work and the availability of funds from the host me of the department.

With a three-month visa in hand, a return ticket and three suitcases of autumn and winter things, I flew to a country that was very distant and alien to me. Far away, both in distance and culturally. But since it was the headquarters of my dream organization, I knew that I would not miss this chance, and the fear of the unknown would not become an obstacle. After all, you don’t want to regret it for the rest of your life, right? And I can always go home.

Until now, many years later, I am very grateful to local friends - a married couple from Puerto Rico, who met me at the airport and sheltered me for the first time until I found an apartment for myself.

Since my work contract began on October 1, I did not have enough time and knowledge to quickly figure out where and how to look for housing, what it costs, what a social security number is, why you need to open a credit card and have some permanent or temporary address of residence in the United States. At work, new employees were not provided with any assistance in moving to New York. These were supposed to be personal problems that you solve yourself and do not cause headaches to your superiors. All they helped me with on the spot was documentation for opening an account with the UN Credit Union bank, to which my salary was transferred.

The salary, after subtracting the required amount for food, travel, telephone and other minimum line expenses, allowed you to rent either a small apartment outside of Manhattan Island, or a room somewhere in the city, in the area where Columbia University students live (Harlem). With that in mind, I took to the internet and methodically wrote letters in response to apartment listings using the craigslist page. It is noteworthy that even today, with much more advanced housing search resources, this service is still very popular among users, as it collects data on the supply and demand of a wide variety of goods and services in all cities and states of the United States.

The first weeks of attempts to see the apartments were unsuccessful. All brokers, namely they, as a rule, put up apartments for sale or rent, refused and shrugged their hands in helplessness. “Do you only have a contract for 3 months (apartments are usually rented for a year)? No social security number (meaning a foreign tourist with no long-term prospect of staying in the US)? What is your credit history? How "no credit history"!? Without it, we cannot process you, because we do not know about your solvency! What kind of visa are you on here - diplomatic? Does that mean you won't be held accountable? Do you have a local trustee who will vouch for you in case of early departure from the apartment (after three months, based on the logic of the contract) and who will pay your annual rent?

By the way, the status of a “UN employee-diplomat” and a diplomatic visa to the United States not only did not come in handy for me, but only exacerbated the difficult situation with finding housing.

Americans, for various reasons, believe that the UN is a structure of dependents and freeloaders who need to be dissolved, since the organization is inefficient and only spends their money from taxes paid to the state. In addition, in their opinion, the status of a diplomat implies only privileges and immunity, while there are no obligations to the US authorities and law. In the event of any offense, they cannot be called to account, and they will calmly “fly away” home without paying utility bills or rent, leaving the owner of the apartment with nothing. When I, naive, said where I work, a couple of brokers simply interrupted the conversation in mid-sentence. Over time, I no longer mentioned the words “diplomatic visa” unnecessarily.

I remember another funny case of calling brokers in the Brighton Beach area of ​​Brooklyn, where Russian-speaking immigrants live who left the post-Soviet republics or Israel in the 1970-90s. The first words of the broker were in polite English, the conversation began with standard questions about the contract and status in America. Realizing that I was also speaking Russian, the interlocutor switched to Russian, changing his businesslike tone to: “in short, give us $2,000, and we will try to persuade the community at home so that your documents are not so carefully examined.” I did not want to give away my savings for nothing, without a guarantee of a positive response, so I ended the conversation on this “corrupt” note.

After six weeks of non-stop searching for housing (on weekends and late evenings), working days (ten hours at work and three hours on the road from home to office and back), I despaired of finding anything. But I did not want to sit on the neck of my friends, although they morally supported me and never hinted that it was time to move out.

As a result, I settled on the option of living in the suburbs of Manhattan, in a four-room apartment, furnished rooms in which were rented out on a monthly basis. The cost - as I understand it now - was very high ($ 700 per month). I had to share the kitchen and bathroom with three other tenants. Was I delighted with the "Obshchakovsky" living in a small room without windows, where it was cold all the time (without central heating), but only with a portable electric heater? Of course not, but in the absence of alternatives, and for this option, I was grateful to fate.

Already a year and a half later, when the market conditions changed due to the financial crisis of 2008-09, having issued a temporary social security number and a couple of credit cards (and thanks to them my credit history somehow began to appear), I began to look more solvent in in the eyes of brokers and still found a studio in Manhattan. By that time, I already knew how to bargain and bring down the price, and also spoke more perfect English.

My first experience in the country was unforgettable and very rewarding.

I think it was a very good test of survival - in a country where you are an outsider, whose accent language you do not always understand and feel like just an unwanted immigrant.

This country and its harsh conditions harden you, making you stronger and more experienced. I do not know how long my short-term contracts with the UN will be extended, and, accordingly, how long my notorious “diplomatic visa” will be. But I know one thing - after America, I'm no longer afraid to be in any corner of the world.

The world is looking to the United Nations to meet difficult challenges. The issues addressed by the UN are as diverse as the career opportunities on offer. The activities of the UN cover all the challenges that humanity faces: peace and security, human rights, humanitarian activities, socio-economic development and much more. By working in the United Nations, you get moral satisfaction, because you work not only for the UN - you work for the benefit of all mankind, you want to make the world a better place.

How to apply for a job

All vacancies in the UN Secretariat are published on the website. Persons with disabilities may apply for employment with the United Nations for all types of contracts, in full compliance with the UN Charter. The organization offers various ways of employment. Jobs in the Professional category must be applied through the website Career Portal or pass the relevant exams. For positions in the General Service and related categories, including secretarial, labor, safety and security, and other support positions, please apply directly to your local UN office in your country.

Competitive exams

Associate Expert Program

Employment opportunities in the UN system

If you are interested in working for other agencies, funds and programs of the United Nations, you can find the information you need on the relevant websites. Links to most websites are on the International Civil Service Commission page.

Memo to candidates

Job advertisements and job offers sometimes claim that employers are affiliated with the United Nations. Please note that the United Nations does not require payment at any stage of the application process. More about .

Volunteers

You can contribute to improving people's lives by becoming a volunteer. The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program is based in Bonn, Germany and operates in 100 countries around the world. Work can be done both locally and online.

On the one hand, it is not difficult, on the other hand, a lot depends not on you. First of all, the number of places (quotas for people) from each country is limited. It is also best that you match the required vacancy at the UN. Most often, the UN mission requires doctors, teachers, social workers, volunteers, lawyers, administrative staff and even experts in the economy (if we are talking about humanitarian missions).

The requirements for volunteers and interns are much less. For a lawyer or even a translator, you will need a master's degree and work experience. In addition, you need to know 2-3 languages ​​from the official languages ​​of the UN. For example, Russian + English (required as the language of international cooperation). Plus, you need the language of the region in which you are transferred.

Interns are usually students, both local and foreign. This is unpaid work, often not full-time. In time, it can last six months. After the "internship" you can not immediately apply for vacancies, you need to wait at least a year. These are the rules adopted by the UN. A service contract with long-term consultants is also possible. Usually these are contracts for 6-12 months, possibly with renewal. This is a project, not a permanent job. Another employment option: a short contract is concluded with local consultants for 3-6 months for piece work.

Another large group are international employees. Usually these are professional employees with an annually renewed contract. The wages here are naturally higher, since they live in a foreign country. If there is a family, then the payment increases slightly.

In addition, there are international consultants. A contract with them can be concluded for a certain number of days. The requirements for candidates are very high and, of course, they receive an appropriate salary.

If we are talking about UN peacekeeping operations, then personnel are recruited from professional military or reserve officers of the UN member countries.

To apply, you need to download Form P-11 from the official website. It is a simple questionnaire that you fill out and send by e-mail. Then a commission of 3-5 people reviews it anonymously and makes a decision. This is followed by an interview with the candidate. You can see in advance where the UN missions are located and answer in the language of the country where you want to go.

Your active work as a student or your active civic activity are valued. For example, election observer, student parliament, participation in UN models, donation, volunteering.

Plus, yes, you're right, mission specific. It's one thing if it's a humanitarian mission to help children, then teachers and pediatricians are needed. It's another matter if the recovery after disasters, then engineers, builders, designers and the same volunteers are needed.

And again, if you are a volunteer or temporary employee, then you are taken on some kind of mission, if you are a permanent employee, then your versatility and the ability to help in different places are appreciated, for example, if you are a doctor.

Reply

Comment

Vladislav Satisfied, a former intern at the Department of Political Affairs for Central and Central Asia at the United Nations Office in New York, told how one can complete an internship without knowing the language, meet the minister during lunch, and why it is impossible to get a job at the UN.

Why the UN?

There was no desire to get specifically to the UN, there was an interest just to go on an internship abroad. At that time, it was a huge adventure, since I never studied English in depth and, accordingly, knew the language very poorly (approx. Vlad's profile language is German). When I arrived in the US, I had several pages of text written by my girlfriend with me:
what I had to say at customs to get me into the country.

What was the procedure for applying for an internship?

It was necessary to fill out a questionnaire, write a motivation letter and provide confirmation from the university department that we have English in the teaching load. I filled out the questionnaire somewhere in September and already before the new year I received a confirmation letter that I was accepted for an internship, a list of necessary documents for applying for a visa was also attached to the letter.

How did you manage to overcome the language barrier?

I was lucky, the head of the department, like my curator Brian, knew Russian. I can’t imagine how I would have done my internship if there weren’t people there who don’t understand Russian or are unable to say something in it. Otherwise, all my communication with them would be reduced to communication by email.

What were your responsibilities?

My job was pretty simple. I needed to track the events that took place in Central and Central Asia via the Internet. For this work, they were specifically looking for an intern from Russia, since in Central and Central Asia you can find more information in Russian than in English.

Describe the everyday life of a UN intern.

My working day began formally at 9 am, but here is the story: everyone was usually late for 20-30 minutes, that is, if you come at 9:30, then no one tells you anything, if you come at 10 am, they can make you remark, but later to come is already “not comme il faut”. I arrived at 9:30, in fact, like most of the department's employees. I had a general job, monitoring sites, collecting information on various policies, on the situation with water in a given region, that is, local questions on a specific place: what is happening in this region, who controls what, what moods, etc. Some collection of information. In addition, there were some questions related to private assignments. For example, one day an online meeting was organized between representatives of the central, Geneva and Kyrgyz offices, I had to make a report of this meeting. This was one of the most difficult tasks for me, because when 5-6 people speak a lot and very quickly, it is difficult to understand and take notes at the same time. I asked the curator if I could use a voice recorder and they told me that it was not possible, as this was classified information. However, I understood that without a voice recorder I would fail the task, so I hid the recorder in my shirt pocket and already at home transcribed the recording, which I deleted immediately after compiling the report and so far I have not told anyone what we were talking about then.
I was not particularly loaded for two reasons. The first is my low level of language, and the second is the high level of secrecy. The information that I collected is not secret, however, a further report to the management with certain conclusions drawn on the basis of the information I collected was marked “secret”.
Once a week, on Thursdays, we had a "week meeting" analogous to the Russian "letuchki". We talked about what the department is doing, what data is needed, what was done in a week. Thursday is a very convenient day, because if something needs to be completed this week, then there is still Friday.

What interesting things happened during off-duty hours?

At lunchtime, you can go to the "brown rally". The idea of ​​a “brown rally” is simple: in one of the conference halls of the UN building, employees gather for lunch, and at the same time they listen to speakers, ask questions, discuss, i.e. combine the pleasant with the useful. In fact, this is another “working meeting”, only you can also eat at it. Moreover, high-level people speak at these meetings, for example, once I listened to a speech by a deputy minister, and another time by an ambassador. What was strange to me was how a person can eat their own burger and ask the minister about the report at the same time. I can hardly imagine how I would eat during the speech of the dean at my faculty, or how the chairman of the committee of the city government at a meeting in Smolny would tell something to chewing people.

Were there any special events for interns?

I was the only trainee in my department. As a rule, there was one trainee in each department, but if the department is large, then two trainees worked. During my internship, 300 interns worked at the UN Headquarters in New York. We were given orientation lectures in the first days, where we were told about safety and other aspects of the work of interns.
Interns were given special cards to enter the UN building. The same cards provided the right to free admission to various cultural institutions, such as museums.

How realistic is it to get a job at the UN after an internship?

There is practically no chance. In order to officially get a job at the UN, you must work "in the fields." These are UN missions in developing countries, lasting 2-3 years, which are also very difficult to get into without practical skills. After that, you get in line for a vacant position. In addition, the number of languages ​​​​that you know is of great importance - the more, the better. If you are still hired, then first you go through a long trial period, after the trial period they conclude a contract with you for one, then for two years, and so on. To reach the rank of department head, you must have worked in the organization for at least 15 years, excluding work in the fields.
The second option is when you have worked somewhere else, you are a valuable specialist and you are invited to the UN. So, some former diplomats of the post-Soviet space ended up working in this organization.
Third option. I still think there are other workarounds. We had one of the orientation lectures, led by a young man of 24 years old. He held a position that, due to age and formal requirements, he could not hold, but nevertheless, he worked at the UN.

Did the internship help with finding a job in Russia?

Employers are usually interested in practical work experience. I was almost never asked about an internship during employment. In general, an internship abroad usually tells the employer that the applicant speaks a foreign language at a level sufficient for communication. Although in my case, at that moment, this statement was controversial.