Interview for United Nations Job?

Question

Hi all,

I would like to know if someone of you ever had a Job interview with the UN. If so, what is the procedure and what are the questions? What happens there in general?

Thanks very much for honest answers.

Answer 1

I'd love to know what some of the questions that you get asked are.  Keep me updated, will you?

Answer 2

Jayne has hit it on the head.  My one suggestion is to try linking up with people in the discipline you are applying for; try doing an internship with one of the agencies you're interested in or the UN Volunteer program.  Each will give you the kind of inside information that makes you stand out in an interview - and maybe you'll meet movers and shakers.  The job types you have applied to - not my area to say the least - but as Jayne said the oral interview is make or break moment.  Some organizations ask you to under go a variety of test, though that's very rare.  what you will find these days is they will look very closely at your background - there has been a lot of problems over the recent past with people providing fake qualifications or qualifications bought over the Internet.

Answer 3

Interview for United Nations:

Thanks Dilia, for aswering my question yesterday about the UN Millennium Development Goals. That shows you're on the right wavelength, despite most of your pevious answers being about fashion, (I'm sure you're going to look good at the interview.)

Your previous respondent gave you some good tips about what different UN departments would expect. (I can't undersand why someody gave him a thumbs down.)

The trick is to get the interview in the first place. If you've already got a date, you've over the big hurdle. It you don't you, might post another question on how to apply for jobs, and I'll give some pointers.

A UN interview would not be much different from any other job interview. You really don't know what to expect, so you prepare for any eventuality. You will certainly want to check the department's web site inside out, so you can display backgound knowledge of them.

A large part of an interview would be checking on you personally; your personality, your appearance, your interests, your attentiveness, your degree of confidence, etc., etc. It's hard to know what they're looking for, but  the personality of the interviewer(s) might give you some clues.

Of course, you will have studied the Job Description very carefully, and have a good story ready for any question on these.

At the end, they usually ask if you have anything else to say, or ask. Be ready for this, and ask them something intelligent. Please don't ask about pay, but show you're interested in advancing in the organizaion.

Good luck.

Answer 4

You mean a job with a UN agency, such as UNICEF, UNESCO, UNDP, UNIFEM, etc.? Or a job with the UN Secretariat? There is no standard format for questions. If you are lucky enough to be interviewed, you will be asked questions relating directly to the type of situations you would face in that particular job, and how you would address these situations, as well as information on your past work that relates to what you would be doing for whatever job you are applying for.

ADDITIONS:

Every UN agency is *completely* different. They do not operate the same way. I cannot make a blanket statement about every UN agency regarding what your interview would be like and what the screening process will be, aside from what I've already said.

If you have applied for human rights-related positions, then if you are lucky enough to be interviewed, you are going to be asked about your experience working for human rights to date. If you have applied for criminal law positions, you are going to be asked questions about your experiences in criminal law. The questions will be very specific, and based on the job description.

"Is the interview mainly oral or is there a written examination too?"

It depends on the agency, the job, and the preference of the person that's going to hire.

Most UN agency jobs receive at least a few *hundred* applications; your chance of being interviewed for any one position are quite low unless you not only *perfectly* match what is asked for in the job description in terms of language abilities, academic background, work experience, etc., but that you also represent a country/region that's under-represented in that particular office/division or that is the same as a major donor country to the agency or program you are applying for, and that you also have some experience working with a UN agency (such as in partnership while working with an INGO or government agency).