Anyone working in an International Organization?
 

I'm pretty interested in working in an international organization in the future, like the UN or the World Bank. I was wondering if anyone here in TFP worked in such an organization, and if that was the case, how did you make it there? What was your education, what is the best way to enter such an organization? And how is it to work there? Thanks for the info.

ok, so i read this thread before and waited for someone to respond, but no one seems interested enough.. and i really do hate seeing a '0' next to replies after so long, so i guess ill give my input..especially since no one replies to my tibet thread in tfp-travel... but nevermind

other than the world bank what other orgs do u wnat to work for? what kind of experience do u have? how old are you? are u studying? maybe with that sort of info we could give you better feedback on what avenues you might have.

have u done any research on orgs? worldvision, red cross, red cresent, etc maybe try their websites. i know ive always been interested in org work, try their websites, im sure theres info about jobs there.

I have a friend who used to work for the Red Cross and is now a freelancer... she works in the field of economic sustainability (www.deborahdoane.com).

She did her masters at the London School of Economics. That's my connection to that world.


The key, if you don't know exatly what you want to do, is to network with the organizations that dlishsguy listed. Call them up and set up an interview with the local president or human resources and find out what sort of jobs they have available. Find out what qualifications are required then go get those qualifications.

I worked for the State Department in foreign service for a time. All you really need is to pass the foreign service exam and have a degree. From there on it gets more competitive based on experience. Degrees in econ, history and poly sci get some play depending on what you want to do.

Well thanks for your replies. I was looking more for information of people who've "been there".

There are two types of International Organizations:

Multinational Organizations: organizations that gather many countries, countries which themselves agree to follow the rules of such organizations. I am thinking of the World Bank, the UN... People are usually recruited on competitive exams and become international state servants, and some experts are hired.

NGO: these have no links with the political spheres (except for local collaborations). People who work there do it either voluntarily, or are recruited on their competences.

I'd like to work in the first type. I beleive these organizations have more impact on the lives of people, and policy making is somehow interesting to me. I can get to participate in great programs, or make analysises on perticular situations.

My questions were more about these organizations:
What education is best suited to enter such organizations?
What is a typical day at work?
What great things have you participated in?
How is career advencement managed?

This is the kind of insider information I was looking for...

Concerning my background, I am 20 y.o, currently attending a business school in France. I might be interested in doing a Ph. D. in international relations later on.

And thank you guys for the info provided so far...