How to take part in UN humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, with subsequent employment at the UN? How to get a job at the United Nations How much money does the UN receive per year?

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

There is no universal recipe for how to make a career in an international organization. “Viele Wege führen nach oben,” says the host of the podium discussion “Careers in international associations and organizations”, held at the end of January at the German Foreign Ministry, Hans Willmann. “There are many paths leading to the cherished goal,” but these are not always wide, straight highways with signposts; Often you have to tread a detour path on your own - through internships, internships and volunteer programs.

United Nations

UN building in New York

The UN, the largest international organization, does not need any special introduction. Created at the end of World War II, today it includes 192 countries, including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Germany. The working languages ​​of the UN are English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French.

“The United Nations Secretariat is constantly in need of knowledgeable and hardworking specialists of various profiles from different regions of the world,” these are the words that 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 “geographical balance,” the selection of employees for the UN Secretariat is carried out on a national basis under the National Competitive Recruitment Examinations (NCRE) program.

Every year, the organization’s website publishes a list of countries whose citizens can apply for a job at the most important UN body. Russia and Germany are widely represented in the Secretariat, so in 2009 neither Russians nor Germans were recruited to the staff. “At the moment, the recruitment system for the UN Secretariat is being reformed. The Galaxy electronic system will be replaced by a new, improved program in the spring of 2010,” says Theresia Redigolo, an employee of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. She advises regularly checking the organization's website to see if there are quotas allocated for recruitment from your country for the current year. The qualifying round for the NCRE program starts in August.

Practice at the UN

Doing an internship at the United Nations is easier than getting a job there. For example, theoretically any senior student who is studying a major 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 provide funds for paying fees to interns. Experts estimate the cost of living in New York at five thousand dollars a month. If this amount does not scare you away, the next deadline for submitting applications 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 for internship at the UN or one of the related organizations (UNICEF, UNESCO, WTO and others) where living costs are not as high as in New York. 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 dates back to 1973-1975, when at the peak of the Cold War, the warring parties decided to conclude a truce at a meeting in Helsinki. The goals of the organization are to prevent conflicts and resolve crisis situations. The official languages ​​are English, German, Spanish, French, Italian and Russian.

Kristo Polendakov

An excellent way to try yourself in 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 OSCE offices in Central Asia, the Caucasus, South-East Europe or the Balkans,” says Kristo Polendakov, head of the OSCE recruitment section ( Christo Polendakov).

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

The OSCE employee notes that the university from which the candidate graduated 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 broader. 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 at the OSCE is an invaluable experience

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

Internship at the OSCE lasts from two to six months and is unpaid. Final year students no older than 30 years old from countries that are members of the organization can apply. To do this, you need to fill out a form on the OSCE website and send it along with an essay in which you need to justify your desire to undergo an internship, and (if desired) an autobiography 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 states that are not members of the European Union are, in theory, prohibited from entering EU bodies as employees. However, there are no rules without exceptions. “If a candidate from Russia, for example, wants to do an internship with 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 HR department of the European Parliament. ).

Another opportunity to get an internship in the European Parliament is the Robert-Schuman-Praktikum scholarship. It comes in 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 countries. The internship lasts five months. The next 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 representative office of the European Parliament in Luxembourg. But we also visited sections in Brussels and Strasbourg,” says Irina. She especially liked watching parliamentary sessions and being an eyewitness to how voting took place and political decisions that were important for the whole world were made.

Context

How to find a place for 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 are in the Deutsche Welle help. (04/30/2009)

A UN employee anonymously spoke about professional pride, friendship between peoples and monetary compensation in the event of death.

For many, the UN is a Kafkaesque castle. Alluring, mysterious and inaccessible. Everyone wants to get there, and someone seems to get there, but no one knows exactly how to do it. Everyone has heard about the very labor-intensive application process, going through some interviews and exams, and waiting for a long time for an answer - several months or even years.

This is all partly true. Although there are situations when an applicant gets a job quite quickly and without superhuman efforts. If we get lucky. Whether you will be accepted or not depends on many factors. Both your work experience and, for example, the status of your state can play a role here. For example, if your country is “underrepresented” at the UN, your chance of getting a job there increases dramatically.

About the risks associated with working at the UN

The mission of the UN is to unite peoples, help those suffering and fight for world peace.

Of course, when getting ready for work every morning, UN employees do not mutter to themselves: “Here, I’m going to save the world again.” But in general, this feeling depends on specific responsibilities. I think if a person with a humanitarian convoy goes to the besieged Syrian city of Homs and distributes food and clothing to those in need, he feels that he is doing something very important. Or, for example, an OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) employee involved in the removal of chemical weapons from Syria probably feels that he is making the world a better place. Not to mention those who sit at Security Council meetings and decide “the fate of the world.”

Willingness to work in remote and not the most comfortable places at the UN is always welcome. As it turns out, there are not so few exotic lovers and altruists who want to help starving children in Africa. But not everyone clearly understands the realities of everyday life and work in, say, the Central African Republic, South Sudan or other hot spots.

Working in UN missions in troubled countries and war zones can be extremely dangerous. UN employees are intimidated, shot at, kidnapped, killed. However, everyone knows about this from news reports.

By the way, if an employee dies while on duty, his family and friends are paid generous monetary compensation.

About UN Headquarters in New York

I personally work at the UN headquarters in New York, in the General Secretariat. Everyone, of course, remembers the emerald skyscraper with the flags of all the member countries of the organization lined up along it. It is beautiful, comfortable and absolutely safe here.

All employees of the secretariat are proud of their work, although they try not to show it and in conversations over lunch in the canteen they like to discuss the bureaucracy prevailing in the UN and the inefficiency of the organization. In fact, everyone here feels like they are part of some kind of elite club. The bus that goes along 42nd Street in Manhattan (its last stop is called “United Nations”), every morning becomes a platform for a vanity flash mob. At the entrance to the UN, many passengers begin to take UN passes out of their bags and pockets and at the same time secretly look around: who else is taking out the same blue ID? And the one who gets it last does it with special relish: yes, yes, don’t think, I’m “yours” too.

On the other hand, this is done primarily for convenience, so as not to dig through your bag later at the entrance to the territory of a huge complex under gusts of strong wind from the East River (the UN building is located right next to the river).

About salary, schedule and working conditions

One of the reasons why many people strive to work at the UN is, of course, high salaries (8-10 thousand dollars per month on average) and social guarantees. Good health insurance, pension benefits, a flexible tax system (the UN pays most of the taxes for its employees), allowances that compensate for the cost of living in the city where you work, subsidies for rent (if you have to move to another region for work). And that's not all that the world's most powerful non-profit organization will offer you.

If you are accepted into the UN for a permanent job, then this is, in fact, a guarantee of employment for life. As some joke, people only leave the UN feet first.

About UN Radio

I work for UN Radio (the radio service is part of the Department of Public Information of the UN Secretariat). Many people, when they hear this phrase, are surprised: does the UN have a radio? In fact, it has been around since 1946. By the way, the founding day of UN Radio is considered World Radio Day - February 13th. We talk mainly about the activities of various UN structures and bodies (there are countless of them: the Security Council, the General Assembly, UNESCO, UNICEF, the World Bank, the Red Cross, the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organization, UN peacekeeping missions in countries affected by conflicts). Reports, interviews, and daily news programs from UN Radio can be found (including in text form) on the official website. As a rule, all these materials are regularly used by our partners. In the case of a Russian-language service, this is, for example, “Echo of Moscow” in some CIS countries. UN Radio broadcasts in eight languages ​​- English, French, Russian, Swahili, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Arabic. All employees are located on the same floor, and real internationalism and friendship of peoples reign here.

Once, walking along the corridor, I saw through the door in one of the offices of the Arabic Service of UN Radio a woman in very beautiful clothes - dark blue, embroidered with silver threads. She prayed to Allah. I walked by delicately, although I was very attracted to her bright attire. The next time, passing by the same office, I expected to see her again. But a completely different lady was sitting there - in boring office trousers and a sweater, with her hair down. I involuntarily caught myself thinking: where did that Muslim woman in beautiful religious clothes go? Of course, it was the same woman, she just changed her clothes specially for prayer.

In general, there are not so many people in national costumes walking along the corridors of the UN headquarters. Of course, you can occasionally see Sikhs wearing turbans or women wearing hijabs. But most of the employees dress in a fairly standard office style.

The situation changes when some conference, say, dedicated to African women, is held at headquarters. Then permanent employees are guaranteed a multi-day exotic show. Everything is filled with the rustling of lush multi-colored dresses and headdresses a meter high. Sometimes it can even be difficult to walk down the corridor. And when they leave at the end of the conference, it becomes empty and gray.

The biggest beauty of working for UN Radio is this: firstly, the authority of the organization allows you to get almost any interview, and secondly, you don’t have to look far. The building is literally teeming with politicians, celebrities and Nobel laureates from all over the world.

About the Northern Salon of Delegates

Of all the endless halls and rooms of the UN headquarters, the most attractive is the Northern Delegates Lounge, or, as it is also called, the Delegates Lounge. Here you can have an excellent lunch or dinner while admiring the view of the East River - albeit through the “Knots and Beads” curtain, consisting of 30 thousand porcelain balls. This is the decision of the Dutch designer Hella Jongerius, who took part in the large-scale restoration of the bar.

The result, by the way, irritated many. They allegedly turned a luxurious and mysterious diplomats’ nightclub, shrouded in twilight in the style of James Bond films, into an environmentally friendly school canteen.

The delegates' lounge is almost always full. The most interesting things happen here, and happened, of course, in the evenings. Many in the UN generally believe that all major decisions are made here, and not at all at meetings of the General Assembly or the Security Council. Tipsy (and sometimes downright drunk) and relaxed diplomats allegedly quickly find a common language and in a matter of minutes agree on issues that had previously been fruitlessly discussed for hours in a bureaucratic setting.

UN old-timers say that the atmosphere in the Delegates' Lounge was once even more relaxed. During the Cold War, diplomats were allegedly even visited by girls of easy virtue.

I don’t know how much you can believe everything they say about the Northern Salon, but mission employees clearly perceive it as their personal territory, where they can throw away etiquette, forget about protocol and loosen the knot on their tie. One day, my colleague and I showed up there with a camera and tried to photograph the legendary Lounge. A couple of minutes later, a representative of the Chilean mission was running towards us across the entire hall, waving his arms. He demanded that we not “point the camera at him,” even though we weren’t filming him at all. The man, very emotionally and in a raised voice, stated that it was impossible to film here and threatened to call security.

Vladislav Dovolny, a former intern at the Department of Political Affairs for Central and Central Asia of the United Nations American Office in New York, told how you can get 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 into the UN specifically; there was just an interest in going for an internship abroad. At that time, it was a huge gamble, since I had never studied English in depth and, accordingly, knew the language very poorly (approx. Vlad’s specialized language is German). When I arrived in the USA, I had with me several pages of text written by my girlfriend:
what I had to say at customs in order to be allowed into the country.

What was the procedure for applying for an internship?

We had to fill out a form, write a motivation letter and provide confirmation from the university department that our teaching load included English. I filled out the application somewhere in September and already before the new year I received a confirmation letter that I had been accepted for the internship; the letter also included a list of necessary documents for applying for a visa.

How did you manage to overcome the language barrier?

I was lucky, the head of the department, as well as my supervisor Brian, knew Russian. I can’t imagine how I would have completed my internship if there weren’t people there who didn’t understand Russian or couldn’t say anything in it. Otherwise, all my communication with them would be reduced to communication via email.

What were your responsibilities?

My job was quite simple. I needed to track events taking place in central and central Asia via the Internet. For this work, they specifically looked 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 formally began at 9 am, but here’s the story: everyone was usually 20-30 minutes late, that is, if you come at 9:30, then no one says anything to you, if you come at 10 am, they can make you remark, but coming later is no longer comme il faut. I arrived at 9:30, in fact, like most of the department’s employees. I had general work, website monitoring, work on collecting information on various policies, on the water situation in a given region, that is, local questions for a specific place: what is happening in this region, who controls what, what are the moods, etc. Some kind of information gathering. In addition, there were some issues related to private assignments. For example, one day an online meeting was organized between representatives of the central, Geneva and Kyrgyz offices, I needed 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 I couldn’t, since it was classified information. However, I understood that without a voice recorder I would fail the task, so I hid the voice recorder in my shirt pocket and at home transcribed the recording, which I deleted immediately after writing the report and still haven’t told anyone what we talked about then.
I wasn't particularly busy for two reasons. The first is my low level of language, and the second is my high level of secrecy. The information that I collected is not secret, but a further report to 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”, an analogue of the Russian “fly-outs”. We talked about what the department was doing, what data was needed, what had been 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 your off-hours?

At lunchtime you can go to a “brown rally”. The idea of ​​a “brown meeting” is simple: employees gather for lunch in one of the conference rooms of the UN building, and at the same time listen to speakers, ask questions, discuss, i.e. combine business with pleasure. In essence, this is just another “work 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 could simultaneously eat his burger and ask the minister a question about the report. It’s hard to imagine how I would eat during the dean’s speech at my faculty, or how the chairman of the city government committee would tell something to the chewing people at a meeting in Smolny.

Were there any special events for the interns?

I was the only intern in my department. As a rule, each department had one intern, but if the department was large, then two interns worked. During my internship, there were 300 interns working 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 trainees’ work.
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 the vacant position. In addition, the number of languages ​​you know is of great importance - the more, the better. If you do get hired, then first you go through a long probationary period, after the probationary period they sign a contract with you for one, then two years, and so on. To reach the rank of head of a department, you must work in the organization for at least 15 years, excluding field work.
The second option is when you have worked somewhere else, you are a valuable specialist and you are invited to the UN. Thus, some former diplomats from 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 24-year-old young man. He held a position that, due to his age and formal requirements, he could not hold, but nevertheless, he worked at the UN.

Did the internship help you find a job in Russia?

Employers are usually interested in practical work experience. I was almost never asked about an internship when applying for a job. 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.

The world is looking to the United Nations to solve complex problems. The issues the UN deals with are as diverse as the career opportunities on offer. The UN's activities cover all the challenges that humanity faces: peace and security, human rights, humanitarian action, socio-economic development and much more. Working for the United Nations gives you a sense of satisfaction because you don't just work for the UN - you work for the benefit of all humanity, you want to make the world a better place.

How to apply for a job

All announcements of vacancies in the UN Secretariat are published on the website. Persons with disabilities may apply for employment with the United Nations for positions under all types of contracts, in full compliance with the UN Charter. The organization offers various methods of employment. For professional positions, you must apply through the website Careers Portal or pass the relevant exams. For General Service and related positions, including secretarial, clerical, security and other support positions, please contact your local UN office directly.

Competitive exams

Junior Expert Program

Employment Opportunities in the UN System

If you are interested in working for other United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, please visit their websites for information. Links to most websites are available on the International Civil Service Commission page.

Memo to candidates

Job advertisements and job offers sometimes state 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. Read 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 carried out both locally and online.

Do you want to prevent environmental degradation, help poor countries develop their economies, resolve civil conflicts, or promote social justice and capital redistribution? You can definitely find your ideal job at the United Nations. The UN is a huge employer and offers advancement opportunities and career path choices comparable to those of large private companies. Although the competition for most positions is quite intense, with enough preparation and a little luck you will have a chance to land your dream job at the UN.

Steps

Preparation

Browse the UN website to learn more about the organization's different areas of work. What areas of activity interest you most? Are there any areas for which you already have suitable qualifications? Are there areas that you would like to work in, but for which you do not have the right skills or experience? Do some research on the organization and its structure before you start looking for open positions. A wealth of useful information can be found on the following websites:

• Official UN website (http://careers.un.org)
• "UN Job Monster" website (http://www.unjobmonster.com)
• UN Job List website (http://unjoblist.org)

1. Decide which category you would like to work in. Careers at the UN are divided into several categories, each of which has specific educational requirements and areas of specialization. Within each category, there are several levels of positions that differ in the amount of previous work experience required. Based on your skills, interests and experience, choose the category and level that suits you. Here are your options:

   • Professional and higher categories (P and D)
   • General Service and Related Categories (G, TC, S, PIA, LT)
   • National Specialists (NO)
   • Field Service (FS)
   • Senior positions (SG, DSG, USG and ASG)

2. Make sure you have the necessary education and skills. Each vacancy has certain requirements in relation to education and work experience. Before you apply for any position, make sure you meet all of the position requirements; otherwise, your candidacy will not be considered. Here is a list of some requirements that are found in many UN vacancies:

   • Fluent in English or French (these are the working languages ​​of the UN). Knowledge of additional languages, such as Arabic, Chinese, Spanish or Russian, is also preferred.
   • Bachelor's or higher degree. Some general low-level positions (mostly administrative and clerical positions in the General Service category) require only a high school diploma and usually relevant work experience, but most UN positions require at least a bachelor's degree. Many specialized positions require higher academic degrees in the specialty.
   • Experience in a suitable field. Depending on the position, you may be required to have 1 to 7 years of work experience.

3. Pass the oral exam. The Oral Examination includes an interview with the Admissions Committee to determine whether you have the skills and characteristics required to work in your specialty at the UN. The results of this exam will tell you whether you will become a member of YPP or not.

4. Obtain approval from the Central Examination Council. If you are successful in the interview, you will be approved by the Central Examinations Board for a position on the YPP work roster. When the next vacancy in your specialty opens, you will be offered this position.

   • Obtaining approval from the Central Examinations Council does not guarantee a job. Although your chances of getting hired will be extremely high, the offer of a job depends on the number of open positions in your specialty.
   • If you fail the final exam, you will be notified that you have not received approval from the Central Examinations Board.

• Gender is an advantage. Article 8 of the UN Charter states: “The United Nations shall impose no restrictions on the right of men and women to participate in any capacity and on equal terms in its principal and subsidiary organs.” However, there is a clause in the UN Employment Rules (ST/AI/2006/3, Section 9.3) that grants women the right to receive preferential treatment in the employment process. If you are a woman and are on the UN work register (a list of candidates who have been approved by the commission but not offered a job), your name will remain on the register at three years", which means you can expect a job offer during this time. Men remain on the register for only two years.
• Be extremely careful when submitting your application. Check spelling and grammar, integrity of information, etc. Remember that every little mistake can be a reason for your exclusion from the competition, especially since employers are usually inundated with thousands of applications.
• Submit your application as early as possible. Employers usually don't take kindly to last-minute applications. In addition, there is no doubt that a large number of applications will arrive at the last minute, which means that your candidacy will be considered less carefully if your application is one of the last. Applications sent after the vacancy has closed will not be considered.
• People who apply for jobs at the UN usually know someone in the organization. Do you know anyone? Think about how you can connect with people who could help you get a job at the UN. Despite the principles and rules, merit is not always the key to employment at the UN. Also be aware of country-by-country quotas and biases about certain countries - these factors can either work in your favor or hurt your chances.
• Feel free to find out more about the vacancy via email or phone. For example, you could ask whether lower-level UN staff are applying for the position. This way you will know what kind of competition you have. At the same time, don't be surprised if your attempts to find out more information about the position are unsuccessful.