WORKING WITH AN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION: REASONS WHY YOU HAVEN’T GOTTEN IN.

Duke was having a great time watching the English Premier League with his friend when his phone suddenly popped up for a mail notification. He quickly unlocked to check, and his mood sank immediately, when he saw that it was another rejection letter from one of the International Organization he had applied to for the seventh time.

When his friends asked him what was the matter with his sudden change of mood, he queried, “People that get jobs in top places like World Bank, WHO, AFDB, UN, ILO, UNICEF, WHO, UNDP, WTO etc., is there anything special they do, or they just apply like the rest of us?” None of his friend could give him a satisfactory answer. He tried to concentrate on the game after this incident, but the question kept reverberating in his mind. He vowed to find the right answer very soon to this.

It is not a joke to be rejected, it pains. And I am sure as you are reading this; you may have likely experienced what I am talking about. In this article, I want to show you some few things that International Organizations look out for before recruiting, I hope you will note them down and act accordingly: 

1. THEY TAKE RECOMMENDATION SERIOUSLY 

First thing you must clearly understand is that these Organizations are not like the local big shots in your home country that will call anyone from anywhere for recruitment just so long they have met the set criteria. They won’t bother to call you without recommendation from one of their employee for the post you have applied for. It is that serious.

Normally, asides their International Headquarters, majority of their work force in overseas offices are on contract. This is because they maintain a sizable amount of full-time staff there and use the contract staff for their short-term and mid-term projects. For you to then apply for a permanent role with them means being fully integrated into their Organizational culture and knowing their ways. Without someone who is in the culture already standing in for you, they might not even call you for the recruitment exercises; no matter how impressive your resume may look. 

And don’t misquote or misunderstand me. Recommendations will only get you to be called to participate in their recruitment stages; it does not guarantee that you will be taken. Many applicants just like you must have been recommended by different employees, it is at this stage that their Human Resources Department takes the selected pool through the tests and give the best a job. 

The major reason why these Organizations take recommendation so serious like this is because most of them operate like a “cult group” where trust is paramount. They trust the judgement of one of their own who had recommended you to be tested for a role with them. But if you don’t know anyone there, it will be quite hard to vouch for you. They may not likely take you, because they don’t “trust” or know you. 

The best way to know someone who is in is to either ask around your locality and meet such person and ask for guidance. Or you could also as well go online and try to connect with some of them on LinkedIn and get friendly over a period of time, and hoping they will be able to recommend you when an opening comes up for the role you are interested in. 

2. VOLUNTEERING 

This is like another way to get into a selected pool to be considered for a job role with these Big Organizations. Most of them are always on the lookout for someone who has already been made familiar with the way they operate and won’t need too much training or be hard to put on the job as soon as possible. 

But you might be wondering, “How does one get this type of experience?” 

It is through volunteering for some of their programmes (most time they are short terms projects) they are running in your country early enough. You must always be on the lookout for these sorts of programs as you are an Undergraduate, after graduating and even beyond.

This provides you the opportunity to learn of their Organizational culture up close, and you can leverage on this and also indicate that you have participated in some of their projects in the past during the application stage. I am sure you will be invited to the screening stages if you have this type of experience in your kitty and have met other criteria they are looking for concerning the available role. 

3. INTERNSHIP 

The objective of the internship is to give you a first-hand impression of the day-to-day working environment of the International Organization you have chosen. You will be given a real chance to work with their people. As part of their team, working directly with outstanding and inspiring career professionals and senior management, you will be exposed to high-profile conferences, participate in meetings, and contribute to analytical work as well as organizational policy of the International Organization. Initially you will take on the amount of responsibility you can shoulder; the potential for growth, however, is yours to develop. 

The Internship Programme provides a wide range of opportunities for high calibre graduate/postgraduate students and recently graduated candidates who are looking for a “hands-on” learning experience in fields related to the Organization’s mandate and activities. The aim of the internship programme is to give the interns exposure to the Organization’s daily work over a three to six month period. Sometimes, the period can extend to a year at most.

To apply for most of these internship position, you must be enrolled in the last year of a graduate degree (Master or equivalent) or in a higher degree programme relevant to the Organization’s work or have completed such a programme in the year preceding the application. You must also possess a working knowledge of at least one of the Organization’s working languages (English, French or Spanish) and be able to adapt to an international, multicultural, multilingual environment. There is no age limit for applicants. 

Organizations like ILO, and UN do not pay their Interns at all. All the flight, accommodation and visa costs will be yours to bear if you get accepted. However Organizations like UNDP, UNICEF, World Bank, WFP, African Development Bank, Interpol, and World Trade Organizations etc. have paid internships. If this is the way you might want to go, then you should be prepared. 

Good things they say only come to those who persevere. I hope as you continue in your search for a job at the International Organization of your dream, you will get in. I wish you all the very best in all your endeavours. 

If you have any question or addition, you can put it in the comment session. Thank you.