Tips for students or recent graduates dreaming of a career at an International Organization
50+ International Organizations that pay their interns
How do you gain experience when experience is required in order to gain it?
Some points to consider before accepting an Internship in the Impact sector:
Internships at NGO's could yield better results when persuing a fixed-term appointment. Impactpool works with and supports a multitude of organizations outside the United Nations. Browser our partner organizations here.
Ensure that the position you choose to intern in and the organization you choose to do it for, both align with your area of expertise (or the area you would like to develop). Choose a mission relevant to a UN programme, if you wish to pursue a UN position at a later point.
Note that most United Nations agencies DO NOT consider United Nations internships or other unpaid internships as professional working experience. However, UNV and a selection of other UN agencies do count them as 50% towards working experience. Make sure to read the job description and ask the hiring managers for clarification during your interview.
We recommend only serving in a UN internship if you have already acquired the necessary competencies and work experience required for a UN fixed-term role.
Utilize the internship as more of a networking avenue and a justification of your UN system familiarity, it could also serve as field/international experience if you are missing this point in your profile.
Once you land the internship, here are some additional tips that might help you:
- Early into your internship, make sure to ask the hiring manager or HR personnel about the possibility of gaining full-time employment. Make it clear that that is your ultimate goal. Having the answer to this question can provide clarity on what to expect and your options. Nonetheless, it is always important to perform your best, build a network and leave a good impression as it is always more economical for a company/organization to recruit someone that is already familiar with their work and does not need much time onboarding.
- Take the first week of your internship to familiarise yourself with your colleagues, the new environment and the standard operating procedures of the company/organization.
- Do your research: Most internships are unpaid or have a very low stipend therefore, you must only accept if you are very passionate about what the company does or see a great opportunity to learn and develop your skills. Spend the beginning of your internship studying the business model of the company, if it is something for you, change your mindset as a shareholder/ a decision-maker rather than an intern. This will allow you to be more inquisitive to explore and willing to go over and beyond your daily responsibilities. Treating your internship with the same respect and dedication that you would a full-time job will show the employer that you’re more than capable of performing at that level. Show that you fit in, that the company/organization's mission aligns with your aspirations and values.
- Oftentimes we seem to forget our tiny milestones: have a list of all the projects and accomplishments you have completed, the results and learnings from it. Make a note of where you excelled and where you needed to improve, so that when it comes to negotiating a full-time position you already have key messages and why you will be a great addition. This is also valuable when updating your CV should you have to move on.
- Don’t be afraid to initiate other tasks, explore the different departments or volunteer to assist a colleague and learn more about the work they do. This shows your interest and initiative and helps you to determine where you may be a great fit in the organization. Being proactive can help you identify shortfalls or bottlenecks not currently being addressed in the company/organization, that you can then pitch to the management team and create your own full-time job.
In this Podcast, Impactpool Career Coach Wolfgang shares tips to transition from P3 to P4, P4 to P5 and P5 to D1 levels. He shares the importance of already acting the role of your desired position before getting there.
- Make yourself indispensable, take on assignments and tasks that your colleagues won't do, or initiate new ones which you find necessary for the success of the company/organization.
- Ask for performance feedback - as an intern, you will always have a point of contact or a supervisor. Schedule one on one meetings with them weekly or bi-weekly (depending on the duration of your internship). Take this opportunity to go through what has been done, how you feel, your observations/ideas, and what is expected of you.
Be positive and optimistic - there are certain obstacles that will be inevitable, acknowledge them and move on. Rejection always leads you to better-suited opportunities.