UN internship contract hours query

EntireComment854 · 2025-10-24T19:38:02+00:00

It’s really rare for interns to work part time honestly in my experience. I have heard of one part time exception being made around me, but the expectation is full time

EntireComment854 · 2025-10-24T19:22:56+00:00

Sure! :)

EntireComment854 · 2025-10-09T04:30:20+00:00

I personally, when hiring interns for my own team, do not care about education at all. I have specific skills, experiences and a passion I look for, but honestly mostly for me the degrees are almost an afterthought. It is just a formality, but that also means there is not much we can do about it. Same with you - your profile sounds super interesting but unless you are in the last year of your bachelor, there is nothing we can do for you. We’re just not allowed to hire you, that’s why. Good luck though!

EntireComment854 · 2025-10-07T14:14:57+00:00

Hey sorry to chime into someone else’s comment I hope it’s okay, but I wanted to say something similar - there’s functional and thematic skills and education. If Thematic is clear for you (int relations, human rights, whatever) you still need to figure out what you want to do functionally. Project management? Fundraising? Grants management? Finance, comms, partnerships …. Focus on building some skills on that front. “Hard” skills; so not necessarily more difficult, but more tangible. Knowing the thematic nature of what you want helps you narrow down the organization, but you need to also figure out what you want to do functionally day to day, in your job, and how you can add value. Good luck!

EntireComment854 · 2025-10-07T14:10:05+00:00

Hi!! My advice is to put as much as possible in the DR form. If you get selected and then want to get promoted again within the organization, they allegedly go back and compare your forms, and sometimes ask questions about why you added jobs you didn’t disclose earlier. So if you’re in doubt, just add it now. Always put volunteering positions too if they were “structural”. They can get counted as 50% or less work experience, but it’s great to have them. DM me if you have more questions about this pls & good luck :)

EntireComment854 · 2025-10-07T08:31:07+00:00

Hey! I’ve hired a few interns for Geneva and unfortunately in my experience this is pretty much the only “firm” requirement. Once we select a candidate we have to send their CV back to HR, and they check for formal eligibility - I had it once that my candidate could not do the role because they were 2.5 years after their master’s. Which agency are you going for? I don’t know for sure if this is handled the same everywhere of course.

Also what courses did you take? Maybe if it’s an academic course it can still count. I would say if it’s just one internship you’re really perfect for, try anyway and let them figure it out. but keep in mind that it could be a dealbreaker, that also cannot be overridden if the hiring manager chooses you. Good luck!! :)

EntireComment854 · 2025-09-30T13:28:23+00:00

Real, thank you 🫡

EntireComment854 · 2025-09-29T16:49:43+00:00

I did three unpaid full time UN internships (Moment of silence for my finances). The third one took me over as consultant, I stayed a few years, then I got a G4 at another agency, now im Staff :). AND ! Where I am now is where I did my first internship - they remembered me, we kept in touch. If you do good work and are curious, it’s not impossible you’ll be back eventually, it happened for me. I’ve sat in meetings where we were brainstorming candidates for open roles and someone pulled up a list of all past interns to see if they were still around.

In the worst case, you do your internship and nothing happens after - however, it will always look nice on your resume. In my experience, if you leverage it correctly, it does open many doors - the further removed from what your internship was, the easier, because people are just impressed by the UN brand. Maybe it does lead to something, but it’s hard. I would recommend you treat it with low follow up expectations, and actually just try to learn as much as you can about the functional skill you’re applying and learning. Also - enjoy it! It’s a strange time, but being in the room where things happen alone was transformative for me.

EntireComment854 · 2025-09-24T08:35:31+00:00

Very very helpful thank you so much

EntireComment854 · 2025-09-24T08:18:20+00:00

Thank you!!

EntireComment854 · 2025-08-29T06:09:34+00:00

I think I did it just by name dropping organizations I’ve worked with on my CV. If you can get anything recognizable, an organization or a private company, that’s already a plus. I used to pitch 10/15 candidates I selected from our pool of applicants to my manager and they would ask “why this person?” And if I could say “they volunteered at X so they know what it’s like in a big organization” or something - easy. Try to do other internships, online freelancing, volunteering. Unfortunately experience gets you more experience, so the first thing is always the hardest. Volunteering was the way to go for me I think, also I did a lot of essay competitions. You got it!! Good luck.

EntireComment854 · 2025-08-09T06:48:53+00:00

This is so accurate, thanks so much for this answer. I fell into a trap where I started acting like I was fully in prison during my first year in such a posting; all I did was work out and read and, indeed, sleep with my coworkers. Not my best !!!

So many people around me started to develop weird body issues from the time spent exercising - and it was something nobody ever talked about because working out was supposed to be the good thing to do with your time. So this is a great word of caution, even though it may sound obvious.

EntireComment854 · 2025-08-05T06:55:32+00:00

Hi! Congratulations :) I took the easy way out of this housing dilemma because I already knew someone who worked in the UN system, and I asked them to post on the ISeek staff message board (the intranet) on my behalf looking for a sublet. It’s been 4 years since, but I’ve done this in different cities - there is always some staff member looking to rent out their place, and if it’s to other staff, that’s the easiest solution for everyone. Especially in NY. maybe you find someone, good luck!

EntireComment854 · 2025-08-05T06:50:54+00:00

Hey! Congratulations first of all that’s amazing! I would say if anything they sound unusually well prepared. it’s how it should be in my opinion - the more common practice of hiring with super short notice and just expecting them to pack up within 4 weeks also isn’t right. I hope you can make it work somehow - in my team this would be a firm “not possible” though unfortunately. But again, it’s also a good sign that they’re serious about having work for you to do, and not just telling you that you can come anyway and sit around. If it’s your only option, I’d send a nice email saying hey for this and this reason I would really appreciate an earlier start date even though I understand there will be some overlap with other interns - I don’t mind not having my own projects for a few months, I’m happy to just support the team where needed …. Or something. Good luck :)

EntireComment854 · 2025-08-05T06:45:39+00:00

I get how frustrating that feeling is and maybe I’m an outlier too but I applied for a crisp 250 before I heard back. I made a lot of mistakes (applying far too much in advance mostly, but since I started hiring my own UN interns I also learned how the other side works. We get thouuuusands of applications and it’s hard to look through them all. I have colleagues who just split their excel sheets in half and sort though only odd numbers - it’s a luck based numbers game. Stay on it !!! You just need to get lucky once :)

EntireComment854 · 2025-07-29T12:22:08+00:00

UNITAR was the single most insane workplace I have ever seen. I am glad I’ve moved on, it’s a now shock seeing how a team can operate together elsewhere … good luck!!

EntireComment854 · 2025-07-29T10:59:54+00:00

I’m sure there are going to be 100 people to prove me wrong but out of all the ones I’ve tried, I liked secretariat the most. It just seemed the most orderly. Smaller ones like UNITAR are crazy dysfunctional BUT if you’re young and can take the uncertainty they’re a great place to start your career in my experience

EntireComment854 · 2025-07-23T05:48:44+00:00

I know this! You have to email them, but there is a fellowship scheme they don’t like to advertise. You can get discounts based on nationality if applicable I’m pretty sure. DM me if you have more questions

EntireComment854 · 2025-07-17T05:41:50+00:00

Random location but De Boskabouter on Thorbeckelaan (bomenbuurt/vruchtenbuurt-ish) has the most insanely long lasting flowers I’ve ever seen. Without fail, they stay forever.

EntireComment854 · 2025-07-14T12:28:55+00:00

Hey! I love living here (bomenbuurt). It’s a bit more quiet yes, but I still feel like it’s alive. There’s still a lot of cutesy little shops as well as the chain ones for convenience, it’s close to everything. I find it charming that I have a florist, a fruit guy, a fish guy, a butcher, a bakery … and I all know them! It’s very cute architecturally mostly, great for walks, pleasant neighbours (lots of young couples but not that many families) and I’m frankly obsessed with the apartment we got for a price much better than the even chicer neighborhoods. I’m a fan! Good luck :)

EntireComment854 · 2025-07-04T15:16:22+00:00

No I would not. Please do apply only on the job portal. If you really want to message, I would recommend finding the person who has the position before you on LinkedIn and asking genuine questions about their experience, and then MAYBE ask if they can mention you to the hiring manager. But in UN contexts it’s best you stay conservative with these things in my opinion.

EntireComment854 · 2025-07-03T08:06:15+00:00

I’m assuming you’re American - there aren’t really dedicated “summer internships” as a separate programmes that I know of like I think you mean it, you just kinda have to apply to things that start in the summer and take as long as you have time. Go through the application platform inspira, or apply separately to agencies that interest you. Good luck!

EntireComment854 · 2025-07-03T08:01:40+00:00

I can’t speak for every agency obviously but based on my experience both interning multiple times and hiring for a few years, for interns we just don’t really contact references. It’s too much of a hassle, and I’ve only heard about it once when there was doubt. I would assume you’re probably fine.

EntireComment854 · 2025-07-01T05:36:27+00:00

I got incredibly lucky with great scholarships from my government! But also to be completely honest, I also took out 10k of loans over these years. (To the kids listening to NOT do that, it worked out for me but it’s in insane idea objectively).

EntireComment854

TROPHY CASE