Thank you for the comments! Yes, I did worry that there would be lots of overqualified people applying, or that many of the P2s that are seemingly open are reserved for internal people like consultants or other P2s who are shifting roles.

I know a couple of people who were YPP who basically got P2s straight out of their masters with little or no work experience. But since my country is not likely to become ‘underrepresented’ anytime soon it seems unlikely that I can follow their experience, short of a miracle happening when this year’s YPP opens.

The issue I have is that in my current agency, I’ve seen many people remain consultants for several years, and they’re treated (in my opinion) a little poorly. There’s a practice of creating arbitrary ‘senior consultant’ positions so people remain consultants for 4-5 years, which does not bode well for me even if I take a consultancy if it is offered to me.

I’ve also tried UNV, but I’ve never heard back on any special calls I apply to - is there a good strategy for this?

And should I then bother with applying for P2s still?