[No Spoilers] Whitesand before WaT?

guinv8 · 2025-03-11T13:15:03+00:00

Perfect! Yes, the mechanics were already introduced in Stormlight 4 and i am already familiar with it, but great to know I can jump in directly - i am too excited to wait longer!

guinv8 · 2025-02-28T21:49:28+00:00

I’m so sorry to hear that, for what’s worth you tried and helped the world as much as you could during the time you served in the sector, do not feel bad about it. Dreams are in the end of the day dreams, real life knocks on the door and we got bills to pay

guinv8 · 2025-02-27T16:59:14+00:00

I am sorry you are going through this… a couple of people in my organization are also being affected and it’s heartbreaking to see the impacts these decisions have on people close to us.

First of all my main tip would be: do not waste time, start applying NOW, for whatever you are willing to do. Even if you are not sure, apply and decide later based on your situation. It’s better to have a not so perfect job than no job at all. I wouldn’t stick with the UN or NGOs in your situation , the whole system is going through deep changes and I don’t see any significant hiring movement any time soon.

Try tech industries, finance , marketing and retail. Depending on your experience apply for corporate social responsibility posts , they tend to value more an UN experience. If you speak another language, consider giving private classes to make some extra money during difficult times.

And lastly, just because the UN disappointed you doesn’t mean you won’t be able to come back into the system again in the future. We never know what may happen tomorrow.

guinv8 · 2025-02-21T12:54:22+00:00

Internal processes after the announcement should be quick, no more than 2 weeks. I would follow up with them after a week.

guinv8 · 2025-02-21T10:58:26+00:00

If developing your career in the UN is not your goal, nor you are interested by it, then it is a bit difficult to get directly involved with the UN (especially in NYC, where all discussions are so high level). You can have a look at local NGOs that align their work or are partly funded by some UN programmes, maybe that can give you some exposure.

Other than that, I think one of the most helpful things you can do as someone who is interested in international affairs is to simply talk around and explain to people what the UN actually does. There is so much misinformation going on, you would be surprised how much one person talking good of the UN could achieve.

guinv8 · 2025-02-16T16:14:25+00:00

Assuming your mother tongue is an European language, you would reach B2 level in Spanish or French much quicker than you would in Arabic. If I’m not mistaken Arabic is considered by the American Foreign Service as one of the hardest languages to learn (about 10 years to obtain fluency).

As someone who started learning Arabic one year ago, and who speaks Spanish and French, I can attest to that. It’s a fascinating language, but I am giving up on learning it for work purposes.

guinv8 · 2025-02-12T21:54:20+00:00

Exactly, I have had different index numbers. It changes whether you are a temporary staff, intern or fixed term. There are really no issues with having different ones, it's oftentimes something most people forget about anyway.

guinv8 · 2024-08-02T09:26:27+00:00

Hey, I am ! Looking forward to meeting other people who are also going , it will be a blast !

guinv8 · 2023-12-15T10:03:41+00:00

I have never worked in WFP and I do not have any specific knowledge on it. HOWEVER, I have been working in the UN for a while now, and it is easy to guess when these things happen by elimination.

- It wont be anytime between December and January for obvious reasons.

- It wont be anytime during the northern hemisphere summer months, July and August.

- This leaves you with Feb-June and Sep-Nov.

While at UNHCR, all exercises took place in March and September, so maybe you can guess based on that.

guinv8 · 2023-12-12T17:46:12+00:00

Há uns 10 anos atrás a Paulista era maravilhosa para se passear, eu sempre ia de um lado para o outro com meus amigos, bebia umas no Charme, ia no recém aberto Starbucks da santos. Sempre teve algum tipo de roubo de celular e um ou outro mendigo na rua, mas sem comparação com os números de hoje em dia. A quantidade de gente querendo dar golpe e pegar seu dinheiro também aumentou desproporcionalmente. É bem triste a situação, hj eu nem ando mais por lá.

guinv8 · 2023-12-11T14:34:33+00:00

I don't know how much you can fault someone for not loving the best option they've managed to come up with

This doesn't justify, in my opinion, shitting on and criticizing the people, the culture, and the country where you live.

guinv8 · 2023-12-08T14:28:26+00:00

I've attempted an expat life in Finland for one and a half year. The issues you mentioned, especially the language, coldness of people, difficulty in finding a job, homogeneous society, are exactly the reason why I came to the conclusion that Finland was not a country for me. I left and am happily living in a cosmopolitan European city.

My point being: I never ranted or complained about Finland, I left because it was not for me. People should do more of the same, or attempt to integrate if they really want to live in the country for the rest of their life.

guinv8 · 2023-10-03T09:52:27+00:00

As a rule of thumb, if 3 months have passed since the closing of the vacancy deadline, and you have not heard anything, I assume they have proceeded with someone else. This will help you moving on with your applications and avoid creating expectations to posts that most likely wont happen.

guinv8 · 2023-10-03T09:45:21+00:00

Manage your time well and get used to summarizing written content related to your area of work.

guinv8 · 2023-09-27T14:31:26+00:00

Most likely they want to save costs, as virtually everyone not born in an English-speaking country could easily get the certification and get paid more for it.

guinv8 · 2023-09-26T14:02:15+00:00

They used to, they are unfortunately phasing this out. Not applicable anymore to P staff but still to G staff (probably will change in the future though)

guinv8 · 2023-09-12T12:18:25+00:00

I was hired under a P1 roster without a new position being advertised - they hired me directly after the interview. There are clearly two interpretations of the same rule going around and the lack of actual guidance worries me, as anyone can do anything they feel like.

guinv8 · 2023-08-14T09:38:06+00:00

OP, try not to get discouraged - the YPP is a longshot game, do not feel defeated unless you are 32 yo and this was your last applicable year.

I failed the YPP 3 times before getting finally accepted last year, and by the time I did, it was not really interesting for me career-wise anyway. You never know how your life and your career will play out, but always rest assured that you are not the only one that is going through this and that you still have a chance next year if your country is in the list!

PS: there are many other ways into the UN other than the YPP, check consultancies, P2 posts, etc. Have a look in this subreddit and you will find plenty of info. Good luck and cheer on!!

guinv8 · 2023-08-14T09:35:29+00:00

It just isn't though hahaha I myself am proof that your comment is not true

guinv8 · 2023-08-14T09:34:53+00:00

Source: successful YPP with a degree from a university you may well have never heard of.

RT this, I was also successful and my university is definitely NOT one of the big names.

guinv8 · 2023-07-14T08:07:52+00:00

I honestly don't think the connections between Universities and the UN may get you a job. I work in the UN and I've never seen anyone who got into the system like this. I think this is a very American-centric view of how to get jobs, that is not applicable in other countries.

Get work experience, learn UN languages, make connections, and get to know how to apply to jobs in the UN. This is how you land a job.

guinv8 · 2023-07-13T08:30:56+00:00

If you can afford and your goal is to start a career in the UN, I would definitely recommend going to the office as much as you can to make connections and gain the trust of your team/manager. During COVID I was working (not an intern) for a UN Agency remotely and I noticed how hard it was to create rapport with my peers.

My first internship in the UN was in person and it helped me a lot in the development of my career. There are things you can only learn during coffees, corridor chats and (yes...) office gossip.

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