United Nations

Janos TisovszkyDirector,

United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Vienna

United Nations:Introduction

What/who is the UN?

Forum (Member States) Actor (Staff) Community - platform/umbrella (other

actors) Ideal (set of expectations)

UN Secretariat Carries out day-to-day work of the Organization

and services its principal organs Staffed by international civil servants Headquartered in New York, Geneva, Vienna,

Nairobi, with offices and field missions around the world

44,000 staff members

United Nations: Areas of Work

Development Peace and Security Human Rights Humanitarian Affairs International Law

Priorities and the way ahead Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has

outlined five imperatives:Five generational opportunities to shape the

world tomorrow by the decisions we make today

Five imperatives Sustainable development Prevention Building a safer and more secure world Supporting nations in transition Working for – and with – women and

young people

Working for the UN

Who we are

We are international civil servants. Our work touches lives in every corner of the globe, is

complex and multifaceted, and extends directly and indirectly to our 193 Member States.

In the last decade, the United Nations has increased its field-based operations

Over 50 per cent of our 44,000 staff work in field locations all over the world

Over 100,000 personnel in 16 peacekeeping and 11 political missions

Being part of the UN

Member States Staff (including interns, associate

experts, consultants and volunteers) Civil society players (NGOs, private

sector, academia, creative community, etc.)

Career Options Staff categories Young professionals programme Language competitive examinations Associate expert programme Volunteer programme Internship programme Temporary jobs

Career Options: The different categories of staff at the United Nations

Professional and higher categories (P and D) General Service and related categories (G, TC,

S, PIA, LT) National Professional Officers (NO) Field Service (FS) Senior Appointments (SG, DSG, USG and ASG)

Professional Jobs Experience requirements after

obtaining your degree:

o P-2 = YPP or Language recruitment examination or 2 years without exam

o P-3 = 5 yearso P-4 = 7 yearso P-5 = 10 yearso D-1/D-2 = 15 years

Types of Jobs Administrators Aviation Cartography Audit Conference and Language Staff Drug Control & Crime Prevention Demographics Economic Affairs Electoral Affairs Engineering Information and Communications Technology Information Management Library Science

Logistics Procurement Medical Programme/Project Management Security Humanitarian Affairs Human Rights Legal Affairs Political Affairs Public Administration Public Information, Radio & TV Rule of Law Social Affairs Statistics

Expectations of UN staff For expectations of UN Staff, see:

Charter of the United NationsStaff Rules and Regulations

Values, Competencies, Mobility Core values:

Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity

Core competencies and managerial competencies

Mobility:Functional and geographic

Staff selection Positions advertised on

http://careers.un.org Open to external and internal candidates Exception: entry-level professional

positions (YPP)

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YPP: the Process Application Convocation Written Exam Oral Examination Placement Assignment, Orientation and Development

YPP 2012 Job families:

Architecture Economic Affairs Information System and Technology Political Affairs Radio Producer (Portuguese + Kiswahili) Social Affairs

Member States Participating: 79

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Application Important: incomplete and/or late applications will

NOT be considered

Acknowledgement: applicants will receive by e-mail an acknowledge receipt of their application

Application number: Once convoked to the written exam, candidates will receive an application number.

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AdmissionFirst Screening- Eligibility

Nationality: Must hold the nationality of a participating member state at the time of application

Age: 32 years or younger (Date of birth: On or after 1 January 1979)

Education: First-level university degree acceptable for each job family

Language: Fluency in English or French Experience: No experience required

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AdmissionSecond Screening

If more than 40 qualified applicants from the same participating Member State in the same job family, a second round of screening will be conducted

Criteria for the second screening: Language: Fluency in additional official

languages of the United Nations Degree: Additional and/or higher-level

degrees acceptable for the job family Experience: Length of work experience

acceptable for the job family

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Convokees All candidates will receive notification regarding

their admission to the written examination

Applicants may check the listing of application numbers on the United Nations Careers Portal http://careers.un.org

Members States will be informed on the numbers of convokees by examination centre

Written Examination Wednesday, 5 December 2012 Overall time for the written examination: 4.5

hours Structure:

General paper Specialized paper

Examinees are fully responsible for any expenses related to their travel to the examination centre

General Paper

Summary and several questions in International Affairs,

To be answered in either English or French;

Eliminatory

Specialized Paper

Essays and short questions in the substantive area

To be answered in any of the UN official languages.

The essay part of this paper is eliminatory

The Examination: Oral Part

Competency-based interview and possibly an oral presentation.

UN Secretariat will cover the travel expenses of examinees invited to the oral examination

Core values and competencies Core values:

Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity

Core competencies:Communication, Teamwork, Planning and

Organizing, Accountability, Creativity, Client Orientation, Commitment to Continuous Learning, Technological Awareness

Competency-based interviews

“Past, demonstrated behavior is the best indicator of future performance”

Questions ask about past professional experiences that can demonstrate that the applicant is competent

Successful Candidates Placement

To be placed in positions at the P-1 or P-2 level in any Secretariat duty station or peacekeeping operation.

Reserve List Only those who cannot be placed will be

kept on a reserve list, from which future vacancies will be filled.

The reserve list has a lifespan of two years after the conclusion of the examination.

Candidates who refuse one invitation to interview or one official offer of employment will be removed from the reserve list.

Assignment, Orientation & Development

Initial assignment: Two years Second assignment: In a different duty station Two-week orientation programme prior to first

assignment Dedicated training budget to ensure

professional development

Lessons learned and tips(from participants in the YPP 2011)

Written Exam

Time-keeping is extremely important(4.5 hours seems long, but it is a lot of writing. There is a lot to write- you tend to spend too much time with the topic you are familiar with or where you know a lot.)

Practice hand writing ahead of time. Practice time keeping.(Do a full 4.5 hour written exam with all four parts to check how much time you need for each, and to get a feeling for it. this helps to practice handwriting as well.)

Concentrate on the general part and try to do it really well (It is eliminatory!)

Lessons learned and tips(from participants in the YPP 2011)

Written Exam Summarizing of texts is tricky

(not because of the content but because of the hand writing - normally you use Word and word count on the PC so with handwriting you do not really know how much you have written)

For summary writing, practice summarizing UN documents and time yourself

Read and check the UN/NY website on a daily basis.

Judge the value of each question and distribute your time accordingly.

Answer every question, even if you don’t know or are not sure. (Take an educated guess. If you don’t write anything you automatically get 0 points, but there are no minus points for wrong answers.)

Lessons learned and tips(from participants in the YPP 2011)

Oral Exam

know the UN Core Competencies as detailed as possible

Application Process Search for job

openings Understand the

position and location Create a profile and

draft application Apply to a job opening

Evaluation of the application

Assessment exercise Competency-based

interview Background checks Selection notification

Personal History Profile (PHP)

Description of Duties Duties:

o What you did in your job

Describe your responsibilities with careful attention to the vacancy for which you are applying

Useo Current job: present tenseo Past job(s): past tense

Summary of Achievements Achievements:

o How well did you do in your job

Provide specific examples where you made an impact/contribution in the positions you have held

Cover Letter Describe how your experience, qualifications and competencies match the

specific position

You can distinguish yourself from other candidates by highlighting what makes you a good match for the position

Structure

o Open with a statement of interesto Summarize your qualifications, experience and competencies relating to

the specific positionso Close with a brief recapitulation

Make it impressive and customize it

Additional Tips The UN will first get to know you through your

application/PHP Be truthful, accurate and specific Make your words count Prepare application/PHP offline using a word

processor application (e.g. MS Word) Print application/PHP on screen or paper to

proofread and review Save your applications

The International Working Environment (1)

Realization that challenges are truly global

and interdependent (nexus approach)

Need for engaging all possible actors

Need for predictable/permanent mechanisms

Need for certain principles to be in place for legitimacy.

The International Working Environment (2)

UN has a comparative advantage in all

UN role and necessity is less questioned

Increase in operational tasks

The issue is to prove its effectiveness (not vis-à-vis other actors but as regards getting the job done)

UN Working Environment: Demand on Results

Results orientation means need for:

more capable organization better operating structures better management and ultimately more capable staff more accountability – down to the level of the

individual

How will those changes impact on your work and possible career (1)?

More operational → more stress on delivering Mobility Flexibility Versatility Integrity Accountability

How will those changes impact on your work and possible career (2)?

At times also dangerous with more operational tasks (as UN has become a target for terrorists and insurgents)

Frustration (bureaucracy + want to do results + judged against ideals/expectations)

BUT: also offers more variety – more interesting things to do – a real chance to make a difference – also be part of a unique community

Thank you for your attention!

www.un.org

careers.un.org

www.unis.unvienna.org