This entry is a bit of a stretch for me because the reader is asking me about job advice for a gig at the United Nations. I’ve never worked there and I’m nowhere close to an expert on this, but I’m going to try to break this into pieces and address each part. The funny thing about being in Consulting is that it gives you a whole new way to think about problems and makes even the most foreign topic seem approachable. Now, let’s see how well this turns out…
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RD wrote:
“Hi Marquis,
I have been following your blog all of last year and thank you doesn’t even begin to say the gratitude I feel for all your direct / indirect help by sharing your life experiences and reaching out.
Here’s my story and I hope to be able to benefit from your insight on my career decisions.
I have a Master’s in French and 7 years of work experience in Corporate training.My goal is to be able to work at one of the UN agencies – a job role that involves working for children in the developing nations.I am in the process of steering my career in that direction though the path for now looks really hazy.
I am going to attend a one year MBA program in India starting next year.I would need to work for sometime after the MBA in order to repay the loan.I have been wondering whether I should try to get into management consulting for a few years and then try for jobs at the UN or whether I should get more education after the MBA( an MALD program at the Fletcher School, for
instance) and then attempt the UN jobs.
Which kind of jobs after the MBA would help me get closer to my eventual goal?The concern right now – most of the job profiles in the UN that I have looked at ask for some sort of specialisation or the other.Pretty confused how to go about it all for now.
Best,
R.”
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My response:
RD,
Thanks for reaching out to me with your question. I’ve got to be upfront and let you know that I’m “flying blind” on this one because I’ve never worked for the UN and don’t have any expertise in preparing for a job there. I’ll still try to give you a good reply and hope that you find it helpful or, at least, thught-provoking.
From what I’ve heard, a job at the United Nations is pretty difficult to get because of the relatively small number of spots and the large number of people applying for them. So, when I thought about your question, I came up with the following list of job possibilities that could provide either the skills or the network that you would need to make a run at a UN-type job:
1. Consulting –> You’ve already mentioned consulting as an option and it is probably your best one in terms of building skills that you’d be able to use at the UN. As I’ve mentioned in this blog before, you can learn a TON in a relatively short amount of time as a consultant. Plus, the chance to learn about general business principles in a variety of industry would serve you well in the public sector. I would caution you to seek out a consulting firm that is on a generalist model so you can maximize your cross-functional/industry learnings through you project work. I know that several firms have offices in India, so that would be where you’d want to start, but, if the chance to transfer to a US office arises, you should jump on it IMMEDIATELY as it will allow you build a network here that could result in a shot at the UN.
2. Public policy or political think-tank position –> I’m not sure if there are public policy and/or political think thank positions available for you in India, but, if there are, you might want to consdier pursuing one. The jobs you might get in this area aren’t directly linked to the type of work you want to focus on at the UN, but I’m guessing that you could meet a ton of great contacts in politics if you work in that area. Your background in French might enable you to work for a think tank in France, but it may take a little more effort to make that happen. An unfortunate thing about these jobs are that I hear they don’t often pay too well, but, if you don’t mind sacrificing on the $$$, this could work out for you.
3. Position at an embassy –> I’m not sure what types of jobs one can get in an embassy, but I’m sure that working at one would help you build a heck of a network. You could work around officials and staffpersons from a variety of countries and backgrounds and you’d likely learn a lot while building a rolodex of contacts that you might be able to leverage to make a move toward the UN in the future.
4. Non-profit focused on economic development or child welfare –> In your email, you said that you eventually want to get a position at the UN working for children in developing nations, so a potential path to that role at the UN could be to start off in that area of focus first. There are plenty of non-profit organizations that work in these areas and, with your MBA, you should be able to provide tremendous value for one of these orgs. If you spend a few years getting experience in these areas at one or more non-profits, you would probably have an easier time making a case for a transition into the UN.
As for you getting more education after your MBA (like at the Fletcher School), it may not be necessary because you may end up in the same position that you’re currently in (i.e. on the outside trying to find a way into the UN). The additional education would be useful once you get into the job, but you would still need to establish the sort of network that could give you an “in” to get the job in the first place. If I were you, I would try to find the job that could be a good UN lead-in immediately after completing the MBA and put the thoughts of another degree to the side until you absolutely need it. Normally, I’m a big fan of getting as much education as possible, but, in your case, debt from the MBA seems like it’ll be a big issue and I’d hate to see you take on more debt than absolutely necessary. Get your job search going, find something good, and then reconsider whether you need to go back to school later on…
Take care and let me know if you have any follow-up questions.
-Marquis
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