Work in the UN!

[Verbl Kint]

https://jobs.un.org/Galaxy/Release3/vacancy/vacancy.aspx?lang=1200


I guess it's about time I learned French! :)

But seriously, though, I have once been told that when looking for a job in the foreign service, it's not really what you know but who can refer you.

[vilaern]

dud, if you like to work in the foreign service of Department of Foreign Affairs, you cant rely in referal coz you will end up being a rank and file officer. better take the foreign service examination in DFA and start as foreign service officer I or IV yata and ladder up to become a consul and diplomat.

but if your referal, let's say, a very powerful person, who knows, you might end up being a top officer or appointee.

goodluck!

[muff_puff]

Can you work in the DFA even if you're not a foreign service grad? What positions would you end up with? Do you have to have civil service eligibility too? Thanks :)

[muff_puff]

I have an MBA but my working experience is kinda limited coz I've been working in our family business for the past 5 yrs already..do you think I have a chance? :) Thanks :)

[makapangyarihan]

My sister works at the DFA as secretary (or something similar) for the current Philippine Consul assigned in Milan, Italy and she has been there with our Parents for close to 5 years na. They get assigned to different Philipine consulates for 6 years straight.

She makes around 200K/month plus she gets to bring practically anybody she wishes. I just didn't go with them to Milan because I wanted to make it on my own here.

The problem there is that you would have to bear really low wages while you wait for your turn to get assigned to a foreign post... unless you pass their Foreign Service Officers Exam which they say is really tough but if you do, you'd be in pretty good shape! Good luck!

[OliverWood21]

:D My sister works at the DFA as secretary (or something similar) for the current Philippine Consul assigned in Milan, Italy and she has been there with our Parents for close to 5 years na. They get assigned to different Philipine consulates for 6 years straight.

She makes around 200K/month plus she gets to bring practically anybody she wishes. I just didn't go with them to Milan because I wanted to make it on my own here.

The problem there is that you would have to bear really low wages while you wait for your turn to get assigned to a foreign post... unless you pass their Foreign Service Officers Exam which they say is really tough but if you do, you'd be in pretty good shape! Good luck!


Hmm.. If I am not mistaken, makapangyarihan.. I know you.. :D

[OliverWood21]

Hmm. I know a person who works for UNICEF, 6 digits na yata yung starting salary nya.

[vilaern]

it's not a requirement to be a foreign service grad to enter DFA. as long as you can pass the foreign service exam, you have a shot!

during my college, i heard even a doctor did passed this exam. Makapangyarihan is right, by the time you passed the exam, start from being foreign service officer staff I or IV yata, wait for your assignment. and i think, before you'll get assign, you must stay at DFA for 3 years before they decide for your future abroad assigment.

[ajoeroooo]

^^ ang dami pang rigorous training na pagdadaanan once u become FSO IV, simula palang yon, and pumasa ka man sa mga suceeding exams after fso4 to consul to amb, dika parin basta mabibigyan agad ng posts, dahil sa dami ng nasa waiting lists & 2nd, 'political appointees' :) and one thing more, diplomacy in the case of the phil, isnt a profitable job, marami ding umaalis sa dfa after passing the FSO4 to explore other career opportunities :)

[Ice Burn]

Here...

http://www.worldbank.org/jobs

[muff_puff]

is there a review course for the foreign service exam? do you have to be well-abreast with current events? :)

[lilintian]

do you have to take and pass the local civil service exam first before taking theforeign service exam?:) and what if you don't belong to the top 10% of your class? will they still consider? :)

[ajoeroooo]

muff, meron sa ateneo every april, 8t ang package, needs to be well abreast? of course..

lil, 1, no
2, yes, anybody holding a bachelor's degree can take the exam. :)

[vilaern]

there was also a review class in csb last march-april. my former classmate took the foreign service qualifying exam last may and he passed! there's 3 part exam, first is the qualifying exam, same with civil service exam but of course, it's harder. my classmate will now take or maybe he already took the 2nd part exam this october and this exam includes everything about world history, international relation, foreign language and so on. i think this 2nd exam entails more specific subjects than the 1st exam, which was a general overview. i just hope he'd pass the whole process until the 3rd exam which is already the oral exam in hyatt hotel with real diplomats.

[muff_puff]

thanks :)

do you also need to know at least one foreign language?

how long do the review courses last? more than a month? :)

[Verbl Kint]

Very interesting and enlightening posts. :)

Here's another place to look for employment:

http://www.mi6.gov.uk/output/Page4.html

for Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service!

Kidding aside, they are actively recruiting men and women of different backgrounds to work in the field and in the UK as well.

An intelligence service with a global reach and capability needs people with a global outlook. Gathering secret intelligence to advance Britain's national interests in a rapidly changing and demanding international environment calls for staff who thrive on challenge and who are not afraid to take well-calculated decisions under pressure. From operations to corporate management and IT our staff share a 'can-do' approach and determination to get the job done. They enjoy work that is stimulating, often exciting, always varied, and, in the technical field, often cutting-edge. But a career in SIS offers more than just the opportunity to develop professional skills in a fascinating, fast moving and testing workplace. What motivates the high-calibre people who make SIS their career is the chance it gives them to make a real difference to the UK.

[vilaern]

The sensitive nature of the work SIS undertakes means that candidates for SIS must be British, with at least one parent who is a British national. A candidate must normally have lived in the UK for at least 5 of the last 10 years and will have to pass an extensive security clearance process prior to joining.

i think only british nationals are allowed to apply. does philippine goverment have its own secret intelligence service?

muff_puff: thier review classes lasted for 4-5 weeks yata. their classes are from 6pm-9pm everyday. about foreign language, i think you should be well-equipped with one language. 5% of the written exam (if i'm still correct) entails the foreign language you chose.

[mellowscream]

any updates here?

[LimpBwiZit]

had my interview 2 days ago. okay naman, mukhang impressed naman sya. i chose iraq, uganda, myanmar, timor (in that order) as my preferred assignment.

pero i'm not that interested in UN. may scheduled interviews pa ako sa ibang international organizations.

[paggi10]

LimpBwiZit, pwede mo bang mai-post dito yung process ng application mo? para sa mga interesado :) thanks.

[albert16]

LimpBwiZit where did you apply and how?

[charolastra]

albert16: limpbwizit is obviously bluffing :)

who wants to work in those locations? and some of those he mentioned aren't duty stations anyway. :)

[LimpBwiZit]

geez...

i attended a 7-month training with a UN agency and at the end of the training, "best performers" were interviewed.fortunately, i'm one of them.

without glorifying the previous post, there's a recruitment drive for volunteers to UN Missions in conflict areas. since our training was very much relevant to the available posts, we were interviewed and assessed, then given a feedback and asked to sign up at a website.

of course, an "average" filipino professional won't want to work in those locations, kasi grand cities like geneva, vienna, and new york lagi ang pinapangarap. geez...i was a corporate lawyer for a major airline for a while and i'm tired of the corpo life. and after lounging around europe for quite some time now, i'm kind of bored, felt a bit more adventurous and want to try these places.

besides, mataas ang bayad pag nasa conflict areas.

*limpbwizit speaks 4 foreign languages and currently (recently) lives in berlin, germany, so the opportunities are quite different coz of the personal network and the kind of exposure to job vacancy announcements (others are posted in german, french, and italian)

[clintv]

LimpBwizit whats that UN agency your talking about? Can you please share, im interested and what's the process?

[LimpBwiZit]

^ sent a private message in reply to your query.