Geneva is a multinational city, which is mirrored by the large number of international organizations based here. Many United Nations organizations are also present in the city, which offers potential employment opportunities.
It is not always easy, however, how to find jobs in these organizations. There are many myths about the do’s and don’ts of finding work in Geneva’s international organizations.
Networking remains the main way to find out about positions and jobs in the United Nations and other international organizations.
I attended an event just for this reason, organized by UN Geneva. The event, “Mix and Mash,” was held at the Brasserie des Halles in collaboration with International Geneva. The two-hour event, which attracted a large number of participants, was designed to help people reach out to the international organizations and for the international organizations to mix with the average ‘Genevois’. Event sponsors included CAGI and some Geneva-based wineries.
To make the night more social, at the entrance every participant received a colored card and you were supposed to look for other people who received the same color. So you were not standing with a bunch of strangers with nothing in common, organizers also provided a topic to discuss. The topics covered gender equality, no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education and other sustainable development goals. There were 17 different colors available.
The most anticipated part of the night was the ‘professional speed-dating.’ Five organizations. had booths and anyone interested had five minutes to ask what they have always wanted to know about the organizations. Each of them had a very long line of interested people who wanted their five minutes of finding out if they had a chance at these organizations.
It was also an ideal place to highlight some of the shortcomings of these international organizations, especially unpaid internships. It has been an issue that many different organizations have ignored, but with the “we pay our interns” initiative, many NGOs and international organizations are starting to now pay interns.
This kind of event, while not necessarily the same as a career fair where you go with your resume and get job interviews, is the kind of place to meet new people, who if you give the right impression, can open career doors. For instance, if you are discussing climate change with others, it might not be what you are interested in, but people would note your ability to listen and interact.
There are very few events in Geneva where you get the chance to share the same space as interns and directors of international organizations. You have the opportunity to just chat with them in a tension free environment and to create an impression.
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Notes:
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Geneva (UN), the International Labour Office (ILO), and Grey Cells (Association of former international civil servants for development).
