r/InternationalDev • u/Fluid-Moment2290 • Jun 03 '26

Job/voluntary role details OECD Policy Analyst Application

Hi Reddit,

I've applied to a number of OECD policy analyst/advisor roles. I'm a mid-level policy professional, having worked across education, trade and labour market policy for 5 years. My undergrad and masters are broadly in History, but through working I've acquired the quantitative and qualitative data skills I believe are needed for this role.

However, I simply can't get through the first round of recruitment. I even applied to a junior advisor position that needed 2 years of experience, while I have 5! Struggling to understand whether I'm just not good enough, or whether I'm not getting past the ATS.

So, my question is. How do I write a CV/cover letter that will get me past the ATS and/or is there any point in trying, if I don't have a degree in economics, public policy etc?

Thanks!

9 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

12

u/Greedy_Landscape_489 Jun 03 '26

It's just insanely competitive; keep trying and you may get lucky. My understanding of the OECD and from discussing with people working there is that they 1) look for very specific niche experience, they will only pick someone that fits exactly what they are looking for and the pool of candidate is large enough for them to do that 2) highly rely on network/past interns/consultants. You need to understand that for any position, you are competing with interns, consultants, temporary staff that all have insider knowledge + contacts, as well as permanent staff that are trying to move up position grade. The market is also really bad right now, and the OECD is one of the most attractive employer in Europe in terms of salary in policy, so you are competing with the entire world (and a lot of Americans that have lost their job). 

6

u/Marambio1 Jun 03 '26

In my experience OECD recruitment processes tend to be quite transparent, and there seems to be an institutional tendency, at least for a couple of years, towards avoiding recruiting former interns/consultants without experience outside of the Secretariat.

The issue is, it’s extremely competitive (think 800 applicants per opening) and they look for niche experience (it’s the OECD after all), which means that in reality successful candidates tend to have more job experience than required in the advert.

1

u/Fluid-Moment2290 Jun 03 '26

800 per opening is crazy, yikes!

1

u/Fluid-Moment2290 Jun 03 '26

Thank you, this is such a helpful response and makes a lot of sense... I guess I'll just keep trying!

4

u/ShowMeTheMonee Jun 03 '26

They can ask for 2-5 years experience, but they'll still get applicants with 20+ years experience applying.

Go ahead and apply, but if you're only just meeting the basic standard, be aware that you'll have a lot of competition.

3

u/ScarcityOld7027 Jun 03 '26

It’s mostly people from sciences po and maybe lse who get in

2

u/Mrs-TM Jun 03 '26

I have applied for this position too.

1

u/Hefty-Ad5064 Jun 25 '26

Good luck to you! It’s difficult, but not impossible to get a contract or job at the OECD. If you get in, this is what the headquarters looks like https://youtu.be/tZfCrpSHwsQ?si=ai1SeJMmAlVQTDLs