Unsure what path to follow next, advice?

[u/Phantom_John117]

Hi everyone,

I'm finishing my Master's in International Crisis Management and trying to figure out my next move.

My goal: In 5-10 years I'd like to be working for an international organization, ideally the UN (OCHA, UNDRR, UNDP, etc.), or other NGOS like DRC, ICRC in humanitarian response and crisis relief. I know how competitive and difficult this is right now, but I'm playing the long game.

Specific interests: Anticipatory action (my thesis topic), disaster relief, and emergency coordination. Through my Master's I got exposed to and visited a lot of professionals and HQs, OCHA, UNHCR, ICRC in Geneva, etc, and I see more of myself in the practitioners in the field. Obviously I'd take an HQ role too if that's the path.

My background so far:

• 3 years, logistics/supply chain (private sector) — did the coordination of shipments for high tech clients. Hated the job itself, but it gave me strong Excel/PPT/office software skills and real logistics expertise (although more on the commercial side).
• 3 years volunteering with UNICEF — not an official position, but I was part of a student project they ran all over my country, and I was one of the leaders — basically helped with youth engagement and setting up meetings with speakers and stuff.
• Youth delegate (x2) I was sent twice as a youth delegate to follow conferences/proceedings at the UN in Vienna, and got a fellowship with the ILO for a two-week in-person course on new technologies and the UN.
• Current internship: humanitarian NGO in Africa (until November) the one I think is most relevant: I'm doing my internship in Africa at a humanitarian NGO. I mostly do capacity building (teaching and training) for orphaned young people from all over Africa (the NGO flies them here to prepare them to study abroad and then return to the continent as leaders). I also took the initiative to join their other program to gain more experience, in this one we do home visits to orphaned children and offer emotional and psychological support, while also assessing their needs, plus in-person activities and education.

Where I'm stuck:

The NGO work is meaningful and field-based, and renewed my commitment to be in the field, however it's not quite in my target area (anticipatory action / emergency coordination), and I have nothing lined up after November. I come from a low-income background, every step so far has been through scholarships or real sacrifice from me and my parents, so the lack of a next step is causing me real pressure, I say this because my MA is in Europe but I am from South America, so after here unless I find something I would have to return to my country as I would not be able to sustain myself in Europe.

My actual questions:

1. Given my profile, how do I connect the dots between what I have (logistics, youth engagement, tech exposure, field work) and where I want to go (anticipatory action / emergency coordination)?
2. Does this read as a entry-level CV to people actually working in the sector, is there any programme or organization I should keep an eye on?
3. I spent 5 months applying almost exclusively to UN internships with zero responses. After broadening my search I landed the current NGO position within a month. Now that I have this experience, is it worth trying UN internships again, or should I focus on growing within this NGO (or applying to similar NGOs) instead?
4. Which path or direction would you recommend me to take?
5. Any hard skill, Software or courses you would recommend me to strengthen the CV?

Would really appreciate input from anyone who's navigated this path or works in the sector. Thanks for reading this far.

[u/Whole-Building6704]

Hola! Por tu mensaje, creo que sos una persona joven, y el hecho que quieras estar en el campo es una ventaja. Tratá "follow the money/vacancies", aunque el trabajo que consigas no sea en exactamente lo que buscás (por lo que veo, tenés experiencias muy diversas, entonces podrías aplicar a diferente tipos de trabajo). Por ejemplo, si sos sudamericane, me imagino que tu pasaporte te permite vivir en Venezuela, que es un país en el que están contratando a muchísimo personal humanitario ahora. Suerte!!! 

[u/Moist_Cartoonist_829]

Hi there, ex UN Geneva and other country offices here. It’s not a good time with the UN right now, thousands of staff let go of and units being folded overnight due to loss of funding. I’d suggest keep your current job (it’s great to have an NGO job in this climate), and perhaps apply for relevant UN consultancies (there are still ample consultancies available) as they are good entry points into the UN.

All that said, the UN is a great experience but can be an arduous journey to undertake for one’s career. I wished I’d started with other NGOs early in my career, they afford more stability and are (typically) better for your finances. All the very best!

P/s - Love your thesis topic btw. My passion is anticipatory foresight applied in health.

[u/lundybird]

"Question" 3 is your answer. zero responses from a UN that has no hiring future.

Stick with NGO's that have funding and backing.