I recently tried to monitor the hits on this blog. Not surprisingly, there are those, like me who have sat the United Nations NCRE exams out there who scour the web looking for any clues, any information they can find on that may enlighten them on the latest happening.
I have come to learn that patience is the name of the game. People say its bureaucracy, others may mistakenly believe that the United Nations may have forgotten all about them. But lets face it; they may be slow in responding but they are well aware of everything. As the 2009 NCRE exams have concluded, I thought I might share more of my tips for those candidates still waiting on word from the United Nations.
After your exams, wait patiently
After your exams go get a nice cup of coffee, relax and refocus all your energy on whatever it is that you are currently doing. Be sure to regularly check the examination page on http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/examin/ncrepage.htm to monitor the progress of the exams. The UN will almost always try to meet the deadlines it posts on this site and if it is not able to meet it, it will post an updated date. I do not know what factors force them to change dates, but changes are expected and your patience is important.
When convoked, be prepared
The successful candidates after the written exams are listed on the NCRE website and contacted at least a week later by email. In this email, the UN will send information you would need such as the date, time and venue of your interview. Included will be a file on UN Competencies, a very important document.
When convoked, do not attempt to will the UN into action by trying to contact them. It is always often met with silence. They will contact you and if you are like me, you will be assigned a very helpful contact who will assist you all the way until you arrive for your interview either in New York, Geneva or any location that they will interview you in. Sometimes, the interview may be conducted via video conference or phone; I am of the opinion that this option is often available to candidates with close proximity to a UN office and where the technology is available. I was initially convoked to Geneva but visa delays forced me to New York instead. Because my assigned contact was based in New York, I was glad to meet her in person, thank her for her hard work and she took me to the interview room.
The wait between when you are advised and when you leave can be long. I was advised of my convocation early in November of 2008 and was interviewed in January of 2009. Liaise closely with your UN contact on all issues regarding your travel. My authorization for travel and e-tickets were provided 3 days before I left for New York.
During the interview
As I have mentioned, be prepared to talk a lot about yourself. For me it was a bit of an unnerving experience because I personally find it very difficult to talk about myself. But study the UN competencies really well and try to think of real examples of where you may have applied some or all of the competencies. Stay positive, avoid flattery and be honest. Practical examples are important. At the end of my interview, we spent 15 minutes on questions about the United Nations. 4 open ended questions will be asked you may pass on only one without being penalized. I missed 2 of those 4 questions. I passed on the first, did not know the answer to the second but answered the last two questions really well.
Join the NCREFORUM
This is a yahoo group on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ncreforum, was formed in 2005 by candidates who were on the roster. The stories you read here will surely give hope; most of us are not alone. Aside from that those on this forum are quick to let others know when opportunities arise or take time to explain in great detail issues that affect candidates who have made it on the roster and are waiting for placement from the United Nations. I surely found some very inspiring stories on this forum. It’s membership is, however, only open to those who are currently on the roster. You will gain valuable insight interacting with its members who have been in this situation before.
But basically my message is, the wait can be long; quite long at times. So patience is the name of the game.
Hi Richa. M also convoked for admin-Nepal. As far as I understand, u gotta read some good basic course books n be familiar with practical aspects. So looks like some wok-ex does help answering questions. Else read lotsa cases.
Hi Samet!
I applied for Human Rights.
I wish you and the others all the best in the exam.
As a final remark, I would like to thank “Lynnold” for this page ensuring communication with the applicants.
Good luck… 🙂
GF, well I am,..in Addis Ababa where will you be
sitting the exam in?
sebeta –
i am also an american convoked for human rights. they seemed to have added it as a category late in the application process. i was about to apply for legal affairs when i noticed human rights was suddenly available for americans.
i already asked this on the yahoo group, but is anyone sitting the exam in east africa?
Hello! I got my invitation to the NCRE in the Security field and very excited and nervous for the exam. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to study for the NCRE?
Hi OZD,
I am attending the exam (statistics) from Turkey and received an invitation yesterday.
What is your field ?
fleurdunil, you got convoked for Human Rights and you are US citizen? I thought US citizens are not eligible for the HR field, please advise~
Hubby has gotten a notification for Web Design/Development from US. I am still waiting to hear for Legal Affairs from US as well. Anyone hear for Legal Affairs yet?
Hi All, Convoked to the exam for Admin, Nepal. Any suggestions on where to dig in for reading materials?
Thanks.
Hi guys, just got a notification for Admin exam from Nepal. All the best to you all.
Thank you so much Lynold. I was convoked to the exam for HR for the US, I would never have understood this process without you. Now, time to study!
Hi everyone!
Anyone from Turkey received invitation to exam in any kind field?
I understand, after an assessment of the applications in the headquarters NY, the applicants were informed that they are shortlisted or not. Then the “shortlisted” status changed and became “under evaluation” which means, according to some, the evaluations are being done at national level for ranking. I understand from the messages that some countries completed their final assessments and submitted their final list (first 40) to the headquarters.
Thnk…
Hi Stephanie,
Have you received any notification letter ?(statistics)
Do you have more samples of exam questions of NCRE ?
Good luck
A few friends have now received rejection letters for the Human Rights Exams (too many applying in their countries), but I have received nothing so far. My status still says “under consideration.” Does anyone know what that means, if anything?
Lynnold,
It seems the official NOT CONVOKED messages are rolling in. Do you have any information on the percentage of applicants for the exam that actually get convoked? I know about the 40 per country per field rule, but would you happen to know a general percentage?
What does the status “Under consideration” mean ?
adel I would recommend reading the ncre website for your section for more details.
Hi everybody
I want to how to pass Ncre in administration ?what the topic of the exam and what is the basic book I must read for passing it?please help me!
Lynnold- do u think is normal that we haven’t received yet any notification from the un? Only six weeks to go.
No time to revise if short listed again. Goodness we don’t know what we have done to get this punishment. Or are they testing our patient or our ability to prepare assignment within a short notice?
In your time how many weeks had you between the notification date and the exam date. Was it as stressful as now for us?
Thanking you in advance.
Lynnold – thanks for your advice dude, really appreciate what you have done for us on here.
Bambi – I saw the list of books right beneath the 2009 questions, and yes i was referring to the questions given last year.