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.
I have asked the UN staff about my status and they answered the following:
“You will receive official notification of your status after the closure of the deadline for applications.
Notifications will be sent late September /early October”.
Hi LB,
Regarding applications to NCRE, I did not receive specific application number though have confirmation email.
Do you think being an intern at UN offices make the candidates have more advantageous at the recruitment ?
Last question, my status is “052 shortlist” what does it mean ?
Field is statistics
Hi – It’s been very interesting reading everyone’s comments. Thanks for all the advice.
I submitted my application and my status currently appears as “052 shortlist”. Does this mean that I will be convoked for the exam or do we still need to wait for the October list (referenced above) to be sure?
Also, I never rec’d confirmation of being “shortlisted”. I received a confirmation email that my application had been received but not that my application status had changed. Is this normal?
Thanks for all of your help!
Gaby
Contacted them via email and they confirmed successful submission of my application. Very quick response so I’m assuming it was a common question!
Fo, my status also says 052 Short List. I have no idea when they’ll let us know but I’m going to go ahead and start preparing the exam, December 1 is not so far away
DC, I think everyone of us has received a confirmation email. I received it immediately upon submission. I think it is necessary and may be you should contact OHRM if you have not received it yet.
Did everyone get a confirmation email? I sent mine two days ago but never got a confirmation email even though in the status online, it’s blank. My husband just sent his now and got an confirmation email already.
Does anybody know what’s the meaning of the number before the word “short list”? My status says “052 Short List”.
LB, I checked the status online. It is blank.
Prash, did you check online by your status? It does not say “short list”?
They didn’t send us an email or anything- we just found it online.
Good luck.
Application for legal affairs submitted and I am American. I always like to see what fields have been applied to and where applicants are from so am including my info. Good luck everyone!
I submitted by application almost one and a half week back but I have not been short-listed yet. Seeing that others have been short listed very quickly, looks like they r not gona short list me.
Anyone know if we’re supposed to attach copies of our degrees? Thanks!
Hi everyone,
According to the table at wikipedia it seems that the hardest stage of the recruitment process is the exam. Doing the math for the recrutment process in IT 2009 shows that about %10 of the candidates passed the exam and the chance to be convoked and get on the roaster was %60-%70, which is very high. But of course there is still the wait on the roaster and it is possible that they will never call you for duty.
But for now, forget about the roaster. I agree with Lynnold that the key to success is a good preparation for the exam.
BTW thanks Lynnold. I think we need that support for the exam 🙂
Sean et al. Just my personal opinion. Ideally, the UN would like to have as many people as possible sit the exams. They have a better chance of finding the ideal candidates that way too. So unless candidates clearly do not possess the necessary qualifications; most applicants make it through to sit the exam. However, I am aware that if there were more than a certain number (maybe 40) of people from one country applying for a place in one particular occupational group then the UN carefully scrutinizes the applications and only selects the best (40?) from the applicants. So in a way it also varies from one country to another. Some candidates I spoke said hundreds show up for the exam whereas when I sat the exam only 24 people (in varies occupational group) got to sit from the Solomons. I hope candidates do realize that while I am suggesting that in most cases it is easy to be accepted for the exam, the point is to be well prepared for the exams. That is important as it is the very first instance where the UN simply eliminates those who do not make the grades. Having said that I would like to congratulate those who will sit the exam. I wish you all the very best. Put your effort into it and it may change your life. But remember to have fun. Cheers, Lynnold
PS: Some figures and stats since 2008 on Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Competitive_Examination
I am also short-listed, hope that means what it sounds like it means. My field is Human Rights, wonder how competetive it is.
I applied three days ago and I’m “short listed”
I’m starting to think that this just means they’ve received your application because it seems like everyone on here is short listed. (Or maybe we are all that great) 😉
Anyone have any leads on when we’ll really know for sure, I’m curious. Thanks! Grateful for this site.
I applied on September 7th and found out I was on the short list on the 10th. So, I think it can go quickly. I applied for Human Rights. Anyone else?
I had a number in front of my status, but I don’t know what that means.
I also don’t know what being short listed means.
My field is legal affairs.
Thanks NCRE. Mine is admin. Anybody else with admin?