International development is a popular career destination for many young people. Graduates can be found working in this field in a variety of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), international organisations, consultancies, think tanks and academic institutions.

Many graduates start in an NGO; you will find few graduate training schemes, those that exist have early application deadlines. Generally organisations recruit as and when they have vacancies. Most recruiters in this sector are looking for:

1. Skills - these may be “hard” technical skills such as to work as a specialist in public health or they may be “soft” skills, such as teamwork and communication. Increasingly, recruiters are placing an emphasis on hard skills, especially for jobs “in the field.”.

2. Academic training/intellectual ability - typically a good undergraduate degree (typically 2.1 or better) or, very often today, a master’s degree is an added advantage. You also need to have good written English.

3. Relevant work experience - gained through volunteering, internships or paid work. It is advisable to gain development experience before undertaking a master’s degree.

4. Fit - will you fit into the department and the organisation to which you are applying?

5. Passion and commitment - are you committed to the cause?


Things to remember:

1. Flexibility and determination are the keys to success.

2. Your first job, whilst important, won’t define you for the rest of your career.

3. Your first position is a stepping stone.

4. Do not stay too long (no more than two years) in an entry level job, you'll be able to progress into more demanding, interesting roles.

Working in the field

For many, one of the major motivations for wanting to work in international development is to spend some time “in the field” in local communities. Getting this kind of opportunity is difficult for new graduates especially those without prior experience.

Increasingly posts in the field are filled by local staff and it's mainly higher level jobs or jobs with skills in short supply (such as engineering, for example) that go to non-local staff. Generally employers look for at least a years continuous field experience for a paid position.

For new graduates wishing to gain field experience there are three main options:

1. Volunteer with organisations, such as VSO, which offer structured volunteering opportunities of up to two years (https://www.vsointernational.org/).

2. Arrange your own volunteer position with a local NGO around you (https://reliefweb.int/jobs).

3. Intern with a development organisation to get tailored training in development research (https://datavillegroup.com/graduate-internship/).

However, field experience is not essential for many jobs in international development (for example, HR, IT, fundraising, communications, finance, etc.).

When to apply for jobs

Most NGOs operate a “just-in-time” approach to recruitment; therefore start applying for jobs near to when you are ready to start work.

The exceptions to this are some of the schemes run by international organisations (such as the Young Professional Programme (YPP) at the World Bank and the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) in the UN), government graduate training schemes (e.g., for DfID), and the Overseas Development Institute Fellowship scheme. For example, the deadline for the World Bank’s YPP is in July of the previous year. Keep a note of deadlines in your diary.

Networking

Many jobs in this sector are gained through making contacts. Network by:

1. Attending conferences.

2. Going to talks.

3. Undertaking some part-time volunteering.

4. Talking to your peers about opportunities.

5. Creating a LinkedIn profile and connecting with professionals and employers.