PKU alumni share their experience in applying for UN and WBG YPP
May 12, 2020
Peking University, May 12, 2020: On the evening of April 5, the first online IO Salon (International Organization Career Salon) was hosted by PKU Student Career Center. Two PKU alumnae who had studied in the Guanghua School of Management (GSM) were invited to share with around 300 PKU students their application experience of YPP (Young Professionals Program) of the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank Group (WBG), and their working experience in these international organizations.
Hu Chaoyi, 2019 MBA from GSM and CAREC Regional Coordinator at Asian Development Bank (ADB) introduced the overview and selection process of the UN YPP and shared her experience in preparation for it based on her success in passing the 2018 UN YPP exam on Social Affairs. Each year the UN YPP recruits about 100 individuals worldwide, and if recruiting in China, the percentage will be around 10% to 15%. Applicants who meet some basic criteria should pass the resume screening, written test, and interview before they are placed on a roster for job matching. Hu Chaoyi thinks the UN YPP prefers professional candidates with work experience in international development or other fields where the UN has employment needs or graduates with internship experience in international organizations. Considering the fierce competition for the UN YPP and the frequent requirement of world-travelling for its international employees, Hu Chaoyi recommends the audience think twice before application, and start preparing as early as possible upon determining.
Dr Liu Yan who obtained a doctorate degree in economics in GSM and enrolled in the WBG YPP in 2018, outlined the WBG YPP and talked about her experience in working for it. The World Bank aims to eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. The WBG YPP aims to recruit young civil servants for the World Bank Group. The selection constitutes a bipartite process of online application and interview and emphasizes the matching degree of the candidates’ academic work experience with the World Bank Group, their recommendation letters, and their ability to communicate and negotiate. She said the working pace of World Bank employees were fast, but they could still have a good work-life balance, and that it was a choice of both opportunities and challenges to join the World Bank.
After their presentations, the alumnae answered the audience’s questions concerning the qualifications of international organization personnel, job and internship preparation, and the working environment, career development path and benefits of the UN and the WBG.
Written by: Fan Xueyuan
Edited by: Huang Weijian
Source: PKU Student Career Center
