United Nations Fall internship

Career Opportunities & Internships
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<p>Has anyone here interned with or at least interviewed/applied for an internship with the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) in New York? I'm trying to feel out what the competition is like for such a high profile internship. I'm starting to gather the application materials which are due in roughly a month but I am concerned whether or not I have the qualifications they are looking for. I know I'll be competing with graduate students, and was curious what some of the more experienced posters on this board think I stand in terms of landing the interview.</p>

<p>Thankfully I'm applying for a position during the school year which means it'll be substantially less competitive.</p>

<p>Here's a quick survey summary of my resume</p>

<p>University: NYU College of Arts and Science
Major: Economics and Political Science
GPA: 3.61
Studied Abroad: Thailand (didn't learn the language, way too hard to pick up on casually)</p>

<p>Work Experience:
NBC Universal - NBC News specials intern (This summer)
Time Warner - CNN intern
LL Bean Outdoor adventure School Logistics Manager (fresh/soph summer in Maine)
Washington Square News - Writer/reporter (school newspaper)</p>

<p>Volunteer Work/misc
Grameen Bank America
Political campaign work
Teacher/Tutor
Student gov't finance officer</p>

<p>Language: English & Spanish</p>

<p>in terms of my professional aspirations my goal is to one day work as a war correspondent covering international conflicts for a major network. Though it's far more likely I'll end up a producer rather than on camera, which of course would still be awesome.</p>

<p>I'm also considering interning at Senator Schumer's Manhattan office, CBS, The Daily Show, Colbert Report, ABC, CNN (Lou Dobbs, AC360, or fareed zakaria), The Council on foreign relations, and maybe NBC again. All of them of course would be awesome, but working at the UN I think would be pretty awesome.</p>

<p>anyway, where do you guys think I stand in terms of possibly landing this gig at the UN?</p>

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<p>Do they even consider undergrads at UN?</p>

3

<p>it’s a pretty massive institution with a lot of different subgroups. A lot of them are for PHDs and Grad students but there are others which consider undergraduates.</p>

<p>Here is the website if you’re interested.
[Internships</a> with UNA-USA](<a href=“http://www.unausa.org/internships]Internships”>http://www.unausa.org/internships)</p>

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<p>Hi JDP349, I am also interested in an UN internship!!I am a Sophomore now and have interned in UBS and MS for summer IBD internships. I don’t know if UN is hiring undergraduate interns and not sure how to be considered qualified either. </p>

<p>Btw, I applied for CNN internship this summer too! I haven’t heard from them somehow, since you have interned in CNN, can you share some bit of experience and how they inform you about the interviews and stuff?Thank you VERY much for your help!</p>

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<p>I just finished interning with CNN this spring. The interview process was actually quite casual. I got a call from HR asking me during winter break and asked if I had time for a phone interview, I asked if they could call me back tomorrow and made up some excuse so I could have some time to prepare myself bit. It was a phone interview which went pretty well, lasted for about 35-40 minutes.</p>

<p>They asked a lot of the typical internship questions.</p>

<p>How did you pick your major? What do you like about it?</p>

<p>Why do you want to intern at CNN?</p>

<p>How will this internship help you achieve your goals?</p>

<p>What do you hope to learn by interning with CNN?</p>

<p>Where do you get most of your news?</p>

<p>etc etc etc. I’m sure you’ve interviewed plenty though, and seen the typical questions, sounds like you have some solid experience as well.</p>

<p>Also, be sure to be generally familiar with CNN programing. Watch an episode or two of Lou Dobbs, Campbell brown, or AC360 to give you something to talk about, and definitely be up to date with important breaking news and stories.</p>

<p>Also be sure to ask them lots of questions, especially if you think they’re wrapping up the interview and you’ve only been talking for like 15 minutes. Just keep the conversation going and you can usually re answer questions if you can turn the interview into more of a two way dialogue.</p>

<p>I wasn’t particularly qualified at the time, no real prior internship experience in media/communications. My interviewer said given my strong background in economics she’d recommend me to the executive producer of the Money Unit which did two weekly shows, Your Bottom Line with Gerri Willis and Your Money with Ali Velshi and Christine Romans. The first show is Business News boiled down for the average consumer, the second show is more of a straight business/financial news show. Shortly after they offered me the position and I took it of course.</p>

<p>It was a lot of fun, I really recommend it. Working in television is quite a thrill, especially in the control room when the broadcast is live - that can get pretty intense hehe. If you do get the position though be sure to take the time to explore the company on your down time. Even if you aren’t working on your show of choice you can still shadow for a day or two.</p>

<p>Also being able to type fast is really important. You’ll spend a lot of time logging/transcribing interviews.</p>

<p>I’m really excited to be working with NBC this summer though, in the famous GE building AKA 30 rock. If all goes well there maybe I can convince them to just keep me on during the fall.</p>

<p>Anyway, I’m reasonably confident the UNA-USA internship won’t happen, but between CNN and NBC I think I’ll be able to land something else really awesome in media/communications. I think I might pursue the coveted dream of interning at the Daily Show with John Stewart.</p>

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<p>jdp349, is the CNN internship a paid internship? Thank you.</p>

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<p>There’s one thing to keep in mind: UNA-USA is <em>not</em> the UN. UNA-USA is a non-profit dedicated to promoting the UN and good UN affairs inside the US. They do good work, but they are <em>not</em> the UN. </p>

<p>If you <em>actually</em> want to work for the UN, look here:</p>

<p>[UN</a> Internship Programme](<a href=“http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/sds/internsh/index.htm]UN”>http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/sds/internsh/index.htm)</p>

<p>They do indeed accept undergrads, as I’ve known folks who have been there. </p>

<p>If you’re interested in that vein, you might want to consider looking at interning in Public Diplomacy at Department of State, as well. UNA is undoubtedly going to be an easier bid than the UN proper, just FYI.</p>

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<p>PaulK.</p>

<p>From my experience they do not accept undegrads into the UN Programme. </p>

<p>jdp,</p>

<p>The CNN internship sounds pretty interesting, how difficult do you think it is to finagle employment after completing an internship?</p>

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<p>Christian2: Unlike finance, engineering, and accounting, the big names in media very rarely pay interns. Only ABC Disney Television Group pays their interns that I’m aware of which of course makes it insanely competitive and difficult to land unless you’ve done your fair share of unpaid internships.</p>

<p>NBC is giving me an unlimited subway pass this summer which is way better than most places give their interns.</p>

<hr>

<p>Thanks PaulK for the correction, I should have done my research a bit more carefully. Thought it still looks like an opportunity worth pursuing. I think I’ll hold off on the official UN internship Program until Grad School. I’m looking at the joint Degree Program in Journalism and International Affairs.</p>

<p>I’ll have to take a second look at the Department of State. I remember they require applicants to apply extremely early given the extensive background check they have to do for security clearance. I’ll have to check on whether their program allows for part time interns. I’m studying abroad Next year in Tel Aviv and Cairo, maybe interning at an embassy might be a possibility</p>

<hr>

<p>Sphere718: It depends on the department your assigned to and the impression you make with your producers. Nearly everyone in my department started off as an intern, so it certainly is possible. CNN has what’s called the Freelancer Program which is sort of like a step above being an intern. You work part time (Paid) whenever a department needs an extra PA (Production assistant) to get things done. Usually the freelancers get priority when any sort a position opens up and they get brought on as a full time employee.</p>

<p>Make some friends/contacts while you’re there, and keep in touch with them letting them know what you’ve been up to every couple of months if you’re doing something that might peek their interest. If they liked you while you interned under them, think you’re competent, and see that you’re working hard during your undergrad years to wrack up as much experience as possible I’m sure they’d be willing to help you find a position in the company.</p>

<p>CNN also has a formal program new grads, a rec from an Executive Producer within the company will certainly be an asset in the decision making process.</p>

<p>Also keep in mind CNN is based in Atlanta and New York when you’re applying. I worked out of New York in the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle.</p>

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<p>Hi Jdp349, thank you so much for your detailed information on CNN internship…I am so impressed!and now I am still waiting for their emails or calls. According to your experience,how long it will take for them to sort out the applications they’ve received, and actually begin to contact the applicants? I know it’s kind of hard to say, but I am quite eager to find out the result, since summer is coming quite soon…thx! :)</p>

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<p>They took a long time to finally contact me, in fact I was really caught off guard when i got the phone call. I remember I applied in late November and they didn’t get back to me until a few days after the new year in January. The hiring process was really quick for me though, I was interviewed and given the internship the same day. NBC was actually the same too now that I think about it … maybe I interview well hehe.</p>

<p>However I remember during my last week hearing the Executive Producer talking with someone that he was just got the resumes of the recommended interns for the department. The decisions might have already been made.</p>

<p>Do you remember which specific shows you applied to on the Time Warner site?</p>

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<p>For what it’s worth, one of my Model UN friends/colleagues who is a junior at a small liberal arts college studying international development has been at the UN on an internship since January. That’s my basis for my statement that it is possible to be an undergrad at the UN. I don’t know how prevalent it is, but it is <em>possible</em> evidently. </p>

<p>Department of State accepts part time interns at most locations, especially during the school year. Many students in WashDC go to school full time and work at the Department for 20-25 hours/week. They offer internships (during the summer and occasionally during the year) at almost all consulates/embassies with a sizable staff. Tel Aviv and Cairo are both… well, good sized, to say the least. I’d get in touch. If you need specifics, NEA (Near East Affairs) covers Tel Aviv, and I believe that AF (Africa) covers Egypt at this juncture. You can check under those bureaus in the internship list on the State webpage.</p>

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<p>Summer Analyst Intern, Time Inc. Corporate Strategy and Development
STARS Internship Program<br>
Summer 2009 Internships
Summer 2009 Intern - CNN International (New York)<br>
Summer 2009 Intern - CNN, Money Unit (New York)
Summer 2009 Intern - CNN, CNNMoney.com (New York)<br>
Summer 2009 Intern - CNN, United Nations/International (New York)<br>
Summer 2009 Intern - CNN, Anderson Cooper 360 (New York) </p>

<p>That’s all I’ve applied for…I am not sure if that’s too much or…I really wanna intern in AC 360 though, the show is just amazing.</p>

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<p>“For what it’s worth, one of my Model UN friends/colleagues who is a junior at a small liberal arts college studying international development has been at the UN on an internship since January. That’s my basis for my statement that it is possible to be an undergrad at the UN. I don’t know how prevalent it is, but it is <em>possible</em> evidently. :”</p>

<p>PaulK, </p>

<p>I was an intern there for grad school approximately 4 years ago for the Fall of 2005. While there were roughly over a 100 interns in the actual internship programme, I can’t recall any being undergrad students. For the most part they were all MA,MS and PhD candidates. However, there are ‘interns’ in the sense that they aren’t in the UN Programme, but they may be working with employees via networking–It happens. But there’s a clear difference between the two, one will have access to certain amenities, while the other’s won’t.</p>

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<p>OP, you should PM molly4190. She/he knows a lot about UN internships (did one, I think) and gave me some great information since I’m interested as well.</p>

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<p>jdp349: Thank you so much for your insight on the CNN internship process. Where did you work within CNN NY? Were you involved in research, writing, etc? What were your duties?
Also, what did you do at NBC? In what ways were you involved?</p>

<p>When comparing your internship experiences, did you enjoy working at NBC or CNN more?</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>