5 Tips To Build Career In International NGOs

Katherine Brunt 30-Jun-2015

Spending time in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Burma, Indonesia, Lebanon, Sudan and many other places is much more than just the worst nightmare for most of the people because of wars, bloodshed and natural disasters. However, there are still a large number of other people who have been working in those regions as International Aid Workers. You can imagine how it would be if you have to live away from your sweet home in a Tsunami affected area to deliver aid packages to refugees.

In short, working for an NGO as an aid worker can be the hardest job in the world which involves long working hours and extremely high dangers. However, it is still considered to be an impressive career and if you would live to be part of it, there are some great tips for you.

Tip 1: Focus on Your Education
No matter how much time you have spent as a volunteer in local areas, you must have a master’s degree to be part of an international NGO as it might be very helpful for you to get your internship especially when your dissertation topic is based on something related to humanitarian catastrophe in any way.

Tip 2: Get Your Internship Abroad
Having a master’s degree on your CV does not get you in the world of NGOs but if you have an internship experience on the CV, it can be greatly helpful to get a job. Unfortunately, the bad part of internship is that you have to do this without expecting any stipends in most of the cases. Though, you are working to help other people, you still get nothing. However, this practical experience really helps you get a job. Some of the places where you can find internships are:

Idealist.Org
Here you can find hundreds of internship opportunities worldwide including HR Management, International Marketing, Community Centre, HIV, AIDS Programs, School Administration, and Human Rights International etc.

GlobalNomadic.Com
You can also look for professional internships in GlobalNomadic.Com which will allow you to step into the world of NGOs. Some of the popular fields are:

    Environmental Development
    Economic Development
   Wildlife Rehabilitation
   Medical Internships
   Human Rights and Law
    Veterinary Internships
    Media & Journalism

Tip 3: Volunteer As a Local Worker
In case you don’t have enough resources to take practical working experience in abroad, you can still volunteer as a local worker in the area where you are currently living. In this way, you can get some great experience of working in this particular field which will surely help you later. You can also divide your day into two parts which will allow you to work few hours as a volunteer and the next few hours in a paid job. If your ultimate goal is to work as an international work, look for an NGO which deals in refuge and rehabilitation issues.

Tip 4: Have a Special Skill
Along with your masters, if you have some special skills, it can be really great to get a paid job in an international NGO. If you have specialty in finance, food, health or nursing, you can easily make your career fast tracking in an organization. If you have some experience of working as a nurse, you may easily find voluntary works which will eventually lead you to your ultimate goal towards an international career.

Tip 5: Explore Job Opportunities
Once you have achieved education, skills and relevant experience, it is the best time to look for a perfect job in an international NGO. The best place to explore job opportunities is to use internet where you can get access to the job opening websites or look for job openings directly on official websites of international NGOs. Some of the major international NGOs are:

Care
Care’s main focus is to deal with global poverty issues throughout the world.

International Committee of the Red Cross
This NGO is deeply involved in helping victims of internal violence and conflicts.

International Federation of the Red Cross
This NGO has the mission to work in 4 different areas including humanitarian principles, disaster preparedness, disaster response and health care.

MedecinsSans Frontiers
It has been delivering emergency aid to the victims of wars and conflicts, healthcare exclusion, epidemics and natural disasters.

    Final Words
    When you have required education, skills, practical experience and most importantly passion to work an international aid worker, nobody can      stop you to build your successful career in international NGOs.

About The Author


author

Katherine Brunt

Jason Luke is the recruitment specialist at a FMCG firm in Houston. He studied HR management in graduate school and...

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