The Course Curriculum.
This page has five parts, in this order:
Part 1 · What the course covers
Built complete, and current.
Each claim carries the count that backs it, and the count is the control: press one and the syllabus below filters to the lessons it names, so you can check the claim against the thing it is a claim about rather than take it from me.
The whole journey in one place
I could not find a course that took you from understanding the system to the day after you are hired, so I built it: not a PDF, not a single webinar, the full funnel.
Built for the UN job market as it is now
It reflects the current and latest hiring landscape (the budget contraction, the constrained agencies, the routes that still work) rather than the abundance of a decade ago. Most guidance online is quietly out of date.
Revised as the market movesThe pathways, weighted honestly
The Young Professionals Programme is one route among several, not the centrepiece: roughly a hundred placements a year from some fifty thousand applicants. It tells you which routes actually fit your profile.
Every UN employer, not just the famous five
A complete directory of the organisations and where each one posts its vacancies, because Inspira is only one door among dozens.
I have been on both sides of it.
I have seen how these decisions are really made. I would still rather you judged this on the depth and specificity of the content than on my name: take a free lesson, download the free tool, and decide for yourself.
Part 2 · Five ways in
There are five ways in.
The famous route is not the main one.
If you have read anything at all about working for the UN, you have read about the Young Professionals Programme. It is one of at least five ways in, and on its own published figures it is roughly a hundred placements against some fifty thousand applicants. I teach all of them, weighted the way they actually weigh, because choosing the wrong door costs you years, and nobody who has already walked through one has any reason to tell you that.
Each one opens on its own terms. The weight beside each is in words, not a percentage, because four of the five publish no figure at all.
Direct application at P-2 and aboveThe main route, and the one The Metrics page describes.
Anyone meeting the education, experience and language requirements of the opening.
The Junior Professional Officer programmeReal and substantial, and closed to you if your country does not fund it.
Nationals of a donor country that funds JPO posts, sponsored by that country.
Consultancies and UN VolunteersThe most common way in through the side door, and the most misunderstood.
Anyone; the contract is not a staff contract and does not become one automatically.
InternshipsA pathway to a network, not a pathway to a post.
Students and recent graduates. Secretariat internships remain unpaid.
The Young Professionals ProgrammeThe famous one. Roughly a hundred placements from some fifty thousand applicants.
32 or under on 31 December of the exam year, and a national of a participating country that cycle.
~100 from ~50,000 placements from applicants, per cycle. Commonly cited, and it varies by cycle.
60 convoked, 40 advance per country, per exam area. Where more than 90 apply from one country, applicants are ranked on education, languages and relevant experience first; 90 is that over-subscription trigger and not the convocation cap. Verify the current cycle's job opening: the mechanics change.
Eight lessons of this course are about nothing but this question, and the answer is different for you than it is for the person beside you. There are 60 in all.
Part 3 · Who it is for
Whatever stage you are at.
Any order you like inside a module, and each module opens as you finish the one before it. If you already know the ground, skip ahead to a later module; skipping marks nothing as done. I built it that way on purpose: nothing here assumes you are twenty-three.
- Students and recent graduates
- Mapping a route in before the competition does.
- Early-career professionals
- Who keep applying and never reach interview, and cannot work out why.
- Mid-career professionals
- In NGOs, government, the private sector, or academia, ready to move into the UN system and needing to translate what they already have.
A mid-career applicant who came for the contract system, the application mechanics, and the interview will find them in and can open exactly those.
It is most useful at a few particular moments: when you have been invited to a written assessment or a competency-based interview; when you keep being shortlisted and keep failing the test; after a rejection nobody explained; when an application has sat at ‘under consideration’ for weeks; and before you accept an unpaid internship to get in.
It is not for you if you want someone to apply on your behalf, or if you want a guarantee. Nobody can honestly give you one.
Part 4 · The sixty lessons
60 lessons. All of them, listed.
Eleven modules, sixty lessons, one complete map.
I have printed all sixty lesson titles here rather than hiding them behind a chevron, because you should be able to see exactly what you are buying before you buy it.
Filter to one of the 11 modules, or the bonus, if you want to read it closely.
60 of 60 lessons shown
00Welcome and How to Use This Course
Orientation: who made this, and how to get the most from it.
- Welcome: who made this course and why
- How to use this course
01Understanding the UN System
What the system actually is, and what it is like to work inside it.
- The UN in three minutes: what it is and what it does
- The UN common system: every agency, fund, and programme explained
- What it is actually like to work at the UN
- The current UN jobs climate: what you need to know
- The state of UN hiring: a 2026 briefing
02The UN Grade and Contract System
What the grades, salaries, and contract types really mean.
- P grades, G grades, and D grades: what each one means
- Salary, post adjustment, and benefits: what you would actually earn
- Non-staff modalities: what they are, what you get, and what you do not
- Agency-specific contract types: IPSA, service contracts, ICA, and consultancy
- Which grade should you be targeting?
03Your Entry Routes Into the UN
Every way in: weighted honestly, not just the one everyone talks about.
- All the ways in: a complete overview of entry routes
- Direct application at P-2 and above: the main route
- The Junior Professional Officer (JPO) programme
- Internships as a career pathway: what they are and are not
- Consultancies and UNV as career entry points
- The Young Professionals Programme (YPP): is it your route?
- Choosing your strategy: a decision framework
- Applying to UNV: the actual mechanics
04Building the Profile That Gets You Shortlisted
Turning what you already have into a profile that clears screening.
- The candidate profile that gets shortlisted, and how to build it
- Education and experience: the 'required vs desirable' rule
- Languages: which ones matter, where, and how to build them
- Networking before you apply: why it matters more than you think
05Mastering the Application Process
Where vacancies live, how to read them, and how to apply well at volume.
- How UN vacancies are published: where to look
- How to read a job opening
- Mastering Inspira: setting up your profile step by step
- Applying outside Inspira: UNDP, UNICEF, WFP, and the P-11 formFree preview
- The cover letter and motivation statement: what actually worksFree preview
- Tailoring every application: writing to the job opening's evaluation criteria
- The volume problem: how many applications, and how to track them
- The CV document: when it is required, and when the profile is the application
06Assessments and Written Tests
What the screening tests and written assessments really demand.
- Online pre-screening tests: aptitude, psychometrics, and what to expectFree preview
- The UN written assessment: what to expect
- The YPP written exam: phase by phase
- How to write a UN-style analytical paper
- Case studies and assessment centre tasks
07The Competency-Based Interview
The interview that decides it: every competency, the STAR method, the day itself.
- What a competency-based interview is and why the UN uses it
- The UN competency frameworks: the 1999 set and the Values and Behaviours Framework
- The STAR method: a complete tutorialFree preview
- Building your STAR story bank: the career journal method
- Deep dive: communication, teamwork, and accountability
- Deep dive: planning, client orientation, and creativity
- Deep dive: continuous learning and technological awareness
- Managerial competencies: for P-4 and above
- Interview day: preparation, conduct, and mindset
- The most common mistakes in UN interviews, and how to avoid them
- Worked answers: strong and weak, side by side
08After the Interview: Rosters, Offers, and Timelines
What happens between the interview and your first ninety days.
- The roster system
- From offer letter to start date
- Timeline expectations and how to deal with silence
- Your first days: contract, onboarding, and the first ninety days
09Agency-Specific Guides
Where each cluster of employers posts, what they look for, and the full agency directory.
- The Secretariat and peace operations
- Funds and programmes
- Specialised agencies and UNOPS
- Tribunals and smaller employers
10The Long Game
Recalibrating after rejection, and the plan that keeps you moving.
- Managing rejection and recalibrating
- Your 90-day action plan
- Resources, tools, and communities
0BBonus: Life After Entry
The first promotion horizon: once you are in.
- Step increments, FTA renewal, and career progression
Part 5 · The twelve tools
Twelve tools, built to be used.
Three you fill in as you go, three checklists, and six references and worked examples, including annotated CV examples and a model written assessment. Each one is attached to the lesson that uses it. I have left one free to download right now, no email asked, so you can judge the standard before you pay me anything.
As you write, every lesson shows what your draft still needs and ticks each point off as you meet it. It checks what is there, not how good it is: that judgement stays yours.
UN Salary Reference Table
What each grade actually pays once post adjustment and benefits are counted. Download this one free (309 KB).
JPO Country Programme Directory
Which sponsoring governments run Junior Professional Officer (JPO) programmes, and who is eligible for each.
YPP Application Timeline
The full Young Professionals Programme calendar, phase by phase.
Strategy Planner
Map your realistic routes in and sequence them against your profile and timeline.
UNV Application Checklist
The mechanics of the UN Volunteers application, in the order the process actually asks for them.
Inspira Setup Checklist
Set up the profile that clears automated screening, step by step.
Agency Portal Quick Reference
Every common-system employer and the portal where each one posts, not just Inspira.
- Spreadsheet
Application Tracker
Manage applications at the volume the UN market actually requires, without losing the thread.
Annotated CV Examples
Real CVs with the decisions marked up, rather than a template to fill in.
Model Written Assessment
A worked UN-style analytical paper, so the standard is something you can see rather than guess at.
STAR Example Bank Template
Build and store interview answers against every competency, ready before the day.
STAR Answer Quality Checklist
What separates a strong competency answer from a weak one, to mark your own against.
Photographs on this page, all via Wikimedia Commons and modified:
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