INTERNING WITH THE UN. CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES
For new professionals, the prospect of entering the workplace can be extremely daunting. It is often a stressful experience, one magnified by the fact that the new employee may not understand how an office environment functions and may be naïve about the inner workings of the professional sphere they have just entered. This situation can make such individuals feel considerably uncomfortable and out of place.
However it is the unavoidable truth that in today’s job market, possessing relevant work experience is the key to career advancement. While a relevant university degree is an important step in the right direction, and also a likely requirement for most positions, possessing the right work experience will be the one factor that will make a potential employee stand out from the crowd. In order to achieve this distinction, new professionals like myself will often seek out positions such as trainees, apprentices, interns or assistants. It was with this mentality that I decided to begin an Internship at the United Nations Information Office (UNO) in Tashkent.
I have worked at UNO for the last fortnight, and the most valuable thing I have gained and will continue to gain throughout this internship is professional experience. When I say ‘professional experience’, I mean not just words on a resume that I can show a future employee, but rather a practical, thorough understanding of the kind of workplace that I will be a part of in my future career. This internship will expand both my professional and personal experiences, and could therefore change my future for the better.
Working for UNO has been a unique experience, in that I have been able to apply the talents that I already possess while directing myself down professional paths that may have not otherwise been open to me. In my case my higher studies were in international Relations, but since working at UNO I have also developed my creative thinking abilities and a number of professional skills. What is particularly appealing and useful about this internship is that there has been no daily routine or repetitive work, meaning that every day has been a new challenge in which I can learn something new and move outside my comfort zone.
A lot of the benefits of this internship have come from the team I work with. I appreciate the personal and professional qualities of the people I work with; each one being a professional in his or her craft, and each on treating the other members of the team with respect and politeness. I have learnt a lot by communicating with and working among these people. This experience has taught me that I would not like to be employed in an environment where the workload prevents me from reflecting on and developing my personal and professional abilities. It makes me appreciate that there are organizations like UNO, where there are opportunities for self-development while also a chance to fulfil a productive role in an organization.
The author
Intern, UN Information Office in Tashkent