Finding a job in the humanitarian sector may seem difficult in the beginning. There are multiple ways to gain your first bit of experience, boost your resume, and start networking:
An easy way to get started is to volunteer. This can differ from local fieldwork to office work. It shows a future employer that you are interested, dedicated, motivated and that you have the right skills and experience to become a humanitarian. Besides, it is relatively easy to start as a volunteer as the application process is less intense compared to a starters position.
An internship is a good way to get to know the company and the humanitarian sector. What does the work really entail? Do you like working in this sector? Thereby, you can show yourself, for example during meetings, to the company and the people working there, making a lasting impression. Another advantage is that you get to experience while being in the humanitarian sector and getting to know the mindset of people around you and the challenges they face. The downside of internships is that they are often unpaid or underpaid. This is particularly difficult if you wish to intern at an international organization. They often require you to move to a foreign country, but without a salary, it might be a struggle to pay for your living expenses.
Fellowships are positions to write your graduation project in collaboration with a humanitarian organization. The absolute benefit is that you have a fairly big chance the organization will hire you after you finish your project. Another advantage is that you produce something tangible that you can publically show off after finishing the project. The downside is that fellowships are scarce and are often focused on technical or engineering studies.
- The Standby Partnership Programme provides surge capacity support to United Nations agencies responding to humanitarian emergencies, through the deployment of standby personnel. Each Standby Partner maintains its own roster of humanitarian experts, who can quickly deploy to fill emergency staffing needs and gaps in UN operations. A disadvantage is that a job can come up right away or it can take three years. Many organizations have such programs on a more local level. Check out the website of the organisation(s) that you would like to work for, to see if they have such a stand-by program.