Originally shared via email. For early access to UN job search success tips and advice, subscribe to the newsletter here.

I hope the last post about UN languages was helpful. Today, I'm answering a question from Michael, who writes:

I've always been curious about working in the UN, changing the lives of others. What is it like to meet and interact with people from different lifestyles? (edited for brevity)

This is not an easy question to answer objectively, as there are as many experiences as there are people. However, this is my take on it:

First and foremost, it's tremendously rewarding. You meet so many fabulous people from all corners of the world that all contribute with their own perspectives, stories, insights - and food.

I can't remember exactly, but when I worked in Copenhagen, there were something like 200 people representing about 120 nationalities. Let me tell you - our potlucks were epic!

There are, of course, jobs that you can only do in the UN or other impact organizations, but as a human resources professional who could work anywhere, the international environment was one of the main things that made my work so interesting, fun and rewarding.

Once you have worked for the UN, you'll have a network that spans the globe, as people in the UN tend to be quite mobile. Even to this day, my connections and interactions continue to grow, and in the process, they expand my world view and life experience. It's absolutely fantastic.

But in truth, it can also be frustrating because, well, we're human.

Sometimes perspectives clash, or completely unintentional conflicts arise due to differences in world views or lack of understanding. But this happens everywhere people work together, doesn't it? We're still individuals with unique experiences and personality quirks, no matter how diverse we are in a team or an organization.

In general though, people who work for the UN tend to share many values and be open, curious, tolerant, and very much interested in other cultures, so I'm back to the rewards. They far outweigh the frustrations.

As I'm writing this, I realize that there are so many more angles from which I could describe this, but no one wants to read a book on a blog, so I'll "write them behind my ear" and come back to them in the future.

PS. To "write something behind your ear" is a saying I took with me from working in Denmark. It's a cute way of saying that you're taking a mental note to refer to later 😊