I had a telephone interview with four gentlemen from UNOPS - United Nations Office for Project Services - regarding an application I had submitted. Two of the gentlemen were from the mission area - Khartoum, Sudan - and the other two were in New York.
I've never had to interview before for a job - any job - in the history of my employment career, so this had me a little nervous ... I didn't really know what to expect. Questions regarding my thoughts on why I thought I was qualified, how would I hire local employees, what my organizational capabilities were like, and whether I had ever experienced professional or ethical issues before passes easily. Examples came to mind readily and I felt I expressed my thoughts susinctly, professionally, but with just a hint of irreverence. I had all four gentlement laughing a couple of times.
Diffuse tension with mirth.
I felt I had actually done quite the job of securing - although I wasn't sure I wanted - the position. Then they asked me if I had any questions. I did. I asked them about their employment timings. This lead into another round of discussions with questions going back-and-forth between us.
It turns out that my understanding of the job was incorrect. I believed I was interviewing for a Chief of Procurement-type job, a P-3 position, but in fact I was interviewing for the Chief of Technical Services which is a P-4 position. My understanding that I would have to go to The Sudan without my wife, as it's a field position, was also incorrect. Seems UNOPS is under the umbrella of UNDP - United Nations Development Programme - and as such, Kartoum is considered a family duty station. That meant my wife could go and all costs associated with her travel, etc. would be borne by UNOPS. Also, it was my understanding that since it was a field position employment over 6 months would be viewed as a temporary placement. Actually, if I was to stay in their employ over 1 year, I could take home leave, etc.
So, needless to say, I was left confused. I was duly informed that there were others on the short list to be interviewed, but I'd be informed of their decision later this week. They wanted to wrap things up quickly and have the candidate in the mission ASAP.
The next 2 days were filled with ... "Do we want to go? Or, don't we?" What were the benefits? Debt free in 2 1/2 years. What were the cons? Actually, quite a few once we'd thought through things rationally and had done more research on Khartoum.
So, ultimately, if I'm offered the position I'm going to thank them very kindly for the opportunity, but I'll pass this time around.
Of course, if ITU - International Telecommunications Union - gives me a call regarding the P-5 position in Geneva ... well, we're both ready to go in a heartbeat.
I've never had to interview before for a job - any job - in the history of my employment career, so this had me a little nervous ... I didn't really know what to expect. Questions regarding my thoughts on why I thought I was qualified, how would I hire local employees, what my organizational capabilities were like, and whether I had ever experienced professional or ethical issues before passes easily. Examples came to mind readily and I felt I expressed my thoughts susinctly, professionally, but with just a hint of irreverence. I had all four gentlement laughing a couple of times.
Diffuse tension with mirth.
I felt I had actually done quite the job of securing - although I wasn't sure I wanted - the position. Then they asked me if I had any questions. I did. I asked them about their employment timings. This lead into another round of discussions with questions going back-and-forth between us.
It turns out that my understanding of the job was incorrect. I believed I was interviewing for a Chief of Procurement-type job, a P-3 position, but in fact I was interviewing for the Chief of Technical Services which is a P-4 position. My understanding that I would have to go to The Sudan without my wife, as it's a field position, was also incorrect. Seems UNOPS is under the umbrella of UNDP - United Nations Development Programme - and as such, Kartoum is considered a family duty station. That meant my wife could go and all costs associated with her travel, etc. would be borne by UNOPS. Also, it was my understanding that since it was a field position employment over 6 months would be viewed as a temporary placement. Actually, if I was to stay in their employ over 1 year, I could take home leave, etc.
So, needless to say, I was left confused. I was duly informed that there were others on the short list to be interviewed, but I'd be informed of their decision later this week. They wanted to wrap things up quickly and have the candidate in the mission ASAP.
The next 2 days were filled with ... "Do we want to go? Or, don't we?" What were the benefits? Debt free in 2 1/2 years. What were the cons? Actually, quite a few once we'd thought through things rationally and had done more research on Khartoum.
So, ultimately, if I'm offered the position I'm going to thank them very kindly for the opportunity, but I'll pass this time around.
Of course, if ITU - International Telecommunications Union - gives me a call regarding the P-5 position in Geneva ... well, we're both ready to go in a heartbeat.
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