With so many entry barriers, it is tougher than ever to secure a job in International Relations (IR). So what are the right skills, and where should early career professionals invest their time and resources to get into such a competitive field? ‘Patience’ and ‘resilience’ are two words that define the post-graduation era for anyone…
It’s May, and we are back with a bang, with a massive compilation of over four hundred relevant positions for those dreaming of a career in international affairs! For those interested, I will share a couple of interesting metrics: the distribution of position types and globally, how unevenly distributed they are. Over half of the…
After a short Easter delay to our regular programming, a new edition is out, once again flush with internships, traineeships, fellowships and a variety of positions in the entry and early-career segment. It has been a busy month; as last issue hit your inboxes, I was packing my bags and heading to the Middle East…
While global volatility continues and the IR industry remains in a long-term slump, there are many highly interesting opportunities to be found with major intakes at regional and international organisations. In general, I do not cover national or IGO opportunities in the newsletter, as I assume most people know these are the go-to places; however,…
Introduction During every intake, tens of thousands of hopefuls apply for the European Union’s AD5 Generalist competition, known simply as the concours. It is a fierce competition that pits 30-40.000 candidates from across the European Union against each other to secure one of just a few hundred spots on the reserve list — the official…
February is upon us, and for once, there is a very positive movement in the IR job market, particularly for those looking to secure relevant internships, with almost 200 out of the 300 opportunities this month being internships! In other good news, a lot of you seem to have taken last edition’s state of play…
I have now been running the newsletter on both Substack and LinkedIn for a year, and on LinkedIn alone for almost 4 years (in its current format). And while it is a rewarding hobby, it is also challenging and time-consuming. Each edition of the newsletter takes a few evenings to produce, and with twelve editions per year,…
December is upon us, and with Christmas around the corner, there is no better time to grind away at those applications. As always, December is a big slump when it comes to listings, but there are still some to be had. November has been a hectic month. I attended the EU-AU Summit in Luanda, an…
What happens when early career diplomats from across Africa and the Nordics come together to learn, reflect, and exchange perspectives? In this video, participants share their experiences from a three-day programme at the Nordic Africa Institute. The programme brought young diplomats into dialogue with senior researchers, explored values and ethics in diplomacy, and offered hands-on…
It is November, and once again, time for a slightly overdue, fresh new edition of IR Career Starters. Once again, it is packed with hundreds of internships, traineeships, fellowships and entry/early-career positions. A lot has happened since last, mainly that I had a great trip to Korea, got engaged and have jumped straight into preparations…