Glassdoor users rated their interview experience at UNDP as 100% positive with a difficulty rating score of 3 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty). Candidates interviewing for Programmer Officer (UNV) and Intern rated their interviews as the hardest, whereas interviews for Programmer Officer (UNV) and Intern roles were rated as the easiest.
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It was kind of chill, no professional questions. They just asked some behavioural questions like how do you address your time when you have some work at the same time..
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
1. How do you address your time when it comes to working.
2. What is your expectation about this role?
2 interviewers (those who would be my supervisors, not HR/recruitment personnel) 4 questions that should be answered in approximately 5 minutes each, then 5 minutes at the end for logistical details and questions, and opportunity to ask questions.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What do you think the primary challenges of this UNDP division is ?
I applied online. The process took 4 months. I interviewed at UNDP
Interview
I applied in January and only heard back from HR in late April, requesting some supporting documents. Once submitted, I received an automated Zoom scheduling email. No other communication from HR about the interview format, who would be present, or what to expect.
What I assumed would be a standard HR screening turned out to be a 30-minute panel interview with 5 people from UNDP. It started 10 minutes late and had to be rushed as a result. HR opened by reading the interview structure from her notes, and situational questions were posted one by one in the Zoom chat by each panelist, then read aloud. There was no time for introductions or a "tell me about yourself," which felt jarring for a first meeting with the recruiting team. The session ended very abruptly, leaving room for only one quick question before I was dismissed.
Almost everyone came across as stretched thin and eager to wrap up, which I understand given the volume of work across UN agencies, but it did feel slightly demoralizing and left me wondering why I had been invited at all.
A few tips:
- Prepare plenty of situational/competency-based answers
- Come ready for both a casual HR screen, a hiring manager interview and a full panel; you may not know which you're walking into
- Don't be surprised if the interview starts late, this seems to be a pattern across multiple UN agencies. I went through a few, and that was always the case.
- Some panellists may have poor internet connections depending on their location, so be prepared to politely ask them to repeat themselves a few times.
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