Working in International Organizations

Working in International Organizations; Meet Professionals, an event organized by Career Services and held on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016, brought together a panel (mainly Webster alumni) of professionals who work in a range of international organizations and a number of diverse job functions. An audience of more than 70 students, alumni and faculty attended. The goal of the evening was to help students to understand more about the realities of finding a job in an International Organization and to provide tips on what kind of skills and experience are required to succeed.

The event panel included Webster alumni Natena Mengesha Kebede (staff welfare officer at World Intellectual Property Organization), Attila Turos (lead, Future of Production, World Economic Forum), Sarah Knight (resettlement assistant, International Organization for Migration) and Lori Werner (program assistant, International Trade Centre). Also on the panel was Kemi Oladapo from ICVolunteers who illustrated the value of volunteer work as a way not only to gain experience but to develop skills sought after by the employment market. Moderating the panel was Dr. Oreste Foppiani, department head, International Relations.

The panelists generously gave their time and insight to students describing not only their organizations and work environments but also their personal stories about how they have decided to work in the field and the kinds of challenges and paths they have taken to arrive at their present positions. “Inspiring,” “motivating,” “a chance to learn a lot” were some of the comments from students after the event reflecting that the panelists had helped them to see how to bridge between university and work and to better understand strategies to ease this transition.