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 lots of situational/competency-based answers - Come ready for both a casual HR screen and a full panel, or Hiring Mnager only interview as you may not know which you're walking into - Don't be surprised if they show up late, I went through a few interviews with other UN agencies and that was always the case, even when recieving written test instructions - Some panelists may have poor internet connections depending on their location, so be prepared to politely ask them to repeat themselves

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.