Hi all, looking for realistic advice. I have about 9 years of project management experience, both HQ and the field. Like everyone, was DOGE’d and have not had much luck since. I am now being considered for a very junior admin assistant position at a development organization. As far as I can tell from the JD and conversations with the team, no real growth.

I did adjust/downgrade my CV a lot to even be considered but now I am wondering: Am I shooting myself in the foot and regressing my career if I consider taking it? Or will this allow me to get a foot in the door and stay within the field? Even if I’m in, could I move up given my limited CV that this company knows me by or could I present my other more experienced self without looking weird? I then also worry about the widening gap in my CV. I do plan to continue applying to other places but wonder if this 9-5 (plus potential after hours need) would prevent me from being available for interviews.

As fyi - I have tried for the past year to widen my applications both by industry and geography but have not had much luck. Any thoughts? What would you do in my shoes?

What would this look like if we organized something similar for ourselves?

https://climatenews.com/news/trump-cut-their-climate-jobs-this-secretive-network-found-them-new-ones-1g1tam

By Reuters

October 26, 2026

Excerpts:

Youths killed a longtime nurse treating Ebola ​patients in eastern Congo and other health workers were sheltering under police guard, ‌health officials said on Monday, in the latest in a series of attacks that have been fuelled by misinformation.

The nurse worked at the general hospital in the town of Bafwasende in Tshopo province, where ​he sought to help residents understand and protect themselves from Ebola. He was attacked ​and killed on Friday.

A colleague survived the attack and was recovering in hospital. Other health workers were sheltering at the general hospital under police guard, too afraid to go home, while the army also briefly deployed to the area.

Attacks on health workers have targeted hospitals, vehicles and staff involved in the Ebola response.

Reuters has previously reported how the rapid spread ​of health misinformation posed a threat to health workers in eastern ​Congo even ⁠before Ebola began to spread, with multiple health workers killed in Tshopo after they were accused of spreading an imaginary disease that caused male genitals to atrophy.

More from:

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/protesters-kill-longtime-nurse-treating-ebola-patients-congo-2026-10-26/

I am 25 yrs old, with a BA in political science (Italy) and an MA in international development, with a sustainable finance major (Switzerland). I have done three internships throughout my studies, I have interesting experience abroad but up until now I received no job offer. I got close to getting an internship in a think tank that wouldn’t have led to a job there but would have ruined me financially.

Finally I got an offer: an actual job position at a local bank. Needless to say the money is great, everything else boring af. I am going to accept the offer because I cannot possibly afford to be unemployed for many other months before getting another offer or a low paying internship.

I think my plan right now is to accept the offer for financial reason but continue applying to jobs (not spam applying, just to very relevant stuff), and deepen my knowledge of French since it’s relevant to the EU. Later on, I might consider doing some courses if I have a clearer vision of what could help.

The question is, am I permanently abandoning my dreams of working in the development/sustainability field? Or is it quite common to get there later in life?

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to check in if anyone who has applied to the recent Economics analyst role at AIIB also received an automated mail about the hiring timeline, any response would be much appreciated.

Thanks

I have a background in Construction management (Bachelors) and work experience in a construction consultancy (project management and quantity surveying) and smart city advisory.

I’d ideally want to break into project management or program management within the sector, focusing on Sustainable Development or Housing/Shelter and the like.

What I’m currently doing: Enrolling in an Environmental management/Sustainable Development related degree and focusing on obtaining volunteering/gaining experiences via WHV or work visas I qualify for (my home country doesn’t have much of an NGO/social development presence).

I know the market’s tough but I definitely have an interest in development and sustainability and have experience running volunteer outreach in underdeveloped areas.

I also speak 3 languages natively, English and 2 Asian languages and am trying to get at least B2 qualified in French within the next year.

How can I make my porfolio more enticing (for lack of a better word) to international NGOs or even for internships while I do my masters? I’d need sponsorship for a long term assignment in fieldwork contracts but can travel in and out with no large visa problems. How can I build my network if Im not based where all the work is? I’d ideally not want to pay high amounts to attend volunteer tourism experiences and could lend my hands and a small token amount for the community.

Can anyone tell me about PEC level salaries?

Hi everyone,

I’m a UK-based professional looking to transition into a Digital Specialist role at a multilateral development bank (MDB), ideally in Asia.

My goal is to build a career in East Asia, applying my digital governance and transformation experience to international development through multilateral organisations.

My background:
5+ years at a large global multinational, with progressive career advancement into management.
Experience across digital transformation, cybersecurity governance, technology policy and programme management.

Delivered international enterprise initiatives involving regulatory implementation, digital adoption and stakeholder engagement.
Developed and implemented technology, cybersecurity and AI governance frameworks and standards.

MA in Asian and International Studies, with a dissertation specialising in China’s digital economy, and a BSc in Management.

PMP certified, with additional professional development in cybersecurity, risk management and AI governance.

My challenge:
I’ve already started applying for Digital Specialist, Digital Governance and Digital Transformation positions at organisations such as the World Bank Group, ADB and AIIB.

While my enterprise experience is highly transferable, I’m finding it challenging to position and articulate my credentials against MDB recruitment requirements, particularly without direct international development experience.

I’d appreciate advice on three areas:
Competitiveness: Is my professional background suitable for specialist-level positions, or are there significant gaps I should address?

Positioning: How can I effectively tailor my private-sector experience, CV and cover letters to demonstrate relevance to MDB roles?

Entry pathways: Is direct recruitment realistic, or should I consider consulting assignments, alternative organisations or other routes into the sector?

I’d particularly appreciate insights from current or former MDB employees, recruiters or professionals who have successfully made a similar transition.

With gratitude.

Hello,

I got a request to complete the YPP Online Assessment and i was wondering if anyone has successfully completed it and if so, could you recommend on how to approach it. Any advice would be helpful as it’s my first time

Regards

I applied for a Junior Professional role at the New Development Bank on 14 August. I’ve not heard anything back from them and my application portal still say „we are currently reviewing all applications“. Does anyone have experience with recruitment at the NDB? how long does the process take and is it safe to say that I can consider this a ghosted application?

Feel free to add any experience with the NDB that may be useful. Thank you in advance!

Hey! I'm 21 and I am a recent International Relations graduate. I am interested in working with human rights organisations and am looking to do an internship in Toronto. I would appreciate any advice you can give me :)

I'm currently volunteering in a refugee community centre as an english teacher, but my goal is to learn more about the "background" work in NGO's (operations, management, fundraising, etc).

I would appreciate any advice you can give me about orgs in Toronto or just what steps you think i should take, any kind of guidance is welcome and greatly appreciated!

Does anyone have any experience with this field of study? I find it genuinely interesting and would love to pursue it come 2028, but I’m afraid of wasting my time on this. My bachelor’s degree is in Journalism, and was not a good choice (I did it out of passion, thinking that I’d be among the few that actually make it- I didn’t) Thankfully I had some accounting certifications and have been able to work in a junior role in an NGO in the accounting department. I’d like to get into impact capital and DFIs. Is this the correct masters degree for me?

Can anyone recommend good intro or intermediate-level books or courses (short or free) for background reading? I am taking the intro course “International Development for Interpreters” on Coursera. For context, I’m a translator and editor and have worked on four publications for the UN.

I have a BA in devs and MA in polisci and been job searching for almost 2 years now and driving me insane

am in Canada too as well and honestly seeing my peers progress as managers etc really sucks as I feel stuck in this rut

So does anyone else regret doing Devs as I do right now

For those who work/worked in INGOs such as USAID, Jphiego, Save the Children, UNFPA, etc. Can you share your experiences? Salary, benefits, workload, work environment and anything else you would like to share. Eyeing to shift careers, from the government to INGO.

📍Philippines

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

I've created a math app that I would like to share a free licence with NGOs and governments. My philosophy is to learn math you have to do math and I sincerely believe that the app is something new that covers that principle.

The app: txtbk.org/app.

1- While everything seems to be in English, it is in French and the Spanish and Portuguese versions will be available soon.

2- It doesn't use AI so it can work off line and on a cheap smartphone. You can even print and grade problems on paper then re-upload the marked tests to the app for automated corrections.

3- While most apps cover basic arithmetic, this one covers everything from counting to first year undergraduate, including statistics, trigonometry, calculus... This is what students lack and super important. It also has a virtually unlimited number of problems per question.

Being from the DRC I am actively working with the Ministry of Education to implement it there for next school year. I am looking for other partner NGOs and ministries to give my pitch, but have a hard with it because I'm an economist not used to the Development field.

I was wondering if anybody can tell me how I can get in contact. Phone, email, form, LinkedIn. Who to contact. What organizations can find this useful...

Some background on me: I have a background in economics and public policy. I spent approximately five years working as a research assistant and portfolio analyst at an IFI, all on long-term consultant contracts. Then I got married and moved from the EU to Latin America to follow my spouse, who was offered a good fixed term position in a UN Agency. After moving, I worked for a little while as a consultant on the design and assessment of IFI loans/investment projects, coordinated some research projects, and wrote some papers that were published by the World Bank and a few other places. Since 2024, I've been working a fixed term P3 for a UN Agency, mostly working on regional project coordination and technical assistance in statistics and demography. I'm neither strictly a statistician or demographer, but my economics background and basic understanding of project management have largely enabled me in this environment. I speak English (native) and Spanish (learned) interchangeably at work.

Right now, the environment is precarious, and there's a real possibility (not certain, but definitely on the table) that my position will be abolished within a year. If it goes, I really don't know what I will do. I pivoted away from portfolio and investment project analysis for this role, because it offered more stability than the consulting work that I was doing, and frankly, I like what I'm currently doing. But right now, I don't feel like I offer much of anything outside the institutional environment that I'm in. I'm not a highly technical economist or statistician, and as I've moved roles, I no longer feel that I'm building deep subject matter expertise that is transferable back to the IFI world or to the private sector. I don't really know how to asses what I'm good at and what I'm suited to anymore.

On a personal level, I'm a US citizen who somehow found their way to Europe after college for these jobs. My wife is a dual EU/LatAm citizen and may be rotated to a better position in a few years. Her childhood home in LatAm isn't exactly stable right now and doesn't offer good job opportunities. We were both open to moving to the US at some point, but with our job market decimated and the current political environment, that now looks impossible. I'm now stuck looking at my home country from the outside, seeing my parents get older and my friends drift apart, but without any idea of how to get back there, and where we can go to continue growing our careers. It feels like the only thing ahead is degrowth. This is to say nothing of the experience of seeing our work lose its impact and people suffer as a result, which may belong in another post.

I know that I'm so lucky to have a job right now, but things look bleak and I struggle to see a path forward in what I'm currently doing. For those with similar backgrounds, do you have any advice for figuring out what to do after this? Are there any specific areas, courses, or certifications that might make former UN staff more suited to private sector work, for example, with multinational companies? I know this is very general, but I don't really know what else to say.

I am in my penultimate year of my Bachelor in Econ but everyone that got an internship at the OECD seems to be a grad student even though they take applications from undergrads. Will they actually consider my application or am I just wasting my time?

Hey - I'm part of a group project (MS in supply chain) that is looking at sustainable methods to improve delivery outcomes on vaccines in Jharkhand state, a landlocked state bordering Bangladesh which is, in relative terms to the rest of India (I don't want to get into a conversation about India's relative wealth - "under resourced" vs "developing" vs "third world", because arguments over nomenclature are usually a distraction from focusing on solutions) is very poor.

There's a ton of things that go into this but what I'm here to ask is: what's the track record on NGO's, even ones that are more hands off and distribute money more than do active programming (Gates Foundation, etc.) respectfully engaging with communities they want to serve for the purpose of figuring out what their real interests and priorities are? I know there's not one answer to this but even anecdotal perspectives from people with direct experience in this, even in different countries, would be super useful for me.