Hassan Al-Damluji, now studying for an MA in Arabic at Harvard University, talks to beyondoxbridge about his summer internship at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

How did you get the internship?

I found out about it from a guy I met in the library at Harvard. We started chatting and he mentioned that he had done it the summer before. So I did the online application and that was it. Of course I didn’t expect to get in, but luck smiled on me.

Had you always been interested in the UN?

I am a big believer in the need for a more concrete political system that works above the level of the nation state, and the United Nations is the obvious candidate to take on that role - apart from the good work it already does. In that sense I have always looked to the organization as a possible source of positive change. In terms of thinking of working there, this was something that I had begun to consider seriously for the previous year. Disillusioned by the amount of impact I would have as a journalist - my previous incarnation – I was looking at ways of getting inside the political machine.

What was your role there?

Given my knowledge of Arabic, French and English, of which the first is rare (and is a UN official language, whilst the other two are the UN’s working languages) it was almost inevitable that I was seconded to the Translation Department. This was not my intention, as I wanted to work in Political Affairs, but I enjoyed the experience a lot. In addition to translating political memos from Arabic and French into English, I wrote analysis and compiled data on Iraqi politics – translators need to be expert in the issues that the documents discuss in order not to lose any part of the meaning. I also took minutes in meetings attended by representatives of almost the entire world. That was something! I was working generally on my own, but there was a lot of interaction with staff and other interns, both socially, and if I needed help with anything.

Was it what you expected?

In many ways being at the UN matched my expectations. It was full of fascinating people from many different races and language groups, though all are members of a nearly homogenous global elite who have more in common with each other than most of their compatriots. I came across many of the frustrations of a slow moving consensus-based bureaucracy, but also the sense of pride that people take in working on issues that they believe are of truly global importance.

What was the best thing about working there?

For me the best thing was the people, who all seemed to be energetic, helpful and genuinely enjoying their jobs. The multicultural environment provided someone like me, who likes languages and people and travel, a wonderful opportunity to listen and learn. Each stroll down a corridor, or coffee break, was like a transatlantic voyage. Beyond that, my work was rewarding because it allowed me to add value to the work of the department that I was in, whilst also learning myself.

How do you see the future of the UN?

The United Nations faces difficult times, but it is also a time of great opportunity. The difficulty is that there are forces, particularly America, that want to suppress the ability of the Organization to provide a forum for multilateral problem solving and set the agenda for international debate. The opportunity springs from the fact that powers in the world are equalizing, or at least that hegemony is weakening, while problems from climate change to terrorism are increasingly difficult to solve at a national level. This means that more than ever there is a space for an organization such as the UN to take on the challenges that we face in a way that allows partnership between the mighty and the less mighty nations and people of the world. This would no doubt be a positive thing. The UN is widening its role all the time. While I was in the Organization there was a lot of commotion over the setting up of the Peace-Building Commission, which signals the UN’s commitment to stay in war-torn countries after peace-keeping is over in order to create sustainable solutions. However the UN is no more than the will of its members allows it to be. This will be the crucial factor moving forward.

How did you enjoy living in New York?

I love New York. It is the only place in America I could happily live. They whole city is like an expanded United Nations, with every country represented in droves. Rich and poor live side by side in a carnivalesque tableau of seething life. In New York you can have whatever you want. A $4 cocktail in a trendy bar in the East Village? A $9 beer on a roof garden in the Meat Packing District? Sushi at 4am? It’s all there.

You have been studying at Harvard. How do you find it compared to Oxford?

The first thing you notice coming from Oxford is that Harvard is not nearly as beautiful. I am an architecture enthusiast, so that is no small issue for me. But Harvard is very pretty and what it lacks in aesthetics it makes up for in funding.
The two universities are very different places, but I have to be careful in comparing them because I was also a different person doing different things at the two. I have heard many complaints from graduate students at Oxford that they were ignored or that the system wasn’t set up for them. Well there’s no doubt that at Harvard the system is set up for you as a graduate, especially if you are doing a PhD. There is a lot of support and teaching.
Oxford and Harvard set you up for life in different ways. At the former, there is an emphasis on writing and on Socratic dialogue. I came out of Oxford able to produce 2,000 words on almost anything in just a few hours, and then defend my work in front of almost anyone. However, I had only taken courses on my degree subject, and I had never faced a deadline that could not be stretched. I knew that 95% of my work was not going to count towards my degree result, so I was mostly relaxed.
At Harvard you write less and certainly discuss less. They do not have tutorials, with the result that professors can seem distant and rather removed from the teaching experience. However, they have deadlines all the time and class is compulsory. Each student has to balance four courses at a time, in potentially very different subjects. The result is a broad education and a busy life, which teaches discipline and hard work. The amount of required reading can amount to several books per week. Every single piece of work, even if it is 300 words long, and even attendance counts towards the final grade, so there is constant pressure.
I don’t know which I think is better, but I know which I enjoyed more. Though is that just because I was a carefree undergrad?

What are your plans for the coming year?

I am currently trying to decide between two job offers, so I am not entirely sure, but either way the picture will be similar. From October or November I will be working in a big international management consultancy. Traditional as that sounds, it will be different from most, because I will be based in Dubai and my work will be almost exclusively in building education systems in the Gulf Region. This is the route that I am currently taking in order to fulfill the same goals that took me to the UN. My ultimate aim is to play a part in rebuilding Iraq’s higher education system. Until I start the job, I will be traveling, relaxing and preparing articles that I wrote during the last year for publication in scholarly journals.

What advice would you give anyone looking to work at the UN?

If you want to get a decent position at the UN, it is very important how you approach it. My advice is as follows
– Make sure you have a Masters degree; this is essential. Make your masters, and especially your thesis, as relevant as possible to the type of work you want to do there.
– Do not start at the clerk level with the intention of working your way up. You will be stuck there. I knew one guy who was working as a tourist guide in the hope of one day being Secretary General. I do not advise this approach.
– Do an internship. If you want a career at the UN, it is invaluable to do an internship, because if you impress your seniors they will give you opportunities that are not available to others. There are strict rules for how many people from each country can be employed, and Britain is over its quota, but if your boss likes you, he can bend the rules by employing you as a consultant. As an outside applicant you will be told to wait for 5 years.
– Work on your languages. Languages come in handy, but beware of working in the translation department unless that is where you want to stay, because horizontal moves from translation are difficult. There is more mobility between, say, Political Affairs and Peace Keeping.

What general careers lessons have you learned since leaving university? Any interview tips?

I have learnt recently that even when you think an interview has gone as badly as it could possibly go, you may have the job. So don’t stay up all night thinking what you could have done better, because the chances are they liked your performance more than you did. It’s an obvious one, but you should always have things to ask the interviewer. If the interview ends with the two of you chatting away, and the interviewer looking at his watch amazed how the time has flown talking to such an interesting guy, that is a nice memory for him to take away. If the last thing he remembers about you is an awkward silence, he will be less impressed. Always read the newspaper on the morning of an interview, no matter what the interview is for. If possible find a piece of recent news that is connected to the company/industry/interests of the job you are applying for. Displaying this knowledge will give the impression that you are committed and all-knowing, which tend to be things employers look for.