Internship Report

First and foremost of all, I would like to dedicate my most sincere gratitude to the Peace and Development Foundation (PDF) for its efficient arrangements and financial sponsorship, without which I would not be able to enjoy such a wonderful internship opportunity at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), China. Special thanks to Ms Josie Jin Zhou from PDF for her kind support throughout the programme. Last but not least, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my supervisor, Ms Wei Wenjing, and fellow colleagues, Ms Liang Jing and Ms Fan Lu, of the Human Resources Unit for their invaluable guidance, love and care. First and foremost of all, I would like to dedicate my most sincere gratitude to the Peace and Development Foundation (PDF) for its efficient arrangements and financial sponsorship, without which I would not be able to enjoy such a wonderful internship opportunity at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), China. Special thanks to Ms Josie Jin Zhou from PDF for her kind support throughout the programme. Last but not least, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my supervisor, Ms Wei Wenjing, and fellow colleagues, Ms Liang Jing and Ms Fan Lu, of the Human Resources Unit for their invaluable guidance, love and care.

My internship with UNDP was from July to October, 2009. During these three months, I have learned a great deal and have witnessed tremendous personal growth in myself. I may have never studied or worked in Human Resources(HR) before, but this summer internship opportunity has definitely sparked my immense interest in the domain. It is said that HR work is routine and monotonous, however, I certainly did not feel the same way. I had a great variety of job duties, challenging me to learn something new every day: from handling the entire recruitment process to organizing staff well-being seminars, or from issuing monthly HR newsletters to administering Language Proficiency Examinations for UN staff, or organizing UN Staff Induction Programme for UN-wide new staff members on board. I may not be a very creative person, but I had great fun creating and designing monthly HR Bulletins. Organizing and administering different events have been a value-adding experience for me too, because I love meeting and interacting with people. All in all, I truly enjoyed my work at UNDP.

Handling the entire recruitment process from scratch is one of my proudest achievements at UNDP. After posting the job descriptions onto recruitment channels, resumes have to be screened to shortlist suitable candidates for the position. The list of shortlisted candidates would then be submitted for approval and longlisting by respective authority. Afterwards, the longlisted candidates would be contacted for a written test. The candidates with the best performance in the written test would be invited for an interview, which I had the honour to arrange, participate in and write up minutes on. Being in charge of every bit and piece of recruitment, I not only polished my meticulousness, but also, learned a great deal about interview skills! It is also because I have helped in the recruitment process of various positions that allowed me a substantial understanding of recruitment at UNDP, and prepared my way to update the UNDP Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on Recruitment.

There are indeed a lot of learning resources available to UN staff, with aims on capacity building and information sharing. I attended two training sessions - one on cultural minorities and the other on carbon reduction actions, both very meaningful and eye-opening. Having helped in preparing staff wellbeing surveys, I also understand that UN is a people-oriented organization, always there to offer love and care to staff members, people and the world.

Working in UNDP China has been a fun-filled experience for me, in which I not only made friends with people in my own Unit, but I also got to mix with the numerous visitors to the HR Unit everyday, aka almost every staff member in the UNDP compound! The international composition of the place opened my eyes and allowed me to befriend elites from all over the world. I was lucky enough to have met the Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon as well as the Assistant Secretary-General Mr Ajay Chibber during my internship, and to have actually been present in the big group photo of UN Staff in China and the welcoming barbecues with them.

The United Nations Development Programme-Peace and Development Foundation Internship Programme is a unique opportunity for Hong Kong students to gain experience working at an international organisation, and develop a better understanding of the United Nations and its work. Through this programme, interns will be exposed to UNDP's development activities, thematic priorities, and technical cooperation practices. The Internship Programme is also an opportunity for young people to apply their studies in a practical settings, and acquire skills for their career development.

Other Previous UNDP-PDF Interns:
- 2008 UNDP-PDF Interns
- 2007 UNDP-PDF Interns
- 2006 UNDP-PDF Interns

Back to UNDP-PDF Internship Programme