Get ready to start a career at the OECD

We will update this content according to the 2020 OECD YPP application cycle and mandate before it's open. 

About OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a global economic forum working with 35 member countries and more than 100 emerging and developing economies to make better policies for better lives. The mission of OECD is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

The OECD Young Professional Programme (YPP)

The OECD Young Professional Programme (YPP) includes an entrance examination, and successful candidates receive professional development programmes once they start their careers with the OECD.

The OECD YPP is an annual recruitment initiative. Only member states ’ candidates’ applications are considered.

Many young professionals are not aware of how the OECD is structured; we won't go into details about that in this guide either. To better understand the organisation you apply to, we will describe the differences between the main departments, special bodies, special entities, and directorates, and their roles in supporting the organisation's mission.

Every year the OECD updates the specific assignments to allocate the YPP selected candidates where they can have more impact and support the organization's strategic plan. Moreover, the YPP programme offers access to OECD staff training and training sessions specially designed for them.

This year, these are the assignments:

• Housing Affordability
• Investment Tax Incentives
• Environmental Policy Design and Evaluation
• Smart Data and Digital Technology - Creativity and Critical Thinking in Education
• International Regulatory Co-operation
• Support for the delivery of the Secretary-General’s Strategic Objectives
• Artificial Intelligence, Human Capital and Organisations

These assignments will be hosted by one or more divisions as follows:

• Housing Affordability

Hosted by: Centre for Entrepreneurship, SME, Regions, and Cities.

• Investment Tax Incentives

Hosted by: Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs; Centre for Tax Policy and Administration

• Environmental Policy Design and Evaluation

Hosted by: Economics Department and Environment Directorate

• Smart Data and Digital Technology - Creativity and Critical Thinking in Education

Hosted by: Directorate for Education and Skills

• International Regulatory Co-operation

Hosted by: Directorate for Public Governance

• Support for the delivery of the Secretary-General’s Strategic Objectives

Hosted by: Office of the Secretary-General

• Artificial Intelligence, Human Capital and Organisations

Hosted by: Directorate for Education and Skills and Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation

All selected candidates will be appointed at A1 grade-level and will collaborate with senior national policymakers who participate in the OECD’s technical and policy meetings each year. They will research and analyze the key policy issues in the OECD international network. Their main duties will include monitoring, analysis, forecasting, and reporting on economic and social developments.

Young professionals are recruited for a fixed-term appointment of two years based in Paris, France. Performance and organizational needs the YPs will be a considered continue their career inside the Organisation by applying to the available vacancies after the finalization of the programme.

Salary and Benefits

YPPs will receive a competitive tax-free salary and a benefits package that may include expatriation and family allowances, depending on individual cases. Learn more in the OECD staff rules: https://www.oecd.org/careers/Staff_Rules_en.pdf

The programme cycle is:

-Application opening is in November every year

-Screening of applications is in December

-Online testing in January

-Phone interviews in February

-March and April for final Interviews

-Start of duty in September

Before applying, you must make sure you were born on or after 30 September 1989, and your nationality is from one of the following countries (See if exceptions apply for both date of birth and nationality below):

List of OECD member states

EXCEPTIONS:

Date of birth: for OECD member countries with mandatory military service. The age limit will be extended by the length of the obligatory military service. Please note that gender-selective conscription systems are taken into consideration. Those who have not been subjected to mandatory military service will be expected to fulfil the original eligibility criteria.

Nationality: Colombians nationals will be welcomed to apply but can only be appointed after the finalization of Colombia's accession to the organisation (set to begin in September 2019)

After complying with the above criteria, you should have:

• An advanced academic degree in a subject of relevance to the OECD work. (See how the OECD division structure)
• Proven academic achievements in quantitative and analytical skills
• Knowledge of policies and institutions and political and reform processes.
• Command of at least one of the official languages of the organization (English and French)
• A good balance between competency level 3 of the organisation (See how our practical recommendations to structure your interview and CV according to the OECD competencies clusters to increase your chances in the selection)

Recommendations on how to structure your CV and creating an outline for the Interview to demonstrate how you have drafted and implemented strategic plans will need to follow Impactpool’s recommendations aligned with an OECD competency cluster level-3 profile.

Competency cluster level-3 example:

• Delivery-related:
• Analytics Thinking
• Achievement Focus
• Drafting Skills
• Flexible Thinking
• Managing Resources
• Teamwork and Team Leadership
• Interpersonal:
• Client Focus
• Diplomatic Sensitivity
• Influencing
• Negotiating
• Organisational Knowledge
• Strategic:
• Developing Talent
• Organisational Alignment
• Strategic Networking
• Strategic Thinking

An example of a candidate with well-rounded competencies for the Young Professional Program would be someone who has a good alignment with the Competency cluster level 3; see the example of their application in your work experience as follows:

• Independently engages in tasks requiring interpretation of complex and often vague sets of information.
• Considers the implications of proposed courses of action.
• Conveys critical nuances and qualifiers to facilitate a complete understanding of the material.
• Stays open-minded and encourages others to bring new perspectives.
• Allocates and controls resources within own area of responsibility/ scope of assignment.
• Encourages people with opposing viewpoints to express their concerns.
• Anticipates clients' upcoming needs and concerns.
• Remains objective when facing criticism.
• Uses compelling argumentation to convey conclusions and ideas.
• Negotiates based on first-hand observations and information collected from both sides, avoiding using hearsay or personal opinions.
• Anticipates outcomes based on an understanding of organisational decision-making bodies and power relationships.
• Continually acquires and applies new knowledge and learning to improve job performance.
• Helps others understand the organisation's strategic goals and how their work relates to them.
• Identifies and creates opportunities to initiate new connections that will facilitate the achievement of strategic goals within own area.
• Demonstrates awareness of the impact of own work on aspects of organisational strategy, and the impact of organisational strategy on own work.

Recommendations taken from directives and heads of division at the OECD:

Relevant profiles are people with the following characteristics(have this in mind when structuring your CV and Interview outline):

• Openness new ideas new cultures
• Interest in the field, and field expertise
• Flexibility, interest, curiosity, policy engagement focused
• Diplomatic skills and strong communication skills
• Intention to help
• Multicultural, curious, highly skilled, energetic and action-oriented.

How to write the application for the OECD YPP?

To write a strong YPP application we suggest you use CARL/CARI, IPAR or STAR. These four ways to structure applications are widely common within the UN recruitment system.

If you are seriously applying to a job category, you should tailor your CV with any of these structures in mind. Do not use a one-CV-fits-all approach. For most recruiters, re-using a generic CV template is an indication that an applicant

• is not convincing in her/his interest in the position and/or might not understand what the position entails
• is not dedicated to the role or willing to invest in it
• is applying for several different jobs at the same time.

“What is CARL/CARI and how do I use this structure to describe my professional

experience in the OECD YPP application?”

When filling out the application CARL/CARI should be used when describing the tasks. This approach uses four sections:

• Context/Challenge. Write briefly about the organization you worked for and what field it operates in.
• Action/Activity. Focus on your own achievements. Use the OECD YPP job description to identify what competencies and what skills are being sought after. Connect your activities to these competencies, so there is a clear link between what you have done and what you are expected to do in this new role.
• Results. List your achievements. Look at what results are expected and try to link results you have achieved in the past with what you are expected to achieve in this new role.
• Learning. Focus on what you learned in past roles, try to find experiences that show that you have strengthened your competencies and built new skills that correspond to what you are expected to do in this new role. CARL is the more applicable method for more junior applicants. 

• CARI with an 'I'. The ’I’ in CARI refers to Impact. In this sector, tangible Impact is often more common among senior management than among junior professionals. But in case you have a tangible impact to highlight, do so and make sure to quantify what you have achieved and the impact your work and decisions have been made on others.

“Can a good structure of my previous employment compensate for my weaknesses in experience”

• Remember, even if your accomplishments don't seem impressive to you, recruiters will appreciate that you can respond in a structured, specific way and accurately account for what you have achieved!
• Use the CARL/CARI approach and we guarantee that your chances of being selected by recruiters will be dramatically improved!

When describing your experience, don’t overload your bullets with actions and results. As a rule, stick to just 3-5 bullets for each section, if you add too many you will most likely lose the recruiter’s attention somewhere after the third bullet.

How to pitch yourself?

Make sure your cover letter is carefully and clearly laid out: logically ordered, easy to read and not crammed – here is where the use of a T-table and using a structure/method such as IPAR, STAR, CARI and CARL play a pivotal role; remember that the purpose of your cover letter is to get the recruiter’s attention. So ask yourself: Is my cover letter selling me in as a good candidate? All these methods (IPAR, STAR, CARI, and CARL) including the T-table method is explained in detail later in this guide.

“Where should I highlight my competencies in the OECD YPP application?”

In our opinion, the best place to present your competencies is in the employment history question (professional experience). Although the CARL and CARI structures are most commonly associated with the interview preparation, we recommend using it to describe your work experience. Essentially this consists of discussing your experience under four headings: Context/ Challenge, Action/Activity, Results, and Learning or Impact.

For each position you have held or instance of relevant experience you have had, you should describe your experience focusing on three aspects: 1) your own experience; 2) the competency section in the job description, and 3) the skills section in the job description. These three aspects should be integrated and organized according to the CARL/CARI structure.

Use a T-table to identify key skills and results to highlight

When using CARL/CARI it can be a challenge to know what to focus on in your own experience and what is most important for the YPP job family. The T-table method is a method for you as an applicant to identify key elements in the job description and then utilize them to determine how you phrase your application to get the essence of what the UN is looking for.

Below is a sample T-table, the idea with the t-table, in general, is to link the job description with your experience.

The purpose of the method is to ensure that you in your application highlight everything the YPP application requires. The theory of the T-table is that the order in which items are listed in the Job advertisement also have importance. The job function mentioned first, is more important than the job function mentioned last. This helps you identify the areas that you should highlight.

Competencies and skills, key in every OECD application.

“What is the difference between a skill and competency?”

Skills and competencies are two terms frequently used by HR practitioners, and they create the foundation for best practice and effective HR management (recruitment, learning, performance). To illustrate the difference briefly and clearly, we have selected an IT-related example: writing a computer programme requires both skills and competencies; one needs logical, analytical, and interpretive abilities, as well as the ability to use a programming language. Knowledge of a specific programming language (e.g., Java, C++) is the skill. However to effectively execute the task one needs logical, analytical and interpretive abilities, and these are considered competencies.

“How do I use skills and competencies in my OECD YPP application to catch the recruiter’s eye?”

When reading the job vacancy, look for the specified skills and competencies. Some skills may be required, e.g., language skills or a specific qualification, and the most critical competencies will also be listed. In your application, you must clearly present, in a structured, brief and positive way, how you are able to utilize these competencies.

Showing the recruiter you have the required skills will make them want to keep reading. Given that the recruiter most likely has a large volume of applications to read (even after automatic filtering), the quicker she/he can make a decision on your application, the better your chances are of being moved to the long list of selected candidates, and ultimately obtaining an invitation to the exam.

Recommendations from Frequently Asked Questions:

-If you are enrolled in a Master’s degree you can apply as long as your degree will be finalized by the start of duty (September 2019)

-You can apply for more than one YPP position simultaneously

-Only candidates with a Doctorate degree can apply with less than 2 years of professional experience.

The OECD is structured as follows:

Office of the Secretary-General:

Secretary-General

Chief of Staff

Deputy Secretaries-General

General Secretariat:

Council and Executive Committee Secretariat

Directorate for Legal Affairs

Global Relations Secretariat

Internal Audit

Executive Directorate:

Human Resources

Calls for Tender

Public Affairs and Communications Directorate:

Media Relations

Public Affairs

Publishing

OECD Centres

Departments:

Development Co-operation Directorate

Economics Department

Directorate for Education and Skills

Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs

Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities

Environment Directorate

Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs

Directorate for Public Governance

Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation

Statistics and Data Directorate

Centre for Tax Policy and Administration

Trade and Agriculture Directorate

Special Bodies:

Development Centre

International Energy Agency

International Transport Forum

Nuclear Energy Agency

Special Entities:

Financial Action Task Force

Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network

Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century

The Sahel and West Africa Club

Apply to OECD YPP