Where would I apply for a job if the UN didn't exist?

Guest blog: Lenni Montiel: Senior UN Development Leader (Ret.) | Former UN Assistant Secretary-General |UNDP Resident Representative | Governance, Public Policy & Multilateral Diplomacy | Leadership Advisor & Trainer | Chevening Scholar. Lenni writes on LinkedIn about the UN and international development. Originally published here.

 Every international relations student asks how to get into the UN.

Almost none ask this: "Where would I apply for a job if the UN didn't exist?"

It sounds like a strange question.

But it reveals something important.

I've often reflected on it myself.

If the UN hadn't existed, I suspect I would still have spent my career working on governance, public policy, and international development, just through different institutions.

Many students focus on the institution. The destination.

Too few begin by asking what kind of work they truly want to dedicate themselves to.

Yet the most fulfilled professionals I encountered during my decades in the UN system were not those whose primary ambition was simply to "work at the UN."

They were people who cared deeply about a specific challenge. Climate adaptation, public health, governance reform, humanitarian response, poverty reduction, water, or political affairs. Eventually they found that the UN was one place where they could make a meaningful contribution.

The institution was the vehicle.

Not the destination.

That shift in perspective changes everything about how you prepare for an international career.

Instead of asking, "How do I get in?", you begin asking:

👉 What problem do I want to help solve?

👉 Where is that work being done most effectively?

👉 Where can I make the greatest contribution?

Sometimes the answer is the UN.

Sometimes it's an NGO, a government ministry, a research institution, a regional organization, or the private sector.

The point is not to avoid the UN.

It's to arrive there, or anywhere else, with a clear sense of purpose.

That sense of purpose will shape your career far more than any credential ever could.

If you're a student or early-career professional, try this exercise.

Imagine the UN disappeared tomorrow.

What work would you still want to do?

Where would you go to do it?

Your answer might surprise you.

And it might become one of the most valuable career insights you'll ever have.