Careers in International Affairs

432 Pages·2008·1.65 MB·English

by  Maria Pinto Carland

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EEIIGGHHTTHH
EEDDIITTIIOONN
MARIA PINTO CARLAND
CANDACE FABER
EDITORS
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY PRESS / Washington,D.C.
GeorgetownUniversityPress,Washington,D.C.www.press.georgetown.edu
(cid:2)2008byGeorgetownUniversityPress.Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybe
reproducedorutilizedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,including
photocopyingandrecording,orbyanyinformationstorageandretrievalsystem,without
permissioninwritingfromthepublisher.
Careersininternationalaffairs/MariaPintoCarland,CandaceFaber,editors—8thed.
p. cm.
Includesindex.
ISBN-13:978-1-58901-199-1(alk.paper)
1.Internationalrelations—Vocationalguidance—UnitedStates.
2.Internationaleconomicrelations—Vocationalguidance—UnitedStates
I.Carland,MariaPinto,1944– II.Faber,Candace.
JZ1238.U6C37 2008
327.023(cid:2)73—dc22
2007027135
Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepapermeetingtherequirementsoftheAmerican
NationalStandardforPermanenceinPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterials.
15 14 13 12 11 10 0908 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Firstprinting
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Contents
Preface ix
Part I: Strategies
1 INTRODUCTIONTOTHEINTERNATIONALAFFAIRS
JOBMARKET 3
MariaPinto Carland
2 INTERVIEWING 13
MariaPinto Carland
3 NETWORKING 27
MariaPinto Carland
4 FINDINGANDWORKINGWITH AMENTOR 38
MariaPinto Carland
5 CHOOSINGAGRADUATESCHOOL 42
CandaceFaber
Part II: Types of Employers
6 THEUNITED STATESGOVERNMENT 53
CareersintheU.S.Government 53
MatthewMcManus
CareersintheU.S.ForeignService 103
MauraHarty
ReflectionsonJoiningtheForeignService 121
YvonneGonzales
v
vi • Contents
CareersonCapitolHill 125
DenisMcDonough
CareersinIntelligenceAnalysis 131
VolkoF.Ruhnke
IntroductiontothePresidentialManagementFellows
Program 152
RobertF. Danbeck
APresidential ManagementFellow LooksBack 155
BethFlores
7 INTERNATIONALORGANIZATIONS 158
CareersinInternationalOrganizations 158
JorgeChediek
StartingOutattheUnitedNations 206
AlfIvarBlikberg
8 BANKING 208
CareersinBanking 208
JeffBernstein
GettingStarted inBanking 231
JaeLee
9 BUSINESS 234
CareersinBusiness 234
KarlaSullivanBousquet
10 BUSINESS-RELATEDORGANIZATIONS 267
CareersinBusiness-RelatedOrganizations 267
JonathanHuneke
GettingStarted inBusiness–GovernmentRelations 287
StephenZiehm
11 CONSULTING 289
CareersinConsulting 289
LindseyTylerArgalas
Contents • vii
12 INTERNATIONALDEVELOPMENT ANDRELIEF 320
CareersinInternationalDevelopment 320
KristiRagan
CareersinRelief 332
PatriciaL.Delaney
13 NONPROFITANDEDUCATIONALORGANIZATIONS 338
CareersinNonprofits 338
DenisDragovic
14 UNIVERSITYRESEARCHINSTITUTES 382
CareersinUniversityResearchInstitutes 382
ElizabethGardner
GettingStartedinResearchInstitutes 408
EmileEl-Hokayem
Index 411

Preface
Careers in International Affairs is a book about career options for
young professionals. Compiled by a career counselor, a student,
alumni,andfriendsoftheSchoolofForeignServiceat GeorgetownUni-
versity,itisdesignedformenandwomenwhowanttoservetheircountry
ortheinternationalcommunityinbusiness,government,worldorganiza-
tions,andnonprofitgroups.Thus,ourintentionistointroduceanddem-
onstrate the variety of global employment opportunities available and to
provide
• understandingofinternationalcareersandwhattheyoffer,
• insightintotheskillsandknowledgeemployersseek,
• awarenessofindividualcareerpotential,and
• guidelinesforcareerchoices.
Alumnimakeuptheheartofthisbook.Wehavewatchedthemtransi-
tion into, and out of, public, private,and nonprofit sectors; intoand out
ofnotonebutseveralcareers;alwayslearning,growing,andcontributing.
Their essays in this book, however, are more than simply descriptions of
the trails they have blazed—they represent efforts to return and widen
the path for others to follow them. It is individuals such as these who
serve as mentors and create the networks necessary to provide options
powerforthoseseekinginternationalcareers.
Young people today are well aware of the essential elements of a job
search: education, internship, resume and cover letter, interview, and
contacts. However, more than twenty years of observing students move
throughthesestepsrevealseveralaspectsofthecareersearchthatreceive
shortshrift:
• theimportanceofself-knowledge,
• theabilitytocommunicatethatknowledge,and
• theneedfornetworksandmentors.
After all, if you do not know what you want, how can you choose
where to send your resume? If you are not aware of your abilities, how
ix
x • Preface
can you describe your skills to an interviewer? And if you do not have
reliable sounding boards, how can you be sure you are moving in the
rightdirection,and,asalways,wheredoyouturnforhelp?Toemphasize
this,wehaveincludedchaptersonthreetopics—interviews,mentors,and
anew chapteronnetworking—allcritical elementsofajobsearch.
Eachsubsequentchapterbeginswithanessaybyanalumnusorfriend
of the School of Foreign Service and, in some cases, contains a shorter
commentary by a recent graduate. Their reflections come from one of
two sources: either the broad perspective, resulting from one or a series
of careers,or the morefocused view ofa young professionaljust starting
his or her career. In addition, for the first time we have included a new
chapter devoted to choosing the graduate program that not only meets
yourneedsbutalsosuitsyoubest.
This new edition contains nearly three hundred organization profiles,
all of which have been updated since the last edition. Though it may
appear that there are many new entries, in fact, some are the result of
downsizings,mergers,andacquisitions.Eachentryprovidesathumbnail
sketch of the organization’s activities in the United States and abroad.
Wheneverpossible,weincludenotesontheskillsandbackgrounddesired
in applicants. Also provided are telephone, fax, and/or website contact
information. The profiles we list are of selected organizations that best
represent the field and that also have a history of hiring international
affairsgraduates.Therearesome exceptions.Ononehand,theU.S.gov-
ernmentandinternationalorganizationlistingsarenotjustasamplingof
agencies and organizations, they are comprehensive; on the other hand,
the development chapter has no listings at all because work in this field
ranges across nonprofits, government agencies, businesses, and interna-
tionalorganizations. Ourpurposeisto conveyasenseof theoptionsbut
nottocreateexhaustive lists.
Theknowledgeandskillsthatinternationalprofessionalsbringtofirst
jobs can carry them into other fields and other careers. International
careers often morph into one another, to be sampled and explored
sequentially. The international professional must recognize and be ready
foreach optionasitappears.
The first edition of this book was published in 1967. The current edi-
tion, like those before it, has a unique architecture. Its blueprints were
basedonourstudents’experiences.Itsdesignarosefromourinteractions
with those same students. It was built with the wise words of our gradu-
atesandwasdevelopedbyateamofcolleaguesandfriends.Wehopethat