# Interviewing with an international organisation

> Read the vacancy notice for the stages it lists, prepare six real examples that show the competencies it names, and learn the organisation's mandate from its own publications. Expect a panel, possibly a written test, and a slow process. Check each detail with the organisation itself.

Source: https://zorlya.com/blog/preparing-for-an-interview-with-an-international-organisation

By Zorlya. Published 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-25. International and NGO jobs. 9 min read.

An interview with an international organisation, an agency or a large NGO often differs from a typical company interview. It tends to follow a fixed structure, use the same questions for every candidate and score answers against a list written in advance. That is good news. A fixed structure can be prepared for. This post gives a plan you can follow in a few evenings. Every organisation runs its own process, so treat what follows as a general pattern and confirm the details with the organisation.

## Quick answer

Find the stages in the vacancy notice. List the competencies or values it names. Write six real examples from your work, one or two for each. Learn what the organisation does from its own website and reports. Practise your answers aloud, in the language of the interview, and prepare questions about the work. Ask the organisation about anything unclear, such as the format, the length and the tools.

## A plan for five evenings

| Evening | Task | What you have at the end |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Read the vacancy notice and copy out the stages, competencies and languages | A preparation sheet |
| 2 | Write six examples and match them to the competencies | Six short stories with results |
| 3 | Read the organisation's reports and the hiring office's work | Three sentences on the mandate and the role |
| 4 | Practise aloud, timed, in the interview language | Answers you can give without reading |
| 5 | Check the format, the time zone and the platform, and write your questions | A calm last day |

## Start with the vacancy notice

Read the whole notice, including the parts people skip. Look for:

- **The stages.** It may mention a written test, a case exercise, a presentation, a panel interview or a language assessment, and the order of them.
- **The competencies.** Many organisations name a short list, for example teamwork, communication, judgement or results. They are the questions in disguise.
- **Required languages.** The notice may state which languages are required, which are an advantage and how they are tested.
- **Eligibility and conditions.** Contract type, location, duty station, security or health checks and the right to work are set by the organisation and the country. This post cannot tell you your position. Read the notice and ask the contact point.

Copy the competencies into a page. This is your preparation sheet. Save a copy of the whole notice too, because a vacancy page can be taken down after it closes, often before the interview.

## What does a values and behaviours framework look like?

Some organisations publish the framework their notices draw on. The United Nations human resources portal, for example, publishes the [UN Values and Behaviours Framework](https://hr.un.org/en/node/25). It names four values (inclusion, integrity, humility and humanity) and five behaviours: connect and collaborate, analyse and plan, deliver results with positive impact, learn and develop, and adapt and innovate.

A framework like this tells you what the panel is listening for. Take each behaviour the notice names and ask which of your examples shows it most clearly. If the organisation publishes no framework, the competencies in the notice are your list. Prepare against the words in the notice you have, because organisations, and offices within one organisation, use different lists.

## Build six examples

Most questions in a structured interview ask for a past situation: "Tell us about a time when...". Answer with a short story that has four parts: the situation, your task, what you did and the result. People call this the STAR method. The UN's own [advice for candidates](https://hr.un.org/en/node/97) suggests a situation, action and result structure, with real examples that include the outcome or the lesson learned.

Prepare six examples from real work, volunteer work or study. Pick ones where you can explain your own part clearly. For each, write four to six sentences and a one-line result. Match them to the competencies on your sheet. One example can serve two competencies if you stress a different part each time.

### What does one answer look like?

Here is the shape of one answer, for "analyse and plan". Illustrative: the details are invented.

> "Our office had to move a training course online in three weeks (situation). I was asked to plan it (task). I listed what the course had to keep, chose two tools we already paid for, and set a weekly check with the trainers (action). The course ran on time for 60 people, and I learned to agree the must-haves before choosing tools (result and lesson)."

### How do I show my part and the team's?

Use "I" for what you did and "we" for what the team did. Panels listen for your part. A story of a team success with no detail of your role scores poorly. Pick examples with some difficulty in them, such as a trade-off or a disagreement, because a story where nothing could go wrong shows little. Do not invent or inflate. If a panel asks a follow-up, a made-up story falls apart in the first sentence, and references can check what you said.

If your examples come from a smaller organisation, a different sector or another country, say so briefly and explain the scale: how many people, how much money or how many days. A panel from another country may not know your context. [Resume bullets when you have no numbers](/blog/resume-bullets-when-you-have-no-numbers) helps if your results are hard to count.

## Learn the mandate

You need to know what the organisation does and why it exists. Read its own "about" page, its latest annual report or strategy, and a few recent news items from its newsroom. Then read about the office or team that is hiring, since its work programme is closer to the job than the organisation's slogan. Write three sentences: the mandate, one current priority, and how the vacancy supports that priority. Do not repeat slogans from the website. Say what you understood.

Stay neutral and factual when you talk about countries, governments and conflicts. Some organisations expect impartial language from their staff. Describe your views through the work and not through opinion.

## Which kinds of question should I expect?

Prepare for four kinds, in any order:

1. An opening question about you and your path to this role. Keep it to a minute.
2. A question on motivation: why this organisation and this job.
3. The competency questions, each asking for a past example.
4. Your own questions at the end.

Some panels add a question on your values and how they show in your work. An example from your list usually answers it better than a statement of belief.

## Prepare for the format

Ask the contact point, politely and in good time, whether the interview is online or in person, how long it lasts, how many people are on the panel and whether you will see questions beforehand. Some processes allow adjustments for disability or other needs, and asking is normal.

For an online interview, test the platform the organisation names on the same device and connection. Check the time zone in the invitation and write the time in both zones. Keep your notes where you can see them without looking away for long, and have the vacancy notice and your application open. In a video call it is harder to read the panel, so it is fine to ask whether your answer covered what they wanted.

Language matters as well. If the interview is in your second language, practise answers aloud until the structure feels easy. You do not need perfect grammar. Clear, short sentences with the key words of the competency are better than long ones with errors in the middle. It is fine to take a moment before you answer, and to ask for a question to be repeated.

## Written tests and case exercises

If a written test is mentioned, ask what it covers and how long it is. Practise by writing a one page note on a topic in your field in 45 minutes. Plain structure helps: the purpose, the main points, the recommendation. Reading your text aloud once finds most mistakes.

## Questions to ask them

Prepare two or three about the work and not the benefits: how the team is organised, what the first months involve, and what the organisation would like the new person to achieve. Ask about contract terms, relocation and benefits when the organisation raises them or at the offer stage, as its own rules usually set them.

## Be ready for a slow process

Many such processes take longer than a company hiring round, with reference checks and approvals after the interview. A long silence is common. Ask at the end of the interview when you can expect news, and follow up once after that date. [Following up without being a nuisance](/blog/how-to-follow-up-after-an-application-without-being-a-nuisance) has wording for it. Keep applying elsewhere in the meantime.

## Questions people ask

### How long should a STAR answer be?

There is no fixed length. Give the situation, your action and the result, then stop, so the panel has time for a follow-up. Time yourself when you practise.

### Can I use the same example twice?

Yes, if you stress a different part each time. Prepare enough examples that you do not have to.

### What if I have no example for a competency?

Say so briefly, then give the closest real case and what you would do. An honest near match is better than an invented story.

### Should I bring notes?

Ask the organisation. If notes are allowed, keep them to a few words per example, and never read an answer word for word.

## What we know and what we do not

Zorlya's employer directory at [/countries](/countries) lists employers by country. Use it to find employers to look at, and use each organisation's own pages for everything about its process. In the app, interview prep drafts eight questions for a role in your feed, each with a STAR outline built from your own experience, and the plan allowances are on the [pricing page](/pricing). Treat the drafts as practice, not a forecast. Zorlya does not know which questions a panel will ask or how an organisation scores answers.