u/Bobbrox

Hello,

I am currently in the process of applying for economist positions and adjacent roles at the FAO. This is my first time applying seriously for roles at the UN, and I had the following questions:

1. Some of the roles I am applying for are staff roles (P-2), while others are consultant roles. Both have fixed contract lengths with possibilities of extension. Are extensions common for employees in good standing, or is the likelihood of an extension tied closely to available funding?
2. Is it common to use Linkedin to reach out to people in similar roles and ask them about their experiences? I know this is more common in some industries than others.
3. It seems applicants often wait more than 4 months before hearing back about their candidacy. Is that accurate?
4. While I possess the minimum qualifications for my desired roles, I was wondering whether my profile would be competitive, and whether there are any things I can do to make my application stand out. I'm particularly worried about not having formal experience in public policy, program development, or in developing countries. For reference, I am a 28 year-old Canadian man, holding bachelor's and master's degrees with specialization in economics. The degrees were completed at McGill University in 2020 and 2022, respectively. I have around 6 years of full-time work experience, split evenly between central banking, academia, and economic consulting. More specifically, I've worked in research associate roles at the Bank of Canada, Harvard University, and Analysis Group. I have several academic and non-academic publications - mostly in finance and energy. For what it's worth, I speak English, French, and Italian, and hold Canadian and EU citizenship.

Any insights you can provide to any of these questions would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!