This page will detail opportunities you may wish to consider alongside your studies. Do not be disheartened if this differs from your experience so far — there are many different paths and methods to reach your goals!

Volunteer/Extra-curricular

Your University will have certification providers that you can utilise as a free resource. At the University of Auckland, we havd various cultural competency courses that where not time consuming and you came out with a certification. Usually, with certifications like this, the work is not terribly informative and very general, but at the very least, it acts as a signal to employers and a good talking point in interview stages.

Large Embassies often run a Youth Council through the larger Universities, which is an excellent way to meet students with similar ambitions, and also interact with diplomats and private individuals in the geopolitical space. the United States Embassy ran a US NZ Youth Council through my University, where I met the American Ambassador, and developed a friendship with the diplomat running the Council (who would offer professional advice on my first career move).

Also, keep an eye out for funded extra-curricular opportunities. These are generally located in the University office that handles exchange programmes. Here, you could pick up a paper through a Sister University or volunteer with MOU organisations. Through these funded opportunities, I took a (remote) History paper through the University of California Santa Cruz, and volunteered with Oxfam, among other opportunities.

Look through your University’s Clubs and Societies, particularly United Nations clubs (there is always a UN Youth Council). Myself and a group of friends from an International Relations Lecture signed up for, and won, the UN Case Competition for that year, which is a good geopolitical signal.

Outside of University, think of organisations that are relevant to your interests and have geopolitical considerations, and offer to volunteer your time. I identified and contacted Consulates and Honorary Consuls in Auckland and ended up volunteering with the Phillipines Honorary Consul. I would suggest reaching out to your country’s United Nations Association.

Work

University is time consuming, but to get ahead you need to allocate time to part-time work that is relevant to your field.

Having research credits can be a major asset in the recruitment process — it certainly was in my career progress. Explore local think tanks and research centers (some of which may operate out of your University) and see if they have research assistant work available.

Government’s establish organisations to better build goodwill and interact with regions of interest – usually being key trading partners. These organisations can be a great place to discover relevant work experience while studying. For example, New Zealand’s largest trading partners are located in East Asia, leading to the creation of the Center for Asian Pacific Excellence, the Asia New Zealand Foundation, and the NZ China Council, each of which I contributed to.

Business Councils are geopolitical organisations you could explore, also. Different from the academic pursuit detailed on this page, Business Councils work directly with businesses to facilitate trade. Working with Business Councils gave me an important view into the practical hurdles in international trade, and how government can effectively support exporters.

If you would like to hear more examples that are relevant to your skills and interests, send me an email on our contact page.

‘Summer’ Research Assistant

Academic staff at your University work on research papers and often request assistance from students over the break period. Not only are these paid, but they are a good opportunity to build a relationship with the lecturer who will invariably have contacts within their field of expertise.

This may be a case of directly asking your lecturers or your University publishing the projects (as was the case with my Uni) and students applying this way.

Study!

Study what interests you and maintain a strong Grade Point Average. GPA certainly is not everything, but there are many roles that will automatically disqualify applications below a certain GPA threshold. Post-graduate degrees/certificates and international exchanges also require a certain GPA.

Another consideration in getting good grades is that you may need a letter of recommendation at some point (recruitment, scholarships, etc). Earning a high grade and making a good impression on your lecturer (you might even consider being the class rep) will improve your chances of a strong letter of recommendation.

Look for Scholarships

Universities offer many scholarships, some of which are more obscure than others. Scholarships range from course specific awards (eg ‘Most outstanding Under Graduate work for the year’) to personality specific (Leadership, financial hardship, extracurricular work etc).

Also, keep an eye out for National Scholarships. For example, in New Zealand, we have the Prime Minister’s Scholarship, which gave me the platform to speak with trade commissioners and diplomats, culminating in my work experience at New Zealand’s High Commission in Singapore.

Explore and apply widely!

Languages

In the world of geopolitics, language skills open many doors. Geopolitical roles often require secondary language skills, or favour language skills in automated recruitment processes.

I would not recommend forcing yourself to learn a language, as it is a commitment that requires consistent effort, as there are opportunities that do not require language skills.

However, if you have already begun, or are motivated to learn a language outside of making your recruitment profile more attractive, take this as a sign to keep learning!

Note: BRICS languages should be highlighted as ‘growth’ languages.

Post-graduate Education

Many recruitment platforms will automatically disqualify candidates that do not have education qualifications higher than a bachelor’s degree. For example, the United Nations recruitment portal asks you to select your education level, and former UN employees that came to speak to our cohort explained how their applications only moved onto the second stage after selecting that they had a post-graduate qualification.

Post-graduate education is a good opportunity to study and travel overseas.

Note: A post-graduate certificate is a smaller time and financial commitment than an Honours/Masters programme, but also signals a post graduate qualification.