Ilka Bartsch (24) finished her IRIO BA last year. During the Bachelor she decided to do an internship at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. In this interview she will share her experience and explain more about her assigned tasks.
Could you give a short introduction of yourself?
My name is Ilka, 24 and I finished my IRIO Bachelor in February 2021. I am currently doing a Master’s degree in Public Policy at the Hertie School in Berlin, focusing on employment, social and gender issues, which are topics that I am very passionate about. On the side, I worked as a freelancer for the German Federal Foreign Office and as a project assistant at the European Movement Germany.
Where did you do your internship?
I decided to extend my IRIO Bachelor to do a voluntary internship at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. I was placed in the Department of the Coordinator for International Personnel Policy at the headquarter in Berlin. It deals with all matters concerning German staff at international organizations, which includes offering information and advice to German citizens interested in international careers and assisting and coordinating high-level candidacies and the German government’s actions on personnel matters.
What tasks did you have to take care of?
I had a very diverse set of tasks. Surprisingly, many tasks included event organization, as I was involved in all steps of the organization of the annual career fair that informs about career possibilities in IOs and European institutions with about 3500 participants, and further supported the organization of networking events for German staff. I also assisted in meetings amongst different departments within the government, taking care of coordinating and writing the protocol, and, together with another intern, wrote the first draft of an extensive report for the German government. Additionally, I worked on public relations, such as preparing some posts for the official Instagram page and video production.
What did you like most about the internship?
Although I worked partly from home due to the Covid situation, one aspect that I really liked about the internship was that the department consisted of a small team that involved me in almost all tasks. Contrary to my expectations, hierarchies were not that strict, and I could also work closely with the head of the department, who valued my work and even allowed me to present the department at a video shooting with the minister. Additionally, the insights into the two worlds of diplomacy and working in international organizations and personal conversations about their experiences were very valuable for me.
What are the most important things that you learned during your time at the German Federal Foreign Office?
Mostly, I learned that no one, neither the German diplomats nor the staff at the IOs, had a clear career path – they all had diverged from the classic routes, doubted their choices and tried jobs in different fields before they ended up at their current jobs, which relieved some of the pressure I had felt. I also realized that IRIO had prepared me quite well for the job through the knowledge of IOs that I had and my analytical skills.
Did the internship give you an idea of where you want to work after graduating?
Yes, the internship helped me develop a clearer picture of my future career. I realized that being a diplomat was not in the picture for me any longer due to only having to represent and perform in the interest of the German government and regularly changing the departments and thus topics. Instead, I realized that I would like to work in international organizations on issues that I am passionate about and can become an expert on, although I have a very realistic picture of the difficult working conditions for beginners now.
Is there any advice you would like to give to students who are unsure whether they want to do an internship?
I would recommend doing an internship to everyone who has the possibility to do so for two main reasons. First, it helped me get a more detailed picture of the day-to-day work of a job that I was interested in, in my special case on diplomacy and working in international organizations, and the working conditions in both fields. Especially the latter is often sidelined, and it shaped my ideas of my future career a lot. Second, the internship provided me with valuable connections, which I already benefitted from. Last year, I worked with the department again for a few months as a freelancer. Their contacts and letter of reference helped me get a job in the international division of the Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs, which I will start in the summer.
Could you give a short introduction of yourself?
My name is Ilka, 24 and I finished my IRIO Bachelor in February 2021. I am currently doing a Master’s degree in Public Policy at the Hertie School in Berlin, focusing on employment, social and gender issues, which are topics that I am very passionate about. On the side, I worked as a freelancer for the German Federal Foreign Office and as a project assistant at the European Movement Germany.
Where did you do your internship?
I decided to extend my IRIO Bachelor to do a voluntary internship at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. I was placed in the Department of the Coordinator for International Personnel Policy at the headquarter in Berlin. It deals with all matters concerning German staff at international organizations, which includes offering information and advice to German citizens interested in international careers and assisting and coordinating high-level candidacies and the German government’s actions on personnel matters.
What tasks did you have to take care of?
I had a very diverse set of tasks. Surprisingly, many tasks included event organization, as I was involved in all steps of the organization of the annual career fair that informs about career possibilities in IOs and European institutions with about 3500 participants, and further supported the organization of networking events for German staff. I also assisted in meetings amongst different departments within the government, taking care of coordinating and writing the protocol, and, together with another intern, wrote the first draft of an extensive report for the German government. Additionally, I worked on public relations, such as preparing some posts for the official Instagram page and video production.
What did you like most about the internship?
Although I worked partly from home due to the Covid situation, one aspect that I really liked about the internship was that the department consisted of a small team that involved me in almost all tasks. Contrary to my expectations, hierarchies were not that strict, and I could also work closely with the head of the department, who valued my work and even allowed me to present the department at a video shooting with the minister. Additionally, the insights into the two worlds of diplomacy and working in international organizations and personal conversations about their experiences were very valuable for me.
What are the most important things that you learned during your time at the German Federal Foreign Office?
Mostly, I learned that no one, neither the German diplomats nor the staff at the IOs, had a clear career path – they all had diverged from the classic routes, doubted their choices and tried jobs in different fields before they ended up at their current jobs, which relieved some of the pressure I had felt. I also realized that IRIO had prepared me quite well for the job through the knowledge of IOs that I had and my analytical skills.
Did the internship give you an idea of where you want to work after graduating?
Yes, the internship helped me develop a clearer picture of my future career. I realized that being a diplomat was not in the picture for me any longer due to only having to represent and perform in the interest of the German government and regularly changing the departments and thus topics. Instead, I realized that I would like to work in international organizations on issues that I am passionate about and can become an expert on, although I have a very realistic picture of the difficult working conditions for beginners now.
Is there any advice you would like to give to students who are unsure whether they want to do an internship?
I would recommend doing an internship to everyone who has the possibility to do so for two main reasons. First, it helped me get a more detailed picture of the day-to-day work of a job that I was interested in, in my special case on diplomacy and working in international organizations, and the working conditions in both fields. Especially the latter is often sidelined, and it shaped my ideas of my future career a lot. Second, the internship provided me with valuable connections, which I already benefitted from. Last year, I worked with the department again for a few months as a freelancer. Their contacts and letter of reference helped me get a job in the international division of the Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs, which I will start in the summer.
