9h00: OECD – Organisation of Economic Co-Operation Development

When I tell people that I work in a Chateau, they don’t believe me. The main entrance is through the OECD building which is connected to Chateau de la Muette. It is a modern building filled with security guards, x-ray machines and diplomats who are visiting for conferences. My employee card gives me access to all the security glass doors so I can bypass the queues and x-rays in the morning.

On my first day, I asked my colleagues ‘So how often do you get to go to the Chateau?’and after a moment of awkward silence followed by hysterical laughter they replied ‘Gloy, we’re in the chateau right now!’. Built in the 16th Century, occupied by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinnette, the site of the first hot air balloon by the Mongolier brothers, and now the headquarters of the OECD….not bad for an office.

9h00 – 17h00: Daily routine at work

My job at the OECD involves analysing current political and economic developments in different regions, with a personal focus on Thailand. Each of my colleagues work on a different country ranging from China to Peru, Lithuania to Malaysia, and the office is usually echoing with conference calls in Chinese, French, Spanish, German and even Portuguese. The role of the OECD itself is to work closely with national governments to implement policies in member and non-member countries, to promote social and economic development through addressing issues such as education, sustainability, health care systems and agriculture – just to name a few.

As an intern, the OECD provides an amazing opportunity to discover what it’s like to work for an inter-governmental organization and the people you meet here come from the most exotic cultural backgrounds and have the most incredible stories to tell. At lunch time, everyone in the office has lunch together, which either involves a picnic on the lawns in front of the Chateau, or in the cafeteria. Lunch breaks provide a great opportunity to really get to know your co-workers and understand the career path that has led them to the OECD. They all help me out in the office such as giving me tips on accessing different resources, inviting me to join them in important meetings and even sharing local secrets of what to do in Paris over the weekend (i.e where to discover life changing baguettes and gelato, the best crepe shops in Paris, the most scenic bus route to take from the OECD to uni). Words cannot express how amazing it is to be accepted into such a fantastic team, and despite 40 long hours of work each week, somehow, I still walk into the office each day feeling so proud to be part of the OECD community.

Author: Gloy Tuchinda, current student at the University of Sydney Business School