International Finance Corporation – Young Professionals Program (IFC YPP 2021)

IFC’s Young Professionals Program is a unique opportunity to launch your career as a global investment professional helping to build the private sector in developing countries. You will join as an Associate in the Investment, Advisory or Treasury streams and will be based in Washington DC for at least one year. You will build your expertise through engagements in different countries, close to IFC’s clients. The program is open to final year students working toward an advanced degree such as an MBA, JD, other relevant Masters degrees or recent graduates. In addition, the YPPs will be exposed to leadership practices that provides strong opportunities for growth active coaching throughout the program.

What are the fields of study required for the IFC YPP?

IFC seeks to recruit Young Professionals with at least 3 years-experience in the following areas:

• Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services
  • Agribusiness and Forestry
  • Health and Education
  • Manufacturing
  • Tourism, Retail and Property
• Financial Institutions
• Infrastructure
• Oil, Gas and Mining
• Public-Private Partnerships (Advisory)
• Telecoms, Media and Technology
• Treasury and Syndication (Product)

What is the duration of the IFC YPP?

Selected Young professionals (YPs) are offered a fixed-term appointment of 3 years.

What is the weekly workload of the IFC YPP?

The program is full-time. Therefore, selected candidates work between 35 and 40 hours per week. Work on weekends may be required.

Where are the locations of the IFC YPP?

Besides working at the IFC’s Head Quarter in Washington (DC), YPs will pass through 2 to 3 rotational assignments either in a regional hub or a different industry department or in another World Bank Group institution.

 Subsequent employment:

In general, YPP’s positions are destined to individuals who want to make a career at the IFC. Therefore, towards the end of the program, YPs are encouraged to seek internal opportunities should they wish to remain in the organization.

What is the education requirement of the IFC YPP?

The program is open to candidates who have a master’s or doctoral degree. They must complete a relevant graduate degree before September 2022. This includes an MBA, JD or other relevant Masters degrees in areas relevant to IFC’s work, such as investment banking, project finance, private equity, corporate finance, portfolio management, management consulting or Treasury.

What is the language requirement of the IFC YPP?

Excellent oral and written skills in English. Fluency in other languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Spanish or Russian) is an advantage. 

IFC YPP Age Limit:

Be born on or after October 1, 1989.

What is the IFC YPP nationality requirement?

There is no nationality requirement.

What are the competences required for the IFC YPP?

• Strong analytical and credit assessment skills, as well as solid understanding of accounting and financial statement analysis
• Knowledge of relevant industry sector trends, sound business judgment and problem solving, negotiation and commercial skills
• Enthusiasm for working in multi-cultural teams and across borders, preferably with experience working in developing countries
• Willingness to travel extensively and geographic flexibility

 Other requirements:

• Minimum of 4 years of professional experience relevant to the job role.

The IFC YPP Interview is divided into 2 rounds. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for 1st round interviews. First round interviews are scheduled for mid-October to early November each year, dates pending. All candidates who make it beyond the initial application process will receive a notification. Expenses to attend the first-round interviews are borne by the applicant as most first-round interviews will take place on school campus’ and/or via webex/skype.

All candidates who make it beyond the first-round interviews will receive a personalized notification. The IFC pays for all specified expenses related to second-round interviews including travel, hotel and food.

 IFC YPP Interview Model

After the first round interview, the Shor-Listed candidates are invited to the IFC Head Quarter (Washington, DC), with all related costs sponsored, to a panel interview. For the On-Site Interview, generally, IFC uses the traditional, technical and behavioral-event interview model with the purpose of testing the candidates’ technical knowledge, competencies and their general domain about the organization’s operations, objectives and mission. 

IFC YPP Interview Questions

Candidates are usually asked three types of questions: a) Introductory and Traditional questions; b) Technical Questions; and c) Behavioral-event questions. Below, we present relevant examples about these types of questions extracted from the website Glass Door which contains real testimonials from candidates that passed through the IFC interview process.

 a) Introductory and traditional questions (questions regarding the main motivation that led the candidate to apply for the IFC YPP or questions about their experience and employment history. Examples:

• What do you know about IFC?
• Why do you want to work for IFC?
• Walk me through your CV highlighting what you think is relevant for IFC
• What other companies are you/will you apply for?
• What skills do you possess?
• Tell us about your past experience about climate finance

b) Technical questions related to IFC’s working areas, such as investment and financial analysis. Examples:

• You have a company which just raised 100 million in debt how does it impact each financial statement?
• Why is EBITDA sometimes not a good proxy for cash?
• Which would be the best investment structure for the IFC to invest in a hypothetical foreign project: debt or equity.
• Walk me through the entries of an income statement or statement of cashflows
• Could you calculate EBITDA margin? (They may present some figures and ask the candidate to make assumptions about it)

c) Behavioral-event questions to test the capabilities of the candidate in dealing with challenge situations, in order to perceive competencies. Examples:

• Did you have an experience when you have too much pressure from work and you have to multi-task? How did you deal with it?
• Tell us about a challenging project and how you made it work?
• If you have been given a proposal by your boss what are the key things/analysis that you would do to make investment decision?
• What was your experience dealing with clients?

To help you feel more secure and greatly improve your performance during the IFC YPP interview stage, OpenIGO Network has developed a mock interview, as per the IFC YPP model, with a specialized professional who has extensive experience. Click on the link below to find out more about our IFC YPP Mock Interview service:

Mock Interview