IMF Economist Program (EP) ECONOMIST PROGRAM

What Would I do

The EP offers you a well-rounded experience of the IMF’s work and provides a unique foundation for a thought-provoking and fulfilling career as an economist. During the three-year program, you will rotate through two departmental assignments, joining economic teams working in regional and country-specific surveillance as well as in fiscal, monetary, balance of payments, debt, or related issues. This is not a trainee position and from the start you will be given real work and real responsibilities as an IMF economist. This could include policy development, country or regional operational work, research, and capacity development and teaching.

By the end of the program, we hope you will be as excited by our work as we are and will choose to remain and build a long-term career as an IMF economist.

Who Should Apply

You will need to be:

• A recent PhD graduate or be within one year of completing your PhD in a relevant field of study
• A national of one of our IMF member countries
• Under age 34 when you join the IMF EP program

How to Apply

The application process opens annually in late September, with a notice on the IMF Career Site. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed between October and January, with offers made in early February. The selection process consists of multiple stages, which may run in parallel to one another.

Below is a summary of the four key stages:

1. If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited to a 30-40-minute preliminary interview during which you will be asked for a high-level overview of your research paper and to respond to questions on economic topics related to the work of the IMF and on your interpersonal and communication skills. The interview will be held this year by video, or by phone. Dates for IMF campus visits will be added here.
2. Following the preliminary interview, you may be asked to forward your most recent university transcript from your PhD program, provide three academic references (references cannot be from current IMF staff members) and submit a research paper (ideally of publishable standard) or one or two chapters of your dissertation.
3. Successful candidates this year will be invited for a 60-minute virtual panel interview comprised of two or three senior IMF economists and a Human Resources officer. The interview will follow a similar format to the preliminary interview, focusing on your knowledge of monetary, fiscal, balance of payments, and financial sector issues and your behavioral skills, to provide a deeper assessment of your analytical abilities, judgment, oral communication and interpersonal skills, knowledge of macroeconomics and related fields, and ability to convey complex issues in a logical and structured way. In addition to the panel interview, you will also be asked to take a 40-minute online psychometric assessment designed to identify preferred behavioral skills and approaches.
4. Once the panel interviews have been completed (normally by late January), all candidates who reached the panel interview stage will be referred to an internal committee of senior staff for review and this committee will make the final selection. The committee will review all seven assessments (bolded above) with the highest weighting given to the panel interview and the research paper review.

Offers to successful applicants will be sent out in February and the incoming class of EPs will start at the IMF the following September.

Frequently Asked Questions