Applying to the UN: How to stand out

Positions at the United Nations are coveted by many, which means that competition is high. There are likely both internal and external candidates filing an application, which means that for many roles simply meeting the requirements won’t be enough. Candidates need to stand out if they want to be successful, experts say. “I'm surprised, as a recruiter, when I go into the recruitment process, easily half of the applicants, you can just tell that they're irrelevant for the position,” said Veronika Ambertson, a coach and human resources consultant who worked in HR at the U.N. Development Programme for over a decade. “You’ve got to customize, but that's not so easy for people to do.” Current advertised roles are wide-ranging, requiring a variety of experience and skills. There is a call for a roster human resources officer for the World Health Organization in Manila; a chief of field office for UNICEF in Somalia; and a policy and best practices officer with the U.N. Mission in South Sudan. Regardless of the position, job descriptions are lengthy and categorized into various position levels, specific to the U.N. Before applying, candidates have to ensure they meet the requirements of the position level, said Esperance Uwimana, a program specialist on women’s economic empowerment with UN Women. The U.N. categorizes its jobs into different classifications that require certain levels of experience. Understanding whether you qualify for the job being applied for is the first step in not discounting yourself from the process. Most U.N. agencies then require their applicants to apply for a role via the U.N.’s Inspira platform. Here, individuals must fill out basic personal, educational, and work experience information while it also offers the option to upload a CV, cover letter, and motivation statement specific to the role. It’s in this process that applicants need to stand out. Devex asked the experts what that looks like in practice. 1. Show you have relevant experience This applies to any job application, but Kate Roberts, a humanitarian coach and staff care and well-being specialist, believes the U.N. looks more closely at applications to see how well a candidate meets the requirements. This could be because competition is so high. “A lot of times with my coaching clients, I will say it's fine to apply for jobs where you only meet 60 or 70% of the requirements, but with the U.N. I would raise that because they really do look much more closely at experience that can speak to those requirements and want to make sure that there's evidence behind it,” Roberts said. A system such as the STAR (situation, task, action, and result) matrix can help applicants frame relevant experience via examples and results they’ve achieved, she added. At the same time, it’s important not to add too much information, said Ambertson. She advised focusing on what the requirements are as that is going to be a screener's checklist rather than the descriptions and functions listed. This minimizes the risk of trying to say too much in a limited system, such as Inspira, she added. “It is not what can you add in and what have I forgotten? It's more like, what can I take out so that what the hiring manager gets to see is the most relevant information?” That includes “anything that has to do with your relevant area of expertise or regional knowledge or working with stakeholders … that the U.N. would normally interact with,” she added. Make sure not to bury this in a cover letter, Ambertson said. In the U.N. Inspira system, that’s often “only looked at later if you're long-listed,” she shared. That’s why it’s important to include any information you really want the hiring manager to know in the application form itself, she advised. “If they have to go in and look for the nuggets among all this information that you're providing, then you're just going to come across as less relevant.” It also helps to write with the hiring manager in mind. “Imagine that it's a Thursday afternoon and you're number 87 in the pile. Their brain is tired, and you want them to perk up when they see your application,” Ambertson said. 2. Demonstrate that you know the UN In order to stand out, an applicant should show within their application that they know the mandate of the U.N. agency they’re applying to, are aware of issues affecting the wider organization, and the challenges it’s navigating, said experts. Elizabeth Villagomez, an economist with citizenship in Spain and Mexico who has been recruited twice into U.N. staff positions and held multiple consultancy roles, recommended reading up on the Pact for the Future to see where the U.N. is headed. “I think it's key, before you start applying, to look at the mandates and see if that also clicks with what you want to do,” Villagomez said. Roberts suggested paying attention to the funding trends that are affecting the organization. It’s then important to be able to speak to those to some extent, she said. If you do get shortlisted, you need to really prepare for any exams set, advised Villagomez. “If you pass the exam, you go to the interview so just make sure you prepare really well for those two things, once you get your foot in the door.” Uwimana also suggested using the keywords present in a job description. “If you go, for example, for a women’s empowerment role, I'm looking for women empowerment in the CV. in the application, in the cover letter,” she said. 3. Highlight any specialized skills While many positions might require a generalist — for example, a project manager, administrative officer, or operations officer — having a specific skill or an area of expertise could make the difference when applying for a role, said Eddie Wright, who has been a media specialist at the U.N. Population Fund for over a decade. His specialist skill, beyond having those required of a standard communications specialist, is knowing the European media landscape incredibly well and having solid relationships with media. This was knowledge and skills he garnered prior to the U.N. through three years of working at a PR agency and then another three years as a communications officer for an NGO. “I came in with a solid, pan-European knowledge of media markets, which was really valuable for working in a U.N. organization,” he shared. “I’m a media nerd.” “I knew the European media landscape well from my time in Brussels, which is really valuable as most of UNFPA's major donors come from Europe,” Wright added. In more technical roles, such a specialism will likely be mandatory to pass the first screening. For example, a human rights officer, malaria specialist, or political affairs officer will require specific qualifications and experience in that space. Having an additional specialist aspect within that field though, could help a candidate stand out. That could be expertise in a specific human rights issue, technical experience in malaria diagnostics, or good relationships with politicians. 4. Explain how your core values align Candidates must take time to understand the values of the specific U.N. agency they’re applying to and understand what they mean in practice, said Roberts. It’s then important to highlight experiences that demonstrate how your values align with those of the U.N. That could be having worked with an organization with a similar mandate, volunteering in a specific context, or doing research on an area that correlates to the specific U.N. agency’s interest. “I recommend being able to highlight and demonstrate how applicants have used core values for the U.N. — specifically, things like diplomacy and relationship building — in previous work experiences,” Roberts added. “An ability to handle stress, handle high-stress contexts, being flexible, and able to handle change are always key.” At the same time, it’s a good idea to try and show your passion through your application, said Villagomez. “But don't lie,” she warned. “They will catch you.”