Humanitarian relief jobs: Resume and cover letter tips

A resume or cover letter represents a job applicant. Hence, it is important to avoid blunders when introducing oneself to an organization. Devex consulted recruiters at some of the top employers in humanitarian relief to find out some common mistakes committed by job candidates in preparing these application documents. They also revealed what makes a resume and cover letter stand out. Proofread, proofread, proofread! In the often insecure world of humanitarian disaster relief, paying attention to detail can make a world of difference. That’s why typos in resumes and cover letters are more than a small faux pas to Carrie Schildroth. “To me, I’m like, if you’re really trying to represent yourself and you have typos and things not formatted correctly, I think that can turn some recruiters off,” said the director of organizational development at the International Rescue Committee. “It shows, you know, if you get into a job, that you’re not going to take particular care with your work,” she added. Glenn Ausmus, recruitment manager at Catholic Relief Services, has come across many typos. The worst was when an applicant wrote, “It has always been my dream to work with World Vision,” and submitted it for a CRS job. In order to avoid committing such a grave mistake, Ausmus advised that applicants look over their materials before submitting them. Jonathan Markus agreed with him. “Proofread, proofread, proofread,” said the American Red Cross human resources director. “Making mistakes in cover letters and resumes is a big mistake.” Tailor your application to the job Recruiters receive hundreds to thousands of applications per job. Consequently, they pay more attention to short resumes that outline recent and valid experiences. “When I get 15-page resumes, it kind of starts running in together,” Schildroth said. “The things you want to highlight, really, are what you’ve done.” Tailoring one’s application makes it easier to be concise and specific. Applicants are also encouraged to concentrate on the impact of their previous work. “The more people can talk about the impact that their work has had, instead of just kind of a list of things that they’ve done, [the better],” Schildroth said. As an example, she recommended saying, “I created a program that impacted 15 high-performing, high-potential national staff who moved into the next level position,” rather than just stating one’s role in developing and implementing a leadership capacity-building program. What about online resumes? Web-based resumes allow applicants to market themselves around the clock. Tom Price, CRS’ senior communications manager of U.S. operations, encouraged the use of social media such as Devex and LinkedIn. “CRS occasionally uses social media like Devex to find great candidates that we don’t have in our database,” he said. “Use those sources because you never know who’s looking.” Read more of our humanitarian relief career stories: - Humanitarian Relief for Career Starters - Humanitarian Relief Jobs: What You Need To Know - Humanitarian Relief: The ‘Ideal’ Job Candidate - Humanitarian Relief Salaries: What You Need To Know - Top Employers in Humanitarian Relief: A Primer - Women in Humanitarian Relief: Challenges and Myths - 30-Second Checklist: Preparing for the Field Read more career advice articles.