Life after the UN: How to find your next role

Having such a prestigious employer with a globally recognized mandate atop a CV can mean people often assume finding a role after being employed within the United Nations system will be easy. Often they’re wrong, experts told Devex.

“[People] come with this big expectation that ‘I have the U.N. on my CV, of course I'm an attractive candidate,’ but sometimes a lot of organizations have these big negative stereotypes against them,” said Anabella Botbol, principal consultant and head of talent development at Mission Talent, an executive search and talent development agency.

These include being less agile, overpaid, and doing jobs that are no longer relevant, said Lois Freeke, manager of the Asia-Pacific and international recruitment business at NGO Recruitment. For example, few organizations outside the U.N. employ positions titled technical officers, section heads, or peacekeepers.  

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