Working for UNDP: Insider tips on landing a job

BARCELONA — Flexibility and adaptability are key skills for a career with the United Nations Development Programme. It is not only looking for staff members who can be mobile and apply their field experience to different contexts and posts, but also professionals who can embrace new ways of working to advance sustainable development, according to Lykke Andersen, chief of talent acquisition and people programs at the agency. UNDP is currently hiring for a number of consulting, support, and technical roles, most of which are based in field offices and operations around the world. But competition is tough, and some positions receive several hundred applications. Andersen, who is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, told Devex which technical and soft skills are most in demand, where there can be opportunities for those new to the sector, and how candidates can stand out to recruiters. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. What are the in-demand skills at UNDP right now? We work with countries to help them accelerate towards the Sustainable Development Goals, and we have six signature solutions: We work on poverty reduction, governance, crisis prevention and resilience, environment, clean energy, and women's empowerment and gender equality. We are always looking for people with very strong technical skills in those areas. UNDP is also playing an integrator role ... connecting the dots between all of the SDGs, so we're also looking for people who have very strong knowledge and skills in systems thinking, who can look at development challenges in a holistic, integrated manner. Then, of course, we are also looking for people who come with more operational backgrounds, like finance, HR, procurement, IT [information technology], audit and legal backgrounds, communications, and partnerships. And in almost all these areas that I just mentioned ... we look at the soft skills. ... We are looking for people who have an innovative and agile mindset, who can also think outside of the box and come up with creative and new solutions to problems. We are also looking for people who are digitally aware … who think about how we can leverage new digital technologies in order to achieve results in these thematic areas ... and for people who can work with evidence and data. What advice do you have for candidates when it comes to demonstrating those all-important soft skills? It is challenging to demonstrate your soft skills. You have to find examples from your previous experience that demonstrate how you have used those soft skills. So look at some critical incidents where you mastered the soft skill and had an impact, through [for example] being a very effective communicator. [But] it doesn't necessarily have to be only positive examples; you can also look at negative examples where you have used a skill and you may not have been successful, because what we are looking for is people who are learning-agile, who can reflect and learn from that experience. So if you're in an interview and you share a negative example, we are very interested in your learning experience and how you apply that learning to further strengthen your soft skills. In general, I would say it's always important to demonstrate learning, agility, and openness to yourself. What are some of the most common CV mistakes that you see? The most common one I see is that candidates have not invested enough time into adjusting or aligning the CV to the job that they're applying for and to the organization; they're sending us a standard CV that they would use for any employer and any job. My recommendation to candidates is that they really invest [time] in preparing a good application and understanding the job description. Look at the words that are used in the job description … and use those words. If we say “lead,” “facilitate,” “communicate” … refer to some of the key words from the job description in your application. Because when we are screening applications, we also look for these keywords and you have to make an application that stands out. Highlight the most relevant elements of your experience in relation to the job description. Especially if you come with a lot of [diverse] experience ... highlight that experience that is most relevant to what they're looking for in the position. And be succinct. … Don't send 15 pages of CV where the recruiter has to look [to find] the relevant experience. “It's always important to demonstrate learning, agility, and openness to yourself.” --— Lykke Andersen, chief of talent acquisition and people programs, UNDP For professionals who have relevant experience from other sectors — such as health, finance, logistics — and want to make a career transition, how can they make up for their lack of field experience and find ways to work with the agency? It's very important to look at the role, because there are some positions that do require field experience. … But we also have many other roles that do not explicitly require field experience — for instance, people who have a finance background, HR, procurement, IT. … Here, it's more the technical expertise, your academic background, and the skills that you have acquired through your academic studies [that are important]. For candidates who have not had that field experience [or] development-oriented experience, if you have a very strong technical knowledge and background, this is what you have to present when you apply. And elaborate on how that adds value and can make up for your limited field experience. With the interview process going virtual, what should candidates do to prepare for this and impress? Check that your equipment works and that your connection works. Normally, the recruiter will invite you to do a test. But if they don’t, reach out and ask if you could do one. Ensure that you are in a quiet place — don't take an interview from a cafe. … And if you are being invited for a video interview, ensure that you are in a place where there's a nice background … not sitting with laundry behind you. Consider every mode of interview as if it was a face-to-face interview, and prepare in the same manner: Dress up as if you were going to a face-to-face interview, compose yourself as if you are sitting face to face in front of an interview panel. You can also do a test [recording] and think: “How does my background look? How is my body language? How do I engage?” Think about how you can project energy and motivation when you speak as if you were in a face-to-face interview — that’s important. With conferences and networking also going virtual, how can professionals still connect with the agency? Now that we have moved virtual, I think there are many more opportunities to network than before, because there's so many virtual career events taking place. We are participating this week in an event organized by LSE [the London School of Economics] that is a weeklong event, and we've been participating lately in many online virtual career events. UNDP and, I think, other organizations are also organizing more virtual events to engage people on different matters. Then — for instance, on LinkedIn — if you follow some UNDP or other organizations’ people … even some of our high-level senior executives, you can comment on posts and engage this way. LinkedIn is an excellent medium through which you can network by posting [and] commenting on people's posts and, through those comments, make yourself visible. You should not ... ask, “Can I have a job?” But demonstrate that you have sound deep technical knowledge in an area, that you are thinking strategically, that you can conceptualize — that’s the type of engagement [that works]. Update, Nov. 16, 2020: This article has been updated to clarify that Lykke Andersen is chief of talent acquisition and people programs at UNDP.