Your guide to the UN job application process

The online application is the first step to any United Nations job. Though it’s a straightforward process, many applications are screened out at the first stage because of simple mistakes. The U.N. Secretariat offices utilize the Inspira online application system, while other U.N. agencies use their own platforms — though they are similar, explained Chloé Saimpert, human resources officer at the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. There’s also no one place to see all U.N. vacancies, so make sure to check the website of each agency you want to apply for. U.N. jobs are categorized into five categories: professional and higher; general service and related; national professional officers; field officers; and senior appointments. There are two types of positions: position-specific or generic. Successful generic applications are put onto a roster or talent pool, which are kept on record and used when new openings arise. The U.N. job application process: 1. Create a profile 2. Submit an application 3. Complete the assessment exercise 4. Participate in the competency-based interview 5. Receive the final decision Here, we look at the online application process with insights from U.N. recruitment staff on what candidates should include, common mistakes to avoid, and useful hints and tips for getting your application noticed. Create a profile The initial stage of the online system is the “My Profile” section and is the equivalent to the P-11 paper form formerly used by many U.N. agencies to detail personal information. Completing this segment requires your personal details, family details, nationality, and residence status. It’s general background information that you can change at any time, and which automatically updates any job applications you have submitted previously. After you have registered and completed your profile, you can create one or several job applications. These applications can be continually saved and returned to. Submit an online application Once you’ve completed your profile, there are 9 subsequent steps to an online job application: 1. Welcome 2. Let’s start 3. Screening and fitness questions 4. Education 5. Work experience 6. Languages 7. Skills and training 8. Cover letter 9. Review/Submit 1. Welcome The first step — “Welcome” — is simply asking for information on where you heard about the job. 2. Let’s start The second — “Let’s start” — provides you with the options of replicating an existing or previous application; building a new application; or loading an application “from file” — which includes a downloadable offline template that you can then upload later at your convenience. If you chose to replicate an existing application, be sure to go back and update sections to tailor the application to the job you are applying for. “People tend to have one application and apply to every job … if you’re really interested in the job specifically, it’s good to put some effort into writing the CV,” Saimpert advised. Not tailoring the personal history profile to the role is one of the biggest problems the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction sees, explained Saimpert. “[It] is very long [so] people don’t take time to tailor it as they would do with their CV for the private sector,” she said. Each online application comes through as a single PDF to U.N. recruitment staff, meaning it can be up to 25 pages long, Saimpert explained. Therefore, it’s crucial to highlight relevant experience and make it easier for recruitment staff to see your suitability. 3. Screening and fitness questions The “Screening and fitness questions” only appear once you have selected a specific job posting and questions will be relevant to that particular role. The U.N. Secretariat uses simple “yes” or “no” questions that are usually centered around requirements for that specific job opening, such as whether you have the minimum number of years’ experience in a particular role. However, applicants often answer “yes” to every question — even when they don’t have the relevant experience — making the questions benign. 4. Education The “Education” section asks for your history of higher education and university degrees; high school and secondary education; and non-U.N. certificates and diplomas. 5. Work experience The U.N. does not accept resumes or CVs as attached documents or files, so include all of your work history when filling out the “Work experience” section. Unlike the private sector, the one-page CV rule does not apply to U.N. applications and the organization appreciates detailed CVs that are often lengthy. However, “as a hiring manager, it becomes quite difficult to review all the applications you’re receiving if every CV is 12 to 14 pages long … there needs to be a balance,” said John Lackey, chief of talent acquisition at UNICEF. It is important to keep your CV concise, he said. At the top of each work experience description, you can highlight the responsibilities most relevant to the role you are applying for — rather than what you spent the most time on. Saimpert said: “Revert things and put first what makes sense to the specific job: what achievements or responsibilities you had that would fit or bring something to the job you’re applying for.” Although keywords are not essential to the Inspira automated screening system — as they are for many other online applications — Saimpert uses a simple word search feature to scan the work experience section for words key to a role. Therefore, it is important to include the words that are used in the job posting and key to the role when describing your experience, she advised. Lackey cautioned: “Don’t overly embellish on either the CV or the cover letter because it will come out at some point during the review process.” Be honest with regard to diplomas and certificates and don’t exaggerate your experience. 6. Languages For each language, you have to fill in reading proficiency, speaking proficiency, understanding proficiency, and writing proficiency, and rate each proficiency as either basic, confident, or fluent from a drop-down menu. This section can catch people out because, unless you select “fluent” for each aspect of the job’s required language, you will be screened out — selecting “confident” will not suffice, Saimpert explained. Remember — selecting “fluent” does not mean a language is your mother tongue. Conversely, native English speakers can take it for granted or forget that they need to fill in this section for English language skills, which also leads to applications being screened out — no matter the nationality. 7. Skills and training For the “Skills and training” section, you need to include information on any U.N. training and learning you have undertaken, in addition to non-U.N. training, licenses, and certificates, and any publications you may have. 8. Cover letter This section of the application includes four subsections: the cover letter itself — which you can attach as a file or fill out in a text box online — references, last questions, and a review of the “My Profile” section. The cover letter varies in importance depending on the agency you are applying to. With UNICEF, it becomes important once applicants have been screened for their education and work history, Lackey explained. “When we have 2,000 applicants, we don’t necessarily have time to read every cover letter. So, we’re really looking at them once we’ve narrowed that candidate list down,” he said. However, for the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the cover letter is the first thing recruiters look at once the automated system has screened out applications based on education, years of experience, and language skills. Once members of the HR team have read the cover letter, they will check work experience to ensure everything correlates. The hiring managers also read all of the cover letters and decide who makes the shortlist. Therefore, it’s paramount to put effort into your cover letter, even though it’s the last stage of the application. “It matters,” Saimpert said. The role of the cover letter is to make it clear why you are best suited for the job. “Don’t rehash your CV,” Lackey said. “It really should focus on specific skills or accomplishments that you think would be relevant, that don’t necessarily come out on your CV, but that you want to highlight,” he said. In terms of structure, you should follow: “What is your motivation; what [will] you bring to the job — in terms of skills; and what the job will bring to you – in terms of career,” Saimpert recommended. It’s also good to include something on why you are applying for a particular office or agency, she added. “It’s also worth making that extra effort for that small paragraph because it gives a feeling on the other side that the person did tailor their cover letter and made an effort to apply to that specific job and that specific organization.” Your cover letter is also an opportunity to demonstrate your written communication skills, ability to synthesize, and how you introduce yourself, Saimpert said. Although you can write your application and cover letter in English or French, Saimpert strongly advised doing it in English. Many hiring managers don’t speak French and if the job posting requires English, they cannot easily assess your English ability skills, she explained. 9. Review/submit Formatting is also something to double check as your cover letter can appear in one single paragraph if copied and pasted from another document, Saimpert highlighted. Preview the application as a PDF prior to sending, she advised. Once you have sent the application, you will receive an automated confirmation email and you will no longer be able to edit it. You can view all your applications and their corresponding statuses under the “My Applications” page. If your application is deemed successful in meeting the requirements, you will be contacted to undergo the next stage of the application process — the assessment exercise. If you are unsuccessful, you will also be informed. However, HR is not allowed to tell applicants until the whole process is complete — even those who have been screened out weeks before — because there is a reviewing body at the very end, Saimpert explained. Interested in applying for a job with the U.N.? Make sure you check out the Devex job board to see current U.N. postings.