World Food Programme (WFP) All-in-one applicable advice for job posts, Rosters, and Talent Pipelines.
Successful applications are tailored to the position, they demonstrate a clear understanding of the Organization’s mandate and strategy, innovation projects and portfolio - That's the easy part, but there are plenty of tricks to adjust your applications to give both hiring managers/and automated screening systems exactly what will make you score higher; these adjustments & key-words will outsmart the screening process.
We will tell you what exactly will take you straight to the interview plus we include a REAL CV of one of our Fellows who landed a junior position at the World Food Programme headquarters.
NOTE: These insights will work just as well for every International humanitarian Organization such as UNHCR, UNICEF, DFS, UNHCR, OCHA, UNDP, UNICEF, Save the Children, ICRC, IRC, NRC, DRC, IOM, and so on.
This is how you make sure your WFP application stands out
Make sure you fulfill general requirements
Start to read the requirements of the job you are interested in and make sure that you are eligible, meet all the requirements (years of experience, degree, and language). It is highly likely that your application will not even be read if you don't have a past experience similar to the job you apply for.
Read the job description carefully!
When you know that you meet the minimum requirements, the next step would be to carefully read the job description. In order to understand what the profile requires and how you fulfill the areas of importance, We suggest using the T-table method to identify the most important functions/deliverables of a job description and pair it with your own relevant experience.
Use the same terminology as in the job description
When writing your application, ensure that you utilize the same terminology as used in the job description. It is common that recruiters use free-text search and often they use a similar or exact terminology as what was used in the job advertisement. A sample could be learning - if the organization talks about capacity building, change all your functions/results including “learning” to read “capacity building”. When the recruiter makes a free-text search, she/he will get several hits. The more hits the better.
Show proof of mobility and resilience
Recruiters are reviewing talent for field-based positions differently than if the positions were based in headquarters. Before deciding on reading through your application word-by-word, the recruiter will make any effort she/he can to find signs of sincere commitment and passion for fieldwork and humanitarian work. Careers at WFP entail field-based work and you are expected to move between field locations. Proof of mobility is a skill that will certainly help your application. This skill is also highlighted in this episode of Impactpool Career Podcast.
Bring attention to experiences that show resilience and commitment
The recruiter would quickly go through the work experience you’ve had in the past and look especially for;
- Volunteer experience;
- Hands-on hardship experience (previous/current work in crisis countries or locations);
- Experience from hardship duty stations;
- Language combinations that would be an advantage - for example Arabic/English, Arabic/French/English. If you have a good working knowledge of for example Arabic, you need to indicate “Fluent” or “Confident” in at least two of the four areas (Read, Speak, Understand, Write) when building your application in Inspira. Fluency in English is also a requirement. If you are fluent in English, you need to indicate it, “Fluent” in all four areas;
- UN field mission experience;
- Experience from other organizations that serve in similar contexts such as UN-DOS (former DFS), UNHCR, OCHA, UNDP, UNICEF, Save the Children, ICRC, IRC, NRC, DRC, IOM, etc. For any Security related jobs experience from International contractors such as Halliburton, G4S, Capita is also beneficial;
- Professional at WFP staff/volunteering/internship/consultancy experience;
- Experience as a UN volunteer;
- Other professional UN staff experience;
- Experience serving at the same grade level or only one level below;
- An indication that you have qualified for other UN rosters, technical clearance, talent pipelines or talent pools.
Make an impressive application pitch
For you, as an applicant, it is important to get your message across, to make your pitch (motivational statement/cover letter) to the point and concise. There are several techniques that you can use to make your application pitch interesting. We recommend IPAR, when you prepare your pitch. Don’t hesitate to include numbers, amounts, and results that will make your case impressive. If you can’t fit the whole story in a short pitch, use the idea of a cliff-hanger. Sample below:
“In early 2015 I worked at a project in Nigeria focusing at food distribution to IDPs in the Lake Chad Basinarea, after 3 months I had been able to raise $ 9M and employed 6 project staff to execute the food distribution, under my supervision we scaled up the assistance from 10,000 people assisted to nearly 50,000 people. Find more about this deliverable under my work experience.”
These magic key-words will increase your score in the WFP automated screening systems and when recruiters are filtering applications.
- mVAM or mobile Vulnerability Analysis Mapping
- Cash based interventions
- Loans
- Micro credit
- Logistics and Transportation
- Supply
- Inventory
- Nutrition
- Food Distribution
Note: Be honest about your experience in these areas; you will be serving a critical and noble purpose and the best talents are needed to solve hunger as soon as possible. But if you do have the experiences, do use these key-words as much as possible when expanding on your experience.
Show familiarity and/or working experience at food vulnerability countries and/or their nationalities, e.g. by working in a refugee assistance organization in your home country.
These countries were mapped in real-time as Food Insecure by the WFP:
A sample of the CV
Please note: the information from the CV was extracted textually from a real successful CV from an successful application from the last months.
Education
2018 SDA BOCCONI, Milan, Italy Master of Public Administration
2016 UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO, Moscow, Idaho Bachelors of Science, Architecture, International Studies
Professional Experience
2017 UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO, Rome, Italy
Teaching Assistant
- Assisted in grading, planning and maintaining an organized trip. Created curriculum for an Urban Theory course and facilitated students in a seminar discussion class
2017 AMIGOS DE LAS AMERICAS, Villarrica, Paraguay
Non-profit organization that inspires young leaders through collaborative community development and cultural immersion. Associate Project Director, and Supervisor in San Juan, Dominican Republic in 2015
- Planned, implemented, oversaw and evaluated the Summer exchange program alongside the Project Director. Managed a budget of $40,000
2014 - 2016 UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO SUSTAINABILITY CENTER, Moscow, United States
Director, 2015-16, Event Coordinator, 2014-15
- Led a Student funded organization to create an active culture of sustainability by integrating new practices at the University. Organized April's Earth Fest and No Impact Project; a weeklong carbon cleanse with events and challenges to encourage students to reduce their carbon footprint. Managed the staff budget, organized weekly meetings with marketing, coordinators and program manager
2016 JOEL NAFUMA REFUGEE CENTER, Rome, Italy
Non governmental organization which aims to reduce poverty by focusing on the youth entrepreneurship and training Research Intern
- Translated Agerto's website into English while creating new outreach applications on social networks. Designed and contributed a mural painting on the new educational facility exterior.
2016 NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, Loja, Ecuador
Conservation Social Science Researcher
- Conducted high impact social science research targeting community perceptions to their watershed, climate change and conservation. Research was used for the Natural Resource departments at La Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja and The University of Idaho
2014 AGERTO, Kpalimé, Togo
NGO which aims to reduce poverty by focusing on the youth entrepreneurship and training Intern
- Translated Agerto's website into English while creating new outreach applications on social networks. Designed and contributed a mural painting on the new educational facility exterior.
2014 OXFAM AMERICA, Boston, United States of America
Change facilitator
- Led activities and presentations on campus organizing and facilitated a small group of leaders in discussion and group activities.
Languages
English: Native, Spanish: Native, French: Fluent, Italian: Good
Additional Information
- Awards: U.S. Fulbright Grantee, 2015 Harry S. Truman Finalist, Second Place AIA Better Block Design Competition, Outstanding Junior/Silver Lance Honorary, University of Idaho Program of Excellence Award, Alumni Award of Excellence, Outstanding Senior Award
- Activities: President for Oxfam America Club at University of Idaho, International Programs Office Mentor, Conversation Partner for American Language and Culture Program
- IT skills: Professional proficiency in Adobe Suite, Sketchup and Revitt
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