Place your application on top of the pile with our 41 expert tips

A resume template for an International Organization looks different compared to a private sector application template. Typically it is longer than the standard one page CV used in private sector as you are expected to include all your experiences, starting at the earliest year of your career even if these experiences are not relatable to the current position you are applying for. In this article, we focus on 41 tips that make your next application the best you have ever made.

Most of you will be familiar with the Nicholas Cage movie Gone in 60 seconds. While he had to steal a car in 60 seconds your objective is stealing and holding a recruiter’s attention with your resume in 6 seconds. That’s right folks, 6 seconds! Recent research has shown that recruiters spend an average of 6 seconds reviewing a resume. So one cannot stress enough the importance of making your cover letter and resume tack sharp.

Further, a resume template for an International Organization looks different compared to a private sector application template. Typically it is longer than the standard one page CV used in private sector as you are expected to include all your experiences, starting at the earliest year of your career even if these experiences are not relatable to the current position you are applying for. In this article, we focus on 41 tips that make your next application the best you have ever made.  

1. What is the optimal length of a cover letter?

Keep the length within one page, preferably half a page. Make your statement short and to the point. Remember when on an average you have 6 seconds for the resume which is lengthier, your cover letter has even less time for scrutiny.

2. Structure the cover letter in a clear and logical way

The order of provided information may be different, but a good cover letter for an application to an International Organization should include the following content:

Introduction - express the interest in the job, a smart start is to list the requirements and highlight that you meet them all (example: Into the role of Director Administration, I bring 20 years' extensive experience of leading large teams across the globe…”)

Pitch and motivation - highlight the three main reasons why you are the candidate for the job, use the T-table structure to identify what three reasons you should select. In the tip below, more details about the t-table are provided.

Save the summary of your background, education, professional experience, skills and competencies to the resume/P11/PHP or whichever application form is being used.

Read more about cover letters

3. Use a T-table to identify key skills and results to highlight

The fact that you must tailor your application for each application is probably nothing new, but how to tailor it may be new. Use out t-table method and you will be able to pitch your application optimally.

4. Show your personality in the Pitch and motivation statement and make the reader remember you

When applying for a mission-driven organization, don’t forget to have your value proposition shining out in your pitch and motivation. To make the process simple ask yourself the question “Why am I applying to X?”. If you find the answer loud and clear in your written content on the letter you are set.

5. Avoid using clichés in your Pitch and Motivation statement

“Save the world”? “Serve a great cause”? “Help the poor”? Not only are these clichés but they are also generic statements which experienced recruiters would have heard innumerable times. The organization, especially since it is a social impact one is quite clear that it is trying to change the world for better. The question is how will you help them do that? So instead of using feel-good clichés use personal and inspiring stories which had a real impact and use those as your selling points. You need three selling points which stand behind your desire to work at (Organization X). Be personal and introduce yourself as a real person!

6. The sales pitch:

Make sure your cover letter is carefully and clearly laid out: logically ordered, easy to read and not cramped – here is where the use of a T-table and a structure using IPAR, STAR, CARI and CARL play a pivotal role; remember that the purpose of your cover letter is to get the recruiter’s attention. So ask yourself: Is my cover letter selling’?

Formatting

7. If not an application system, put the most recent experience at the top

Always structure your work experience in the old fashioned reverse chronological order (where your most recent experience is listed at the top).

8. Never use visual or clipart

Studies show that visual elements can be distracting and reduce recruiters’ analytical capability and block rational decision-making.

9. Avoid mega blocks of text

Remember the recruiter is not reading a suspense novel. He or she needs to assess your qualities in one glance. So avoid large chunks of text. Every quality should hit home with precision. And what better way to do that than use bullet points.

10. Avoid mixing fonts and colors

Stick to one font and black color, different fonts and colors is not fun. It looks immature and you take a risk that your application will not be taken seriously. Leave creativity for your answers in the personal interview. A resume should look professional and is not the place to exhibit your graphic talents.

11. If you apply by submitting a resume formatting makes a difference

Don't leave orphan words (They are those single words left on a line by themselves.) Much like symmetry is often related to a sign of beauty the same applies to a resume. Uneven indenting or having just 2 lines on the final page can have a negative effect on the reader. Instead, edit and realign such that all pages look evenly filled and uniform indenting occurs.

12. Always give three references

You can give references from current employer ‘upon request’, however references from previous employers should always be provided. Avoid giving personal references. A reference should always be a professional reference.

Personal Details

13. Provide two addresses

If you live outside your home country give two addresses - one address in your home country (home address) and one address where you currently live (current address). If you don’t have a home address in your home country, add a relative's address and/or if possible just add a city and country. In some cases, the two different addresses will be used by the organization to determine eligibility and entitlements.

14. Use Your Private Email Address if you apply to an external organization, if you apply internally it is ok to use the work email

Even if you apply outside office hours it is clear that you are using your employer's email server for your own career aspirations, and if these are to leave it does not look good.

15. When using private emails, make sure it sounds professional iamacoolguy@gmail.com is seriously not cool when applying for a job!

16. Questions that may surprise you

While applying for International Organization you may be asked for your birth date, nationality, Marital Status, and if you have children. These questions may be illegal in some countries, but for most International Organization's these questions must be answered.

Work Experience and Education

17. Use STAR, IPAR, CARI or CARl to structure your work history

When you have used the t-table you have a sense of what is most important and what you have done in the past that is the most advantage. Now you should turn that wisdom into your application. For doing that there are many techniques, personally, I am in favor of IPAR. Click here to read about STAT and IPAR

18. Don’t overload the number of bullets

As a rule, stick to just 3-5 bullets for each section, if you add too many you will most likely lose the recruiter’s attention somewhere after the third bullet.

19. Be whom you claim to be

If you claim that you are a good communicator, make sure your spelling and grammar is perfect! The same applies in case you claim to pay attention to detail as a skill.

20. Shall I include previous positions completely irrelevant to the job I apply for?

When applying for International Organizations (especially the multilaterals) make sure that you include all jobs you ever had after completion of a first degree. Multilaterals have strict rules when it comes to counting years of experience and if you leave out professional experiences you may be disqualified in spite of meeting the requirements.

21. Shall I indicate an internship as “Paid” or “Unpaid”?

When applying for multilateral organizations they distinguish between paid and unpaid internships. A paid internship counts as professional experience, however unpaid is not counted. So if you don't indicate that your internship was paid you may lose important months for your total years of experience, and this is of course mainly applicable to junior applicants.

22. Include Your Graduation Year and confirm it is obtained

For most professional jobs a completed advanced degree is required and if you haven't completed your degree yet you are not eligible to apply. The recruiters want to know that you completed the degree. So to save the recruiter time, add when it was completed.

23. Read the application instruction

Even if you have an advanced degree you may be asked to include High School-Related degrees. If not specifically asked for, it is enough to include your highest completed degree. If you have more than one advanced degree, include them all.  However, in some cases the organization explicitly ask for all completed educations from a certain age, if that is the request, you must include all applicable.

24. If not an explicitly outlined requirement no need to include skills that are commonplace

Proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, other email software, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are no longer path-breaking skills. So only if explicitly mentioned as requirements or desired skills in the job advertisement, add them into your resume. Otherwise, leave them out.

25. Keep it simple.  Use straightforward language

Avoid fancy vocabulary unless it is needed for a technical description. It does not make you look smarter: Why say “utilize” when you can say “use?” especially as the former takes up more space.

26. Avoid Industry Jargon or Buzzwords

Remember that the initial screener is often a generalist having no profound knowledge about the subject matter whatsoever. What s/he is doing is to determine you met the minimum requirements. Hence, avoid business language and make sure everything you include in your resume is understandable to the average person.

27. Use concise language that is to the point and reflects the recruiter’s requirement

Use the same language as in the job advertisement, don't rewrite. (i.e. if it says capacity building, use capacity building - don't rewrite and use synonyms such as learning). Several recruiters use free-text search when they start the review of a resume and if they don't get any hits, chances are that they don't read your application at all. This is especially true if you are an external applicant.

28. Active, not Passive

While we did say not to use complicated words earlier for simple situations, positive character traits can be highlighted better using action verbs as opposed to passive words.

(i.e. “I spearheaded a new initiative to create gender parity in the team” packs a punch as opposed to “I worked on a project…” and exemplifies leadership and creativity). Remember to keep a balance. Verbosity in language is a turnoff but a few but effective words can excite the reader. Learn more about action verbs.  

29. The Numbers Count

Where possible use specific numbers to highlight the magnitude of the achievement (e.g. "I created strategic partnerships with a large number of donors to raise funds..." this pales in comparison to “I created strategic partnerships with 50 CSR donors to raise 500000 USD"). The numbers will present to the recruiter a stronger picture of your capacity to scale up and handle pressure.

30. Proofread - Typos are not to your favor

Nothing screams sloppiness louder than spelling mistakes and typos. Don’t rely on Microsoft spell check and grammar check alone. Ask someone external to review it for you. Also, a good idea is to pay a resume review specialist to look at your resume.

What to highlight in your application?

31. Highlight Field office experience and Hardship experience

Even if you apply for an HQ position having experience from field office locations, hardship locations or crisis countries (e.g. Sudan, Afghanistan) are strong hiring arguments. It provides valuable extra information about you as an applicant and shows that you understand the context, complexity and have been able to deliver in the past.

32. Highlight experience from and/or collaborations with governments and International Organizations.

Previous sector experience is an asset. If you have worked at or with the organization you apply for or similar ones, make sure it is visible in your application.

33. Highlight previous experience from working in the same Region, Country and/or Area/Province

If you are applying for a field based role, the recruiter loves to see the previous experience from the same regions, country, and area/province. Geographical knowledge is a strong hiring argument. The candidate knows the region, understands the complexity of the mission/programme and has probably also a broad local network, which is a great asset. Applying to return to the same location is a good way to increase your chances to get to the interview.

34. Private Sector to Social Impact Sector – Remember that there are transferable skills.

Applicants who are transitioning from the private sector to the impact/development sector often wonder if that is a disadvantage. While not having prior experience might be a slight disadvantage the skill sets you gained in the private sector can be a great advantage. Multilaterals, NGOs, Development Banks, etc. require a wide variety of skills like legal, financial, IT, HR, Supply Chain expertise to efficiently run an organization. For example, if you come with a finance background and managed portfolios for high net worth individuals highlight how you managed their finances in a prudent and intelligent manner to give them returns on their investment. After all, much of the development work is based on financial aid and a skill set of money management could be a great asset. So read and understand clearly the requirements of the position and pitch your most relevant skills acquired in your private sector stint and you can turn a negative into a positive. To know more about transferable profiles please read this article

35. Highlight all your language skills

80 percent of young professionals at the UN are skilled in 2 or more UN languages. Multiple language skills are always eye-catching when applying for jobs in an International Organization. The rarer the combination the better. At the moment Arabic is one of the most desired languages. The 6 official languages of the UN are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Knowledge of one or more of these languages is a great strength to be highlighted as they cover a large diaspora of the globe and will help in jobs which require pan-global duty station work.  In the actual application, indicate all languages you have including your native language. Often applicants make the mistake of omitting their native languages. There are cases where this has impacted the auto-filtering and eliminated applicants that would have been eligible if they had just included all their languages.

36. Highlight the grades and career level of your experience

If you have worked in an organization using grades and you are now drafting an application for an organization using grades and career levels. Make sure to highlight the grades of your previous work experience. If you haven’t worked in an organization applying grades and contracts, help the recruiter to understand what level you have served at label your experience as junior, mid or senior experience.

37. Tips if you write an application to be used for a promotion

If you are writing an application for a promotion, remember to apply for one grade above only. To the recruiter, your self-awareness is shining through your application. The grade you apply for show how realistic you are as an applicant, if you are far too junior for the job you apply for, you send signals to the recruiter that you are not realistic in your application and you have not understood the complexity of the role you apply for. Make sure to study the job description and to understand the job you apply for, what is the career level and what is your level.

38. Highlight experience from an International Organization or the Development Sector

Having experience working at an International Organization shows that you already have an understanding of how the sector works. Experience from working in a comparable organization with a similar mission is also an extra asset you should highlight in your application, e.g. having experience from an NGO like NRC as Protection Officer when applying for a job at UNHCR is, of course, a great hiring argument.

39. Highlight experience from the same organization you are applying for

If you already worked in the organization, bring forward your performance result. Show that you are a returning star. Even if you apply for a promotion, include your performance appraisals, if they are not worth showing, you may not be ready for a promotion. A previous good performance from the same organization is a strong hiring argument. You bring with you a deep knowledge of the organizational culture and a broad personal network. For the recruiter, returning applicants also opens up an opportunity to take internal references. So make sure you have an impressive track record from the past when applying to your old employer.

40. Highlight any roster, talent pipeline or talent pool you have qualified for

To indicate that you are on a roster at the organization you apply for or for another International Organization is a great advantage, it shows that you have been assessed and deemed qualified for similar jobs by another organization and their recruiters.

41. Failure is the Stepping Stone to Success

It is not uncommon for organizations that have a preset form to ask you what you feel are your weaknesses or about times when you failed to reach your objective. Do not get alarmed. This is not to berate you but to see how you bounce back. So be honest and mention what you think were your weaknesses or failures in the past. And then highlight what you learned from the experiences and how you worked on your weaknesses and created success in your next venture based on your learnings. Remember failure remains a failure only if you haven’t learned from it. If you can show that you did and you are stronger for it the recruiter will see the tenacity in you.