When you find yourself in an endeavor to search for an opportunity, one of the first questions that may come to your mind is “what is the right UN Job Opportunity for me?”
In order to answer this question, we’ll show you how to use your professional profile to a suitable research strategy for the right UN Job Opportunity that fits your style.
In this article, we will offer you 5 search strategies to achieve that end. It is only a small sample of our eBook “Landing your dream job at the United Nations“. Get a copy today!
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We have already helped dozens of candidates become UN Professionals and we can also assist you in passing this competitive selection process!
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UN System Jobs: Products & Services
Choosing the right UN Job Opportunity
#1 What are your skills?
By now, you must already know about UN’s competency-based selection processes. These processes will test you all the way through for a set of competencies that are valued by the organization you’re applying for.
So, in order to choose the right UN Job Opportunity for you, you need to know what are your strongest skills and look for UN Job Opportunities that enlists those as valuable.
Doing that will assure that your application is coherent to what you’re most comfortable with, optimizing your search strategy for a UN Job right away.
#2 Enthusiasm about the work required
Another very important dimension of your process of looking for a UN Job vacancy is to evaluate the work that is required by the opening.
When you make sure that you’re enthusiastic with the types of activities that you’re likely to engage in that UN Job opportunity, you’re guaranteeing that the work you’re applying for is not a completely foreign territory.
So, as with your skills, your level of enthusiasm with the UN Job opportunity is also something very important to be considered when scanning for the openings that you’re going to apply for.
#3 Work Location
Another relevant aspect of your decision-making process of looking for a UN Job opportunity is to consider the work location.
How difficult is it for you go to the work location? Is it in another city or country? You must consider the travel expenses you might have and if the job opportunity offers some support in that aspect of your spendings.
Also, whether you like to work at headquarters or in field offices is something to consider when listing the pros and cons of your possible work location.
#4 Vacancy Comparison
You should check what other vacancies are open that related to the one you have found to be suitable to your professional profile.
Related or similar vacancies to those that you are targeting are relevant because they may offer you a group of opportunities that you can aim for – that way, you’ll be able to compare them and see which one is more fitting to your professional profile, making the process of choosing the right UN Job Opportunity for you easier.
#5 The remuneration
The salary is definitely an important aspect of the UN Job opportunity you’re looking for.
With that in mind, calculating your needs and comparing the salaries of each vacancy that is suitable for your profile is a good measure, since it doesn’t matter if your skill are highly compatible with the opening if the stipend is not adequate to your needs and situation.
Take that in mind and be sure to balance the pros and cons of this aspect of a vacancy that you’re looking to apply for.
Conclusion
When it comes to choosing the right UN Job, all these points should be observed separately, since it is difficult to fulfill them entirely.
It is common for a vacancy to have a great location, but it is not the one you would perform best in, or there is a vacancy that fits your profile perfectly but it does not have the best compensation package.
After you have done this, you could create a table (in Excel, for example), identifying all the possible vacancies. Each vacancy should contain the following fields:
- Objective: What you wish to achieve, such as, for example, taking on a job at one of the UN headquarters.
- Brief description of the vacancy: This assists you to visualize what you are seeking, mainly if you have several options.
- Time to achieve the objective: you should establish a target date to achieve this objective, such as, for example, achieving a UN System job within a two-year period; then, your efforts will be focused on achieving an objective within a specific timeframe.
- Application deadline: to remind you of the day that each vacancy opens and closes.
- Documents required to apply: you should gather together the documents required. Having a spreadsheet with these documents helps with organization, so you do not miss the application deadline.
The vacancies could be organized in ascending order, in relation to the deadline. A final tip is to highlight the vacancies according to your level of interest (high, medium or low), facilitating the filtering process when you are preparing your application.
With that in mind, check out our eBook, “Landing your dream job at the United Nations”, which will help you land your dream job at the United Nations System. It will introduce you to the complex world of the United Nations and it will guide you through all the stages of the selection process. Access:
eBook – Landing your dream job at the United Nations
