Decoding a UN or NGO vacancy notice

UN agencies, international NGOs and donor programmes do not advertise in prose. Each notice is generated from a job description that lists competencies, and shortlisting is a documented comparison of your evidence against them.

• Education and years of experience are hard filters; know exactly how they are counted and state the match in your cover letter.
• The 'competencies' section names the behaviours the panel will test — extract them and prepare one story each.
• Language requirements are usually mandatory. State your level honestly and mention the working language of the office.
• Note the contract type and duration: fixed-term, service contract, consultancy and internship follow very different processes.

The two sentences that decide your file

'Please indicate the vacancy number.' 'Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.' Both are literal. One missing number or one late upload can end an otherwise strong file before a human reads it.