Let's get right to it:

Your desire to help others or to travel, or your ambition, are not enough to work for the United Nations or any other international humanitarian or development organization. People do not get to be stock brokers, doctors, architects or lawyers just because they want to; for most professions, you have to work over many years to acquire the skills and expertise needed. Getting to work for the UN or any other international development agency is no different.

In addition, finding paid work abroad as an aid worker or humanitarian worker is similar to finding a for-profit job: you need to network. Ideally, you want an organization to come looking for YOU, and they will if you have created a robust professional network.

Following the advice on this page is no guarantee you will get to work abroad in international development. But you will greatly improve your odds of working for the United Nations or any other international development organization by following this advice. The advice is based on the experience of people who have worked for the UN or other international development organizations, including people who make hiring decisions for such organizations. The information on this page has been adapted from posts to the Aid Workers Network by Graham Wood and Jayne Cravens, as well as various other posters to AWN.

 
Specialization

The United Nations and other international agencies prefer to hire local people whenever possible for work in a developing country. International people are brought in to fill gaps in expertise. In donor countries that host UN offices, such as Germany or Switzerland, the UN may prefer to hire people from developing countries whenever possible as well.

Therefore, a candidate that has an area of specialization is more valued by the United Nations and other agencies than someone who is a generalist.

A listing of international work opportunities with international development agencies is, as we say in English "all over the place," in terms of needed expertise and areas of specialization. Here's an example of the HUGE range of experts sought by international development agencies, including UN projects:

Most (but not all) postings require people with a Master's degree in a specific area as well.

To find paid work in aid and development, you also need to have the exact skills and experience being asked for in a job posting. For instance, if the job posting says, "fluency in French", then the hiring company wants applicants who can do the job interview entirely in French, not someone who has had a few years of French classes. If the job posting says candidates who have set up HIV/AIDS education programs for teens are what's wanted, then you had better have your experience setting up such a program in your CV.

If you have the expertise asked for in a job posting, what will increase your chances? Having the following experience (and making sure it is detailed in your CV). This experience must be honest; do NOT embellish your skills or experience:

• experience leading, managing or being the primary facilitator of a project. This can be a project that is based in any environment: business, nonprofit, or academic. It can be anything from leading the upgrade of a computer system within a department or company to managing a literacy project to overhauling policies and procedures to introducing a new client support system to facilitating a large-scale community cleanup. Note any particular challenges you faced, such as skepticism from management, dissent among staff, distrust among customers, etc., and what you did to address these challenges.

• experience in training others in a specific area of specialization, such as an activity that could lead to job development for local people, an activity that directly improves local people's quality of life (in a way that will be sustained after the volunteer leaves), or an activity that raises the professional skills of local people so they are better able to administer and manage their own local projects and institutions.

  For instance, teaching an entire department to use a new, complicated database program, teaching motorcycle or tractor repair, training nurses aides, training staff in new accounting standards and best practices, training local government workers in setting policies and procedures for purchasing, training training in tailoring and sewing, teaching elderly people to use the Internet to find information they need (government pension, health, etc.), teaching a community or families about caring for people with HIV/AIDS, teaching children about good sanitary practices or peaceful conflict resolution, teaching adults to read, teaching farmers how to fight pests organically, training teachers to implement a particular teaching tool, etc.

• experience helping or directing a large-scale, highly-specialized local community-transformation projects, such as building a canal, putting all local government public documents into a searchable database, creating a cooperative, etc.

• experience working with people who are traditionally socially-excluded, such as immigrants, people with disabilities, people with HIV/AIDS, prisoners, people with low literacy skills, etc. Or, other specific populations who may have special needs, such as women, children or the elderly.

• experience managing or facilitating a capacity-building program, such as a literacy project, or an income-generating program, like a cooperative, or a training of trainers program.

• experience in high stress, crisis situations, such as a disaster or a conflict situation.

• any experience teaching any subject on a high school, college or university level.

• experience working in another language. For instance, not just that you took two years of high school Spanish, but that you have traveled extensively in Spanish-speaking countries, or that you use at least some Spanish in your job. Language skills most in demand in aid and development? French (by far the most sought-after, IMO), Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese, and Farsi/Dari/Tajik, as well as any local language of a particular region in a developing country.

• demonstrated ability to work effectively under pressure and in a highly political environment.

• demonstrated ability to navigate and work with large bureaucracies.

• strong interpersonal skills and cross-cultural sensitivity.

• extensive experience in making presentations and conducting workshops, particularly to diverse or non-traditional audiences.

• volunteering or working for a few years at local nonprofit organizations that serves high poverty areas, people with disabilities, youth, the elderly, abused women, women re-entering the work force, etc.

• taking emergency response courses and volunteering through the American Red Cross (or the Red Cross, Red Crescent Society or Magen David Adom in your local area); this is essential if you want a chance to participate in disaster relief efforts.

• volunteering or working for organizations that help people with HIV/AIDS, or that educate people about HIV/AIDS.

• volunteering or working in a hospice, particularly one that serves people with HIV/AIDS or cancer patients.

• volunteering or working for organizations that provide health-related education, advocacy or care.

• volunteering or working in a literacy program, not only in helping people learn to read, but also helping with the administration of the program and promotion of such a program to low-literate and semi-literate communities

• volunteering or working at a job-training organization or initiative.

• volunteering or working as part of a voter-education initiative or local election.

• volunteering as a firefighter, and receiving training in specialist areas, like hazardous material cleanup.

• volunteering or working as part of an advocacy effort, such as advocating for recycling, women's rights, indigenous rights, immigrant rights, environmental regulation or education reform, particularly in a highly-political environment.

• volunteering or working at an organization focused on micro-financing and financial education for people from low-income communities, immigrants/migrants, etc.

• helping at a youth center that is focused on at-risk young people, and develops positive, worthwhile activities for the youth to engage

• volunteering online with organizations focused on the developing world. The Online Volunteering service is where organizations working in the developing world recruit online volunteers to design web sites and publications, build databases, research information, translate documents, prepare presentations, moderate online discussion groups, etc.

 
Languages

Even if you are a native English speaker, how good are your written and verbal skills? Not only does your CV have to impecible, with perfect spelling and English, your emails must be as well.

As noted earlier, if a job posting says, "Fluency in French", then they want applicants who can do the job interview in French, not someone who has had a few years of French classes. If the job posting says, "ability to work in French" (or another language), you can expect at least a bit of your interview to be in that language. In either case, you should have a CV in that language that's asked for, to prove your language abilities. In addition, become certified in your second language by the official language body, such as DELE for Spanish.

Language skills most in demand in aid and development? French (by far the most sought-after, IMO), Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese, and Farsi/Dari/Tajik, as well as any local language of a particular region in a developing country. That means being able to work in Chinese, Hindi, or local tribal languages also increase your chance of landing a job abroad. I found that most people I encountered in Eastern Europe spoke German, so that's a great second language to have as well. Even if your second language is not something that is in high demand among humanitarian groups (Japanese, Italian, Catalan, Flemmish), having any second language listed on your CV says to a potential employer that you can function outside your native comfort zone.

It's never too late to pursue a second language or improve your language skills. Take intensive language courses and seek local opportunities to use your language skills.

 
Your CV

Your CV needs to be explicit about your experience. Just because you worked at an immigration support center, for instance, don't assume multicultural experience is implied; spell it out! Just because you have worked as a firefighter, don't assume emergency response experience is assumed; SAY IT.

Use action-verbs and results-oriented-verbs to describe your volunteer and professional accomplishments. See this excellent, very long list of action verbs relevant to describing most middle to senior level management jobs.

For an idea on what is looked for in international work, have a look at the job postings on ReliefWeb. Although most of these postings are for paid-placements, the listings give a good idea of what is being looked for in international volunteers as well.

 
But Are You Really Ready?

One thing your CV won't always reflect, but which you will also need to work internationally, is a very stable emotional and financial state. If you find yourself easily frustrated or having trouble dealing with stress, daily activities or people you view as uncooperative, if you are feeling overwhelmed or depressed, or if you are facing financial problems and debt, working abroad with the UN or another international agency is not something you should consider right now. Even if you are not going to be in a low-infrastructure environment for your work (for instance, say you will be based in Geneva rather than Kabul), work at an agency dealing with humanitarian and development issues is dynamic and often highly stressful. You may not be dealing with a conflict situation or disaster in your physical location, but you will be dealing with people who do regularly, and can't get away from it by going home at the end of the day.

 
Networking

A key to finding a job in ANY profession is networking: meeting people who can influence hiring decisions where you want to work, and will better ensure your candidacy is better ensured. You want these people to know you and what your areas of specialization are. However, note that there's absolutely no guarentee that meeting someone at an organization, even the CEO, will land you a job there.

Networking is a long-term strategy. It takes months, even years, not days or weeks. Networking also involves building your professional reputation, so that when connected people hear your name, they know who you are, or when connected people look you up on the Internet, they easily find information that affirms your expertise.

Ways to network:

• Create a LinkedIn profile and make sure it is complete and up-to-date. Then link to people you have worked, volunteered and studied with over the years.

• Make sure all of your colleagues from your international experiences know you are looking for work abroad and are ready to forward your LinkedIn profile to their colleagues

• Have business cards. These should have at least your full name, your phone number and your email address. Something else, such as a title or a professional focus, is good too. But not too much "clutter"!

• Look for public events in your immediate area where there is a potential for you to meet people who work in inernational aid and development. These can be conferences, workshops, lectures and open houses. Don't just walk in, hand around business cards and walk out. Talk to people, listen to the program, discuss with attendees what you are hearing and seeing, and be there primarily as a professional collegue, NOT as someone desperate to work.

• Look for online communities on YahooGroups, GoogleGroups, Ning, LinkedIn and other fora that are focused on areas you specialize in (human rights, HIV/AIDS education, women's issues, etc.). These are text-based. Read the posts, compliment posts you agree with, ask your own questions, and note your own resources that you think might be helpful and are easily available.

• Participate in online events by UN organizations focused on areas you want to specialize in (human rights, HIV/AIDS education, women's issues, etc.). These are usually text-based, and you find them by subscribing to the email newsletters or RSS feeds of various UN agencies. Read the posts, compliment posts you agree with, ask your own questions, and note your own resources that you think might be helpful and are easily available.Make sure your signature on all posts link to your LinkedIn profile, your professional web site or your blog.

• Consider creating a blog and using it to promote your areas of expertise, by linking to UN resources and events you come across, by talking about your own experience in that particular area, etc. Post about it on places like LinkedIn and the Eldis Community and online communities focused on your area of expertise.

• When you come across a fantastic report or resource written by someone at the UN, find that person's email, write them and say, "Wow, that's a fantastic report, etc." That's a great way to meet people from the UN -- lauding them for their work. Be sincere. Write as a professional collegue; do NOT mention that you are looking for work, but feel free to encourage them to read your LinkedIn profile, your web site or blog to learn more about you.

The more jobs you apply for the less time you have to spend on each application. The more jobs you apply for, the weaker each application. In addition, some UN agency HR offices black list frequent job seekers (someone who applies for most every job posting at a duty station). Only apply for jobs where you have a chance, where you meet at least most of the criteria for the job.

Make sure the cover letter does exactly what is asked for. Usually this means saying how your skills and experience match their requirements, and since each job has different requirements, it means EACH cover letter must be different. Keep the letter as short as possible and address the job requirements specifically. One page is nearly always enough for a cover letter. Avoid emotion in your cover letter; if you write something like “I want to use my skills to help people, to make the world a better place” I would not interview you. When you write a sentence think how it would be in the opposite. “I don’t want to use my skills to help people and I want to make the world a worse place.” If the opposite sounds silly, then you are not communicating well.

Do you know what your competencies - your core skills and attributes - are and how to sell them? Are you thinking about them and presenting them in a different way for each application, since each job is unique? What key words are you using to describe yourself and your skills?

Some people try to imply in their applications that because they want to work for an aid agency and because they care and have good hearts, they should be given a job. It really isn’t like that. As one of the authors of this document said, "If I had to choose between a person who cares passionately about poverty etc but is not focused and doesn’t present well and a person who can get a job done dispassionately, without being very concerned about he bigger picture I would nearly always choose the latter." Work hard on selling your skills and abilities, not your desire to help.

Also see Starting a Career in International Development, from Development Ex

 
Jobs Web Sites

These are the web sites aid and development workers use to get jobs at the UN and other agencies. And, yes, people DO get hired from applying to jobs they find on the job boards below. The authors of this web page are but two examples.

Official Jobs Web Site by the United Nations.

UNjobs is NOT the official web site of the UN, but the jobs are official UN jobs. Some people prefer it to the official web site, because they find it easier to navigate.

ReliefWeb is a favorite among aid and humanitarian workers, and a favorite UN recruitment tool -- as well as a favorite of other agencies looking to recruit. It is perhaps the best-used site for jobs in emergency humanitarian relief with international agencies and NGOs.

Development Ex is a popular site for management jobs.

DevJobs (www.devjobsmail.com) is an Internet service that provides international job announcements on various development fields.

DevNetJobs, at www.devnetjobs.org, lists jobs and consultancies in the international development, NGO and environment sectors.

Dev-Zone is a New Zealand-based resource centre on international development and global issues.  It has a jobs database at www.dev-zone.org/jobs.

AlertNet, at www.alertnet.org, has a good jobs section.  Also have a look at 'Alerting Services' - there's a link on the home page.  You can get job vacancies, news, maps and even satellite images delivered to your email address.

The University of Sussex has an enormous list of websites relevant to jobs in international development, at www.sussex.ac.uk/cdec/careers_path.php?carpath=15&carsection=4.

RedR/IHE (www.redr.org) and Bioforce (www.bioforce.asso.fr) maintain registers of qualified candidates whom aid agencies can recruit at short notice during an emergency.

cinfoPoste is a Swiss-based register of vacancies for information, counselling and training professionals.  The site is in German, English or French - look for the link on the home page.  www.cinfo.ch/cinfoposte.

BOND (British Overseas NGOs for Development) says it is the United Kingdom's broadest network of voluntary organisations working in international development, and have a job list.  www.bond.org.uk.

Hacesfalta is a Spanish site with international jobs and volunteering opportunities.  www.hacesfalta.com.

OneWorld lists jobs in human rights, environment and sustainable development worldwide.  www.oneworld.net/jobs.

The Eldis gateway of development information lists jobs at www.eldis.org/news/jobs.htm.

Action Without Borders lists a large number of jobs at www.idealist.org.  Free daily email service.  It also lists every nonprofit job site or directory it could find on the web, at www.idealist.org/career/morejobs.html.

World Service Enquiry, at www.wse.org.uk, provides information and advice about working or volunteering for development.  Experience Development (www.experiencedevelopment.org) has a jobs section.

The Australian Aid Resource and Training Guide gives advice and information for people interested in aid work in Australia and internationally.  Click here.

Mango (www.mango.org.uk) provides a specialist register of accountants, to work with NGOs in the field and at HQ, full-time or on a consultancy basis.

InterAction (www.interaction.org) is an alliance of US-based international development and humanitarian NGOs.  You will find a jobs link on their home page.

Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) focuses on opportunities for Canadian citizens but includes links to international NGOs based in Canada and general advice of wider interest.  www.acdi-cida.gc.ca.

Yellow Monday is a weekly newsletter from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) in Sussex, including a listing of internal and external job vacancies in the development sector.  It is available online or by email.  www.ids.ac.uk/ids/news/ymonday/index.html.

The Economist newspaper (www.economist.com) includes senior jobs in relief and development organisations (not only for economists).  The UK's Guardian newspaper, at jobs.guardian.co.uk, also frequently lists humanitarian vacancies in its jobs section.

The US Foreign Policy Association lists jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities in relief and development organisations. Offers free e-mail notification for new postings.  www.fpa.org/jobs_contact2423/jobs_contact.htm.

Overseas Recruitment Services is a Nairobi-based specialist recruitment service for qualified personnel in the relief and development sector in Africa.  www.oresrecruitment.com.

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