A humanitarian recruiter often reads more than 100 applications for one post. They quickly look for three things: the required experience, the context (emergency, field, country) and your results. Here is how to make them visible.
UN and NGOs: two different formats
- UN agencies: applications usually go through an online form (Inspira profile at the Secretariat, P11 or each agency's own profile). Fill in every field: shortlisting is done on that form, not on an attached CV.
- NGOs: a 2-page CV (3 at most for a senior role) and a one-page cover letter.
Sections, in this order
- Title and summary (3 lines): your profession, years of experience and contexts. E.g. "Logistician, 6 years in emergencies (DRC, Chad), supply chain and fleet".
- Experience, most recent first: organization, position, location, dates (month/year), then 3 to 5 achievements.
- Education, then certificates (PSEA, security, Sphere, MEAL…).
- Languages, with a clear level (fluent, working knowledge, basic).
- Technical skills: software, databases, tools (Kobo, Power BI, SAP…).
- References: 2 to 3 former supervisors, or "available on request".
Results, not tasks
Instead of "In charge of distributions", write: "Organized 24 food distributions for 18,000 people in 6 months, with a complaint rate below 1%". A figure, a place, a duration: that is what makes your application stand out.
Mistakes that get you rejected
- A generic CV without the keywords of the vacancy.
- Unexplained gaps in dates (write "studies", "volunteer assignment"…).
- A photo, age, religion or marital status: avoid them for international NGOs.
- A file called "CV.pdf": name it "Lastname-Firstname-CV-Logistician.pdf".
Use our CV and cover letter templates, and ask Lumen to review your application on each job.