What values, skills and competencies do I need to land a UN job?

The UN differentiates between UN organizational core values, UN competencies and managerial competencies.

Why is this important to know; well, depending on which role you apply you may want to highlight job relevant skills.

Managerial competencies for example are skills that are essential for employees in more senior roles with supervisory responsibilities such as P4 roles or higher.

UCC advice is to reflect some of your soft, transferrable skills that relate to how you work, how you interact with colleagues and/or how you solve problems.

We recommend you always showcase your team working skills. The UN is a big family with lots of different cultures and personalities and good multicultural teamworking skills are vital!

As well as good time management and networking, skill which are all transferrable skills. Other skills that you could use are for example adaptability or negotiation or leadership skills.

And the good news is that you already have transferable skills – regardless if you had worked for the UN in the past or not-you’ve developed such skills throughout your life, at university, at home and in your social life. You have them regardless of job experience in the public sector.

Also don’t forget to reflect UN core values such as:

Professionalism – ‘shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges’; remains calm in stressful situations.

INTEGRITY: Stands by decisions that are in the Organization’s interest even if they are unpopular; Takes prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behavior.

UCC TIP final tip don’t forget to any other skills you possess such as IT skills or an additional language you think the role could benefit from. An example would be sharing you speak one of the member states languages or are proficient in an IT platform (Oracle ERP, SAP).

Curious to learn more on how to kickstart your international career?

The United Career Coalition gives you the unique chance to learn from UN insiders what you need to kickstart your international dream career!

Watch UCCs 60min webinar series with UCC's special guests, UN experts and NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNERs who share their stories, tips and secrets.

Get advice which UN system roles are the right fit for you! Understand why being adaptable and focusing on transferrable skills is key and get tips & tricks on how to tailor your application documents and LinkedIn profile towards your desired international career.

Learn about mistakes to avoid, common misconceptions and why UCC thinks what may seem like tricky times may very well be an opportunity in the making!

The full 60min webinar can be downloaded on UCC’s website webinar on demand page!