Originally shared via email. For early access to UN job search success tips and advice, subscribe to the newsletter here.

Today, I want to share a quick tip to make sure your CV is fit for purpose. It's all about how you organize your information.

Let me first acknowledge that for most UN jobs, you'll fill in an online application form, so CVs aren't always needed. However, they are occasionally requested, and having an updated CV ready to go is always a good thing.

Large organizations tend to receive large quantities of applications, and to process and interpret all that data, it's more efficient when information is presented in a predictable way. That's true whether it's a bot or a human who looks at it.

Therefore, structuring your CV in a traditional way helps the receiver find the information they're looking for quickly. Even more importantly, when your information is available where they expect to find it, it reduces the risk that they miss anything critical.

So, my advice is to skip fancy templates and stick to a traditional structure. There are a few variations that may be considered "traditional", and here's the structure I recommend:

• Name and contact information
• Professional profile (3 concise lines that position you as a great match for the role)
• Professional experience (in reverse chronological order)
• Formal education (new graduates can place this above experience, but once you have a few years of work behind you, professional experience should come first)
• Other (languages, software, volunteer work, non-formal training, publications, honors, etc.)
• References (optional: "available upon request")

I bet your CV contains some version of these sections already. Open it up and see if it could benefit from just changing the order around.

Then you're done! (for now 😉)

Here’s a little dare for you — open up your CV, spend 5 (max 10!) minutes reorganizing the sections, and then close it down. Don’t let it turn into a marathon that leaves you feeling nauseated and resentful about having to work on your CV. A quick tweak today, and you can enjoy that feeling of being productive and making progress ⭐️😊