Career Transition Toolkit
34 practical articles for UN staff who are moving on to what comes next
By Andrea J. Miller, PCC, SHRM-SCP | Founder, LeadWell Company & After the UN
I'm a career coach, not a lawyer, tax adviser or financial planner. This toolkit is general career guidance. It isn't legal, immigration, tax, pension or financial advice, and I'm not qualified to give any of those. This is based on my own research of public sources, which are listed at the end. It hasn't been reviewed by a lawyer or tax adviser, and I'm not an expert. Visa, tax and pension rules depend on your country, your citizenship, your agency and your contract, and they change. Before you act on anything that affects your legal status or your money, please talk to a qualified professional: an immigration attorney, a tax adviser who knows UN pay, the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund and your HR office, or a licensed financial adviser.
You don't have to read it in order. Pick the path that matches where you are right now, and follow the 'Read next' line at the bottom of each article:
- You've just learned you're leaving: Start with Your 90-Day UN Exit Roadmap, then Applying for Jobs in Another Country After the UN.
- You're not sure what you want next: Start with How to Change Your Career After Leaving the UN, then What Do You Want From Your Next Job?
- You're rebuilding your CV and LinkedIn: Start with How to Turn a UN CV Into a Two-Page Resume, then Do You Need an Objective or References on Your CV, then LinkedIn Profile Tips for Former UN Staff.
- You have interviews coming: Start with How to Prepare for a Job Interview Outside the UN, then How to Explain Why You Left the UN.
- You have an offer or a salary question: Start with UN Tax-Free Pay vs a Taxed Salary Offer, then How to Answer Salary Questions in a Job Interview.
- You're thinking about consulting: Start with Moving Into Consulting After the UN, then How to List Consultancies, Volunteering and Side Projects.
- You feel stuck: Start with Who Am I Without the UN, then When to Get Help With Your Career Transition.
34 articles
How to Change Your Career After Leaving the UN
Leaving the UN means more than finding a new job. Here's a practical plan for moving into an NGO, a company, a foundation or consulting: your skills, what to learn, your money and your first steps.
Plan Your Next StepWhat Do You Want From Your Next Job? Questions to Ask Yourself After the UN
You can't choose a next step if you don't know what you want from it. These questions help you find what you want more of, what you want less of, and what you can live without.
Plan Your Next StepYour 90-Day UN Exit Roadmap: What to Do the Moment You Learn You're Leaving
Don't wait for your last day. Here are the money, paperwork, visa, personal branding and networking steps to take while you still have access.
Plan Your Next StepApplying for Jobs in Another Country After the UN: Visas and Work Permits
Your UN visa or permit usually ends with your job, often sooner than people expect. Here's how to think about it, which questions to ask, and what to put on your CV.
Plan Your Next StepMoving Into Consulting After the UN: Offers, Day Rates and First Clients
Consulting can look like freedom, until you have your first invoice. Here's how offers, rosters, subcontracting, day rates and your first clients really work.
Plan Your Next StepJob Search After 50 for Former UN Staff
Many people worry that their age will work against them after 50. While ageism does exist, a lot also depends on how you present your experience. Here's how to show it, which advisory roles to consider, and which pension thresholds to check.
CVs and ApplicationsHow Hiring Works Outside the UN: Stages, Speed and Silence
No rosters, no multi-hour written exams. Here are the usual stages of hiring at companies and NGOs, how long it takes, and what to do when you hear nothing.
CVs and ApplicationsHow to Turn a UN CV Into a Two-Page Resume
Your P11 or Inspira PHP lists everything you've ever done. A recruiter only wants to know one thing: can you do this job? Here's how to turn the first into the second, in two pages.
CVs and ApplicationsDo You Need an Objective or References on Your CV? What to Use Instead
Two old habits take up valuable space on a CV: the objective statement and the reference list. Here's what to put in that space instead, with UN examples.
CVs and ApplicationsHow to Explain UN Grades (P and G Levels) and Titles to Employers
To a recruiter outside the UN, 'P-4' looks like a typo. Here's how to translate UN professional and General Service grades into job titles that employers actually know.
CVs and ApplicationsHow to Write CV Achievements From Your UN Experience
'Responsible for' is the most common phrase on UN resumes, and the least memorable. Here's how to turn duties into results while still respecting UN confidentiality and Staff Regulation 1.2(i).
CVs and ApplicationsUN Jargon and Acronyms to Remove From Your CV
DSA, SSA, TOR, duty station, Member States. You know exactly what they mean. Almost nobody outside the UN does. Here's how to change UN insider language for plain words any potential employer could understand.
CVs and ApplicationsPhoto, Date of Birth, Nationality: What Personal Details to Put on Your CV
A photo, your age, your marital status, your nationality: some countries expect them on a resume, and others treat them as a reason to say no. Here's a guide to what to include, and where.
CVs and ApplicationsHow to List Missions, Secondments and Languages on Your CV
Your UN career has more to show than your job titles do. Here's how to list surge deployments, temporary duty (TDY), acting roles, inter-agency secondments and UN language exams on your CV.
CVs and ApplicationsHow to List Consultancies, Volunteering and Side Projects on Your CV
A UN career can leave you with a dozen short contracts and a CV that looks like a pile of puzzle pieces. Here's how to group consultancies, advisory boards, pro bono work and independent projects into one clear story.
CVs and ApplicationsHow Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) Read Your CV: A Guide for UN Staff
Before a person reads your resume, software will often have read it first. Here's how that software works, how it differs from UN Inspira, and how to format your CV so it gets through.
CVs and ApplicationsWhy Your UN CV Isn't Getting Replies: Five Signs and Five Fixes
Are you applying for jobs outside the UN and hearing nothing? There’s a reason for the silence, and it's usually fixable. Here are five warning signs that your CV is the problem, and five common mistakes to fix before you send your next application.
CVs and ApplicationsUsing AI Tools in Your Job Search Safely
AI can save you hours in a job search, as long as you stay in charge. Here's how to use tools like ChatGPT and Claude to tailor your CV and practice interviews, while keeping UN confidentiality rules.
CVs and ApplicationsLinkedIn Profile Tips for Former UN Staff
Your LinkedIn profile is often the first thing a recruiter checks. Here's how to write a headline and an About section that speak to your reader, and how to use 'Open to Work' while respecting UN discretion rules.
CVs and ApplicationsHow to Follow Up After You Apply for a Job
Silence after an application can feel awful. A short, polite follow-up can help without being pushy. Here's when to send it, what to put in it, and an email you can adapt.
InterviewsHow to Prepare for a Job Interview Outside the UN
UN panel interviews follow a script. Outside interviews feel more like a conversation, and that can be a surprise. Here's how to shorten your stories and research the employer.
InterviewsHow to Explain Why You Left the UN, Even When the Exit Wasn't Easy
Post abolished, funding cut, contract not renewed or a harder separation? Every recruiter will ask, so here are short, honest sample answers for easy exits and difficult ones.
InterviewsHow to Talk About Your Achievements in a Job Interview
UN culture teaches us to say 'we.' It's a kind habit, until it's your turn in an interview. Here's how to say 'I', take credit for your impact and still respect confidentiality.
InterviewsWhat to Do If You Ramble or Lose Your Way in an Interview
Nerves, or speaking in your second or third language, can make you lose track of what you were saying. It happens to almost everyone. Here are simple phrases to help you reset.
InterviewsBody Language and Video Interview Tips to Look Confident
Confidence is part of what people hire. Here's how to show it in person and on video: camera angle, eye contact, voice pace, and how to read local customs.
InterviewsHow to Answer 'Do You Have Any Questions for Us?' at the End of an Interview
Never say 'no.' Here's how to end an interview well, with good questions about the role and the team, and one strong question that lets you answer doubts before you leave the room.
Pay and OffersUN Tax-Free Pay vs a Taxed Salary Offer: How to Compare
Your UN salary and a salary offer outside the UN aren't measured in the same way, so the numbers can fool you. Here's how to compare your UN take-home pay and benefits with a gross salary offer.
Pay and OffersHow to Answer Salary Questions in a Job Interview
A recruiter's first call often includes a tricky question: 'What's your current salary?' Here's how to wait, redirect and give a range based on the market.
Pay and OffersHow to Negotiate a Job Offer After the UN: Salary and Benefits
For some, negotiating can feel uncomfortable at first, especially after years in a system with fixed salary steps. Here's how to negotiate pay, annual leave, flexible work, training budgets and start dates outside the UN.
Contacts and ReferencesHow to Network After the UN: Former Colleagues, Alumni Groups and Associations
Similar to the UN, many jobs are filled through people who know each other, and a referral can move your application to the front of the line. Here's how to use UN alumni networks, AFICS and simple outreach to find those openings.
Contacts and ReferencesHow to Build Your Personal Brand & Visibility After the UN
When you leave the UN, your name stops carrying an institution behind it. Here's how to build an identity that stands on its own, and how to shape your story online.
Contacts and ReferencesHow to Prepare Your References, Even When Your UN Supervisors Have Moved On
An excellent reference can tip a hiring decision. Here's how to choose the right mix, brief your references on your story, and find good alternatives when your supervisors have moved on.
Look After YourselfWho Am I Without the UN? Identity and Purpose After You Leave
Leaving the UN, more than most places, can bring a loss of identity, grief and confusion that no resume advice can fix. Here are a few practical ways to separate your feelings of self-worth from your institution's status.
Look After YourselfWhen to Get Help With Your Career Transition
Changing careers can be done alone, but it doesn't have to be. Here's how to know when to get coaching support during your move after the UN, and what executive transition coaching covers.