What 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.

Start With Your Own Experience

Before you apply anywhere, get clear on what you want. A job title tells you very little, but what you do all day tells you a lot. So, think back over your UN years and write short, honest answers to these six questions:

• Which projects or days made you forget to check the time?
• What did colleagues keep coming to you for?
• What part of the job did you avoid, dread or find exhausting? (No one else will read these answers, so be honest.)
• What do you want less of: a lot of travel, hardship posts, rigid reporting, office politics or long hours?
• What can you live without: a senior UN title, a tax-free salary, a certain city or the prestige of the UN emblem?
• What work would you choose if money weren't the main concern?

Look for Patterns, Then Test Your Ideas

Now read your answers together and look for a pattern. Do you light up when you teach, fix broken systems, write policy, negotiate difficult agreements or help your team grow? These patterns matter much more than the sector you work in. (Someone who loves fixing broken systems can do it in health, in finance or in a museum.)

Next, talk to someone who's a few steps ahead of you, like a mentor or a former UN colleague who made the move two or three years ago. Share your responses and ask what roles they can imagine for you. Their answer may surprise you. It's hard to see your own strengths from the inside, and people outside your old world often see them more clearly than you do.

Then finish with one sentence: 'In my next role, I want work where I can [main activity] with [type of team or organization] in [field].' It doesn't need to be perfect. It only needs to point you in a direction, and that's more than most job searches start with.