Are there any tricks for applying for UN jobs?

[feesh]

There are a couple of UN stations out here where we live (Middle East) and I'm desperate to get my career going again and would love to get a job with one of them.

I just wondered if there were any tricks to completing the applications (in a similar way to the "rules" you have to follow in order to tick the Civil Service boxes in the UK). I've already applied for two previously and didn't get an interview, and would love to be more successful this time.

There are a number of things to bear in mind with UN jobs:

1. Despite what the job requirements might be on paper, it's quite common that there will be hundreds of over qualified applicants. I have personally seen over 1000 applicants for lowish level professional positions. Even incredibly dull sounding low level jobs will have many applicants. A masters degree is fairly standard, even in administrative positions that only require a high school diploma. If an advert requires a degree in X or other related field, unless your degree is in X and a related field or something very obviously related you may be screened out at application stage. An example of this could be 'Advanced level degree required in Law, International Relations or Human Rights'. If you had say, a Political Science degree with most of the focus on international affair this may not be enough for the HR rep making the first review.
2. Agencies often work for geographical representation. Often this information is available on their website. That means that they may not need more Western Europeans, but have a shortage of Asian applicants, for example. If you are applying to a job and are Western European you have a slim chance of being selected. This can also work against you if say, you have a nationality where conflict with the position could be an issue.
3. Gender can have similar issues.
4. Languages. Do you speak the languages needed for the job? At a professional level? Including speaking the duty station language, if communication with local agencies is required. Even if a job description says 'Arabic would be considered an asset', it may be that without even ticking the basic Arabic box you'd never pass the screening. This can often be an issue for native English speakers.
5. Relevant work experience/ International work experience is often required. This often means really relevant, not just x number of years in a civil service position but specifically X years plus in designing environmental education programmes for women at an international level. Make sure when you fill out the sections for your past work experience that you almost mirror the language of the job requirements for the job you are applying for.
6. Number of applications. It's very common for someone to apply to a hundred jobs and get one or two interviews, eventually get on a roster for one position and sit there for 2 years waiting to be called.
7. Nepotism/Connections. A solid 50% minimum of employees will be there because they know someone/had endless funds to do internship after internship/are from their countries political elite.
8. Timeline. UN recruitment can easily take up to a year- are you sure you were unsuccessful?
9. Type of job. If it's a Temporary job, or the advert is only listed for a week, or it says reserves right to recruit from roster this often means there is a candidate in mind and the recruitment is more or less a sham.

The "career" jobs are generally got into at post-grad /master's level and are fiercely contested as pp has said.
Most other "on the ground" jobs are recruited locally. Those are the ones where your Uncle heard from his neighbour there's a job in dept G going.
I live near a UN base in Italy and a friend of mine's entire family works there. Because it's huge and one of the largest employers in the area, so in they all went.

Thank you both so much for this. It’s terrifying to read, but confirms what I already suspected! I’ll keep trying.....

Have you considered applying for a post as a UN Volunteer? Used to be slightly easier to get in to the UN this way. This is the route I took with my first UN post, granted many years ago now. Good luck!