How to apply for a global impact role

I recently experienced how difficult globally remote recruitment can be. As a recruiter during the selection process, I saw both good and bad practices from candidates that changed the outcome of their application. Here's what I learned and how it can help you when applying for Global Impact Roles in future.

To start with, always follow the 6 basic rules of a good CV:

1- Listen first

Don't prepare a one-size-fits-all CV. Rather, create a new version for each application based on the required profile and who you are sending it to.

If you are applying for a job or a Fellowship, read the job description three times before even starting to write your CV. Study everything about the organisation and try to understand its corporate culture, while familiarising yourself with their language and tone. 

If the organisation is abroad, it will be harder to get to know someone who already works there to find out more about them. However, you can still read articles about the company, follow their social media profiles for a few days, and check the LinkedIn profiles of managers working in the hiring department. Get inspired by their language and be aware of their focus and mission.

2- Clarity and brevity

Maximum one page for those at the beginning of their career, two for those with a lot of experience. 

If you reach three pages because you are still using a CV structure from 5 years ago and you find yourself adding each of your new experience, delete the file and start it all over again! Your career is not a sum of episodes: bring out the special thread that binds them and let your uniqueness emerge. Remove the most insignificant or repetitive items over time. 

3- Structure

A CV must be readable and well-structured. Divide information by categories. Don't use a tiny font to fit more things into a page and - unless you're a designer - don't throw yourself into adventurous or very colourful formats.

4- Honesty

Do not say that you are an “expert in Microsoft Office, and Word, PowerPoint and Excel” (if you don’t understand what this means, definitely don’t write that you’re an expert...). Don't say that you're social media savvy because you obsessively post funny quotes and photos online, or because you have 500 friends on Facebook.

Be authentic, don’t oversell yourself, but be confident enough not to shy away from highlighting your strengths.

5- Education vs Experience

Always balance learning and professional experience: if you are a recent graduate, “experience” can also be one month of volunteering after-school, or the bicycle delivery service you joined to pay for a holiday, or a solo trip in another country.

The balance is also important for those with 20-year work experience: it is not a good sign if the last course you attended was 10 years ago ...could you add at least a sommelier certification, martial arts or painting class? Show the recruiter that you are a life-long learner and that you will be ready to learn whatever is needed on the job.

6- The whole picture and the small details

Add sports, hobbies and travel if they serve your profile. Explain how that passion or experience has contributed to your human and professional development.

And always, always have the utmost attention to detail!

How recruiting for global remote careers in the impact sector is different

In recent years, I have helped to select new Amani Institute colleagues and Fellows for our Post-Graduate certificate in Social Innovation Management, among hundreds of candidates from all over the world, both for in-person, remote and hybrid positions and programs. With offices in Kenya, India and Brazil and staff located also in Europe and the USA, we pay a lot of attention to ensure the selection process is inclusive and promotes diversity, while at the same time being transparent about our core beliefs and operating values. 

Starting with the application form, we make it clear that, for us, technical skills, soft skills, values ​​and alignment with our mission are all equally important.

How do you select candidates based on a CV and a form?

Together with the typical information on a CV, we ask candidates to answer some open questions relating to technical skills but also, above all, about their personal motivations.

It is hard for recruiters to keep their biases under control; giving non-native English speakers time to express themselves, letting different cultures and personalities emerge as a tool for better understanding the candidate, and not as a limitation. Even interviews, if remote, make it much more complicated to build an empathetic bond and really understand who is in front of you. There’s always the risk that recruiters fill the gaps with biases when there isn’t a complete picture for the brain to process.

• If you write a CV for a position abroad or for a global organisation, be sure not to take anything for granted. If you studied at the most innovative university in your country, or if you worked for a start-up that ended up in all the (local) newspapers for its resounding success, write it down. Those who read your CV on the other side of the world don't necessarily know it. If you come from a small town and at 18 you had the courage to fly solo to another continent, share it. If you worked in a pub to pay for your higher education, let the recruiter know about it. Offer contextual information.

• If you have already sent or attached your CV, do not repeat the exact same information in the application questionnaire (if any) or your cover letter. Take the opportunity to frame things differently, to share not only the what, but also the why of your career path.

• If you want to personalise your CV, do it with things that are consistent with the position. For example, if you are looking for a job in the startup world, you can add a section dedicated to your failures (and the lessons you have learned as a result). You can add a section on volunteering and social engagement if you are aiming for a career in an international NGO. You can talk about your rock band or team sport practiced at a competitive level to explain what team building means to you.

• If you have a 250 or 500 character limit for an open-ended question, don't go overboard. But don't limit yourself to half a line! Help those who have to choose you, to get to know you. Fill those gaps that inevitably arise if you live and work in a different country. Take advantage of the open-ended questions to bring the recruiter into your world, to make them understand who you are and where you come from, and, most importantly, where you want to go.

• If your social media profiles are required for a position in communication or marketing, do not share profiles with very personal information (filled with pictures of your pets, on holidays, etc.). The recruiter can still find your social media profiles (and, in most cases, they will!), but you don’t need to include them in your application if they are not relevant. You can just share your LinkedIn profile (where there won’t be pictures of your pets, holidays, etc. anyway).

• Always double check the language requirements and apply in the requested language.

The interview 

• If you're invited to a video interview, test the audio and video settings on your computer beforehand. Make sure you have a good connection, decent lighting and the right background. 

• During the interview, do not hide any weaknesses on your CV. Share what you will do/are doing to address them. There’s no need to share your work experience once again by dates and companies; share what you have learned from each experience instead.

• Explain why you changed jobs in the past or the reasons for the gaps in your CV and make it clear why you really want this job. Everyone is happy to hire someone who has a lot of different experiences, but nobody wants to hire someone who will be ditching you in a year.

• Get ready to interact. Ask intelligent questions about the organisation, the job, the team you will work with and the expectations of your work.

• Do not underestimate the interview and the assignment part of the process. Recruiters are looking for people who really make a difference and many candidates with excellent CVs fail because they prove to be superficial or less motivated to give their best. Which leads to perhaps the most important point ...

• Show that you have a passion for the job! This is key from the beginning to the end of the process: prepare and make a special effort at every single step (with customising your CV, studying the organisation and using their language, preparing for the interview, working on the assignment…). Show your potential and that you are willing to grow within the organisation.

Fewer and fewer candidates are hired for the technical skills that they already have (skills that will become marginal quickly in this fast-changing world and are the easiest to find in other employees). More and more recruiters look for soft skills: leadership, communication, problem solving, the ability to work in a team, to self-organise and take responsibility, to learn new skills and transfer them to colleagues. 

Ready to go?

Finally, let me give you a very special piece of advice from my colleague Shehzia Lilani, Amani Institute Country Director in India: “Recruiters are waiting to find the right candidate for the organisation and want you to succeed. Keep this in mind when you're nervous or doubting yourself: remind yourself that the person on the other side is as invested in finding the right person as you are in getting the job”.

If you want to learn more about Amani Institute work and programs, visit our website, we are looking forward to getting to know you! www.amaniinstitute.org