How to write a CV and motivation letter for humanitarian organizations
- Page updated onApril 15, 2026
Throughout your selection process, you will rely on two pillars: your CV and your motivation letter. Both, when combined and used effectively, are a powerful tool. However, it is rarely taught how to make the most of them. In fact, individuals coming from the public healthcare system in many countries may not be familiar with the key aspects of these documents. After all, many of their previous selection processes have likely depended more on competitive examinations and point-based systems for academic and research merits, for example.
Please note that although general information is provided here, there are specific codes and recommendations that may be more relevant in some countries than in others. Most of the recommendations provided here relate to European organizations, although it is advisable to check them out first.
Table of contents:
How to write a good CV for NGOs and international organizations
Best brief and always adapted to the position
The CV is the key that allows you to pass the first screening stage, carried out by the HR department. It is also the opening act that sets the stage for you in the later phases of the selection process. In fact, some of the people who will interview you will review your CV just minutes before the interview begins.
With this in mind, it becomes much easier to understand what is likely to work best in a recruitment process: it should be a document tailored to the specific position, concise, well written, and well designed. Your CV must demonstrate that you match the job description within an ultra-quick 10-second glance and that you are the best possible candidate in a quick 60-second read.
Two pages are more than enough for the perfect CV. Although some health professionals are used to writing 15-page CVs that document all the training and conference presentations they have accumulated over the years in order to gain points, this is not how things work in humanitarian organizations. Here, it is enough to provide some basic administrative information at the beginning, followed by a summary of your most relevant professional experience, your most relevant education, and, if you think it adds value to your profile, other information (such as IT skills or hobbies).
Basic administrative information and a good summary
The basic administrative information includes your name, nationality, contact details, and a link to your LinkedIn profile. Although we are sometimes tempted to add much more information, many of these details (such as your photo or age) are optional. Others (such as your address) are not necessary and take up space that could be used for more relevant content. However, it is useful to include your nationality (as it may indicate whether you can obtain a work and residence permit in the destination country) and your LinkedIn profile. Including this information allows those considering contacting you to learn much more about you than what is written in these two pages, and to identify contacts who could provide references. This has become increasingly important in this sector over the years.
In addition, it is usually a very good idea to include, after the administrative information and before your professional experience, a 4-line or 50-word summary (at most), clearly highlighted, that captures everything that makes your profile fit the required criteria.
In this way, you offer those considering recruiting you three levels of information: first, a 50-word summary that allows them to confirm in 20 seconds that your profile should pass the initial screening. Second, a two-page CV that can be read with varying levels of attention in a few minutes to expand on the information they find most relevant. Third, a link to your LinkedIn profile where they can explore further details, if they are interested.
Your professional experience (include here your internships and volunteering!)
The summary of your professional experience should not include everything, but only the most relevant elements. For each previous experience, include the organization you worked for and the dates, the position you held, and the most valuable aspects of that experience for the role you are applying for. Did you coordinate any teams? How many people? Did you produce any relevant report? Did you work in areas of thematic relevance? Did you achieve any notable accomplishments or receive recognition for your work?
Do not assume that your job descriptions are universally understood. They are not. For example, “Health Technician at Solidaridad por el mundo in the Olivos department” provides very little information to people who do not know that organization, its structure, or that geographical area. You can clarify, for instance, that you supervised two maternal and child health projects with an annual budget of 300,000 and 750,000 USD, coordinating a team of five people (2 psychologists, 2 nurses, and 1 nutrition specialist), working with a highly vulnerable displaced population in a border province. You can even add that you also led the identification and design process of one of them and participated in piloting a novel psychosocial support approach for mothers with low birth weight newborns, developing tools to support breastfeeding initiation that were later used in other provinces.
If this is your first CV, you may be concerned that you only have one or two items to show. But what about the relevant volunteering and internships you have done? Clearly indicate that they are unpaid experiences, but include them as well! Although they may not “officially” count as professional experience, they are still highly valued. These experiences will have helped you develop key skills and competencies, and to understand how an NGO works from the inside. Both aspects can make a difference in a junior profile.
Basic training and additional courses
The summary of your education should clearly include your core academic background. If your qualifications are slightly different from those requested but equivalent, try to make that clear. Again, do not assume that everyone is familiar with the institutions where you studied or with specific degrees that may not exist in other countries.
Also include (very briefly) any additional relevant training you may have, as well as your language skills. This can be a key section of your CV for covering items listed in the job description as “desirable,” even if you do not have professional experience in them. Although it is tempting, do not list all the short courses you have completed, nor exaggerate their importance. The people reviewing your CV will be able to tell if that impressive course from a prestigious foreign university is actually a free 12-hour online course. It is more valuable to use this section to demonstrate your commitment to continuous learning and to highlight the two or three most relevant items.
Additional information
Do not overlook the potential of the final section, additional information. This section allows you to cover key aspects of the job requirements that may not fit into other sections. For example, you can describe your experience using digital tools, as long as they add value. Knowing how to use Microsoft Word and Excel does not make a difference; being proficient in Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Jira, Slack, Activity Info, or DHIS2 may well do so. It is also an opportunity to include hobbies you dedicate time to that can be very positive for coping with stress and workload (such as sports you can continue practicing wherever you go), which also help you develop important skills and competencies (such as music, social volunteering unrelated to work, communication, or public speaking ability), which show that you are an active person with interests, or that you may share common ground with the rest of the team.
Some organizations have their own system for entering information about your education and experience using web forms. In these cases, there is not always room to include a summary or to explain something for which there is no specific data entry field. However, many of these systems do allow you to attach documents, so you can still add your CV in the format you think best showcases your profile, in case they want to review it.
How to write a good motivation letter for humanitarian jobs
Your motivation and strengths, with closeness and confidence
Imagine being given the opportunity to speak directly and introduce yourself in one minute to the people who are considering hiring you, just before handing them your CV in person. What would you say? You might be tempted to use the typical jargon, “self-starter, results-oriented, with a high capacity for learning and a strong team spirit,” or to try to summarise your entire CV. To be honest, it is better if you come across with warmth, demonstrate confidence and self-assurance, and manage to convey why you are a good fit for both the position and the organization, and why you are motivated and capable of doing the job well.
That is exactly what you should write (in a more formal tone, of course) in a motivation letter: who you are, what has brought you here, why you want this job, and why you believe you are the best possible candidate for the position. Although the motivation letter is generally considered the younger sibling of the CV (and to be honest, some recruiters may not even read it, believing their selection criteria will be more objective if they focus only on the CV), it gives you a valuable opportunity to explain what you cannot convey in the rigid format of a CV, which serves its own specific purpose.
The professional and vocational path that has brought you here
In a first paragraph, and in a relaxed narrative style, you can explain the steps you have taken in your academic training and professional life that have brought you to the door of this new job and, above all, why you decided to take each of those steps (and to make the most of the opportunities you have had).
While your CV explains what you have done, here you can explain why you did it and what it has brought you. This information, when well articulated, can be very valuable. It is not about demonstrating a profound vocation, but rather about speaking directly and honestly about what has motivated you to reach this point over the years.
What motivates you about this job opportunity in humanitarian aid
Next, it is logical to explain why you have applied for this position: What motivates you about working in this organization, in this role, and in this geographic location? What do you hope this experience will bring you, and how do you think it fits into the career you plan to develop throughout your professional life?.
Again, this does not fit into the CV either, and it can be a decisive factor in your hiring if your expectations are aligned with those of the potential employer. If this is your first job in the sector, you should also know that your willingness to learn and develop professionally within an organization can compensate, at least in part, for your lack of experience.
What makes you the perfect candidate for the job: your strengths
Finally, you cannot assume that motivation is everything. It is not enough to show that this new opportunity motivates you and fits within your past and future professional trajectory. You must also explain why you are the best candidate for the role.
Once again, this does not fit into the CV. The CV contains raw information that each person can read and use to draw their own conclusions. However, here you have an opportunity to provide your own analysis and highlight the conclusions you would like recruiters to draw when reviewing your application documents.
Explain what your strengths are for the position, where they come from, and how they compensate for the weaknesses that, without a doubt, you also have. Showing that you are aware of your weaknesses, that you recognise you will need support or further development in those areas, and that this is not a reason for rejecting your application, is the way to present yourself as someone with autonomy, a willingness to grow, and the ability to overcome challenges.
How to cite this page
Abarca, B. (April 15, 2026). How to write a CV and motivation letter for humanitarian organizations. Salud Everywhere. https://saludeverywhere.com/en/humanitarian-careers/your-resume-and-cover-letter/