Executive Recruiter Job Search Advice for Humanitarian Job Seekers

Please do not recreate the flat tire of blindly sending out applications to every job ad you see.

We need to talk about what's really happening in the 2025 job search.

Over 100 people joined a recent career session for humanitarian workers, and the poll results hit like a gut punch: two-thirds are unemployed, most within the last six months, and over half got hit by USAID funding cuts.

The international development job market is saturated. Too many talented people with master's degrees and years of field experience are competing for the same shrinking pool of opportunities.

Here's what Dominic Bond from Initio Partners, an executive recruiter who's seen this market from both sides, wants us to understand: playing the old game won't work anymore.

Stop Applying to Everything (Seriously)

When you apply for roles that feel maybe a bit tangential or where you're not quite the strongest fit, you're setting yourself up for demoralization. In this market, every advertised role attracts a dozen candidates who fit the specifications exactly.

• "Be super discerning in what you apply for."

Dominic repeated this phrase multiple times, and I watched the chat fill with people asking variations of "but shouldn't we cast a wide net?" The answer was consistently no.

I saw Dominic address this directly:

• "If you're making lots of applications and not getting traction, I'd definitely be asking myself the question: Am I applying for the right things?"

Translation: If you're sending out 20+ applications per month (which nearly a third of session participants were doing) and hearing nothing back, the problem isn't your resume formatting.

Your Cover Letter Is Your Lifeline

While everyone obsesses over resume design elements and length, the real differentiator is sitting right there: your cover letter.

Dominic says,

• "Cover letters are very important. I see it as the chance to start conversation with a hiring panel ahead of time."

I watched him explain that the resume shows your technical credentials, but the cover letter tells your story. It needs to answer:

• Why this role?

• Why now?

• Why does this make sense as your next step?

Here's how to make yours count:

Start with why this specific role makes sense as your next step. Not why you want any job, but why this particular opportunity aligns with your career trajectory. Hiring panels want to feel like they're getting to know you as a person, not just reviewing credentials.

Keep your resume comprehensive but use the cover letter to highlight the most relevant segments. There will naturally be some overlap, but the cover letter should tightly respond to the role's specific parameters.

Don't be afraid of a second page if you're working with a recruiter. But if you're applying directly to organizations, stick with one page—someone internal is screening dozens or hundreds of applications.

Best of all, you can use Dominic’s cover letter guide in your job search.

The LinkedIn Reality Check

Dominic bluntly noted:

• "Very rarely I might meet a candidate who doesn't have a LinkedIn profile and it baffles me,"

If you're looking for work in 2025 without an active LinkedIn presence, you're fighting with one hand tied behind your back.

Having a strong LinkedIn Profile is strategic community building.

You can improve your LinkedIn presence by:

• Following people and organizations that regularly post about relevant roles.

• Building connections with second-degree contacts at organizations you admire before trying to reach the hiring manager directly.

• Commenting thoughtfully on posts. Adding value to conversations.

Be sure to create a pinned post about your job search that's short but upbeat. Note the sectors or organizations your most interested in working with. This is very helpful to recruiters and can be a reference point when you’re doing outreach.

The AI Question Everyone's Asking

Half the session participants sometimes or regularly use AI in their applications. Dominic's take? He's done a complete 180 on this topic.

The key isn't avoiding AI. You must use it authentically.

Don't let ChatGPT write your cover letter. Instead, use it as a collaborator to help you reflect on your career decisions, values, and key experiences.

Use Dominic’s cover letter guide to build a "living library of your career" through prompting, then use that foundation to craft letters in your own voice.

You then need to put ChaptGPT’s generic output into your own voice. Always check that the syntax is yours. You want your cover letter to sound like your natural writing.

Get Upstream of Hiring Decisions

Here's the part that might feel uncomfortable but works: don't just wait for jobs to be advertised. Be proactive and create the role you want.

Use your network. Have conversations with people. Engage with organizations you admire. Get ahead of the hiring curve through strategic engagement and relationship building.

This feels like a full-time job because, right now, it kind of is. That's the reality we're working with.

The Entrepreneurship Advantage

If you have entrepreneurial experience, don't hide it.

Dominic says:

• "Entrepreneurship comes up a lot in terms of the mindset, the values, the experience that clients are looking for.”

If you've built something from scratch, emphasize the transferable skills: being dynamic in crowded marketplaces, managing uncertainty, scaling operations.

Organizations want agility, creativity, commercial acumen, and risk-taking ability.

Address the Gaps Head-On

Don't leave anything unsaid on your resume.

If you haven't worked for six months, explain when your role ended and what you've been doing since. In this climate, it's perfectly valid to write:

• "My role ended abruptly as a result of USAID funding cuts, and since then I've been proactively looking in a challenging employment market."

But also include what else you've been doing—courses, consultancy, skill development. Answer questions before they're asked.

The Hard Truth About Pivots

The humanitarian job market has fundamentally shifted. The old approach of polishing your resume and applying broadly won't cut it anymore.

We need to be more strategic, more proactive, and more authentic. We need to build genuine professional communities, not just submit applications into digital voids. We need to get comfortable with self-advocacy while maintaining the collaborative values that drew us to this sector.

The opportunities are still there. But they're going to the people who approach this market with both strategic thinking and genuine relationship building.

The question isn't whether you can afford to invest this much energy in your job search. The question is whether you can afford not to.

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Now that you’ve read this far, please watch the full video from Dominic on how purpose-driven professionals can find a paycheck and purpose in this job market.