As anyone who involved in the world of Model UN can explain, being a delegate allows you to develop a wide array of marketable skills. Whether it be for an internship, job or an educational opportunity, effectively explaining Model UN on your application can bring you from a good candidate to a top candidate.
However, after spending years involved in Model UN, it can be easy to forget what those skills actually are, and difficult to explain to someone not involved in the activity. Below are ten marketable skills you can gain from MUN, perfect to list in applications and resumes.
1. Public Communication
Public speaking is an essential part of Model UN. Being able to engage in public speaking in an effective manner is an important skill in every field. But in Model UN, you learn more about communication than just how to give a speech. From introducing your delegation at the beginning of a committee to advocating for your draft resolutions in short, straightforward conversations prior to voting procedure, Model UN helps you learn how to effectively communicate ideas in a variety of manners.
2. Social Intelligence
Model UN is a social game, with the goal being to work well with others and convince them to join you and believe in what you are talking about. In order to do this, you have to develop high levels of social intelligence. Understanding what people want and using this to determine how to best work with them encourages the growth of your social intelligence.
3. Problem Solving
You spend all of your time during a Model UN conference working with others to try to solve some of the largest problems ongoing in our international community. The expertise gained in this skill set is invaluable. Model UN requires you to think outside of the box in order to address major and high-stake issues and do so in a time-sensitive manner. Schools and employers find this trait, backed by this experience, highly desirable.
4. Negotiation
Diplomatic negotiation is a natural part of a United Nations simulation. Model UN committees can have anywhere from 15 to several hundred delegates. While trying to accomplish your delegation’s goals and pass your resolution, you have to negotiate with many of these people to find generally agreeable solutions and compromises.
5. Teamwork
Model UN is all teamwork. Whether it be working to prepare with other members of your school’s club or the hard work of drafting and improving your working paper in committee, you are required to work in a team. Considering again the time-sensitive nature of Model UN conferences, the teamwork skills you practice are high stakes, and difficult to do successfully.
6. Crisis Management
Regardless of whether or not you have experience in a crisis committee, Model UN gives you the opportunity to exercise and improve your crisis management skills. During a conference, you have only a few days to solve some of the world’s most dire issues. Given these strict time constraints, as well as the pressure of these issues, delegates manage crises at all times.
7. Global Awareness
When becoming the delegate of a UN Member State, you adopt that state as your own. You spend weeks researching the country to learn about it, its problems, and its culture. At a conference, you might meet people from across the world. In our increasingly globalized world, having a broader understanding of other peoples, cultures and countries is incredibly important. In Model UN, you begin to develop this vital and sought-after skill.
8. Advocacy
Model UN conferences deal with important social, economic, security, and human rights issues. Being a delegate means becoming an advocate, promoting and supporting the issues in the way that your delegation’s country would. Learning argue different positions is something that all employers and admissions departments look for in a candidate.
9. Effective Writing
Model UN requires you to write position papers, speeches, resolutions, and even notes during committees. In all of these, you have to write concisely in order to effectively convey your points in as few words as possible. At the time, this can seem more like a nuisance than anything else, but in reality, the ability to write effectively is a highly marketable skill.
10. Dedication
If you participate in Model UN, you know how much time and energy is put into the preparation. Being successful in Model UN requires hard work, and this is something that all companies and schools highly desire.
Participating in Model UN gives you the skills necessary to excel in any job field. By adeptly and succinctly marketing those skills, you can describe yourself as the outstanding candidate you are to any potential employer.
