Post on 15-Jul-2020
WORKING IN GLOBAL HEALTH
Duke Global Health Institute | Updated: February 13, 2013
Working in global health is hard
• US govt global health funding plateauing
• Emergence of undergraduate degrees
• 270 university global health programs
• Over 70 offer degrees, tracks, or concentrations
• Unique hiring methods and schedules
Careers in global health
• Health care provision
• Program management and technical advising
• Research and policy
• Program development
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
FIELD Community Health, Clinical Care, Disaster
Relief and Humanitarian Aid
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT & TECHNICAL ADVISING
FIELD Monitoring & Evaluation, Training, and
Development Consulting, such as Health, Agriculture, Business, etc
RESEARCH & POLICY
FIELD Academic and Industry Research,
Environmental-Health-Public Policy, Think Tanks
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
FIELD
Communications, Grants & Contracts, Development (Fundraising), Business
Management, Technology and Education, Knowledge Management
Education & Experience
Bachelor BA, BS
Degree
Research/Program/Communications Assistant, Event Planner, Fellow/Intern
Masters MA, MBA, MDP, MPA, MPA-ID, MPH,
MPP, MSc-GH
Doctoral MD, PhD, DrPH
Research Associate, Program Manager, Grant Writer, Project
Coordinator, Analyst
Associate, Epidemiologist, Executive Director, President, Professor
Position Exp
0-3
3-5
10+
years
What are the !rst steps?
• Self re"ection
• Building your toolkit
• Resumes and cover letters
• Finding the GH jobs
• Outreach and networking
Self inquiry
• How do you see yourself working?
• Where do you see yourself working?
• What skills have you already acquired?
• What is best for you now?
Foundation of a strong resume
1. Focus and structure
2. Competencies and quali#cations
3. Telling your story
4. Formatting and presentation
Common questions:
• How long should your resume be?
• Should you include high school?
• Should you include GPA?
• Should you include an objective?
• Should you include references?
• How should you save your resume?
What about the cover letter?
• Should accompany all formal applications
• Not a narrative of your resume
• Show that you know their values & needs
• Be positive and enthusiastic
• Why do you want to work for us?
Finding open GH positions?
• Online job postings
• Job boards, university HR websites, GH organization
websites
• What are you trying to #nd?
• What is the harsh reality?
• 80% of jobs are #lled informally
Steps to !nd the hidden jobs
• Build your network
• A professional version of Facebook!
• A tool for learning about organizations and
making new connections
• A method of creating a professional online
presence
• Micro-blogging on a small scale
• An easy way to receive information from GH
organizations and individuals
• An easy way to communicate with GH
organizations and individuals
• Follow: @DukeGHI_Career
Who Tweets?
• Every global health organization
• Global health professionals
• @drgarybennett – Professor, Duke University
• @pgaye – CEO & President, IntraHealth
International
• @richardhorton1 – Editor, The Lancet
Steps to !nd the hidden jobs
• Build your network
• Fine-tune your outreach
Mechanics of the email outreach
• Be professional and use your brand • Be polite (“Dear…”) and use your Duke email address
• Be clear, concise and well-researched • To the point with clear requests not found via a Google search
• Be gracious • Everybody’s busy, be respectful of time and energy
• No mistakes • Proofread – forwards and backwards
Example email from Idealist.org: Hello. I’m Edgar Hernandez. Kathy Liu suggested I get in touch with you to request an informational interview. I’ve majored in #nance at SUNY Binghamton, where I served as president of the campus accounting club and helped a local charity improve their book-keeping practices. I’ve been considering a career in nonpro#t #nance. Kathy said that you have 15 years of experience in fundraising and development and that you are highly respected among your peers. I am sure you are busy, but I was wondering if you would have time for a short conversation over coffee, or at your office; my schedule is "exible. I’d love to ask you some questions about how you got started and the trajectory of your career so far.
Idealist Guide to Nonpro!t Careers for First-time Job Seekers: http://www.idealist.org/info/Careers/Guides/FirstTime
Informational interviews
• Do your research on the org and industry
• Come with a focus, but be "exible
• Aim for brevity, less than ~30 minutes
• Don’t forget to follow up and thank
Learn more:
• Duke Global Health Alumni on LinkedIn
• Global Health Career Digest
• DGHI faculty, staff and students