How Do You Actually Land a Job?

(photo credit: faerie from a lost star)

So once you've developed these skills, hammered out a resume and decided what path to pursue (at least initially)...how do you actually land a job? The process is excruciatingly frustrating, especially for first-timers, and may require a downward adjustment of expectations. It's also quite scary, when all your friends have nailed down offers in the fall and your target jobs haven't even been posted yet. Here are a few guidelines:

• Seek out fellowship programs with early deadlines. Some of these include university-specific programs (e.g. the Hart Fellowship at Duke), but other programs are based out of the Population Reference Bureau, the Institute for Heath Metrics & Evaluation, the Poverty Action Lab and the new Global Health Corps.
• Apply for immediate online vacancies beginning approximately two months before graduation (e.g. March 1). The Global Health Council and Idealist.org both have great job boards, and most organizations post openings on their own websites. Do as much research as possible on the organization, and tailor your cover letter accordingly. But don't get your heart set on any one position - when I was graduating, I submitted nearly 50 applications...and only received one interview and job offer. It's very hard to differentiate yourself on paper when you're competing against people with a few years more experience.
• Above all, focus on informational interviews. Identify mid-level people who work in your preferred function or field (ideally but necessarily through an alumni connection or mutual contacts); if possible, it's always best to meet in person rather than by phone. Informational interviews can help you learn about different organizations and career paths, necessary qualifications, and people with similar interests. Often, they can also yield leads about upcoming vacancies as well.
• Similarly, it can never hurt to email your resume to the head of the department or program at your dream organizations to see if they anticipate any openings. Every so often, they may know that something is opening up before they post it - and in these cases, they may well prefer to avoid the official job search process altogether.
• Finally, you should plan to apply for internships in addition to long-term positions. Unfortunately, these days the majority of interns at many organizations have actually already graduated college, and indeed those internships can be a great way to get your foot in the door and differentiate yourself from other candidates with 1-3 years of experience and a graduate degree...who are also applying for the assistant/associate/coordinator positions.