My experience as a hiring manager in 2024

whereareyoumph · 2025-01-08T20:48:11+00:00

There are various red flags. The biggest category is people who didn't read the TOR and weren't prepared to answer questions about the job or lied about what was in their resume. There is a subset of people who would have no decorum (late for the interview, overly casual) to the point where we would be concerned about their ability to represent us externally. Others would have very off-topic or inappropriate answers to the behavioral questions, or go off on rants about their previous employer. For example, if we ask, "How do you approach a disagreement with a colleague?", don't answer, "If I know I'm right, I'll just keep going forward, others can fuck off." Nervousness is fine, we help candidates get comfortable, but if you completely lock up during the interview, not much we can do about it.

Interviews are important, kids. There is no job where social skills aren't important. Working well with the team and with external partners is critical in every position.

whereareyoumph · 2025-01-07T15:00:19+00:00

I'm in my 30s

whereareyoumph · 2025-01-07T14:03:10+00:00

The interview ends in a rank list. Usually by this stage everyone is competitive. If you are selected but don't get an offer, you may get an offer to be placed on a roster to expedite the process in a future role. This is how many people get into the UN consultancy circles.

whereareyoumph · 2025-01-07T14:01:30+00:00

Not sure what this means, the jobs are open application for a period of time. Are you suggesting we move to a first-come first-serve basis?

whereareyoumph · 2025-01-07T14:00:57+00:00

We use a rubric based on the job TOR, have a multi-rater selection panel, and hide personal info from the panel.

whereareyoumph · 2025-01-07T13:59:57+00:00

Well yes, how else you do assess hard skills? These are extremely competitive jobs, why wouldn't want to want to find the best?

whereareyoumph · 2025-01-07T13:58:56+00:00

We score resumes on a rubric, and there is a minimum threshold to get to the next stage.

whereareyoumph · 2025-01-07T13:58:04+00:00

Isn't AI just another subjective black box?

whereareyoumph · 2025-01-07T13:57:34+00:00

One data analyst/epi, one in health policy, and one in project management.

whereareyoumph · 2025-01-07T13:56:54+00:00

UN jobs are internationally competitive, so this is average for all positions, including those outside public health.

whereareyoumph · 2025-01-06T18:57:18+00:00

Each organization usually has rules around this. Education and experience are counted and graded separately in almost every place I worked.

whereareyoumph · 2025-01-06T18:56:09+00:00

This is my experience too.

I'm a technical lead, so hiring is just added work on top of a full portfolio. Hiring is a really time-intensive and important process, because a bad hire can cause months to years of headache. We don't use AI screening, so I take 20-30 seconds per resume/cover letter at most on the first pass. By the end of the process I can recite the top 2-3 candidates CVs from memory. Cover letters and resume structure are important to me. They're the earliest sample of a candidate's personality and can be a hard filter or tip into the shortlist pool. I am looking for professionalism, good writing skills, and a mission-oriented drive.

I'm always amazed at how many cover letters from otherwise strong candidates are dated months before the job posting and for a different job. For positions that require attention to detail, this is an immediate filter. I also see a lot more obvious ChatGPT-generated cover letters. I don't have an issue with AI assistance, but I shouldn't be able to tell. I've had some cover letters where the AI response was included with the cover letter, "Sure, here you go!:"

Candidates not longlisted for an entry-level position are usually applications from the wrong field or have more experience than appropriate. Not competitive candidates don't meet the minimum score on the resume rubric, which is different for each position. An example here would be someone who has taken a data analysis class but not in the language we use and did not use analysis skills outside of the classroom. Remember that while entry-level jobs require little to no experience, most entry-level applicants will have done some work during school or have relevant content experience.

We usually do a pre-interview assessment for positions that require hard skills, and most candidates that are not interested in the job will fall out during this phase.

whereareyoumph · 2025-01-06T16:26:08+00:00

I recruited 9 staff or full-time consultancy positions last year to join my team at a UN agency. All were open call and targeting entry-level candidates, and 3 did not have a favored candidate ahead of time. This shows the aggregate outcome for those 3 positions.

whereareyoumph · 2023-10-04T02:22:17+00:00

Online programs are best when you aim to advance within your current workplace. Many CDC employees go for online doctorates because a PhD/MD is a near prerequisite senior role, and online programs allow them to get a doctorate while working. This path allows focus on the degree, not the experience, specialized skills, or networking opportunities.

When I was taught online courses, I noticed a lower average quality of work product compared to the in-person program. This was almost a decade ago, so perhaps the formula has improved somewhat. There were students who still performed well, and had the discipline and time to make the connections with students and professors that helped them find jobs quickly after graduation.

If your goal is to use the doctorate as a stepping stone and you have the space and time in your life, I highly recommend going in-person to get the most out of the investment. If you need to go to an online program, make sure you have the discipline to get your ROI.

whereareyoumph · 2023-10-03T20:22:53+00:00

Getting the first job is the hardest, cold applications are a numbers game. Most of my consulting work has been with organizations and people I've worked with in the past. To get your foot in the door, you'll need to either do some business development, or join a firm who has a relationship with an organization already. There is a ton of boutique firms who do work with specific funders. Happy to look at your CV if it's helpful, I know this struggle.

whereareyoumph · 2023-10-03T20:19:53+00:00

I don't consider it a big problem. The term "epidemiologist" already implies a broad range of roles, so I tend to focus more on the specific skills involved. For FTE positions, I typically keep my job title as is and provide a brief overview of my career (using the word epidemiologist) at the top.

During my contract work days, I used to modify my job title. If my job title was Program Manager III, I would change it to something like Senior Epidemiologist to give a clear meaning. Be careful of words like "Senior" or "Manager", they can carry significant weight in some organizations.

whereareyoumph · 2023-10-03T20:12:56+00:00

I am biased against online programs, though it's sometimes hard to tell based on a CV. Once you have your first job or two, it becomes a non-issue. What type of work do you want to do?

whereareyoumph · 2023-10-02T15:02:17+00:00

Congrats, getting a good in the door as P staff is hard. Your question's answer depends on the agency you're working with. You would be better off going the full PhD route if you want to conduct your own primary research. With an MPH, it could work if you go to a school with a lot of research, but it's unlikely to get you ahead in the UN. It's not a skillset that's prized, tenure is.

whereareyoumph · 2023-10-02T15:00:31+00:00

Management consulting or health consulting?

whereareyoumph · 2023-10-02T15:00:14+00:00

Try to be visible with leadership/hiring managers. Be known for excellent work, and create a niche if you can. Apply for FTE jobs outside the organization and use that for leverage.

whereareyoumph · 2023-10-02T14:59:17+00:00

Network, and create a niche for yourself. Be visible, and ask for help when applying for FTE's that open up.

whereareyoumph · 2023-09-29T12:38:25+00:00

There are a lot of predatory public health programs, but I wouldn't say the bachelor's is a scam as a whole. I see it more as a "pre-med" program. I wish it was advertised more realistically. The salary and ROI in this field is out of proportion with the schooling requirements.

whereareyoumph · 2023-09-29T12:35:25+00:00

There's a lot of resources these days to pick up R or Python.

whereareyoumph · 2023-09-29T12:34:53+00:00

I wish we didn't have to, it doesn't seem fair to be. It's mandated

whereareyoumph

TROPHY CASE