Careers inInternational Development

Presented by:Kate Warren

Director, Global Recruitment ServicesDevex

What is international development?

• Alleviating poverty and improving living conditions in developing and emerging economies

• Includes governance, healthcare, education, gender equality, disaster preparedness, agriculture, infrastructure, economics, human rights, environment

• Humanitarian relief vs. International Development• Money mostly comes from governments and multi-lateral

organizations and to a lesser but increasing extent, private companies

• Projects typically implemented by NGOs and consulting firms

Employment Landscape

Hiring Trends

• Follow the money

• What are the hot sectors and regions in foreign aid & development?

Countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan

Sectors: Global health, Infrastructure/Engineering, Economic development, Climate Change

Types of Jobs• Technical Experts

• Program Management

• Research

• Fundraising

• Business Development

• HR/Recruiting

• Logistics/Operations

• Communications/Advocacy

• Finance/Budget/Contracting

• Grants Management

Types of Employers

• Consulting Firms & Implementing NGOs

• Donor Agencies & IFIs

• Advocacy NGOs

• Private Foundations

• Corporate/CSR

• Suppliers

• Think Tanks/Institutes

Reality Check• The image of humanitarian relief workers doling out food and medicines in

refugee camps is for the most part inaccurate. Most entry-level and even mid-senior level positions are quite administrative in nature.

• Your first position will most likely entail a lot of desk work and minimal to no travel.

• More and more positions in the field are being filled by locals. Hiring locals is less expensive and is better for development. It creates jobs in the local economy and builds the capacity of the workforce. Additionally, more money stays in country and locals can navigate complex cultural and political climates.

• The field is extremely competitive, you may be one of hundreds of qualified applicants applying to one job.

Finding and Getting the Job

Transitioning to your next job

• Transitioning from another field to development

• Transitioning jobs within the development industry

Examples of Transferable Professions

• Engineering

• Banking/Finance

• Health Care

• Education

• Communications

• Human Resources

• Accounting

• Management

• Training

• ICT

• Project Management

• Contract Administration

• Business Development

• Proposal Writing

• Law

Making the transition

• Often takes multiple strategic job changes to get to the job you ultimately want

• Focus on the gaining transferable skills to leverage experience from first job to land the second

Examples:

• You have experience in business development with a government contractor but ultimately want to work on SME programs in Africa.

• You are a corporate attorney and want to work on rule of law programs in Asia

• You are currently a program coordinator for an NGO that does global health but you ultimately want to work on education programs in the field

Should I go back to school?

• Have a few years work experience before getting a graduate degree

• Without a masters level degree you will quickly plateau and not be able to advance

• If possible, try getting a degree while working to not take yourself out of the workforce

• When deciding between a general or technical degree, it is usually best to go for the more specific degree.

• For some positions like economists, M&E specialists or those closely involved with research a PhD is advisable but in most cases a Masters is sufficient

• Once you have a graduate level degree, experience will trump additional degrees (with the exception of a few very specific degrees like JD or MD)

Do Your Homework

• Research the key employers and players in the field. Know what kind of positions are available.

• Attend seminars, conferences, other events for the industry.

• Try asking for an informational interview.

• Try to volunteer with an organization – let’s you test the waters and helps you build your resume at the same time.

• Use social networking platforms, like Devex , to find people currently in a the position you seek – reach out to them.

• Volunteer for overseas assignments in your current position.

• Attend relevant training or certification courses.

• Get familiar with the donor funding cycles/proposal process.

Learn the Language

• Learn the language of the industry

For example, if you want to transition from the corporate world to the non-profit. Instead of using terms like sales, clients and revenues you might use terms like program development, stakeholders and funding

• Translate your resume

Be sure to focus on keywords

• Market to your audience

• Become comfortable with the acronyms and insider vernacular.

Learning the Language

Why?•Make it easy for recruiters to pick you out of the crowd.

•Most employers use keyword search engine technology to sift through resumes.

•Demonstrates understanding of the industry. Makes you look like an insider.

How?•Job description

•Company and donor websites

•Industry journals and news publications

Quality over Quantity

• Focus your search

• Take your time to tailor each resume/CV

• Learn the donor formats – USAID vs. EU

• Take advantage of referral programs

• Only apply to jobs for which you are truly qualified – Use 80% rule

• Always proofread

• Localize your resume

TIP: Don’t become a serial applicant. Recruiters will get to know your name and will take you less seriously as a candidate.

Network, Network, Network

• As in most industries, networking is crucial to the job search process.

• With the ease of applying online, and the current state of the economy, your resume could be lost in a sea of hundreds of applicants.

• Recruiters are apt to pay attention to a referral more than they would an unknown candidate.

• Leveraging connections is particularly important when you are transitioning careers and might not be able to make it through the door on your resume alone.

TIP: Now with social networking technology, it is easy to network anywhere in the world. For example, on devex.com, you can build your own network of international development professionals worldwide.

Resources on Devex.com

• Job board

• Online CV database

• Career advice articles and webinars

• CV Writing Service

• Industry news and events

To access all of these services and more, sign up for a career account at http://www.devex.com/en/career-account

Take Away

• Focus on transferable skills

• Do your homework

• Learn the language

• Network

• Be patient and persistent

And visit Devex.com!

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