Hello and welcome back to this video series
on working in Global Health. My name is Greg
Martin and in this episode we're going to
talk about getting consulting jobs in global
health. At the end of this video I'm going
to tell you about a Google + "community" that
I've just started that will hopefully be a
platform on which people looking for consulting
work and people looking for consultants - so
stay tuned. In my previous videos on working
in global health (and if you haven't watched
them and you'd like to, you can find them
at the global health YouTube channel), I've
talked about the fact that one of the easiest
ways to get yourself known within an organisation
that you're interested in and to get some
relevant experience is to do some consulting
work. But HOW do I find consulting work, I
hear you say? Where to I go? Who to I speak
to? What should I include on my CV? How do
I get my foot in the door? Well stay tuned.
This video will be less than 10 minutes and
in it I'm going to give you some insight based
on my experience of working as a consultant
in global health. To start - I suggest that
you have a one page CV. Not one and a half
pages. Nothing about how you were the chairperson
of the astronomy club and have a delightful
interest in late 20th century poetry. Just
one page that has 1) your contact details,
2) a one sentence (not a paragraph) stating
that you're available for do to consulting
work in a particular field, 3) your education
and 4) your experience. Nothing else. The
reason I'm suggesting a one pager is that
you want people to read it. With every additional
page you add you will decrease the proportion
of people that are going to read your CV.
This is different to a CV sent in for a job
application that will be read by an HR professional.
This is a document that you're going to email
far and wide in the hope that the recipients
will read it and forward it on to others.
But what about all of my impressive publications?
Surely they should go in there. My advice
is no. Be brutal. Keep it short. If you want
to you can include a line at the end that
states that they can contact you for a list
of your publications and contact details of
references or anything else that you feel
might be of interest. Next, let's talk about
the different contexts in which consulting
work gets done. Firstly there is the individual
consultant who gets brought in on a project
at a particular time because a little additional
horse power is needed temporarily. So examples
of this include proposal writing, data analysis
or reporting to funders etc. Also, oragnizations
like the WHO and other UN agencies often need
consultants to come is as a "raporteur" to
take notes and draft a summary of discussions
and decisions taken at a meeting or conference.
Its not exciting work but its a great way
to meet the right people and to create a good
impression and could be a stepping stone to
either more consulting work or even a permanent
job. Next, you could offer yourself as a technical
expert. So, for example when the WHO are putting
together a new set of guidelines they'll create
a panel of experts to provide advice and expertise
as to the content.
For this kind of work you really do need to
be an expert and so this is an example of
when you would want to include a list of publications
on your CV. Next - you might consider forming
a coalition of independent consultants that
put in a combined bid for a consulting job
that's bigger than can be done by any one
individual.
For example, Funding agencies like DFID, UNITAID,
the Gates Foundation and USAID will often
want projects that they fund, evaluated by
an independent group both at the mid-point
and at the end of the project. These evaluations
are usually bigger jobs than can be taken
on by just one person. Another option would
be to apply for a job at a company that does
consulting work in the global health space.
So there are some companies that specialise
in public health consulting like Rabin Martin
who do strategy consulting. And there are
lots of companies that have a broad consulting
practice that includes global health. Companies
like McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group,
Deloits, PWC... the list goes on and on. Its
a great way to get experience and you'll certainly
learn a lot while working for them. Now...
Getting the first job is the most difficult.
Once you've done some work as a consultant
and people in the field know who you are,
you'll find that there is more work out there
than you can manage.
This is important because you might want to
reach out to other global health consultants
in the hope that they pass your name on to
clients when they get offered work that they
can't take on. While I was doing consulting
work I would often get offered additional
work that I couldn't take on and would pass
on the contact details of an alternative consultant.
So what next: well... get your one page CV
out to everyone you can. Attach it to a SHORT
email. The email should include: 1) The fact
that you're available to do consulting work
in whatever area you feel that you can add
value. 2) Highlight the fact that you've attached
a ONE PAGE CV (they might be inclined to read
it if they know that its a quick read). 3)
ask them to contact you if there is any work
(state that you're prepared to travel if needs
be). 4) ask them to keep your CV on file.
and 5) Ask them to forward your CV on to anyone
else that might be looking for a consultant
at that time or in the future. That's it.
No more, no less. Next you should go to the
webpages of organisations that you're interested
in doing consulting work for. Many of them
have a database of consultants that they draw
from and you can register your availability.
Many of them will also publicly advertise
for consults to submit tenders for particular
pieces of work and in a future video we'll
take a look at some of these and discuss the
best approach to putting in a tender. One
piece of advice. Do not oversell and under
deliver. You'll get a bad reputation and you'll
hate doing work that's technically over your
head. Be patient and get work that's appropriate
for your skill level.
Another piece of advice. Keep rigorous time
sheets of what you did, the time you put in
and definitive deliverables. You don't want
to get into a rough and tumble about who did
what when it come to getting paid. And remember
to invoice your clients. If you don't, you
won't get paid and that will make you sad.
Remember, life is admin! Sad but true - so
keep on top of it. Remember, you can subscribe
to this youtube channel and get an email alert
whenever a new video is posted. If you subscribe
you'll be able to contact me directly at the
"about" tab on the channel page.
Now, about that Google + community I was telling
you about. This YouTube channel is connected
to a Google + page (google own YouTube and
so these services are becoming increasingly
interconnected). You can find the page by
clicking on the icon on the banner of the
YouTube channel. On the page you'll find a
link to "Global Health Jobs and Consulting"
community. If you're looking for a consultant
or wanting to fill a vacancy, post the details
there. If you're looking for global health
work, I'm hoping that this will become a place
that you can keep an eye on existing opportunities.
I hope that this was helpful. Until next time,
thanks for listening, keep well, don't do
drugs, always do your best, don't ever change
cos we love you just the way you are. Talk
to you soon.
