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.