Here are 6 important actions to take as a public health student. It’s been a wild time to be a student, and even more-so a public health student.
Not only have you had to deal with the whole unexpected online schooling, but the entire world was affected in one way or another by the pandemic. Which obviously spilled over to public health students. And on the other hand, you were alive during a global pandemic – WOW, that’s so public health!
I hope you were able to tap into everything that is going on. and form your own opinions for what needs to be done. There is a lot that needs to be done.
There has been an increase in public health school applications. From as much as 75%, but on average about 20% from a sample of 100 MPH programs. Needless to say, public health is underfunded and now there is going to be more competition.
There is the potential for more funding to come to public health as well as new jobs emerging in unlikely fields.
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1. Be Proactive
In all that you do, please be proactive. There are going to be numerous opportunities for you to learn, network, and grow. Take the initiative and put yourself in the position to have more opportunities.
Luck is just what happens when preparation meets opportunity – so prepare yourself for the oncoming opportunities.
A lot of people see me and my unique fellowship experience I got. But they didn’t see me being proactive in looking at jobs an entire summer before I graduated. You didn’t see me take on opportunities that stretched me during my MPH. You didn’t see me doing so much learning of opportunities in public health instead of just focusing on your school work.
Coursework will get you so far, but beyond that you have to be proactive to achieve all that you can. Be proactive in learning and everything else will fall under that. Grow your curiosity for public health – there is so much out there to learn about.
2. Do More, Not Less
Yes, you are a public health student. However, the aim of any student is to get a job/career after graduation. I say this and yet so many people want to just have a 4.0 GPA with no real world experiences – don’t keep yourself back like that.
As public health becomes more competitive, doing more is going to be essential to set yourself apart. Remember burnout is a thing so pace yourself!
Take on that leadership role, volunteer at that community event, reach out for informational interviews, take on an extra internship, just do more. Start applying to jobs a full semester before you graduate. Start looking at jobs well before then. Ask professors and other professionals about opportunities.
The public health students positioned to get the most out of their schooling are the ones that are doing more work that is aligned with their future aspirations; they are actively working on strengthen key skills they know will be important for the next step of their career.
The day of my last interview with my Community Health Fellowship site, I was coming from a professional development series that UF hosted for free – you know I spoke about it in the interview. How many other MPH students do you think attended these free sessions? ZERO – do more, not less. Being like everyone isn’t going to get you where you want to be.
3. Build Your LinkedIn Network
It has been a pandemic of a time over the last year or so. It has realized the value of the professional social media site, LinkedIn. Thus, you need to get on LinkedIn.
Check out these post I wrote earlier: “Why Should I be on LinkedIn? 7 Reasons,” “How to set up an Effective LinkedIn Profile.”
Lots more on LinkedIn coming soon so make sure you are tuned into The Public Health Millennial on some platform.
I always tell people LinkedIn is a great resource to do professional stalking to see person’s career journey. Think about that, you can get access to information on the entire career journey of someone from just going on their profile. You don’t even have to connect with them. But if it is someone that you do see will be valuable to your network (and you valuable to theirs) then send a connection WITH A SHORT NOTE.
Not only is LinkedIn a great place to build your network, but also it is a great place to start building brand and authority in public health. Both my fellowship and current employer checked my LinkedIn profile out. Optimize your LinkedIn and be ready for the world of value.
Key note: building your network does not mean you send 500 request to people that have very little relevancy to your field, life, or future aspirations. The more intentional you are about creating real relationships instead of sending meaningless connection request, the more valuable your network will be to you.
4. Start Job Searching Now
The first question I usually ask public health students is if they currently have any job alerts on. For the most part the answer is no, and this makes we want to cry!
The amount of information you gain from just reading job postings are invaluable. How are you going to know of new innovative jobs or skillsets that would be important in your aspirational role? How are you going to know what sorts of professionals you should expand your network to include? You can know all this and more from having job alerts on.
Even if you are not ready for a job right now, the information that you get from job alerts can be used to better understand what the public health landscape is looking for in terms of skillsets. Use this as an opportunity to learn and to network – reach out to persons of interest and do informational interviews.
If you have not as yet, be sure to sign up for the Public Health Recruitment Networks:
- The Public health Network (Episode 343 of the podcast with Brooke Mootry, MPH)
- Onboard Health Talent Network (Episode 47 of the podcast with André Blackman)
5. Think Outside The Box
Public health is at a point where there is likely to be much more funding coming to it in the near future. As well the pandemic showing the importance of having people trained in public health in nontraditional public health career tracks.
Let’s now be real, public health is dire need of a facelift! What has been, needs to have been and we need to INNOVATE MORE in public health to get the outcomes we need.
There is going to be the opportunity for you to take what has been and merge it with new creative ideas.
Take courses outside of public health (online or through your school), do case competitions, join debates, start clubs, join nontraditional clubs, learn about public health intersectionalities. You have and should have the opportunity to use the competencies you have gained and add your new vision to how it translates in our 2021 world.
Now more than ever, unconventional means to get to the end of better health are necessary. Don’t just learn your coursework, think outside the box.
6. Be Exceptional
You need to be working towards being exceptional in one or a few skillsets. Find out what you’re good at doing, see how it matches with what the job market wants, and find opportunities to strengthen those skills or get experiences that you can put on your resume.
The sooner you are able to recognize your own superpower, the better! You will be able to leverage this information you know to better inform the opportunities you take on.
Or it may be that you want to build superpower skillsets in something that you have no experience in right now. Well that’s great you are thinking about it now. Now you can actualize what you skills you need to build. This is extremely helpful, as it gives you a model for which you can assess various opportunities and your willingness to commit to them.
I didn’t get my community health fellowship by just taking what came my way – I went out and took on an extra internship when I didn’t have to. I tried to place myself in spaces where I could get closer to persons that would help me with recommendations, i.e. program director, internship preceptors, and professors.
What can you work on to be exceptional at?
Conclusion
Public health students have the opportunity now to take on the challenges that have plagued communities for decades. There has also been a huge increase in interest in public health field of work as a result of the pandemic.
You as a public health student need to do more right now to step your game up to get where you want to. The competition in the public health field is going to become more difficult – its a numbers game. However, public health skillsets are positioned to be greatly needed now and into the future.
Here are the 6 actions you could take right now as a public health student:
- Be Proactive
- Do More, Not Less
- Build Your LinkedIn Network
- Start Job Searching Now
- Think Outside The Box
- Be Exceptional
Which one of these actions are you going to follow through with?
