After so many years of hard work to complete your university degree, it can sometimes feel a bit unfair when the skies do not simply open up and rain down job offers your way. Luckily, however, savvy development experts know that mastering a few simple steps is the key to unlocking awesome job opportunities and a lifetime building a career that you seek.
Whether you’re a development expert from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nepal, Malaysia, or somewhere else in South Asia, we have put together a handy list of useful tips for finding lucrative partnerships, consulting gigs, and job opportunities so that you can make the most of your hard-earned university degree(s) and certifications.
Tip #1. Networking strategies
Long gone are the days where job seekers could solely rely on posted vacancies or “job wanted” advertisements. These days, the ability to form and maintain a network of peers, mentors, and leaders is essential for unlocking career opportunities. Not only can a well-developed network inform you about unadvertised positions, but it can also help you form partnerships that may blossom into lucrative collaborations.
For development experts, the best place to network is the DevelopmentAid platform where tens of thousands of your peers and leaders in the field come together to exchange ideas, news, form consortia, and information about the latest trends and best practices in the aid sector. Whether you are just starting on your path in sustainable development or have years of experience, the DevelopmentAid platform is the ideal place to network with fellow experts, peers, organizations, institutions, and agencies that, collectively, are working to make the planet a better place for us all.
Not only does DevelopmentAid’s platform for experts give you a wide range of tools for networking and new connections, but it is also the first place where companies, donors, and funding institutions go when they are in search of someone with the specialized skills, experience, and education that sustainable development projects require.
In short, signing up to the DevelopmentAid platform for experts is a signal to the world that you are a full-fledged member of the special field that is implementing, monitoring, and assessing sustainable development projects.
Tip #2. Tailoring resumes for specific opportunities
With all of the advances in technology and automation, many of donor agencies, institutions, and funding organizations in the sustainable development field use specialized software to scan the resumes (CVs) of candidates, consultants, and partners. As such, resumes that do not meet their technical requirements or prerequisites are often discarded before a single human even lays eyes on them.
This is why, as a savvy development expert from South Asia, you must understand the importance of tailoring your resume for each job opportunity. A tailored resume not only ensures that your CV meets the technical and formatting requirements of the prospective employer but also that it is presented in a clean, easy-to-read way that will both pass the muster of CV scanning software as well as the very human recruiters and hiring managers.
See also: CV tailoring – one big step towards landing your dream job
Of course, tailoring your resume for dozens of potential career opportunities can be a lengthy task. That is why DevelopmentAid’s platform for experts offers a powerful CV tailoring service, which will result in your resume fitting the standards of major donors and funding institutions in the sustainable development world. And for those experts who find that their CV isn’t attracting the attention it merits, DevelopmentAid offers a CV revision service where an in-house expert in resumes will help you polish and format your CV so that your achievements, qualifications, and experience really shine for recruiters and hiring managers.
Tip #3. Following and adapting to industry trends
Sometimes, it might feel as though learning comes to an end once you achieve your degree and are handed your diploma. But successful development experts from across South Asia know that it is essential to stay abreast of the latest news, best practices, and trends in the field in order to maintain and build a successful career.
One of the best ways to remain current with trends in the field of sustainable development is by becoming a member of DevelopmentAid’s platform for experts. With customizable news alerts, you can stay informed with regular dispatches by email about current events, and DevelopmentAid’s platform also regularly publishes editorials, interviews, and webinars with leaders across the entire spectrum of sustainable development.
For a more in-depth understanding of industry trends in sustainable development, DevelopmentAid’s platform also offers members access to white papers, country and agency strategy documents, and data-rich analyses of reports from United Nations agencies, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), USAID, GIZ, JICA, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and the UK as well as multilateral development banks such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), the IMF. Whether it is “big picture” reports from the UN or detailed regional strategies from Australia’s DFAT, the DevelopmentAid expert platform is the best place for experts from South Asia to stay abreast of all of the latest trends in the field.
Conclusion
In today’s fast-paced, highly dynamic environment, it is not always easy for development experts from South Asia to have the time to stay informed of the latest developments, network with peers and industry leaders, and ensure that their CVs meet all of the requirements from donor agencies and other funding institutions looking for qualified professionals to fill open positions, form partnerships, and consult on projects.
Thankfully, DevelopmentAid’s platform for individual experts is the ideal forum for South Asian professionals to unlock lucrative career opportunities, all from one place. With a range of affordable membership packages available, DevelopmentAid offers individual consultants a suite of powerful tools, services, and information streams so that they can land their dream jobs and heed their calling to serve humanity, reduce poverty, combat inequality, and ensure that the world is a better place for us all.
See also: Five tips for development experts from the Pacific who want a career boost
DevelopmentAid is the global leader in information services and tools for experts working in the field of sustainable development, so it makes sense that becoming a member today is truly the golden key to unlocking a lifetime of remunerative and satisfying career opportunities.
