How to identify target employers when searching for development jobs

For some, the idea of a job search involves searching job boards for positions they might be interested in and submitting an application. Chances are this approach isn’t leading to many responses from recruiters. “Typically, when people are job searching, they're going to online job boards. And they're just seeing what's open, and that can be incredibly limiting because everyone's going for those jobs,” said Stephanie Mansueto, a career coach and a principal recruiter with Abt Global Inc., during a recent Devex digital careers event. “So before you even start searching online, you want to put together your target list of employers.” To help job seekers equip themselves with all they need to find success during their job search, Mansueto offered strategies and practices for all stages of the job-hunting process, starting with how to identify the employers that you should prioritize applying to. Here, Mansueto explained how to take a tiered approach to this critical stage of the job hunt. Tier 1: Top choices and well-known organizations For many, this is the easiest tier to put together, as you likely have a good idea of the organizations that are known to be leading employers in your area of expertise. You should also include entities that “you’ve had direct experience with,” Mansueto said, as in most cases, this will give you an advantage over those who do not. A mistake some job seekers make is to only focus on this initial tier, “but what I encourage people to do is also create a list that expands into your tier 2, or tier 3,” she said, as this can greatly expand your options, including bringing awareness to relevant organizations that you otherwise would not consider. Tier 2: Lesser-known but relevant organizations At this stage, your goal is expanding your list based on your specific experience and looking at related or partner organizations based on who you’ve previously worked for, including volunteer experience or internships for those early in their careers. For example, if you have experience working in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and “you've got experience with global health programs and with USAID … you want to look at who are some other implementers that work in the DRC,” Mansueto explained. Finding this information is often as simple as a Google search. Sticking with our example, a search that includes “USAID health programs” and “DRC” will lead you to “a list [of] the companies that are implementing these programs,” she said. By doing this, you’re likely to identify several organizations that you are familiar with and can consider for your second tier, but also ones you didn’t know of at all, which leads to the third and final tier. Tier 3: Completely unknown but relevant organizations By taking one further step on this compact research journey, you can discover additional organizations where your experience will likely be valued. Continuing with our example, looking at your search results, you may “see this organization, EngenderHealth. You haven't heard of them, but you're interested in their work, and you start to go on their website and see what types of programs … they have in the DRC, or in maybe West Africa, or other places where you have experience,” Mansueto explained. In a short amount of time, you’ve “just expanded your target employer list by 10 organizations,” she said, adding that, “You want to take the experience you have and use that as your jumping-off point for how to identify companies that you should look into, and you should apply to.” Ready to stand out from the crowd and get noticed by the recruiters who matter most? Update your Devex profile and start connecting with top global development recruiters now.