Medical group offers field experience to the resolute

Afghanistan, Pakistan, Darfur, Iraq-name any global hot spot and the International Medical Corps will likely be there. “We work in places where not many organizations are willing [to go],” said Cornelia Simpson, IMC’s director of international human resources. This means that even in a recession, IMC staffing is stable and even growing, albeit slowly. Simpson said the global medical aid and training organization continues to hire staff for its domestic and large overseas operations. IMC was created in response to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., with an office in Washington, the organization is heavily field-based, with approximately 2,000 employees overseas and 100 in the United States. A reliance on field-based personnel Most IMC staff works for the organization on a full-time basis. Full-time field opportunities include positions requiring specific medical skills: registered nurses and midwives, doctors and surgeons, and mental health specialists. But there are some field positions that do not require as deep a medical background. These positions include operations manager, security personnel, and financial officers. Positions located in the United States may include human resource, program development and communication officers, in addition to specialists in health fields such as HIV/AIDS and reproductive health. All staff, internship and volunteer opportunities are posted on IMC’s Web site. Volunteers Although IMC does not rely on volunteers as much as full-time staff, the need for rapid volunteer deployment arises during emergencies such as the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. Because of the grave assignments, volunteers are usually experienced medical professionals that have volunteered with IMC during past emergencies. They must also be willing to be deployed within 72 hours’ notice for two to eight weeks; those who are ready for longer durations are given preference. IMC also accepts applications from non-medical volunteers. These volunteers are required to work in the field during emergencies for a minimum of two months. They can be trained professionals or those interested in starting a career in the non-governmental sector. Although these positions are not common, selected non-medical volunteers are sometimes paid their travel expenses and they receive per diem, shared housing, and medical evacuation insurance. Simpson said that some IMC staffers join the organization full-time by first working as volunteers. IMC places a premium on fieldwork experience and flexibility, attributes that can be honed as a volunteer. Internships Internships are another highly competitive route that applicants can use to get their foot in the door at IMC. These positions are located in the Santa Monica or Washington offices. Washington interns work with desk officers and regional coordinators, and typically have backgrounds in public health. Many interns are from graduate programs at universities in the Washington area, such as George Washington University. Most interns in the Santa Monica office work in IMC’s communication department and assist in research, writing, and facilitating outreach events. Many of them have public health backgrounds and are students at the University of California in Los Angeles, which is located only a few miles from IMC’s Santa Monica office. Although a background in the health and medical arena is helpful, IMC staff said internships are flexible. Interns need not be health experts, according to Crystal Wells, IMC’s communication officer. “Our services are so diverse,” Wells said. “There are a lot of different areas to find your interest.” International experience desired, passion for the mission required Although IMC typically recruits professionals with training in public health or the medical field, a major part of IMC’s mission is providing health care training and building capacity. This means it is not always necessary to have a health background to join the organization. IMC seeks individuals with experience in fields such as community development and mobilization that can be put to work in building capacity and imparting skills. Nevertheless, field positions require a minimum of two years’ professional international experience and foreign language skills. Given IMC’s major projects in francophone Africa, Wells said that knowledge of French is particularly helpful. International experience “would also be something to play up,” she added. Mid- and upper-level field positions require deeper international experience. Program officer positions can require three to five years’ experience and country director posts may demand twice that amount. Applicants with specialization in regions where IMC has major presence-such as Africa and the Middle East-and knowledge of applicable languages would have an advantage among applicants for overseas field positions. While a health background might not be an absolute prerequisite, being a self-starter and possessing the ability to cope with hardship posts are crucial attributes. “We want people that are entrepreneurial, that can work in tough places … People that want to be in the field where the action is,” Simpson said. But even having overseas experience is not an absolute prerequisite as compared to possessing a genuine passion for IMC’s mission. “We have to see a desire in that person that they want to work in international development,” Simpson said. “People make up reasons that they want to go overseas and you have to be able to detect that. Some people want to go to tough sites because they pay well.” Wells, who has been with IMC for more than a year, shared Simpson’s view. “You need to show a genuine interest,” Wells said. Applicants that do not have extensive overseas experience would probably have more opportunity applying to IMC’s U.S.-based positions. Although international experience is also a definite plus for these posts, it is not required for all of them. IMC encourages staff in Washington and Santa Monica to rotate into the field to give them a holistic experience of its work. Thus, joining the organization at headquarters and performing well can be a path toward working in overseas sites. “We want to have people that stay with us long-term and can move from site to site so when one program closes we can move them to a different country,” Simpson said. Important in hiring: Passion and practicality Prior to joining IMC, Wells’s only nonprofit experience was as a volunteer-she traveled to South and Southeast Asia upon graduating from Boston University with a degree in business administration and communications in 2007. But she also had experience in public relations and marketing, having worked with cosmetics giant Elizabeth Arden in London and international public relations firm Ogilvy and Mather. She applied for the position of communication officer in October 2007. “A few days [after submitting the application], I had an e-mail in my inbox from the recruiter,” Wells said. The e-mail contact led to two phone interviews with IMC staff within two weeks of applying for the job. The first interview was a brief session with the hiring manager to gather basic information on Wells’s background. Wells believed her marketing experience spurred IMC to respond to her employment query so rapidly. “They were interested in marketing IMC as a product and building a brand,” Wells said. A phone interview with a senior communications officer followed. During the interview, Wells was asked to review the latest IMC newsletter and provide feedback. “They asked me what I would change, what I liked, and what ideas I had,” Wells said. An in-person interview was set up, and several weeks later, Wells found herself at IMC’s Santa Monica headquarters. IMC flew Wells to Santa Monica from her home state, Colorado, for a a writing test and a half-hour in-person interview with a senior communications department manager. Wells said the series of interviews was challenging but friendly. The questions, she added, focused on her ability to write under pressure and meet deadlines. “If a cyclone happens in Myanmar, they want to get a press release out in a couple hours,” Wells said. “It’s important to emphasize the ability to multitask and get things done quickly, but with high quality.” Still, a passion for the mission is at least as important as previous experience. “Interest in the developing world is a must,” Wells aid. “It’s really important to understand the mission and the work that they do.” For the writing test, Wells had to write a press release and feature story within an hour. “I flew back [to Colorado] that night,” Wells said. “They contacted me the next week and offered me the job.” The whole hiring process lasted about two months, and after a mandatory criminal background check, Wells started at IMC in January 2008. Wells and Simpson said for those who join IMC, the experience will probably be unlike any other professional environment they’ve been in. The team atmosphere and the challenging environment in the field generate a unique chemistry among employees. “People love to work here because of the team environment,” Simpson said. Wells believes that working at IMC headquarters prepares staff for transitioning to the field-a path she wants to follow herself. “There’s always that option here,” Wells said. “Apply for a job in country and learn as much as you can, and the opportunity will present itself.” Read more global health career advice: - Global Health Jobs: What You Need to Know - USAID Offers Twin Options for Global Health Exposure - Medical Group Offers Field Experience to the Resolute - US Fellowships in Global Health: What You Need to Know - Top Global Health Schools: A Primer - Health Foundation Hires Foreigners in Geneva - Getting Hired at International Medical Corps Read more career advice articles.