Top 7 career tips for global development professionals in 2022

Devex’s GlobalDev Careers series is an ongoing discussion with global development professionals that brings to the surface insider accounts of what it is truly like to work in various roles around the world. Given this unique opportunity to pick the brains of working development professionals, we always ask them for specific advice on what has helped them succeed in their roles and broadly within the sector. The following insights stood out to us this past year as some of the more useful tips that we hope will help those who are pursuing purpose-driven careers in 2022. Spend time abroad “Something that I regretfully didn't do and that I do encourage other people to do … is to spend some time overseas working with humanitarian programs, if you can. You'll better understand the challenges the people affected by the crisis and your colleagues, frankly, are facing and what issues can be unlocked at a local level versus a national level versus an international level to really change and improve people's lives.” — Lauren Post, former director of humanitarian aid policy, International Rescue Committee Strive to connect and stay flexible “The passion for my job, and my ability to network and bring others together to solve complex problems, has seen me through my years as an environment officer. Being flexible and being able to hear different points of view, especially in trying to understand why people act in certain ways, has also been important.” — Anne Dix, Botswana country representative, U.S. Agency for International Development Know your organization and mission well “Listen to and get to know other organizations and find the best ways to work together. Have patience. Consider your partner’s priorities and if your approach and goals will align to achieve more impactful results.” — Hanna Baldwin, partnerships director, StrongMinds Be sympathetic and empathetic “You have to be sympathetic to the people [you are] dealing with. [In] providing legal services advice, you need to be able to be patient, to listen to folks, and in some cases be aware that there are people who are coming up from Honduras, [for example] and have lived on a farm and are not really strong in their literacy. You'll have to take some extra time to explain [things] in a way that they can understand.” — Michael Gallagher, head of legal services, Jesuit Refugee Service Listen in order to explain “[The] number one [skill] is listening — listening to donors ... to the things that inspire them, the things that interest them, and finding ways to form a connection. And then a skill I'm always trying to build is communicating [so] figuring out better ways to explain [to donors] our work, its reach, and its importance.” — Lena Alfi, chief development officer, Malala Fund “We need the scientists [to produce information] ... But the most important activity after [that stage] ... is how to best translate that information into easy and comprehensive language and to identify the most pertinent channel to use in order to help the end-users have access to this information [when they need it most] ... to take better decisions.” — Yacine Fall, climate expert, NORCAP Pursue your passion “I encourage young people, especially women, because [there is a lack of women in] climate expertise ... to not be afraid [to pursue this interest]. I am not a climate scientist but can [still] support [and] contribute to the implementation of climate services.” — NORCAP’s Yacine Fall Gain field-level experience “Mostly what helps me is my field-level experience. Even if I was trained in everything and I know every nitty-gritty approach or what to do, it’s totally different when you go to the field. Field-level experience, nothing can beat it. So whenever you have a chance to be a volunteer or [do an] internship I would say just go because nothing can beat it. No matter how much theory-based learning you have, even a Ph.D., but field-level experience is the main thing that makes a difference.” — Sajia Mehjabeen, nutrition adviser, Concern Worldwide