Public Health Resource Guide
resume formatting, cover letters, and a clear mindset
If you are on the public health job hunt, I hope this resource guide provides you with the information you seek!
Resume Template 📄
I follow the standard 2-page resume template for all public health job applications. There are four sections: Summary, Education, Employment, and Leadership/ Volunteer Experience (which I learned from Public Health Hired). I’ve been interviewed and given job offers by following this resume format. I start by reading the job description I’m applying for and creating a custom resume for each job applied. I rewrite the work experience bullet points to include key terms from the job description. It’s a matter of presenting my experience in the organization’s language.
Yes, it’s time-consuming, but hey - quality over quantity!
Cover Letter ✍️
Cover letters allow applicants to describe, without restraint, their experience relating to the role and why they're the ideal candidate. Here's what I like to do:
Attach a 1-page cover letter with my application, providing a high-level recap of my experience as described in my resume and additional details, particularly related to soft skills.
Customize cover letters for each application.
Tip💡: Organize pre-written/ submitted cover letters by role type. These will provide a readymade template for future applications since certain public health roles require specific skills or competencies. For example, a program evaluator should be well-versed in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis; a biostatistician should be familiar with statistical software like SAS or Stata.
Take Your Time ⌛
Take your time with public health job applications. It may take more than 30 minutes to carefully read the job description and customize your resume and cover letter. Additionally, some applications ask you specific questions, like Describe your experience with research methods or Do you have governmental work experience? If yes, please describe in 150-200 words. These questions are yet another chance to prove you are eligible for the role and have the experience (and writing skills) to prove it.
Mindset 🧠
Applying for jobs is time-consuming, stressful, and not fun, especially when there’s a fast-approaching deadline. When I first began applying for full-time positions, I selected a specific niche — violence prevention — and stuck with that field. This immediately limited my opportunities, but I was persistent that I landed a role I was passionate about. I’m sure a majority of public health folks can resonate. As someone with a 0-unread email inbox across her many personal and work emails, you can only imagine how obsessive I became about searching for jobs and checking my emails (inbox and spam) throughout the day. That habit paid its toll. I had to have a mentally sustainable plan. Job searching and applications took enough time out of my day that I did not have to dig deeper holes. What I started doing instead was looking for jobs on specific days of the week and giving myself a break every other week to clear my mind. Job postings for external applicants typically stayed for at least two weeks, so I had adequate time to work on my applications.
Read more public health content 💻
Public health is all about the community, so I want to give a shout-out to
for regularly posting public health jobs and internship opportunities!