At my birthday dinner last month with my family, I received a buzz on my phone.
This was rare for a Saturday evening, so I took a break from dinner to check my phone to see what it was.
Turns out…
I was offered a consultancy for a UN agency.
That was a nice way to cap off my birthday celebrations.
As part of my work for this new consultancy, I reviewed 60 applications received for 6-8 open opportunities last week.
Here’s what I learned.
There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.
We often “feel” like certain trends happen to us.
But when we look at the hard data – do they actually play out?
Let’s find out.
When I started in international development, it was common for people from the so-called “Global North” to win most of the mid- to senior-level positions.
There are many good and less-good explanations for this.
Often, education was stronger. Countries funding positions played a role in which nationals won jobs. Blatant discrimination existed.
But things are changing.
Knowing interest in key search words over time and where they are most popular can help you navigate your development job search.
Google Trends allows us some interesting insights into these two areas.
Stay tuned to the end to see how these searches have evolved — and what it could mean for your job search strategy.