How To Have A Successful M&E Career Without Any Experience
Is Monitoring and Evaluation your dream career but you have zero experience and don’t know where to start?
Perhaps you want to shift from project management to Monitoring and evaluation but lack the certification and experience.
If you look at most job vacancies in the M&E field, they require that an applicant have at least 2 years of experience. How do you ensure that you get a Monitoring and evaluation job in Kenya with little or no experience?
- Create Opportunities In Your Current Job
I will use Mary as an example. She works as a community development officer in an NGO facilitating educational development of children. Having handled various projects in her role, she is looking to make a career shift into full-time M&E. She could handle a mid-term evaluation of the education development program and present it to her manager.
If there is a dedicated M&E team, shadowing them by observing, taking notes, and asking questions will help her gain experience in monitoring and evaluation.
- Volunteer
Look into your network and find a seasoned professional whom you can assist. You could volunteer to do data entry for example through which you can ask questions and learn more about monitoring and evaluation.
Before engaging the seasoned M&E expert, be sure that you are willing to start small and grow. Volunteering offers priceless M&E experience and valuable connections.
- Join M&E Professional Networks
As a job candidate, membership in an industry association boosts your chances of landing a job. Associations provide a platform to network and learn new opportunities and the latest industry trends.
- Re-skill And Upskill
Gain certification in M&E as proof to employers that you can implement what you have learned. Coupled with either job or volunteer experience, your chances of advancing your career are higher.
Learning the practical skills in class gives you the confidence to execute functions of monitoring and evaluation because you are already experienced. Acquire formal certification in monitoring and evaluation and get trained on research skills, participatory methodologies, and statistics, and highlight these skills in a job interview.
- Apply For Available Jobs
There is never a perfect candidate for any job vacancy; most employers can testify to this. Also, what are the chances of competing for an entry-level position with a seasoned professional? Very slim. Look at the latest jobs and apply for those you qualify for without doubting yourself. However, this does not mean you should apply for senior-level roles yet you have entry-level skills.
In conclusion, be keen to learn everything you need to about the industry and M&E jobs. This will prepare you for your career and also help with networking and interviews. It will be exhausting but worth your while.