Looking for a job as a monitoring and evaluation expert is complex. At each step you take — writing a resume to capture your M&E skills, drafting a cover letter that’s tailored to meet your monitoring and evaluation experience, networking, interviewing, negotiating your salary and more — there are a million different questions you could ask.

While we can’t answer all of the questions in a single article, we can attempt to address some of the more frequent questions that come up. After poring over EvalCommunity members and M&E partners, Quora, Google and other sites, we drafted a list of some of the most commonly asked job search questions — here are the results.

FAQ #1. How long should I make my cover letter and/or resume? #

Your cover letter should be no more than one page in length. It should explain who you are as an M&E professional and why you’re the best candidate for the job. It needs to be very concise, yet keep the hiring manager wanting to learn more. If you go any longer than a page, the person reading it will get bored.

Your resume should also be limited to one page, especially if you’ve been in the workforce for a short amount of time. Hiring managers spend only 6 seconds looking through your resume, so it’s important to keep it to one page filled with strong keywords to stand out.

FAQ #2. What are the most important things to include in my resume? #

Some essential things to include in your resume are: your name, contact information, education history, work or internship experience, and related skills. All of these details should be tailored for each individual job application. Additionally, you can include professional organizations and special awards if you think they’re relevant. You can read our article on How To Write a Letter Of Interest For a Monitoring and Evaluation Job to better equip yourself on how to write a resume that’s tailored to a monitoring and evaluation expert. 

FAQ #3. Should I apply for a job even if I don’t have the specified experience? #

Absolutely! If you think you can handle the job requirements, it never hurts to apply for the position. Whether you have fewer years of experience in M&E than they’re asking, or you are missing one of the hard skills mentioned, these don’t necessarily rule you out from landing the job. Skills can be learned on the job, and if you’re the best candidate, years of experience won’t matter in the end. Just don’t lie and say you have the qualifications when you don’t.

FAQ #4. How should I address a hiring manager whose name I can’t find? #

Sometimes the name of the hiring manager won’t be listed in the job description. If it’s a small company, you might be able to find a name on their website or through a quick Google search. But if after searching you still can’t find the name, you should begin your cover letter: “Dear Hiring Manager.”

FAQ #5. How long should I wait before following up? #

If you don’t hear back from an interviewer right away, don’t follow up again until after the interviewer’s deadline has passed. If the date passes and you still haven’t heard anything, send a brief follow-up to remind the interviewer about your Monitoring and Evaluation qualifications and interest in the open job. After that first follow-up, you can follow up again every 7-10 days, up to two more times, for a total of three follow-ups. If you still haven’t heard back, you should move on.

Read Also: How To Follow Up On A Job Application 

FAQ #6. Should I write a thank you letter by hand or in an email? #

This is a personal preference. Either works, but 89 percent of hiring managers are fine with an email note, and half of them actually prefer it. Just be sure to personalize the note. Remind your interviewer who you are, how much you want the job, and why you’re the best person for it.

FAQ #7. What exactly is a personal brand and why do I need one? #

A personal brand is how we market ourselves to others. It is your professional reputation and it is defined by your goals and accomplishments. During the job search, you need to take charge of your own personal brand because it affects how employers see you. In a job market where everything takes place online, your reputation is especially important for landing a job.

FAQ #8. Where is the best place to find a job? #

There are lots of options for finding a job as a monitoring and evaluation professional, and one is not necessarily better than the others. You can find monitoring and evaluation jobs on mass job boards like EvalCommunity, LinkedIn, or smaller, niche job boards. You can go directly to the company’s website or social media. Additionally, 44 percent of new hires are made from employee referrals. It’s important to utilize all of these methods to find the most job opportunities.

FAQ #9. I have multiple offers. Which one should I take? #

If you have more than one offer on the table to choose from, congratulations! While choosing between two offers can be stressful, there are certainly worse problems to have. The key is to be fair and systematic in your decision so that you can make the best decision according to your priorities.

In order to make sense of two different offers, it is important to compare more than just the salary. Using the information from your follow-up questions, or from your own independent research, make two separate lists that consider the following traits for each position:

• Salary
• Benefits
• Job responsibilities (and how excited you are to get started!)
• Upward mobility within the company
• Flexibility of work and deadlines
• Degree of autonomy
• Location (factors such as traffic, parking, and distance)
• Company culture
• Work environment

Be sure to follow up quickly and professionally with the other company once you have secured your position with the company you chose. It’s a simple matter of courtesy and keeps the door open for future opportunities.

Key Takeaways #

There you have it! Use these 9 FAQs as a guide if you are looking to secure a job as a monitoring and evaluation professional. The FAQs are pulled from the best experts’ opinions in the M&E industry.