We take students with initiative, not necessarily experience.
This is exactly how we recruit for our Halad missions
We’re still in Year 1 of running Halad to Health missions to Philippines and, every day, are blown away by the number of university students messaging us wanting to apply for our Winter and Summer missions.
Genuinely, this whole thing started out as a passion project between a group of friends trying to see if we could make a difference with our health-related degrees; and now we screen over 100 applications for a handful of positions on our mission trips (which, honestly, are still a work in progress themselves).
What I think is most incredible part though, is that whilst we were going through this exponential growth (aka what the heck are we doing?) phase; we were all still university students ourselves too … we just happened to have the privileged opportunity to be sitting on the other side of the table.
As a student, I was always curious what my interviewers were really thinking.So now that we’ve had the opportunity to be out of the hot seat, we decided to completely open source our key selection criteria and what we’re thinking when we meet new applicants.
1. Don’t just communicate…OVER-communicate
Every waking hour of the mission, our students are working in teams, whether it be with each other or local students from Philippines (who almost certainly aren’t accustomed to our good-old Aussie accents). So we look for individuals who understand how they effectively communicate, especially during times of conflict and inevitable misunderstandings.
If you’re out of your depth, do you stay quiet? Just wing it somehow? Phone a friend? Or communicate that you’ll figure it out in the end and just need some help getting there?
2. Thrive on taking initiative
At Google HQ, recruiters watch if candidates have the initiative to clear your own tray after lunch. We’re not that creepy, but we do watch for people who enjoy taking the reins and making a task their own.
If you’re given a one-liner brief, will you ask clarifying questions? Ask for step-by-step instructions? Do some independent research? Or go above and beyond what is required?
3. Unwavering confidence
There are several occasions our students need to meet and work with key people; from medical directors to city mayors. We recognise that it is easy to feel intimidated and possibly nervous. But we look for exceptional students who will be confident with who they are and proud of their early achievements no matter who they are speaking to. Our students are never “just students”; they’re so much more.
If you’re dining with the city mayor, will you feel apprehensive? Change the way you introduce yourself? Start a conversation? Or try find common ground?
4. Stewardship above all else
Ultimately, the core to why you want to join our mission is a belief that everyone has a duty to serve others. By always paying it forward and sharing our own blessings, it multiplies them. At the end of the day, we don’t ask anything of our volunteers in return because we know they will inevitably pay it forward in the future for the opportunity they are given in these early days.
When you return back to Australia, will your experience end then and there? Will you share your experience with others? Or will you seek to do more for others with the platform you now have?
5. Culturally aware
There are differences in cultures; not a hierarchy of differences. That’s it.
How will you communicate with a non-English speaker? Will you invest time in getting to know the locals? Or will you stick to what is within your comfort zone?
We focus on taking students who crave showing initiate and want to build a meangingful program with us… students who understand that the impact Halad is making today is merely just the tip of the iceberg; and the bigger picture is the potential of making a world of difference together.
At the end of the day we ask the question: if we were literally stuck on an island for 2 weeks (which, we technically are), would we want to spend that time working with you?
We’ve been on the other side, we’re totally with you on this… just make it easy for us to say yes!
Applications for our next Summer missions (12–25 Jan/ 25 Jan-10 Feb) are now open and close 5pm EST Sunday 6 October.
You can apply for our next mission here or learn more about our missions here.
Always feel free to reach out via info@haladtohealth.org.
Eliza Li
