Professional Development at MHESA

• Purpose: The Professional Development team leads workshops, hosts events, and facilitates opportunities for MHESA members to grow their professional skills and preparation as they secure internships, fellowships, and jobs. We focus on the entire range of professional growth, from evaluating industry sub-sectors for interest and value alignment, to networking, to resume and interview preparation, and everything in between. 

• Overview of Career Development Resources: Working in tandem with the University of Michigan's School of Public Health Career Center and the Health Management and Policy Department's internship coordinator, MHESA PD ensures any gaps in career development are being quickly and adequately filled as graduate students conduct their job search process. We aggregate and make accessible existing career development resources, and ensure templates and guidebooks are generated for student use as needed. We strive to be a key, student-centric piece of the career development resource ecosystem that exists at UM SPH. 

• Career Resources: MHESA PD also serves as a facilitator of resources and opportunities. As internship, fellowship, and full-time opportunities become available to students, the PD team aims to aggregate and disseminate relevant resources and deadlines.  

• Mentorship and Coaching Programs: In Fall 2024, MHESA PD hosted the first-of-its-kind internship preparation workshop series. This consisted of six sessions designed specifically for the first-year internship search, based on preparation gaps identified by previous MHSA/MPH cohorts. The program solicited record-breaking first-year participation, and qualitative feedback suggested this program added value to the first year experience. Sessions included:

Overview of the Graduate Recruiting Process

Aligning Values to Internship Search

Application Strategies and Best Practices

Networking and LinkedIn

Resume and Cover Letter

How to tell your story - Interview Preparation