Building professional networks and connections in health professions

Networking

USAID is a government agency with the express mission of ending global poverty. Because poverty is multifaceted, the organization focuses on various dimensions of social, economic, and political justice including food security, education, democracy and its institutions, human rights, gender equality, water rights, and global health. It is the latter area, global health, which has become my area of special interest. The reason why I selected USAID over other global health organizations is because I am interested in learning how a government agency handles the various aspects of resource allocation and service delivery.

Therefore, I decided to follow USAID on social media as well as visiting their official website for information about their global health programs. The official USAID website includes sections under "What We Do," which includes a section on global health. Here, the reader learns about current news stories related to global health, with an emphasis on success stories. The overall message inspires readers to participate in USAID programs because there is the potential to make an impact on global health in various regions and various health sectors. For example, child mortality rates have decreased significantly, as have maternal mortality rates. Vaccination programs and disease reduction is also mentioned.

The social media presence for USAID includes Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. On LinkedIn, USAID makes it clear who they are, what they do, and what they stand for, which is important because it is a government organization expressly required to "further American interests" while also "improving lives in the developing world." Here, I learned that USAID uses less than one percent of the federal budget and works in over one hundred countries. Through the LinkedIn page, USAID lists opportunities for career development including internships. Their mission and values are clearly listed so that potential applicants and prospective employees understand the full gamut of their work. Vacancy announcements are included here, as well, making LinkedIn a go-to social networking website for those interested in building their career with USAID in any sector like global health.

Both the Twitter and Facebook accounts for USAID look similar, and it appears they may be managed or updated simultaneously and by the same group of social media managers. Both include the same background image, and recent posts. However, the Facebook page is updated less frequently than the Twitter account. The Facebook page has 420,972 likes and counting. There are even more followers of USAID on Twitter, at over 480,000. Links to articles and success stories are included, but there is less information about job searching than on the LinkedIn page. At the same time, the global reach of Twitter and Facebook are huge, lending the reader access to innumerable potential contacts.