2021 PHAP (CDC's Public Health Associate Program)

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I haven't received one yet either, but I'm sure it depends which staff member will be interviewing you! And it does say on the portal that they would be sent out a day before!
I was about to say- I just saw that! So it says on the portal it depends on the assigned reviewer. So it looks like some reviewers are just ahead of the game at the moment lol
 
Also are we supposed to do anything with it or just a confirmation?

also preparation, I have a LinkedIn connection from the CDC her name is Dr. Des..she works as Health Policy Analyst and she helps recent graduates but she’s been helping me get my resume on point lol but I messaged her to help me prepare so I would be more than willing to send y’all tips on what she said!!
That would be amazing and much appreciated! <3
 
I was about to say- I just saw that! So it says on the portal it depends on the assigned reviewer. So it looks like some reviewers are just ahead of the game at the moment lol
Exactly!! I'm trying so hard to be patient though so when I see other people are getting them I'm like where is mine!! lol
 
Also are we supposed to do anything with it or just a confirmation?

also preparation, I have a LinkedIn connection from the CDC her name is Dr. Des..she works as Health Policy Analyst and she helps recent graduates but she’s been helping me get my resume on point lol but I messaged her to help me prepare so I would be more than willing to send y’all tips on what she said!!
Would appreciate that!

Thank you!
 
Hello! I am new here! Congratulations to those who made it to the interview round! My interview is this Thursday at 11 am!
I have mine this friday at 11am but havent received a link yet. Fingers crossed it comes soon!
 
Just got my email! Mine is with a Richard Hedenquist. So definitely looks like they're getting to it when they can get to it!
 
Also are we supposed to do anything with it or just a confirmation?

also preparation, I have a LinkedIn connection from the CDC her name is Dr. Des..she works as Health Policy Analyst and she helps recent graduates but she’s been helping me get my resume on point lol but I messaged her to help me prepare so I would be more than willing to send y’all tips on what she said!!
I said yes to the invitation because I did not want to seem unresponsive (kinda overthinking there lol)
Also, I am interviewing with the same person! It seems each interviewer might be sending out invites in their own time.
 
I said yes to the invitation because I did not want to seem unresponsive (kinda overthinking there lol)
Also, I am interviewing with the same person! It seems each interviewer might be sending out invites in their own time.
OHH yes what day is yours??
 
Just answering some questions/comments I saw in this forum!

It is definitely possible to get your MPH online while in the program. Many people in my cohort are currently in school to get their MPH or other graduate degree. You just have to make sure you are managing your time properly. CDC does not allow you to do schoolwork while on duty so ensure you are giving yourself enough time at home and weekends to complete work/study. I was not a PHAPer when I completed my MPH but I did work full-time, so it is possible.

For the interview as many people have previously stated, it is a situational "name a time when" type of interview. Use the STAR method when answering your questions. Also, highlight things that makes you the best F.I.T. and try to tie in your love of Public Health. Also, have questions in mind for when it is time to ask. I used questions that are geared towards the program and one question directed towards the interviewer to create conversation. For my interview in particular there was a critical thinking question that basically asked "how would you implement a program in a community that you had different views from or had zero knowledge of"... that was the only wonky question I had! The interviewer I had did a GREAT job at calming my nerves. Also, do not underestimate the power of sending a "thank you" email after the interview 😉

The 2020 cohort is the largest cohort and we did have people come in late because of extra funding due to Covid! This will no longer be a thing. So they are planning on hiring the normal amount of associates 100-120ish.

I hoped this helped!
 
Just answering some questions/comments I saw in this forum!

It is definitely possible to get your MPH online while in the program. Many people in my cohort are currently in school to get their MPH or other graduate degree. You just have to make sure you are managing your time properly. CDC does not allow you to do schoolwork while on duty so ensure you are giving yourself enough time at home and weekends to complete work/study. I was not a PHAPer when I completed my MPH but I did work full-time, so it is possible.

For the interview as many people have previously stated, it is a situational "name a time when" type of interview. Use the STAR method when answering your questions. Also, highlight things that makes you the best F.I.T. and try to tie in your love of Public Health. Also, have questions in mind for when it is time to ask. I used questions that are geared towards the program and one question directed towards the interviewer to create conversation. For my interview in particular there was a critical thinking question that basically asked "how would you implement a program in a community that you had different views from or had zero knowledge of"... that was the only wonky question I had! The interviewer I had did a GREAT job at calming my nerves. Also, do not underestimate the power of sending a "thank you" email after the interview 😉

The 2020 cohort is the largest cohort and we did have people come in late because of extra funding due to Covid! This will no longer be a thing. So they are planning on hiring the normal amount of associates 100-120ish.

I hoped this helped!
Does PHAP determine final candidates solely based off of interview scores or is it an accumulation on scores from the personal statement + interview?
 
When do you guys think they will start calling AFTER the interview?
 
Ok, would it be weird to ask my interviewer a question SPECIFICALLY about something they are working in? Lowkey looked up my interviewer and found that what they are working in is actually my #1 choice in terms of what subject area I want to be involved in for PHAP and I wasn't sure if it would be weird if I brought that up lol
 
Ok, would it be weird to ask my interviewer a question SPECIFICALLY about something they are working in? Lowkey looked up my interviewer and found that what they are working in is actually my #1 choice in terms of what subject area I want to be involved in for PHAP and I wasn't sure if it would be weird if I brought that up lol
Absolutely not! Lol I’ve been trying to find my lady lol
 
Hey yall! I have my interview with Shixiu Wang this Staurday at 10am! Good luck to everyone!
 
So I got my invite for the interview but I don’t see any where that says I can click “yes”. Did you guys just open the link or open zoom? Like I have the link but nowhere to click accept
 
So I got my invite for the interview but I don’t see any where that says I can click “yes”. Did you guys just open the link or open zoom? Like I have the link but nowhere to click accept
Never mind I got it to work!! Had to use a different laptop lol
 
How did you accept it?
So I have a yahoo account and on the website it didn’t have an accept button. I had to basically add the account on the mail app on my laptop and then it had the accept button. Kind of how it is in outlook! But the email will disappear into the trash bin after so I would say make sure you move it back to your inbox after!
I’m also not 100% certain if you HAVE to accept the invite, I only did because I wasn’t too sure!
 
Just had my interview! It went well I think, I definitely rambled on one of the questions and was kicking myself 😭 but at least it's over now!
How many questions did they ask and were they tricky if you don't mind me asking? I'm so nervous for mine!
 
How many questions did they ask and were they tricky if you don't mind me asking? I'm so nervous for mine!
They started with a intro to the program, then they asked six questions I think, and 4 were scored and 2 were yes/no questions about my geographic/topic preferences. The questions weren't trick questions at all, pretty basic. One was basically tell me about yourself and why you want to do public health. Then how do yiu handle working on multiple projects with competing priorities. Then describe a time you had a challenging time working with supervisor or co workers and what did you learn. And then the last question was describe a project you worked on as part of a team and what did you learn. And then you got to ask questions at the end!
 
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Hi yall!! This thread motivated me to finally make an account on sdn, congrats to everyone who has an interview coming up!

I could really use some advice because I am slightly freaking myself out, I have an interview on Monday with Kimberly Cantrell, who I can't find a whole lot of info for but from what I could gather, she's associated with tribal support/health. I indicated on my application that I would NOT prefer to work on a reservation or rural setting, so I'm worried that my interviewer is going to be working in an area that I don't want to work in and that could make things awkward :nailbiting:! Does anyone else have similar concerns for their interview or are these interviewers randomly assigned and I'm just freaking out for no reason?
 
Hi yall!! This thread motivated me to finally make an account on sdn, congrats to everyone who has an interview coming up!

I could really use some advice because I am slightly freaking myself out, I have an interview on Monday with Kimberly Cantrell, who I can't find a whole lot of info for but from what I could gather, she's associated with tribal support/health. I indicated on my application that I would NOT prefer to work on a reservation or rural setting, so I'm worried that my interviewer is going to be working in an area that I don't want to work in and that could make things awkward :nailbiting:! Does anyone else have similar concerns for their interview or are these interviewers randomly assigned and I'm just freaking out for no reason?
Don't worry about it at the interview, this person is not who you'll be working with. They ask you your preferences again at the interview
 
Hi yall!! This thread motivated me to finally make an account on sdn, congrats to everyone who has an interview coming up!

I could really use some advice because I am slightly freaking myself out, I have an interview on Monday with Kimberly Cantrell, who I can't find a whole lot of info for but from what I could gather, she's associated with tribal support/health. I indicated on my application that I would NOT prefer to work on a reservation or rural setting, so I'm worried that my interviewer is going to be working in an area that I don't want to work in and that could make things awkward :nailbiting:! Does anyone else have similar concerns for their interview or are these interviewers randomly assigned and I'm just freaking out for no reason?
I wouldn't stress yourself out too much!! (easier said than done I know lol!) I assume they randomly assign staff to interviewers.! It is probably just a coincidence your interviewer is working in an area you would not prefer 🙂 my interviewer worked/works on STD/STI education (based on what information I could find about her!) and I'm not very interested in that at all, but I think as long as you make them aware of your own preferences it'll be fine!
 
How many questions did they ask and were they tricky if you don't mind me asking? I'm so nervous for mine!
I had mine earlier today! They asked 6 questions. 4 were behavioral, one was the simple, “tell me about yourself” and the other was “why you over other candidates?” The behavioral questions were related to (1) time management and stress, (2) working with cultures different from your own (3) working with a supervisor or coworker who operates differently from you (4) adapting/developing something new. They seemed to all be related to the Best Fit.
 
I had mine earlier today! They asked 6 questions. 4 were behavioral, one was the simple, “tell me about yourself” and the other was “why you over other candidates?” The behavioral questions were related to (1) time management and stress, (2) working with cultures different from your own (3) working with a supervisor or coworker who operates differently from you (4) adapting/developing something new. They seemed to all be related to the Best Fit.
How are they going to evaluate like 100+people based on those same 6 questions lol I’m anxious now lol
 
How are they going to evaluate like 100+people based on those same 6 questions lol I’m anxious now lol
I wonder how it works? I feel like- since there are multiple interviewers, each interviewer will probably rank the people they are assigned? It sounds reasonable, but yeah- we've got time!
I appreciate everyone who is posting about their experience with the interview so far!!! Ya'll are angels.
 
does anyone know how many total applicants there were this year? also wonder how the big the pool is now for the final round 🥶
 
How are they going to evaluate like 100+people based on those same 6 questions lol I’m anxious now lol
Based on what other users have said, it seems like they have a few behavioral questions they rotate through, so it isn’t always these questions. But either way, ya...not a lot of variety to evaluate!

When I was prepping, I found some questions on Glassdoor from previous years that were basically what I was asked, so I’d recommend that anyone currently prepping look there!
 
does anyone know how many total applicants there were this year? also wonder how the big the pool is now for the final round 🥶
Someone earlier in the comments said 120-200 is the number of applicants they may select for the position but idk
 
Don't worry about it at the interview, this person is not who you'll be working with. They ask you your preferences again at the interview
I wouldn't stress yourself out too much!! (easier said than done I know lol!) I assume they randomly assign staff to interviewers.! It is probably just a coincidence your interviewer is working in an area you would not prefer 🙂 my interviewer worked/works on STD/STI education (based on what information I could find about her!) and I'm not very interested in that at all, but I think as long as you make them aware of your own preferences it'll be fine!
Thank you both for your responses!! Mjex18 I am low key jealous I want to do STD/STI related work!! Hoping everyone's interviews go well :^)
 
I really enjoyed my interview. My interviewer was very friendly and affable (he had a personality like mine where we both easily smiled). As have stated above, 4-5 graded interview questions that ask about how you deal with deadlines, working with people of other cultures, an adversity that you faced. My interviewer was very attentive and listened to my stories. I had to ask him to repeat the question after a while because I did get lost in my own story, but he was very nice about it. At the end of the interview, he said that he is evaluating me as "Excellent" I have no idea what that means, but was wondering if anyone received similar feedbacks?
I'm sure they will rotate out behavioral questions, but just be prepare to recount some stories and experiences. Also, I think interviewing in the early morning really helps. We're both wide awake and the interviewer does not have a prior person to compare me to.
 
How long did interviews last for those that have already been through the process? With only 4-6 questions I can't imagine utilizing the entire hour?
 
My interview was 45 minutes - we had 10 min of connection problems via zoom but mine took almost the whole hour. I had a few questions and it was more or less a discussion. Although keep in mind, I tend to ramble on because I'm just very happy to talk about my experiences. My interviewer never disrupted me and had a great attention span.
How long did interviews last for those that have already been through the process? With only 4-6 questions I can't imagine utilizing the entire hour
 
I really enjoyed my interview. My interviewer was very friendly and affable (he had a personality like mine where we both easily smiled). As have stated above, 4-5 graded interview questions that ask about how you deal with deadlines, working with people of other cultures, an adversity that you faced. My interviewer was very attentive and listened to my stories. I had to ask him to repeat the question after a while because I did get lost in my own story, but he was very nice about it. At the end of the interview, he said that he is evaluating me as "Excellent" I have no idea what that means, but was wondering if anyone received similar feedbacks?
I'm sure they will rotate out behavioral questions, but just be prepare to recount some stories and experiences. Also, I think interviewing in the early morning really helps. We're both wide awake and the interviewer does not have a prior person to compare me to.
Interesting, no my interviewer did not say how he evaluated me but that’s looking like excellent news for you!
 
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First time poster here. I just did my interview today! Went very well! Be prepared for situational and behavioral questions. Questions such as working with someone who had different work ideas than you, working with a population with different cultural or religious views, handling stress, working on a group project and how it went, tell me about yourself and why you’re interested in public health, why should we choose you over other candidates. Best of luck to everyone!
 
Well I just had my interview! I think I was a little more nervous than I expected so I’m hoping it went better than I’m thinking. 🙂
 
Hey guys I know most of y’all already had your interviews but as promised I’ll be meeting with the lady from the CDC tonight... she’ll be doing kind of a mock interview with me and but she’ll be recording me and giving me tips on what to improve so I’ll send y’all the tips by tonight as promised lol! I promise I’m not a fake; both of our schedules are swamped. I want everyone to succeed!! ❤️❤️
 
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