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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
2021 PHAP (CDC's Public Health Associate Program)
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That would be amazing and much appreciated! <3
mjex18
Full Member
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
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Abbie M
Full Member
Please let us know how it goes!
I have mine this friday at 11am but havent received a link yet. Fingers crossed it comes soon!
natalieminaa
Full Member
same!
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.
Abbie M
Full Member
OHH yes what day is yours??
May 10 at 2pm
Abbie M
Full Member
Perf! I’ll let you know how she is and how it goes cause mine is at 8 am on the same day!
LPublicHealth
Full Member
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!
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?
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June - August, it's a long process. I believe they send emails instead of calling.
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
Abbie M
Full Member
Absolutely not! Lol I’ve been trying to find my lady lol
sierra n
Full Member
I got mine today! I think in the portal it says they send them out the day before your interview!
Mine is tomorrow with Justin Alexander
mjex18
Full Member
Never mind I got it to work!! Had to use a different laptop lol
Anyone find it difficult looking straight in your camera and not at the screen?
Chacko32
Full Member
How did you accept it?
mjex18
Full Member
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!
LPublicHealth
Full Member
Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to that question but I will ask my supervisor for that question.
Hello,
I just had my interview and they mentioned that they will be considering you interview and personal statement to determine the placement.
How many questions did they ask and were they tricky if you don't mind me asking? I'm so nervous for mine!
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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
! 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 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
! 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 interviewHi 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
mjex18
Full Member
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!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
user11903
New Member
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.
Abbie M
Full Member
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.
user11903
New Member
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!
Someone earlier in the comments said 120-200 is the number of applicants they may select for the position but idk
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 :^)
keyofspade
Full Member
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.
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?
keyofspade
Full Member
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.
Interesting, no my interviewer did not say how he evaluated me but that’s looking like excellent news for you!
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My interviewer said ~2200 applicants, 500 offered interviews, then they’ll cut it down to a pool of 200 and of that 200, 135 will get matched
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!
My interviewer said I did excellent as well. So it possibly is a thing.
Abbie M
Full Member
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!! ❤️❤️
