Graduate Students & New Evaluators TIG Week: Evaluator Career Advice from a Panel of Evaluation Managers by Briana Ford

Date: Saturday, August 9, 2025

This week, the members of the Graduate Students and New Evaluators (GSNE) TIG share various tips, tricks, resources, and points of view that can be helpful for students and new evaluators. We hope both evaluators, new and old, will review this material and share the resources and stories with each other.

-Liz Rojas (GSNE, Co-Chair), Christine Liboon (GSNE, Program Chair), and GSNE Leadership Team

Hey, y’all! I’m Briana Ford, a research and evaluation consultant based out of Columbia, SC. I came to the evaluation profession with a background in public health policy & management, as well as public health data systems analysis. I’m proud to be the chair of the Graduate Student & New Evaluator TIG (GSNE).

This April, GSNE collaborated with the Evaluation Managers & Supervisors TIG. I facilitated a discussion with Joanna Hillman, MPH; Suzanne Alexander, PhD; Kim Hopkinson, PhD; and Angelica Thompson, PhD, who brought diverse evaluation experiences to the event. I’ve summarized the key ideas, advice, and cautions from the discussion in this “listicle.”

Start your career where you are. Find ways to experiment with your leadership style.

Create your own evaluation opportunities within existing roles.
Use AEA resources and listings to find freelance or collaborative projects—volunteer for evaluation work to build your portfolio.
Broaden your job search—don’t limit yourself to roles with “evaluation” in the title. Start with project manager or coordinator roles that include evaluation-type tasks.

Job Titles <<< Position Descriptions. Keep an open mind when pursuing opportunities.

Entry-level titles to consider: Research Assistant/Associate, Program Evaluator (entry level), Public Health Program Specialist, Project Coordinator.
Titles vary—read full job descriptions carefully. Tailor your resume to each PD’s keywords.
Small school districts or community-based organizations can be starting points.

Pivot Your Resume. Focus on “What, When, & How” less than “Who, Where, or Why.”

Draw from past adjacent work. Highlight evaluation-like functions. Focus your resume on outcomes and results, not just responsibilities.
Emphasize your impact and insights, not the funding source. Omit polarizing keywords while staying honest about your experience.
Own your strengths with humility; show confidence without overcompensating. Experience can outweigh degrees, depending on the organization.

Familiarize yourself with relevant tools and concepts enough to apply them strategically in your evaluation practice.

Prioritize understanding concepts over tools, e.g., evaluation and management theories, data handling, and coding qualitative data collections.
Learn one tech tool per category and understand the generalizable principles.
Strong communication skills, applicable to both technical and lay audiences, are essential for your professional advancement.

Build up transferable leadership skills.

Identify and arrange your key generalist skills that are transferable for you (e.g., qualitative analysis, organizational strategizing, program evaluation, etc.).
Business and quality improvement are essential transferable skills in leadership.
Learn to locate, critique, and adapt methods and evidence from third parties to the context of your practice.

Set yourself apart by daring to exemplify cultural competence and leadership in everything you influence.

Cultural competence, strategic thinking, and writing skills are essential.
Prepare to lead group facilitations by volunteering and shadowing others to build experience.
Volunteer with university-run community programs as a notetaker or scribe.

Seek opportunities to practice leadership.

You don’t always need a formal invitation. Volunteer to lead projects or propose something new.
Show initiative!—Be willing to try, make mistakes, and learn.
Publishing and visibility in dissemination efforts can elevate your profile, organically introducing you to new colleagues and opportunities.

Seek mentors and apprenticeships from those whose work energizes you. Send the first message. Make a proposal and an offer.

Take the initiative to pursue relationships intentionally; persistence pays off.
Ask to shadow or support someone’s project.
Look beyond your organization. For example, AEA members, local universities, conference presenters, or authors you admire—they may welcome collaboration.

Rad Resources

Interested in learning more? We recorded the discussion described in this post for AEA members, so I encourage anyone navigating the job market to access the recording materials here.

Let’s put our heads together

Do you have comments, advice, or space to mentor a new evaluator? Keep the discussion going on AEA Connect > GSNE.

AEA is hosting GSNE Week with our colleagues in the Graduate Student and New Evaluators AEA Topical Interest Group. The contributions all this week to AEA365 come from our GSNE TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this AEA365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the AEA365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an AEA365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to AEA365@eval.org. AEA365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.