Presidential Management Fellows PMF Program

1. Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program

2. What is PMF? Provides two-year Federal Government fellowships to graduate students from all academic disciplines who expect to complete an advanced degree (master’s, law, or doctoral-level degree) during the current academic year Terrific opportunity for students interested in exploring policy and program management positions in the Federal Government Focus on leadership development

3. The details Hired for a two-year, paid full-time position with accelerated promotion potential Appointed at the GS-9, 11, or 12 level (or equivalent), based on applicant qualifications and agency needs Promotion potential up to the GS-13 level Typical career path: Appointment - GS-9, step 1 (or equivalent) 1-year anniversary - eligible for GS-11, step 1 Program completion - eligible for GS-12, step 1

4. What does this GS info mean? In DC, GS-9, step 1 is $51,630 Note that all PMF positions are eligible for loan repayment assistance under the College Cost Loan Reduction & Access Act (learn more on the Financial Aid website) and many are eligible for Georgetown’s LRAP The Federal government provides great benefits

5. Overview of PMF Training Individual development plan for each PMF 80 hours classroom training per year Rotational opportunities Opportunity for non-competitive appointment to a full-time, permanent position upon completion of Program PMF network and support Challenging work assignments Potential for accelerated promotions

6. What jobs would be of interest to law students? Accounting Finance Human Resources Engineering Statistics Environmental Sciences Health/Medical Science Information Technology Public Policy Public Administration International Affairs Other NOTE: These are NOT attorney positions!

7. Who is eligible to apply? Graduate students from all academic disciplines who expect to complete an advanced degree (master's, law, or doctoral-level degree) from a qualifying college or university during the 2011-2012 academic year (September 1, 2011 - August 31, 2012) Georgetown Law IS a qualifying university!

8. : The PMF selection process consists of four parts: Application Nomination Assessment and Finalist Selection Agency Placement as a Fellow

9. Timetable September 15 - 25, 2011 – Application available on-line ? Sep 25, 2011 – Deadline for application submission Monday, September 26: DEADLINE to turn in your completed, hard copy Nomination Form to OPICS. Deadline for applicants to submit supporting documentation for any claims for Veterans' Preference. Oct 1 - 10, 2011 – Applicants complete on-line assessment process Nov 1, 2011* – Semi-finalists selected and invited to in-person assessment Nov 14 - Dec 16, 2011* – Semi-finalists complete in-person assessment process Jan 24, 2012* – Finalists selected and notified Feb/Mar 2012 – Job Fair * Dates subject to change, per PMF

10. What IS the “assessment process”?? It’s on-line, un-proctored, timed test On-line assessment includes: Situational Judgment Test: Requires applicants to indicate how they would respond in a given situation Life Experience: Requires applicants to respond to questions regarding their training, experience, education, and life history Writing Sample: Requires applicants to write an essay in response to a prompt or target topic OPM selects Semi-finalists based on nominees’ on-line assessment results. If you pass that assessment, you will be invited to an in-person assessment, from which Finalists will be selected

11. How can you study? PMF provides an Assessment Prepation Guide online; it’s linked from the Assessment webpage You can’t study for this type of test, but you can know what to expect

12. And the in-person assessment? The overall structured interview process will take approximately one hour. The structured interview panels will be composed of two Federal Agency representatives, who are trained PMF assessors. Where will this be held? Only in a few locations—luckily, DC is one of them

13. How are applicants evaluated? Adaptability Integrity Interpersonal skills Motivation to serve Oral and written communication Problem solving

14. What happens if you become a Finalist? If you are a finalist, you do NOT have a job yet—remember, you were competing with students from a range of graduate programs, so PMF doesn’t just assign jobs to the wide range of finalists

15. So how do you find a position? Finalists are invited to attend a PMF Job Fair (in DC), where you can meet representatives from participating Federal agencies Finalists have access to an online PMF Projected Positions System to identify agency positions (i.e., there is a special site just for PMFs that lists jobs set aside for PMFs) Finalists have 12 months from the date they are selected to be appointed to agency positions Finalists should be assertive about contacting agencies of interest. (Scott & Jenn will discuss this tip)

16. For more information, see https://www.pmf.opm.gov (And if you’re at all interested, APPLY!)