2012 PMF Survey

Here is the promised survey for the 2012 PMF class.  I want to stress that I am not associated with the program, it is unlikely that anyone from the program will even ask for this, and I have no plans to reveal any information except through aggregation.  It is intended to benefit future classes.  Please respond as thoroughly as you are comfortable.  If you have any concerns, you can email me at pmfellow AT gmail DOT com or reply in the comments.

I will keep this form open from now until around April 1, 2013, so please feel free to provide updates whenever you have them.  If you are a returning visitor to the form (i.e., you've already submitted answers once), choose the Returning Visitor option and make sure to put in the same name you used initially.

The direct link to the form is here.

2012 PMF Survey Development

Based on a suggestion in the previous comments thread, I am looking for questions to put on a survey for this year's job fair. If we can collect good, honest data about your experiences and how you approached the job fair and whether it met your expectations or not, I think we can present future applicants an accurate picture that can help them determine whether the job fair was worthwhile or not. I do have last year's survey, which was generating responses pretty regularly through September of 2011, with the last response in February of 2012. As soon as I get a chance, I will see what the data says.

Here are last year's questions:

• What is your name (first and last or pseudonym)?
• What school did/will you graduate from?
• Do you have a veteran's preference?
• Did you attend the job fair?
• How many interviews did you have BEFORE the job fair?
• How many interviews did you have DURING the job fair?
• How many interviews did you have AFTER the job fair?
• Have you received an offer?
• How many offers have you received?
• What agencies made you offers?
• Did you accept an offer?
• If you accepted an offer, what agency, location, and position did you accept?
• If you accepted an offer, was this offer a result of the job fair?
• What is your area of study?
• Notes/Comments

These are a start, but I think we can do better. The first thing that's apparent is that we will want to handle returning responders.  I didn't have adequate provision for that in the original form, but will be able to work that into the next iteration of it.  Beyond that, at a minimum, I think we want to know:

• Are you a new or returning visitor to this survey?  (Yes/No)  (Conditional branch)
• What is your name (first and last or pseudonym)?  (Free Text)
• Did you attend the job fair?  (Yes/No)  (Conditional Branch?)
• If not, why not?  (Free text)
• How many interviews did you have before the job fair?  (Number 0+)
• How many interviews did you have during the job fair?  (Number 0+)
• How many interviews have you had since the job fair?  (Number 0+)
• Have you received any offers?  (Yes/No)
• If so, how many?  (Number 0+ or N/A?)
• Did you accept any offers?  (Yes/No)
• Do you feel that these offers were a result of the job fair?  (Yes/No)
• What is your area of graduate study?  (Free Text)
• What is your area of undergraduate study?  (Free Text)

Are there other questions we should ask?  It might be worthwhile to develop the conditional branches a bit more so that we can capture a wider range of responses, but I don't currently have any questions in mind.  I'll take your suggestions.

2012 PMF Job Fair Recap + Updates

Today is the last day of the 2012 PMF job fair. I see on the PMF site that at least a few of the 2012 class have secured appointments. How are the rest of you doing? Any promising leads as a result of the job fair? Exciting experiences? Anyone get appointments without going to the job fair?

I don't have any new updates beyond this. There hasn't been a great deal of newsworthy information. One thing that I saw earlier this month, and which probably won't go anywhere, is a letter from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform [PDF] to OPM director John Berry regarding communications issues with finalists. While the commenters on the original WaPo article reporting on this were quick to suggest that the Committee is wasting its time over some email glitches, I'm not sure it's quite that simple. I guess we'll see if anything comes of it.

I am still planning to do some data analysis on this year's applicants and finalists. Due to work constraints, though, I haven't really had the time. (I might not even have all of the data; once I find out I can follow up with another post) If someone is interested in doing this and has free time and ability, let me know and I can help you get started.

2012 PMF Finalist Results Day

[Update 1: There seems to be a notification issue again this year. I'm hearing reports of rejection letters followed by congratulation letters. If you received both of these, be sure to let us know. Original text is also appreciated. I would like to note that in cases where this happens, you might just have to wait until the list is received to be sure.]

[Update 2: I'm sure many of you know by now, having seen the Facebook page, that the earlier incidents with emails were the result of some kind of system problem. The real results should go out sometime later, I guess.]

[Update 3: The 2012 finalist list has now been released (PDF), and the notifications are still trickling out. If you haven't heard anything yet, check the official list for your name. This year there were 628 finalists, which is considerably lower than previous years. A permanently archived version of the list is here.]

According to the official information channels, the 2012 PMF finalist results are supposed to be out "on or around" January 24th. Unofficial word on the street is that they're going out now. In the past, these notifications have taken a while to process, so if you haven't heard anything yet, be patient.

But if you have heard anything...

Let us know if you made it or not.

If so, congratulations. Now it's time to find a position :) Let us know if you have any particular agencies or job fields in mind. Also, are you going to attend the job fair?

If not, just remember that the process was competitive, and lots of otherwise good, well-qualified semifinalists are also being sent away. Finally, given the recent structural changes to the program, I think applying again next year is in your best interest, so go for it! Be sure and let us know whether you plan to try again next year.

Once the finalist list is published, I will make a new post linking to it.

2012 PMF In-Person Assessments: Reactions

The PMF Program should have completed the in-person assessments today. Up to this point, I've been mostly silent on the issue because I didn't want to risk influencing the assessment process. Now that it's finished, I think it's fine for everyone to share their experiences and talk more freely about how they think they did. Include as few or as many details as you are comfortable sharing.

The next update, the one where we find out who is a finalist, will be sometime in January. In the mean time, let's hear from you all.

2012 PMF Semifinalists: Open Thread

[Update 3 November: The actual number this year was around 1200. I guess we can thank the political and fiscal climate for that number. If the percentages from previous years apply (so, uh, beware the following conclusions), then we're looking at a finalist pool of perhaps 600. Whether that improves your chances of getting a job or not is anyone's guess.

Also, I think it's worth noting that the PMF Program Office hasn't provided links to the lists of nominees or semifinalists as they've done in previous years. This makes it impossible for me to analyze the data and ask some potentially tough questions about it. If anyone has seen such lists, I would be interested in seeing them. Otherwise, I find this move to be the antithesis of a transparent process. It's baffling.]

Notifications for semifinalist selection were supposed to begin rolling out sometime yesterday, and I've seen some comments that indicate they have, at least for some of you. Given the sheer volume of you (over 9000), the process can take a while, so if you haven't heard anything, I would recommend patience. I will provide an update here once the PMF Program Office posts something, but we can already anticipate the number will be around 1500.

I'll also remind you that the PMF Program Office is responding to some inquiries via their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PMFProgram

Whether you've heard anything (good or bad) or not, let us know.

2012 PMF Online Assessment: Open Thread

According to the PMF Program Office, more than 9000 people applied for the PMF program this year. I haven't seen any official word on how many nominations resulted, nor have I seen any official list (if you've got a link to one, we would all be most appreciative).

Anyway, that presumably means some 9000 of you are or will be taking the online assessment. This is your thread to talk about the assessment, but keep in mind that, since it runs through October 10, 2011, it is probably unwise to reveal any substantive details about what you've found on the test. Once the testing window closes, please feel free to say as much as you want about the contents. They tend to change every year anyway. In the mean time, we would all be very interested to hear if you have taken the test, if you've had particular technical issues, what your thoughts are on the efficacy of the test, and any other assessment chatter you'd care to share.

As a side note: I have never seen the (entire) modern incarnation of this assessment, nor was the assessment offered online when I did take a version of it in 2009, so if you have specific technical or administrative questions, you'll have to rely on each other for answers.

PMF 2012: Application Begins Today

Yes, it's that time again. The Presidential Management Fellows application process is officially open for the 2012 application year. Here's a very quick rundown of how to determine if you are eligible and what to expect. At the end of this article are the other great resources available on the web. I will be happy to answer any questions you have about the application process, assuming I know the answers, but otherwise, just let us all know whether you are going to apply or not.

The application window for this year is today, September 15, 2011 to September 25, 2011. School nominations have to be in by September 30, 2011.

Eligibility

To be eligible, you MUST be enrolled in a graduate program of some sort and be scheduled to complete your degree requirements between September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012. Seems easy enough, right?

The Process

First, and I can't stress this enough, you have to find out who at your school handles PMF nominations. It's usually the dean of your particular program. You don't get invited to take the test unless your school nominates you. Make sure your nominating official has all the information he/she needs to complete the nomination. All of the materials you need can be found on the PMF website.

Second, go over to the job listing on USAJOBS and apply for the program. You can find it here: http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=102311164

Third, make sure all of your documents are saved all the way through on Application Manager. You can provide corrected documents if you need to, but sometimes they require processing time. In that case, it's better to get your application in early.

And fourth, let us know here or on GovLoop that you've applied. We like to have conversations here about the experience and what everyone else is going through. And since I have been through the process myself, there are things I can probably help you with. Good luck, everyone!

Resources

• Check out GovLoop's application guide (full disclosure: I helped with this):
  
  Open publication - Free publishing - More fellows
• GovLoop also has an open comment thread for this year's application process.
• And finally, try exploring this blog, which is full of good resources.

PMF 2012: Tentative Calendar

It's almost that time of year again, folks. A couple of days ago, the PMF Program Office announced its anticipated application schedule for the 2012 cycle. Under current regulation, students must be completing a graduate degree between September 1, 2011, and August 31, 2012, to be eligible to apply. (This means, of course, that we won't see the effects of the recent changes they've proposed until at least the 2013 application cycle). Anyway, the application period should open on September 15, 2011, and close on September 25, 2011, with all nominations completed by the schools by September 30, 2011.

Additionally, there is a new tentative calendar available outlining the 2012 process. It is much more compressed than in years passed, as you'll notice.

Date	Description
Thursday, September 15, 2011	Application for the PMF Class of 2012 opens via a job opportunity announcement on USAJOBS; search for "Presidential Management Fellows"
Sunday, September 25, 2011	Application for the PMF Class of 2012 closes
Friday, September 30, 2011	Deadline for Nomination Officials to fax nominations Deadline for applicants to submit supporting documentation for any claims for Veterans' Preference.
October 1-10, 2011	Invited applicants participate in on-line assessment process
By November 1, 2011	Applicants notified on eligibility and nomination status Semi-finalists selected and notified Semi-finalists scheduled and notified for in-person assessments
November 14 - December 16, 2011	In-person assessments conducted for semi-finalists
January 24, 2012	On or around this date, semi-finalists notified of Finalist status via email
Late-February/Early- March 2012	PMF Class of 2012 Finalists Job Fair (Washington, DC, metro area)

This time around, finalist notifications are expected to go out in late January!

I'd be interested to see what you all think of this aggressive schedule. Also, it's worth pointing out that, given the possible new rules that could affect next year's application cycle, you may benefit from the ability to apply more than once. In fact, I can foresee a possibility that you could apply up to three times, given that the new rules would allow eligibility to be extended back two years for degree completion. So what I am saying is go for it this time, and if you don't make it through, try it again next year if you're still inclined.