Congrats 2014 PMF Semi-Finalists! How Can We Help You Hack DC?

Congrats 2014 PMF Semi-Finalists! How Can We Help You Hack DC?
Post Date November 23, 2013
Comments 68 Comments
Author
Category Uncategorized

Congratulations to all the 2014 PMF Semi-Finalists that were named today!

We’re excited for you and hope that our guide and resources were part of your success story. If so, please tell us in the comments below.

And we’re not done yet! Now’s the time to browse the In-Person Assessment section of the guide to know what’s coming next.

Lastly, we’ve got something cooking in terms of connecting Semi-Finalists like you with current and former PMFs in DC to get you hooked up with a free place to stay, a ride with another candidate or something as simple (and valuable!) as a parking spot (yes, the DC parking police are fierce). Fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you soon with our next steps.

TERMS OF SERVICE

Disclaimers

If you choose to participate in this “Help a PMF Out” Program, you do so at your sole risk. Although Participants are required to provide accurate information, GovLoop and Young Government Leaders (YGL) do not attempt to confirm any Participant’s purported identity. Participants are responsible for determining the identity and suitability of each other. GovLoop and YGL will not be responsible for any damage or harm resulting from interactions among Participants or related to any Participant’s property.

By signing up for this program, you agree that any legal remedy or liability that you seek to obtain for any actions or omissions of Participants or other third parties will be limited to a claim against those individuals who caused you harm and you agree not to attempt to impose liability on, or seek any legal remedy from GovLoop and YGL with respect to such actions or omissions. Accordingly, we encourage you to communicate directly with any Participant with whom you consider interacting.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE, APPLICATION, VISIT, PARTICIPATION IN THE PMF PROGRAM, AND ANY CONTACT YOU HAVE WITH OTHER USERS OF GOVLOOP OR YGL WHETHER IN PERSON OR ONLINE REMAINS WITH YOU.  NEITHER GOVLOOP, YGL NOR ANY OTHER PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DELIVERING THE SITE, APPLICATION, SERVICES, COLLECTIVE CONTENT OR THE PMF PROGRAM WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA OR LOSS OF GOODWILL, SERVICE INTERRUPTION, COMPUTER DAMAGE OR SYSTEM FAILURE OR THE COST OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, OR FOR ANY DAMAGES FOR PERSONAL OR BODILY INJURY OR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR THE APPLICANT’S VISIT, FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, APPLICATION, SERVICES OR COLLECTIVE CONTENT, FROM ANY COMMUNICATIONS, INTERACTIONS OR MEETINGS WITH OTHER USERS OF THE SITE, APPLICATION, OR SERVICES OR OTHER PERSONS WITH WHOM YOU COMMUNICATE OR INTERACT AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SITE, APPLICATION, SERVICES, OR YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE REFERRAL PROGRAM OR FROM YOUR LISTING OR BOOKING OF ANY ACCOMMODATION VIA THE SITE, APPLICATION AND SERVICES, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT GOVLOOP OR YGL HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE, EVEN IF A LIMITED REMEDY IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

Indemnification

You agree to release, defend, indemnify, and hold GovLoop, YGL and their affiliates and subsidiaries, and their officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with (a) your access to or use of the Site, Application, Services, or Collective Content or your violation of these Terms; (b) your Member Content; (c) your (i) interaction with any Member, (ii) booking of an Accommodation, (iii) creation of a Listing or (iv) the use, condition or rental of an Accommodation by you, including, but not limited to any injuries, losses, or damages (compensatory, direct, incidental, consequential or otherwise) of any kind arising in connection with or as a result of a rental, booking or use of a Accommodation and (d) your participation in the PMF Program.

Reporting Misconduct

If you stay with or host anyone who you feel is acting or has acted inappropriately, including but not limited to, anyone who (i) engages in offensive, violent or sexually inappropriate behavior, (ii) you suspect of stealing from you, or (iii) engages in any other disturbing conduct, you should immediately report such person to the appropriate authorities and then to GovLoop and YGL by contacting us with your police station and report number at Andrew@GovLoop.com; provided that your report will not obligate us to take any action beyond that required by law (if any) or cause us to incur any liability to you.

Severability

To the extent any portion of this contract or its related disclaimers is found to be unenforceable, the unenforceable portion is to be considered severed such that the remainder of the contract is to remain in force to the fullest extent of the law.

This post was written by
  • Mick Thomas

    This is very helpful – Where is the form to download?

  • Edward

    Congrats to everyone in the 2014 semi-finals! Looks like roughly 2,000 people have been selected. Any idea how many original applicants there were? Also, is there an estimate for the number of finalists to be selected?

    • Mick Thomas

      I counted just under 1100 PMF applicants this year with approx 150 STEM candidates. Total applications were over 7,000. The job market is definitely pushing more and more people toward these sort of opportunities.

      • Clif

        7,000 compared to approximately 12,000 applicants last year…interesting. I thought there would be more grad students out there looking for these types of opportunities.

        • Mick Thomas

          I agree that’s interesting. Maybe I was wrong and the economy HAS improved. Meaning people are not searching for these relatively low paying gov jobs? Not sure about that. I can understand either way. I know I’m really struggling if I should quit my current job (high 90K range) for this PMF because of the prestige. Depends if I make the finals I guess.

          • Sue

            I think part of it was this year it was a quicker turn-around than last year. Last year there was more time between the official PMF announcement and application open season so schools had more time to promote it to their students and recent alums.

  • Matt
  • Mick Thomas

    There doesn’t seem to be much activity on this thread given the fact that there are over 1100 of us. Is there another chat or discussion forum that everyone is using?

    • Nick

      Indeed it doesn’t seem there is too much activity, possibly due to post-Thanksgiving? hmm.

      • Mick Thomas

        Yes maybe thanksgiving. However the one hour chat review of the we page was a week ago. Seems like this would be the “hot time”. I’ve heard also that the pay may be a factor – 50-60k is good money, but a grad degree combined with the level of candidate accepted to the PMF seems to warrant much higher pay in the private sector. We’ll see.

  • Nick

    Hello! First of all, congrats to all the Semi-Finalists. I will there for the PMF STEM interview, however I can’t offer up a place to stay as I will be staying in my cousin’s apartment near Arlington. But regardless, maybe I can help with recommendations on where to stay, I’ve been to D.C. a couple of times and I am pretty familiar with the metro system!

  • Stef

    I live in DC and will be there for the STEM interviews. If anyone needs help finding a place or anything, please let me know. I’m more than happy to help!

    • Steve

      Thanks Stef. If haven’t already, fill out the form. Maybe you can host folks too?

  • Clif

    True, not much going on here.

    Hey everyone, wondering if the results or
    content of each PMF phase is carried forward to other phases? Is this a
    cumulative process? I am wondering if during the “finalist” vetting process
    will our initial phase testing, resume, and writing samples be incorporated
    into our larger PMF candidacy?

    Hope all is well with you all.

  • Clif

    Hey all,

    I was wondering if anyone has gotten a hold of a 2014 PMF Assessment Guide by Heather Krasna?

    I wasn’t around last year and couldn’t tell you what value her $10 guide was last year, but I was wondering if her “13-page guide ” covering “…all four sections of the assessment” was worth looking into?

    best,

    Clif Welter

    • Andrew Krzmarzick (GovLoop)

      Others seem to have found it helpful, Clif. She has a new gig, so not sure if she’s updating it for this year.

      • Clif

        Dang, cannot seem to find her 2012/2013 guide on her website or the world wide web for that matter…am I missing something? Does anyone have a URL or a link that I could look into?

        • Andrew Krzmarzick (GovLoop)

          Looks like she took it down, Clif. Ours should be helpful for you. Let me know if you have questions.

          • Clif

            Thanks, I’m looking to get my hands on as much material as possible.

          • Steve

            Clif – she’s at Columbia Public Health School if you want to reach out to her direct.

          • Clif

            thanks Steve, I’ll look into it

  • Clif

    I missed the “coffee chat.” Will we be doing the policy brief that I’ve have been hearing about (with or without notes)?

  • Mick Thomas

    Ok, so It’s been a couple of months and not much on here. Is there another forum that the candidates are using?

  • Mick Thomas

    Ok everyone – I’m afraid I may have to cancel my interview. I’m uneasy because of the lack of response to questions I’ve had and the apparent fact that there is not way to get answers. Does anyone have any idea’s?

    • Steve

      Hey Mick – how can I help? Don’t cancel your interview. PMF is a large program with a small staff (and this site is an informal resource) so sometimes can be hard to get an answer.

      • Mick Thomas

        Steve, Thanks for the reply. I did finally get a reply from PMF after a few emails. Unfortunately they responded in all caps saying that the STEM PROGRAM IS A PILOT PROGRAM AND THERE WAS VERY LITTLE INFORMATION.
        I had hoped that I could get some idea what the possible STEM positions would be or what departments were hiring – but PMF doesn’t have the information.
        My primary problem is the cost of living in D.C. for an extended amount of time. The pay of 50K a year is fair, but the cost of living is so high I’m having a hard time rationalizing the move.
        I know a long story to a short question. If you have any idea what a graduate geologist would be doing in the PMF that would be great. Or if you could let me know who to contact other than the PMF.

        • Steve

          If you read the PMF guides we’ve put out and read about the PMF on official website pmf.gov, you can see there’s a lot of variety in what PMFs do. Even if you make it to finalists, they don’t hand you a job instead there is a career fair to help finalists meet agencies. The good news is there’s a lot of variety in places and it takes two sides to fit – but places like Interior, USGS would be great plus there’s plenty of broad openings – from Census to Agriculture that’d be a good fit. Also lots of these jobs aren’t in DC. But you do have to make your destiny and there isn’t a lot of hand holding

  • Kappaman

    In person assessment on Monday. Without going into detail, can anyone share their experience?

    • Steve

      Good luck!

    • Clif

      last month I got snowed out and the interview/testing was cancelled and I’m flying in again Friday to try it again…I would also love to hear about anyone’s experiences ?

  • Mick Thomas

    Good luck to everyone. After discussing options with the PMF I decided to reject the interview. But I do hope it’s a good fit for the rest of you and wish you the best!

  • David

    I was scheduled for an in person assessment on 2/14/2014, however, my
    flight from LAX to DC has been cancelled, and there are no flights
    arriving in DC on 13 or 14 that I can reschedule to that would have me
    arrive before 1 pm. I scanned the current PMF Prep Guide and found
    absolutely nothing on “policies and procedures on late arrivals,
    changes in Operating Status/Inclement Weather, and no shows”.

    I know my interview is on the last day, but is there anything I can do?

    • molly

      I have found them to be pretty responsive if you email with questions like this. Good luck.

  • wickedzeus

    I don’t want to be a debbie downer, I just wanted to put this here to see what the Class of 2013 has had to go through:

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/215232684/PMF-Program-Class-of-2013-Policy-Recommendations

    • Keith

      I highly doubt that they will consider any of the policy options stated in that letter. If any of the options were implemented, you would have a 2014 PMF Finalist Class that would have a lower placement, thus resulting in the same tactic that the 2013 PMF Finalist Class used. As you can see, it could be never ending. If they were not able to be placed by October, they should have reapplied to the program.

      • randomname

        I don’t think they will either the number of appointments has gone from 230s to 274 in past couple weeks probably because of the March 10 fair it may even go higher by April 8th they are hovering near mid 40 percent appointment its not that far off.

    • CW

      oh…just stunned really… 34% appointment rate for the 2013 class?!

  • TheScientist

    Any word on finalist status yet?

    Also, given that the STEM track is a pilot program, I’m wondering how many will be selected!

    • Adam

      I think they will take a huge number of STEMs but most of them won’t end up finding appointments. I’m sure it’s like any new programme – they don’t know how to manage it until it actually takes place.

  • randomguy

    I think its highly unlikely they will publish finalist until the 2013 appointment deadline of April 8th passes, assuming they don’t extend deadline. They know the 2013 class is pissed, naming a new class before the end of their appointment window would just fan the flames.

    • Impatient guy

      Wish you were wrong, but that makes a lot of sense

      • Impatient g

        The anticipation is unbearable!

        • Waiting

          Last stretch!!

          • CW

            what a phenomenal experience though! I met so many amazing people and would consider myself very lucky if I made it and would rightfully understand if I didn’t…there is a lot of talent out there.

  • Waiting

    Wishing everyone the best of luck in these last days!! I’m sure we should know something next week…hopefully!!

  • fromheretoDC

    Does anyone know the average time frame from a finalist accepting an appointment to the first day on assignment?

  • Impt

    No news yet…

    • Waiting

      Does anyone know if they have sent out notifications to the finalist?

    • CW

      no kidding….waiting. Because the process was extended by a week or so I am hoping to hear some news by the 15th? Or that is what I keep telling myself.

      • Impt

        15th? I just about had a mini stroke… I hope we will hear back by the end of this week.

  • randomname
  • randomname

    lol I was just wandering their site no e-mail notification nothing.

  • randomname

    609 finalist 518 regular 91 stem and I made it weee!

    • CW

      congrats, so did I! just amazing!

  • Steve

    Just posted a new thread with some links on PMF finalists on job fair (as well as for non-finalists other tips) – http://pathtopmf.com/pmf-finalists-announced-open-thread/

  • susan hollis

    How can I use my downline to my advantage quickly and easily