After you land the placement and find yourself working as a PMF, be sure to make the most of the experience. Get to know your colleagues – both your fellow PMFs and the agency employees you meet throughout your fellowship. Take advantage of the opportunities for training and mentorship, and strive to understand the strategic plans and goals of the agencies where you gain exposure.

One advisor also cautioned PMFs to “stay humble.” When you are named to such a prestigious position, it’s easy to fall into a sense of self-importance that, if not handled appropriately, can alienate your new colleagues.

Remain ambitious, but be respectful of people who have likely spent a significant amount of their career doing their best to make a difference in a spirit of service to their country. Seek to learn from everyone and strive to contribute in ways that add value.

So that’s it! That’s all that you need to know about the PMF application process in 25 pages or less. We hope this guide and the accompanying web-based resources at http://pathtopmf.com were helpful to you.

In fact, would you do us a favor? If you used this guide and it helped you to become a Finalist, would you let us know? Send an email to andrew@govloop.com and tell your story.

Who knows? Maybe you will be passing along your own hard-won advice to the next generation of PMFs.

We wish you the best in the application process – and sincerely hope that you’re one of them.

“Now in the later years of my career, [being a PMF is] almost like a badge of honor. Many times I’ll be in a meeting and somebody’s talking about someone they’re going to hire and say “and they’re a PMF” and I’ll say “well, I was one” and they’ll be like “oh, that’s cool!” So it’s sort of like you’ve been in an Ivy League school and it tells people something about you that helps you throughout your career.”

- Bev Godwin, PMF Class 1982, General Services Administration

Next: Useful Links ——>