FAQs

The GFA Fellowship is a two-year paid opportunity for recent graduates to serve in high-impact roles in governments across the country as a part of a diverse community of engaged leaders.

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Fellowship

  • Yes! GFA helps you get hired into a full time, paid government position with a minimum two-year commitment, but your day-to-day work will be managed by your government supervisor. Your job title, compensation, and benefits are determined by your agency and will vary by state.

    Our Fellowship is a two-year leadership development program that supplements your government job with training, support, and a professional network of other government changemakers. Because GFA is not your employer, many of these activities occur outside of normal work hours.

  • GFA Fellows work in civil service, unclassified, and contract roles. The way you are brought in is determined by each state and will impact certain parts of your experience, including benefits.

  • Fellows are government employees, and the range of salaries is broad, depending on the position and the state. Depending on the government agency you are matched with and the assigned role, your starting salary can fall within the range of $45,000 to $80,000 and is impacted by region, cost of living, and your skills and experience among other factors.

  • Our list of government partners grows every year! For the 2024 Application Cycle, we will be matching candidates in some of these locations:

    • Connecticut

    • Colorado

    • Missouri

    • Michigan

    • Tennessee

    This list is subject to change. Please note that the more open you are to working in multiple places, the more likely you are to be matched.

  • Summer Institute is an intensive training experience meant to provide incoming Fellows with an orientation to government service and develop skills and Leadership Competencies that the Fellowship builds on over the course of the two years.

  • Yes! You have some flexibility in negotiating a start date. Most Fellows start their roles right after Summer Institute (late June or early July). Please answer all questions about your availability openly and honestly on your application and let us know if there are extenuating circumstances that could impact your start date. If your availability changes, please inform your GFA contact as soon as possible. Regardless of start date, you are committing to a minimum of two years in your agency (with the possibility of extension).

  • Fellows should expect to work in person, unless otherwise outlined in their agency’s policies. Most state agencies have returned to in-person operations. We require Fellows to live in the state they are matched.

  • We supply relocation assistance for Fellows on a case-by-case basis. You may also reach out to your host agency to check the procedures of your new workplace for relocation assistance.

  • Not necessarily! While the two-year Fellowship ends after two years, you and the agency can extend the job match indefinitely based on mutual agreement.

  • One of our core benefits and strengths is an active alumni network. We facilitate alumni engagement through quarterly newsletters; opportunities to volunteer with GFA as program advisors, trainers, and mentors; alumni-specific events; and personalized support to advance your public service career.

02

Application

  • To be eligible for the Fellowship, you must have obtained a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree within June 2021 and June 2024. You must be able to legally work in the US for at least two years and be able to move to your matched location. To apply, you must complete the application which includes demographic information, short answer questions, questions about your location preferences, and your resume.

  • GFA values all forms of work, volunteer, and extracurricular experience. You do not need to have previous experience working in government or politics to be a successful applicant. We believe that different experiences contribute to your growth in a variety of ways and teach transferable skills. You should be able to share how those experiences contributed to your interest in government and how the skills you’ve developed could be useful in government work.

    We look for a variety of undergraduate majors — current Fellows studied Comparative Literature, Music, Data Science, Finance, History, and more! We invite people from any major to apply.

  • The GFA Fellowship is a direct-apply program, which means that we do not reserve slots for universities and we do not select Fellows based on nomination or recommendation. Every interested candidate must complete an application and go through our selection process.

  • The application has two different deadlines. See the full application and selection timeline here.

  • The application can take anywhere from 45 minutes to a few days, depending on how you like to work. You cannot save the application and come back to it later so we strongly recommend starting the short answer questions in a separate document to proof-read and paste into the application once you are ready to submit.

  • Check out our social media channels (Instagram and LinkedIn) to see where we’ll be presenting and traveling to! Interested in having us at your Career Fair? Let us know by sending an email to apply@govforamerica.org.

  • Before you apply: During the application process, please attend one of our webinars where our team will give a short presentation about GFA and Fellows will answer your questions.

    After you apply: Once you submit your application, please refer to the chart below to see when you can expect to receive a status update. If you don’t hear from a member of our team by 11:59 p.m. ET on the date indicated, please reach out to apply@govforamerica.org and our team will get back to you as soon as possible.

Selection Process

03

  • There are two virtual interviews with GFA: a pre-recorded interview and a group case interview in late March/early April. We send update emails to let you know if you are moving forward in the selection process. If you become a Finalist and reach the final portion of selection, you may interview with a state partner and be matched with a final role. Please check your email regularly (including spam folders) for updates from us. If you do not hear back, please reach out to apply@govforamerica.org.

  • In this interview, you will be asked to share more about your experiences and motivations for applying for the Fellowship.

    The group case interview is a 1-2 hour virtual working session where you and a team of other candidates collaborate to address a challenge you could face while working in government.

    You do not need to prepare for this interview but you should be ready to be on video and fully engaged for the entire interview. We look for interview participants to think on their feet, creatively solve problems, collaborate with team members, and consider equity implications.

    Please find a spot with a reliable internet. And don’t worry, we will have a bathroom break!

  • GFA makes offers on a rolling basis throughout April and May 2024.

  • We do our best to match you based on the location preferences listed on your application and during your one-on-one interview. However, depending on the governments that we are working with for your application year, your preferred match states might not be available. The more open you are to moving to a variety of states, the more likely you are to be matched.

Govern For America

Govern For America (GFA) is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) working to build the next generation of public servants to create a more responsive government that better reflects and serves our communities.

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