If you’ve applied for a fellowship and are invited for an interview, congratulations! You are fellowship semi-finalist, and that’s something to be proud of.
Normally a fellowship selection committee reviews the written applications and narrows down the applicant pool to a small number of semi-finalists. If you get to the semi-finalist round it means your written application and project proposal have made the cut. At this point, any one of you can win the fellowship. The interview is not for the fellowship organization to hear more about your resume or project proposal, it’s really for the selection committee to learn more about your personality, your social skills and your ability to represent the fellowship organization well.
The semi-finalists are normally invited to a central location for one or more interviews with the selection committee. For all four of my fellowships, I was invited to a multi-day interview event, which involved an individual interview with a selection committee and a group interview with all the candidates. Sometimes the group interview is formal, for example, the semi-finalist group would be provided a question and the selection committee observes how the group responds to the question (much like a team project for a class). In most cases, the group interview is informal. This means that the selection committee observes you and the other semi-finalists during a reception, dinner or other networking events. Often candidates do not realize that the dinner or reception associated with the interview event is a group interview, but it is. The fellowship selection committee is watching your every move from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave. Keep that in mind.
Some tips for the interviews:
#1: Do background research: It’s important to know the ins and out of your fellowship project proposal, of course, since you’ll be asked about it a lot. You should also have a good knowledge of the history of the fellowship organization, the location you are proposing to go to during the fellowship, and the people you will meet at the interview event. If you are interviewing for a fellowship abroad, it’s also extremely important to read up (and practice) cultural etiquette since representatives of that country will likely be at your interview events.
#2: Practice your elevator pitch: You are going to be asked a million times what your project proposal is, so prepare and practice a short and sweet description. It doesn’t matter how complicated your project is, you need to figure out a way to describe it in one sentence and avoid using jargon. Your ability to communicate effectively and succinctly is one of the things fellowship organizations look for in candidates, because it’s a good social skill. Also keep in mind some members of the fellowship selection committee may not work in your field, so don’t talk in technical terms unless it’s clear you’re speaking to someone who is familiar with your discipline.
#3: Be friendly, not smarmy: Smarmy is defined as “Ingratiating and wheedling in a way that is perceived as insincere or excessive”. Smarmy might work on Wall Street or at a sorority brunch, but it really doesn’t work in fellowship interviews. Fellowship organizations are looking for candidates who work well in teams, communicate well with high-level officials, are self-confident (not cocky), and act maturely in all social settings. They are looking for people who will maintain the fellowship organization’s good reputation both in the U.S. and abroad. This means you need to be friendly and sincere not just to the selection committee but to your fellow semi-finalists and anyone who serves you during the interview events. They are watching how to you interact with everyone, not just them.
#4: Don’t be intimated by other semi-finalists: I really mean this. Once you are at the interviews, it’s not about your resume, age or work experience, it’s about your personality, your self-confidence and your passion for your proposed project. At the fellowship interviews I’ve participated in, I’ve marveled at the backgrounds of my fellow semi-finalists and had moments of self-doubt. But I still managed to win the fellowships over semi-finalists who had more work experience, more academic credentials and dare I say, more interesting projects. I believe I stood out because I did my background research, I practiced talking about my topic before the interview, I conducted myself with poise, and most importantly, I expressed how passionate I am about my research.
Need more tips? Send me an email!
And check out the full series, beginning with #1: Create a Fellowship Application Plan.
© Victoria Johnson 2012, all rights reserved.
In Part 1, I described how to break down the questions and how to identify and reach out to potential referees. Next, you’ll want to prepare a template letter for each one. The key is to make each template different. You’ll want each referee to highlight different aspects of your accomplishments, experiences and personality so that the fellowship organization has an opportunity to learn as many things about you as possible.
Example of instructions for recommendation letters from the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship application:
“Two letters of reference. Each letter should address the accomplishments and standing of the candidate; the candidate’s interest and experience in peace and security issues; the candidate’s ability to communicate, both orally and in writing; the candidate’s maturity and judgment, and the candidate’s potential to make a significant contribution to peace and security issues. Signatures are preferred but not required.”
Here’s how to start. In my last post, I took the example reference letter request above and broke it into 9 “questions”:
- accomplishments of the candidate
- standing of the candidate
- the candidate’s interest in peace and security issues
- the candidate’s experience in peace and security issues
- the candidate’s ability to communicate orally
- the candidate’s ability to communicate in writing
- the candidate’s maturity
- the candidate’s judgment
- the candidate’s potential to make a significant contribution to peace and security issues.
Referees need to address each of these questions. Therefore, think about the three types of referees you have - e.g. academic, professional, extracurricular, etc. – and begin drafting some bullet points for each of the 9 questions. For example, question #1 is “accomplishments of the candidate”, so you’ll want develop bullet points on your academic, professional and extracurricular accomplishments. Try to think of as many specific examples as possible.
What you’ll want to provide your referee is the business letter draft, including the addresses, date and saluation (see Part 1). You should also add an opening sentence and a closing sentence. For example, one letter can open with: “It is my pleasure to provide an enthusiastic letter of support for Victoria Johnson’s application and project proposal for the Ian Axford Fellowship in Public Policy.” It could close with: “Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is any further information I can provide in support of her candidacy. Sincerely,” For each template, make sure the opening and closing sentences are slightly different.
The second document you provide the referee should include the full recommendation letter question and the break-out questions you created, with bullet points listed for each. Again, each referee should be provided with different bullet points. With this, the referee can fill in the meat of the letter.
Also be sure to provide the referee any specific instructions about submitting the letter and the deadline. I recommend asking them to submit the letter no later than 3 days before the deadline.
Mark your calendar to remind yourself to give the referee a reminder one week before the deadline if they have not already submitted the letter by that date.
Next up: #9: Nailing the Individual and Group Interviews
© Victoria Johnson 2012, all rights reserved.
Alex Lang, 2010 NSF Graduate Research Fellow
Alex Lang, a graduate student at Boston University, is paying it forward. On his personal website, AlexHunterLang.com, Alex has collected and posted many examples of winning essays written by him and other winners of the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, to help others prepare their applications. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program provides graduate students in science and engineering a three-year fellowship including an annual stipend of $30,000 and an additional $10K for your university. The application requires three letters of reference, a personal statement, and 2-page essays on previous research and proposed research. Alex gave us some insider tips.
1. Why did you decide to apply for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship?
I did some physics research as an undergraduate and loved it. So, when I was applying to graduate school, I also applied for various fellowships so that I could start the research phase of graduate school as soon as possible. While I applied for several fellowships, my main goal was always the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program since it offers flexibility. An applicant needs to specify their research interests (which I was unsure of at the time), but after talking to a current graduate student, I learned that the NSF really funds a person, not a project. This came in handy for me, since my application was on Quantum Computing but now I do Biophysics research.
2. What do you think made your application stand out?
I had several different research experiences as an undergraduate. I was lucky that the research I was doing for my senior thesis was progressing well enough to have a paper submission at the time of applying. I also had a unique extracurricular activity. I had been Vice President of my hometown School Board, and one of the big issues while I was on the board was the changing of the math curriculum. That experience gave me plenty to write about in my essays.
3. What tips would you give others applying for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship?
Don’t be intimidated! The application can seem daunting since it involves three essays judged by “Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts.” Even today after applying and helping others apply, I can’t define what NSF means by those criteria. But, when I was applying, I found it really helpful to learn by example and I talked extensively with graduate students that had an NSF GRFP. I found it so helpful that it motivated me to put my essays on my website and try to collect as many other examples as I could find. So don’t be afraid to look and ask for help.
Alex Lang is a second year graduate student in Physics at Boston University and blogs on his experiences at alexhunterlang.com. He’s also getting married in May. Congrats Alex!
© Victoria Johnson 2012, all rights reserved.
Most fellowships require one to three recommendation letters from people who can speak to your intellectual and professional accomplishments, as well as your personality. Many applicants simply take the instructions for the recommendation letter and flit them off to their chosen referees via email. Some university advisors may even suggest that this is the best approach. However, if you want winning recommendation letters, there’s a much better way to guarantee success.
Example of instructions for recommendation letters from the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship application:
“Two letters of reference. Each letter should address the accomplishments and standing of the candidate; the candidate’s interest and experience in peace and security issues; the candidate’s ability to communicate, both orally and in writing; the candidate’s maturity and judgment, and the candidate’s potential to make a significant contribution to peace and security issues. Signatures are preferred but not required.”
To start, look closely at the instructions for the reference letters. Similar to my advice for developing a strong personal statement, I suggest you start by breaking down the question. As an example, I’ve broken down the reference letter question from the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship above. The highlighted phrases are:
- accomplishments of the candidate
- standing of the candidate
- the candidate’s interest in peace and security issues
- the candidate’s experience in peace and security issues
- the candidate’s ability to communicate orally
- the candidate’s ability to communicate in writing
- the candidate’s maturity
- the candidate’s judgment
- the candidate’s potential to make a significant contribution to peace and security issues.
You now have 9 “questions” and it’s important your referee answers each one.
Now think about who can answer these questions about you and would be willing to prepare you a positive letter. You should not ask for recommendation letters from people who have not worked with you in some capacity. Not only do you put those people in an uncomfortable position, but you’ll get a much better letter from someone who knows you. Letters from Congressman, university Presidents, CEOs, etc. are pointless unless you have worked with that person in some significant way.
Also, rather than asking people who have worked with you in a similar way (two professor or two bosses) try to identify two or three people that have a different relationship to you: one person who can speak to your academic accomplishments, one who can speak to your professional development, one who can speak to your extracurricular activities, etc.
Now ask yourself this: what’s the guarantee that your referee will specifically answer all 9 of the questions above if you just send them the instructions? It’s zero. As someone who has written many recommendation letters for others, I can tell you that the inclination to brush over or skip one or two of these questions is high, especially when I have very little time to sit down and write a glowing letter from scratch. The best thing you can do is prepare a template for every single one of your referees. People like editing much more than they like writing from scratch, and by preparing a template you will increase your chances of getting a strong, detailed recommendation letter by tenfold.
Email each one of your potential referees and tell them about your intentions to apply for the fellowship and politely ask for a letter of recommendation. In the email, tell them you would be happy to provide him or her a draft letter if they prefer one (In the upwards of 50 times I have asked for a recommendation letter, 100% have preferred to be provided a draft – enough said).
Once you receive a confirmation from them, prepare a template letter for each one. Start by creating a business letter template in Word with the date and the fellowship organization’s address. Also insert “[on letterhead]“ at the top of the page to indicate that the letter should be placed on the person’s letterhead. Also add the salutation (Dear) with the name of the person who the letter is being addressed to. If there is no specific contact for the fellowship, direct the letter to the head of the organization and be sure to include the correct title (e.g. Dr.).
In my next post, I’ll go into detail about the next part of the template.
Next up: Get a Great Recommendation Letter, Part 2
© Victoria Johnson 2012, all rights reserved.
Many fellowships require a project or research proposal describing exactly what you plan to do during the fellowship period. The Project Proposal question in the fellowship application may be a series of questions, and it’s important you answer each one in your essay. Below is a list of the common questions, and what the fellowship committee really wants to know:
1. Question: What is the topic of your research?
What they’re really asking: Can you concisely explain your research question and goals?
2. Question: What is the purpose and merit of the research?
What they’re really asking: What will this research contribute to your field and to society, and are these contributions significant? How will the success of this research reflect on the fellowship organization?
3. Question: What is the research methodology?
What they’re really asking: Is the proposed research feasible in the time period of the fellowship, and will the candidate have adequate resources? Is the research over-ambitious or under-ambitious?
4. Question: How well-qualified are you to conduct this type of research?
What they’re really asking: Why should we believe you can successfully pull this off?
5. Question: How will you disseminate the results of your research?
What they’re really asking: Do you know the important people, journals, conferences and organizations in your field?
6. Question: What are the benefits of this project to you personally?
What they’re really asking: Are you passionate about this work? Will the completion of this research advance your career goals? Why is this fellowship opportunity more important to you than other opportunities?
Before you begin writing in earnest, it is a good exercise to develop several project proposal ideas and share them with former fellows, professors, colleagues and friends. In my previous post, I discuss the importance of tying your project ideas to something in the news and something time-specific.
Similar to my advice for preparing a strong personal statement, my advice for preparing a project proposal is to start by breaking down the questions and drafting potential answers in bullets. Once you have several bullet points under your questions, take the best ideas to begin writing sentences that directly answer the questions.
Think carefully about the methodology you are proposing. Proposing a project that is overly ambitious is as dangerous as proposing a project that is too simple. If you have a lot of uncertainty in some aspects of your proposal, such as access to research participants, ethics issues, and costs, I strongly suggest you propose a modified version, or even a completely different project, that allows no uncertainty about your ability to complete the research. For obvious reasons, fellowship organizations do not want to fund projects that may not succeed. Get as much advice as possible from professors, colleagues and experts on your methodology.
Another piece of advice I give to fellowship applicants, particularly those applying to a fellowship abroad, is figure out a way to incorporate travel in your research. You can propose a project that will chain you to a desk or a lab bench 5 days a week, but why not propose a project that requires focus groups, interviews or observations in different parts of the country? Your fellowship may allow you to travel on weekends, but if you can, make travel part of your job. That’s what I did.
The biggest advantage to writing a strong project or research proposal for your fellowship application is the knowledge that you don’t necessarily need to do exactly what you proposed once you win the fellowship. What is important is your ability to effectively convey an idea and an approach. For fellowship committees, the strength and effectiveness of your project proposal is the best indicator of your success. The idea itself is less important, and what we found from speaking to hundreds of fellowship winners is that many people change their idea after they win the fellowship.
Next: #8: Get a Great Recommendation Letter
© Victoria Johnson 2012, all rights reserved.
Fellowships applications vary widely, but almost all of them require a personal statement of a paragraph to several pages. The personal essay is similar to a college admissions essay, where you describe your career goals, your passions and why you want the fellowship. This essay is distinct from a project proposal where you describe your proposed research, although occasionally a fellowship organization will require you to mix the two in one document.
Example of the Personal Statement question on the New York City Urban Fellows application:
In an essay, not to exceed 1,000 words, please describe your reasons for applying to the Urban Fellows Program. We are interested in finding out what you can contribute and gain from the fellowship experience. The objective of this essay is to provide us with a better understanding of you and your interest in public service as well as how you will relate to the Urban Fellows community. You may want to draw upon past experiences in leadership, community service, team efforts, etc. that have significantly impacted your career goals. Do not recount your résumé.
No matter what the format of the essay, the best way to start is to break down the question(s). Using the Personal Statement question of the New York City Urban Fellows Program application as an example, I would break down the paragraph like this:
- describe your reasons for applying to the Urban Fellows Program
- what you can contribute [to the fellowship experience]
- what can you gain from the fellowship experience
- your interest in public service
- how you will relate to the Urban Fellows community
- draw upon past experiences in leadership, community service, team efforts, etc. [note: Do not recount your résumé.]
- your career goals
You now have 7 “questions” under which you can begin drafting some bullet points. It’s important that you provide an answer to each of these questions. I suggest bullet points instead of diving into writing because many people begin writing but end up stressing out about writing the perfect sentence (I know, because I am one of those people). Start with bullet points and think big. Write down anything and everything you can think of that might relate to the questions. Also, talk through some ideas with family, friends, professors, colleagues, whoever! It’s always interesting to hear other people’s perspectives on the trajectory of your career.
Most personal statements require you to describe your career goals. One thing I often hear from people is that they don’t really know what they want to do in their career and therefore don’t quite know how to answer this question. The thing is, most people don’t really know what they want to do with their life. However, the personal statement is not the place to speculate about your career path. If you are applying to a professional fellowship, your personal statement should express how and why you are committed to working in that professional field. The reason you need to sound confident about your career path in the personal statement is because a fellowship organization is more likely to pick a person who is focused and committed to a specific career in line with the fellowship, than a person who is just exploring options.
Also, be sure to explain in your personal statement why you want to the fellowship, how it will advance your career goals, how you will build upon the work you do during the fellowship and where you see yourself 5-10 years after the fellowship. A lot of applicants I work with spend most, if not all, of their personal statement describing things that they’ve already accomplished and use this information to justify why they want the fellowship. Fellowship organizations are less concerned about what you have accomplished as they are about what you could accomplish should they award you the fellowship. They want to know: will the fellowship help you publish? Will it help you enter or complete graduate school? Will it give you professional/language/technical skills you couldn’t get elsewhere? Will it get you one step closer to your dream job? Be sure to answer those questions in your personal statement. Your resume will highlight everything you’ve done until now.
Once you have lots of bullet points under your questions, take the best ideas to begin writing. One of the best ways to start is to write sentences that directly answer the questions, for example:
1. describe your reasons for applying to the Urban Fellows Program
“I am applying to the New York City Fellows Program to….”
2. what you can contribute [to the fellowship experience]
“My contribution to the fellowship program would be….”
3. what can you gain from the fellowship experience
“Unlike other professional experiences, the Urban Fellows Program would provide me…”
And so forth. You do not need to answer the questions in the order they were provided in the personal statement request. The most important thing is to be direct and concise, so the answers to the questions are very clear to the reader.
Always remember that the personal statement helps the fellowship organization understand who you are before they meet you in person. In your personal statement, your personality, character and passion should shine through.
Be sure to have several people read your personal statement, particularly your final draft since grammar errors and misspellings are hard to see once you’ve read the statement a hundred times.
Next up: #7: Prepare a Strong Project Proposal
© Victoria Johnson 2012, all rights reserved.
Many fellowships for independent research or professional development, like the German Chancellor Fellowship and some types of Fulbright awards, require you to find a host institution during the application process. Normally, the host is the organization that would provide you a desk, resources and mentorship during the course of the fellowship, and could be a university, research organization, government agency, non-profit, business, media agency or NGO.
Some find the process of identifying a host a daunting task, particularly if the fellowship is in a foreign country. Normally, fellowship staff will not help you with this process. Even if they are willing to give you some leads, it’s best not to ask them for a lot of assistance. Finding a host is an exercise in professional networking and a test of your resourcefulness.
The best place to start is to create a list of all the potential organizations you could reach out to and contacts. You can start this by:
- talking to former fellows about their host institutions
- talking to your university fellowship advisor about organizations the university has connections to
- talking to professors and work colleagues for ideas
- using Advanced Search on LinkedIn: use keywords to identify people working in your field and places where they’ve worked
- Google search
Once you have a list, read more about the organizations and their research and staff. Also note the organization’s location and consider if you want to be in a big city or small town. Rank the organizations on your list.
Next thing to do is to email someone from the first 2-3 organizations on your list. Try to get a personal introduction to someone in the organization from the former fellow, professor, colleague or university staff that gave you the lead. Also, use LinkedIn Advanced Search to see if you have friends of friends connected to that organization. If you still have no connections there, direct your email to the highest level person at the organization, such as an Executive Director, if reaching out to a small organization, or to the person working on the research program of interest if it is a larger organization.
Keep the email short and sweet. You can provide them more information later. Tell them which fellowship you are applying for (include the URL), that you are seeking a host (include the time period), and the general research areas/programs you are interested in. Do not go into a long description of your background. Introduce yourself briefly, e.g. “I’m a PhD student at Cornell in Government”, and attach your one page resume. Close with a request for a phone discussion in the near future. Give the person at least one week to respond, and follow-up with a short, polite email or a phone call. Hopefully within a few weeks you’ll have phone calls set up with a few potential host institutions. When speaking with potential hosts, keep your ideas for your fellowship project proposal broad – they may offer some great ideas for your proposal that you hadn’t thought of.
When I was preparing my German Chancellor Fellowship application in 2003, I went about my host institution search somewhat blindly. I did a Google search for organizations in Germany doing research in disaster management and sent out cold emails, in English, to several. Luckily, I heard back from the Executive Director of the Disaster Research Unit at the University of Kiel, who ultimately became my host. In retrospect, I would have been much more strategic about finding a host knowing what I know now. Cold calling and emailing can work, but I think the best strategy is to ask colleagues to introduce you. Also, once I arrived in Germany, I wasn’t that crazy about living in small town Kiel in northern Germany, so halfway through my fellowship year I figured out a way to change host institutions and move to Berlin. In addition to the location of the organization, consider the size, political leaning and workplace culture of the organization that may be your host.
Since finding host institutions is a challenge, we’re working on a way to match people to organizations with interest in hosting fellows. Sign-up for ProFellow’s beta to get involved!
Next up: #6: Prepare a Compelling Personal Statement
© Victoria Johnson 2012, all rights reserved.
It’s hard to find good, consistent advice these days on how to develop an effective resume. It’s true that that the ideal layout and length of the resume you submit with your fellowship application depends on the type of fellowship. In most, but not all, cases the length of your resume should correspond with your years of work experience. If you are a graduating senior applying to a professional fellowship, it’s best to prepare a very solid and eye-catching 1 page resume. However, if you are an academic applying to postdoctoral or senior lecturer fellowship, it may be necessary to prepare a much longer CV with all of your publications.
However, one thing I have noticed over the past 10 years is a trend towards effective brevity in resumes. Think about it: who really wants to read a long list of bullet points of everything you did in your last 10 jobs? Even if you have over 10 years of work experience, there is something elegant and compelling about the one-page resume highlighting your most interesting accomplishments. Whenever possible, I would recommend a one page resume even if you have many years of work experience.
It’s much more effective to describe what you accomplished in your positions and activities, not just what you did. For example, Ryan listed in his LinkedIn resume: “Added integral features to IDENTITY GUARD® Total ProtectionSM, including anti-virus software and MOBILE LOCKBOX®, resulting in a 700% customer increase and #1 ranking in PC World magazine.” This is much more compelling then “Served as Product Manager of the award-winning IDENTITY GUARD® Total ProtectionSM”.
Efficiently describing your accomplishments in a one page resume is an art, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. Check out your friends’ and colleagues’ LinkedIn pages to see who does this best, and approach them for advice, even if they’re not in your field.
Other things I recommend are listing awards and their level of competitiveness, including semi-finalist and alternate placings. For example, if you applied to a business plan competition and were a semi-finalist, describe this accomplishment in numbers, i.e. “competitively selected as a Semi Finalist (10 out of 400 candidates) for the Best Business Plan Competition”.
Next up: #5: Finding a Host Institution
© Victoria Johnson 2012, all rights reserved.
When developing a fellowship application, I recommend reaching out to former fellows that have done similar projects or have a similar background to yours. They can give you project ideas, tips on the application process and interviews, and can often introduce you directly to potential host institutions. Also, we found from talking to hundreds of fellowship winners and seekers that connections with former fellows during the application process is one of the key distinguishers between people who win fellowships and people who don’t. Take note.
If you’re lucky, the fellowship organization will have a database of fellowship alumni that you can use to find relevant alumni and make contacts. If not, reach out to the fellowship staff and politely ask if there are fellowship alumni they can connect you to. Provide them some of your overarching ideas for a fellowship project proposal, and request contacts of fellows who have worked in similar fields and completed the fellowship in the last five years. Also ask to be connected to one fellow from the current or latest class, whether or not they work in your field. They will have the best insights on the current application process and selection committee.
If fellowship staff cannot connect you with alumni, or only provide you with 1 or 2 contacts, other strategies to find former fellows include using LinkedIn advanced search or connecting to the fellowship’s Facebook page, if one exists. You should also try contacting your university’s fellowship office to see if they know of any alumni or faculty who have won the fellowship. If you still only have 1 or 2 contacts, you could ask those fellows to connect you with other fellows.
Former fellows are busy people like everyone else, so before speaking to them, prepare a list of questions. For example:
1) How did you identify a host institution? Did you or any other fellows work on [my topic area] and if yes, who hosted them?
2) What did you propose to do and how specific were you about your approach/methodology/experience, etc. in the application?
3) What was the interview process like? What questions did they ask? What are the selection committee members like? What do you think they look for in a candidate?
4) What do you think gave your application an edge?
If the fellowship alumnus is really friendly and helpful, don’t be afraid to ask them if they would review your essay and/or project proposal. The feedback you can get from people who have actually won the fellowship is better than any feedback you can get from a professor, university fellowship advisor or colleague.
Next up: #4: Prepare An Effective Resume
© Victoria Johnson 2012, all rights reserved.