Career Services Blog


Report from Washington DC

This past spring break, 8 Evans School students visited Washington DC to make networking connections. They met with numerous alumni, from agencies like USAID, the EPA, GAO, and many more. We asked them to report back on their experience, and we heard from a few of them as well as some alumni. Here's our first report. If you attended this "field trip" to DC, please send a report for future blog posts to evansdcs@u.washington.edu.

From an international development networker:

I had a busy week in Washington, DC. I was fortunate to meet with people in a number of organizations including USAID, Congressional Research Service, The International Monetary Fund, The State Department, RAND Corporation, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and a several others. I found that:

  • Number one tip: Don't wait until you're ready to graduate or looking for jobs to do informational interviews. I had at least a couple people say, "Shucks, we could have found a great DP for you."
  • While people are definitely very busy, they're still usually willing to talk to an interested graduate student. I also had great luck with people I had no connection with besides an interest in their work/organization.
  • Contacts will know lots of places you wouldn't have known to look for openings. Ask about this specifically.
  • Almost everybody was more than willing to connect me with their friends and colleagues. It's also a pretty small world.
  • For men: I initially tried to get around it, but I'd highly recommend a suit/jacket and tie in DC. I found Zara and H&M good affordable options.
    (It's even cheaper if you return something at the end of the week...)
  • Not everybody will understand the informational interview concept.
    Don't be afraid to interrupt and say you really want to know about their experiences. Advantages include less chance for you to say something foolish, you learn what their work is really like, and you build better rapport.
  • Don't hesitate to get feedback on your resume if you can. I only did a couple times and wish I had asked more people. Also be sure to ask what makes candidates stand out and how hiring decisions are made. You might be surprised.

From a Presidential Management Fellowship Finalist:

I survived the PMF Job Fair... and I accepted an offer from EPA's Climate Change Division, in the Climate Science and Impacts Branch! I'm very excited about this opportunity because it's in exactly the area I wanted to work.

I met several alumni of various backgrounds; despite the age range of these alumni, all of them got their start in federal government with the PMF program. One alumnus, now a high-ranking director at the EPA, says he was in the very first class of PMIs (the former name of the PMF program)! He started out working with the Department of Defense in Hawaii, dropped out of the PMI program to pursue his PhD, and made his way back into government after that. He's now in the Senior Executive Service (SES), so he talked a lot about understanding the tradeoffs between family life and dedication to work, especially if you have ambitions to make it all the way up to the SES.

Another alumna started out with NOAA's National Weather Service, was able to do 4 rotations during her PMI (which is a lot! almost unheard of) and ended up converting into a permanent position with NOAA's Legislative Affairs. She moved away from DC for a while, and then moved back and got this job with the National Park Service's Legislative Affairs office. She says that once you get into Legislative Affairs, you can become somewhat pigeon-holed (i.e., it's harder to move out of the DC office and into a managerial position in the field, if that's what you're looking for), but it's fast-paced, high profile, and generally pretty exciting work. All of the alumni I met are very nice people who seem very open to talking to Evan students. One was particularly helpful with advice about environmental positions at the PMF Job Fair.

From an alumna at an international development nonprofit:

Things went well during the Evans student visits in DC.

I've been meeting with other job seekers and former Evans students as well, and noticed that Evans students seem to be directed heavily to GAO jobs. The GAO is fantastic, but there are many other DC opportunities as well. I've tried to explain that it's critical to determine if a candidate would like a more analysis-heavy, "desk job" when considering the GAO.

Another question that I've fielded recently from Evans students: I want an international development career with NGOs. Should I be looking at the jobs with "beltway bandits"? In the midst of the economic downturn, these private, for-profit contract firms are still hiring while many NGOs are in hiring freeze mode. You can often get around NGO hiring freezes by looking at consultancies/temporary positions and starting the job process earlier (because it takes longer internally to get exceptions made for the most mission-critical jobs). That said, I'd encourage students and job seekers to stay true to what they want most and envision for their career path as much as possible.

DC Metro Area Online Nonprofit Job Listings:

Published on May 1, 2009