City Hall Fellows- What are the requirements to be a City Hall Fellow?
- What cities host City Hall Fellows programs?
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How many Fellows were selected for the class of 2011?
- How do you decide in which city to place Fellows?
- Is it possible to apply for more than one city?
- Do I have to be from a particular city to be selected for its class?
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Can I apply to be a Fellow in a city other than Houston, San Francisco, or Baton Rouge?
- Can I apply to be a Fellow if I already have a graduate degree or am in the middle of a graduate degree program?
- If I live in another country or am not a US Citizen, can I apply to the program?
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If I previously applied to be a Fellow, can I re-apply?
- What is the application process?
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Will I have an opportunity to talk to a current Fellow prior to submitting my application?
Can I apply to work in a specific city agency?
- When is the application deadline?
- How do I submit my application?
- How should the recommendation be submitted?
- Do I need to submit an official transcript?
- How can I pay the application fee?
- If I applied to a prior program, do I need to include all the
materials in the application, or can you re-use my application from
last year?
- When will I be told if I am invited to interview?
- What if I can’t make the in-person interview date?
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When will I be told if I have been selected to be a Fellow?
- When does the Fellowship year start?
- How long does the Fellowship last?
- What will I be doing during the Fellowship?
- Can I have other employment during the Fellowship?
- Can I attend school during the Fellowship?
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Can I apply to graduate or law school during the Fellowship?
- Will any Fellowship or job-related travel be required of me?
- How much are Fellows paid?
- Can I take a vacation during the Fellowship?
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Does City Hall Fellows provide housing?
- Who do I contact if I have any questions not answered in this FAQ?
What are the requirements to be a City Hall Fellow?
The City Hall Fellows program is designed primarily for recent college graduates who have not yet attended graduate school. For the Class of 2011, City Hall Fellows will accept applications from persons who earned a bachelor’s degree in 2007, 2008 or 2009 or who are graduating from college in 2010. Applicants need not have earned their bachelor’s degree before applying, but must earn a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution prior to their Fellowship start date.
Applicants from all majors and academic disciplines will be considered and are encouraged to apply. Fellows are expected to possess the following characteristics: (i) academic achievement, (ii) written and oral communication skills, (iii) leadership potential and ability, (iv) dedication to public service; and (v) an entrepreneurial spirit appropriate for participating in our growing program. While there is no GPA cut-off, the Fellowship is competitive. Additionally, preference is given to applicants who can demonstrate a strong connection to the city for which they are applying.
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What cities host City Hall Fellows programs?
In 2010-2011, the City of Houston, the City and County of San Francisco, and the City of Baton Rouge / East Baton Rouge Parish will host City Hall Fellows programs.
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How many Fellows will be selected for the Class of 2011?
The Class of 2010 has 15 Fellows -- 9 working in Houston and 6 in San Francisco. We anticipate that comparable numbers of Fellows will be selected for those cities for the Class of 2011, with up to 6 additional Fellows for the new Baton Rouge site.
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How do you decide in which city to place Fellows?
Applicants must designate on their application form which city they are applying for.
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Is it possible to apply for more than one city?
Yes. However, in order to apply to more than one city, applicants must submit separate, entire applications for each city, including the application fee. While the bulk of the application will be the same, applicants must articulate why they want to work in each city they are applying to and create a policy proposal specific to each city. The applications will be evaluated independently, although applicants will not be invited to interview for more than one city. We strongly discourage applicants from applying to more than one city unless they have a strong desire to work in each and a strong connection to more than one city.
Do I have to be from a particular city to be selected for its class?
No. But you will be asked on the application to explain why you have chosen the city you are applying for and to create a policy proposal specific to that city. Preference will be given to applicants who demonstrate a strong connection to and knowledge of the city they apply for.
Can I apply to be a Fellow in a city other than Houston, San Francisco, or Baton Rouge?
No. In 2010-2011, the City of Houston, the City and County of San Francisco, and the City of Baton Rouge are the only cities hosting City Hall Fellows programs. City Hall Fellows expects to add more host cities in future years.
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Can I apply to be a Fellow if I already have a graduate degree or am in the middle of a graduate degree program?
Yes. Persons who have earned or are in the process of earning graduate degrees may apply for the Fellowship so long as they earned their bachelor’s degree no earlier than 2007. Additionally, applicants who are in the middle of a graduate degree program must be prepared to take a year sabbatical from their graduate studies to participate in City Hall Fellows. Fellows may not attend graduate school during the Fellowship. The compensation package is the same for all Fellows in a city, regardless of whether or not they earn a graduate degree before beginning their Fellowship term.
If I live in another country or am not a US Citizen, can I apply to the program?
Applicants do not have to be US Citizens. However, all applicants must be legally authorized to live and work in the United States. City Hall Fellows does not sponsor visas for applicants not authorized to work in the U.S.
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If I previously applied to be a Fellow, can I re-apply?
Yes. City Hall Fellows welcomes applicants from previous year's pools to re-apply so long as they are still eligible for the program. Please note that all applicants for the Class of 2011 begin on equal footing, regardless of prior Fellowship offers, waitlist status, and/or interview invitations from previous years.
What is the application process?
City Hall Fellows has a two-stage application process: a written application followed by finalist interviews. Select applicants are invited to participate in half-day in-person interviews in their potential host cities. The deadline to submit the written application is March 12, 2010, at Noon PST.
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Will I have an opportunity to talk to a current Fellow prior to applying?
Current Fellows will participate in a limited amount of recruiting activities, including some local events in each city and webinars. Those events will be posted on our recruiting calendar as they are scheduled. However, the Fellowship is too demanding to allow them time to speak one-on-one with applicants. The recruiting schedule for the Class of 2011 has now ended; events will resume when the application cycle for the Class of 2012 begins.
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Can I apply to work in a specific city agency?
No. We select Fellows for cities, not for specific city agencies. You may only apply to a specific city. During the Fellowship orientation, Fellows will learn about the specific work placements available that year and will be matched to those positions based upon their interest, skills and rapport with the position supervisor. However, there is no guarantee that, even if selected for a Fellowship, you will be matched to your first-choice city agency. Therefore, if you strongly desire to work for a particular city agency, we encourage you to apply directly for a regular position within that agency.
Please see the About the Fellows page for the list of agencies currently hosting Fellows. Different agencies may be involved next year.
When is the application deadline?
The deadline to submit the written application was March 12, 2010, at Noon PST.
How do I submit my application?
The application must be submitted on-line through our website. We strongly encourage you to read the application handbook carefully before applying. You also may download the application checklist to gather all necessary materials and information. We also strongly urge you to draft your essays offline. When you are ready to submit your entire application, follow the link to the electronic application. Make sure your browser is java-enabled and all scriptblockers are disabled, or else the application may not properly load. After completing the application, your browser will automatically be directed to PayPal, where you can pay the required application fee.
How should the recommendation be submitted?
We prefer that the recommendation be uploaded with the rest of your application. The recommendation need not be confidential. However, if your recommender prefers to keep the recommendation confidential, they can submit it directly to us via e-mail: apply@cityhallfellows.org. We do not accept recommendations through the mail. All recommendations MUST be received by the application deadline, March 12, 2010 at Noon PST.
If your recommender submits their recommendation directly, please make sure that they: (1) include your name in the subject line, and (2) state your full name and your school in the recommendation to help us match it to your file.
We strongly encourage you to submit the recommendation with the rest of your application. Well-intentioned as your professors and supervisors may be, they are also incredibly busy. In the previous application cycles, a significant percentage of recommendations submitted directly by the recommender either never arrived or arrived too late to be considered with the application. While we do not seek to penalize applicants for circumstances beyond their control, it does not change the fact that, if your recommendation does not arrive on time, our application readers will not have access to a key component of your application. If you ask a recommender to submit a recommendation directly, you should do so understanding that we may not be able to consider the recommendation if it does not arrive before the application deadline.
Do I need to submit an official transcript?
You do not need to submit an official transcript with your written application. All finalists will have to bring a sealed official transcript to their interview session.
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How can I pay the application fee?
You pay the application fee directly through the application itself. Do not pay it separately. The $25 application fee must be paid via PayPal as part of the application. PayPal accepts all major credit cards as well as direct remittances from bank accounts in lieu of checks. You do not need a PayPal account to pay the fee. We do not accept paper checks or money orders.
Can I submit my application through the mail?
No. You must submit your application through the website.
If I applied to a prior program, do I need to include all the materials in the application, or can you re-use my application from last year?
Repeat applicants must submit complete application packages (including all transcripts, a recommendation and the application fee) to be considered.
When will I be told if I am invited to interview?
Interview invitations will be extended no later than April 2. At that time, applicants not invited to interview will be informed of their status. All applicants will receive notification at the same time.
Each interview lasts 1/2 day. Interviews will be held on the following dates:
Baton Rouge: April 22-23, 2010
Houston: April 19-20, 2010
San Francisco: April 15-16, 2010
What if I can’t make the in-person interview date?
The interview is an extremely important part of the Fellow selection process. Consequently, applicants are expected to make every effort to attend the interview in person in the city for which they applied. In the rare case where attendance would constitute a severe personal or financial hardship, City Hall Fellows will consider requests for alternate arrangements. Instructions on the process for requesting alternative arrangements will be provided at the time interview invitations are extended.
When will I be told if I have been selected to be a Fellow?
City Hall Fellows will notify all finalists of their status within 10-14 days after their interviews. Persons invited to be Fellows must commit within 21 days of being notified of their selection or their invitation to be a Fellow may be rescinded. A limited number of finalists will be selected for a waitlist. We will notify waitlisted finalists as soon as we are able to offer a Fellowship or when the Fellowship Class is officially full. In the past, we have offered positions to wait-listed finalists.
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When does the Fellowship year start?
The 2010-2011 Fellowship year starts on Monday, August 2. All Fellows must be available to report to work in their host city that day.
How long does the Fellowship last?
The 2010-2011 City Hall Fellows program will run from August 2, 2010 through July 30, 2011. Fellows are required to be available for full-time employment in their host city during this entire period.
What will I be doing during the Fellowship?
The Fellowship is an intensive, full-time experience. It has two primary components:
Work Placement: Each Fellow will be placed in a single city office working directly for a senior-level city official during the course of their Fellowship year. Fellows serve as full-time staffers and perform work that is critical to the mission of their host agencies. Fellows will be matched to their work placements during a 3-week Fellowship Orientation and will begin working at their placements promptly after Orientation. Each placement will allow Fellows one afternoon off each week to participate in the Civic Leadership Development Program. See our Fellows’ pages for a list of the placements filled by prior classes.
Civic Leadership Development Program: City Hall Fellows' proprietary Civic Leadership Development Program teaches Fellows how cities, local governments and metropolitan regions function, why they function as they do, and how citizens can change them for the better -- all in ways that are relevant to Fellows' own on-the-job experiences. The Program is divided into four phases: Orientation, Structure of Local Government, Functions of Local Government and Creating Public Policy. As part of this Program, Fellows will visit their state capital and convene in Washington, D.C. with other City Hall Fellows from around the country. The Civic Leadership Development Program spans the entire Fellowship year.
Service Projects: During the year, Fellows will create individual and group service projects as part of the Civic Leadership Development Program. These projects are designed to directly engage them in their topics of interest, tie together the applied skills, academic information, and local knowledge that they will acquire during the year, and provide them with work products that will be useful in applying for post-Fellowship academic and professional opportunities. They will provide Fellows' supervisors and departments with analysis, data, and viewpoints they may not be able to generate internally and, through the final project, provide the city government with a comprehensive proposal to a problem or challenge that the community wishes to have solved. There are a total of three service projects during the program.
Can I have other employment during the Fellowship?
The City Hall Fellows experience is extremely intensive. Fellows will not have time for outside employment during their Fellowship.
Can I attend school during the Fellowship?
The City Hall Fellows experience is extremely intensive. Fellows will not have time to attend school during their Fellowship.
Can I apply to graduate or law school during the Fellowship?
Yes. But you may not begin studying in a graduate degree program until after your Fellowship ends. The 2010-2011 Fellowship year is expected to run through July 30, 2011.
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Will any Fellowship or job-related travel be required of me?
As part of the Civic Leadership Development Program, Fellows are required to travel to their state capital and to Washington, D.C. The dates of the trips will not be determined until next fall. While most work placements are not expected to require substantial travel, Fellows will be expected to undertake travel appropriate to their jobs when and if requested by their work supervisors.
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Fellows receive an stipend appropriate for an entry-level position and commensurate to the cost of living in the city where they work. While compensation will vary by locale, within each city, the compensation package is the same for all Fellows, regardless of their academic degrees, prior experience or city work placements. The exact compensation packages will be announced at a later point in the application process.
What health benefits do Fellows get?
Fellows will either have access to employer-sponsored health insurance or be provided an additional stipend to apply towards health insurance. The exact compensation package may vary by locale.
Can I take a vacation during the Fellowship?
Fellows will get a reasonable number of personal days similar to the number of days given to regular new employees of their host cities. However, Fellows are expected to attend all Civic Leadership Development Program sessions and to plan their vacations accordingly. Fellows may not take vacation during any part of Orientation or during the trips to the state capital and Washington, DC.
Does City Hall Fellows provide housing?
No. Fellows are expected to secure their own accommodations.
Who do I contact if I have questions that are not answered in this FAQ?
Please send an email to apply@cityhallfellows.org. Our staff will endeavor to respond to you within 3 business days.
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