Surviving and Thriving during the AAAS STPF Executive Branch Finalist Week
Congratulations on making it to finalist week! Finalist week can be very busy and hectic, particularly as you request and navigate interviews with host offices you are interested in. My goal with this post is not to overwhelm you, but to offer several strategies for starting finalist week off on the right foot and to provide reassurance as you navigate this process.
First, I want to say that it’s OK if you don’t have many, or any, interviews on your schedule as you enter finalist week. When I interviewed for the Executive Branch fellowship in the spring of 2024, I had two interviews on my schedule at the start of the week. This meant I had to put in a little extra time during finalist week to reach out to additional offices I was interested in, explain why I was a good fit for their position(s), and request an interview. AAAS STPF will typically release a list of placement opportunities and corresponding job descriptions about a week before finalist week. Review this list carefully, and highlight or rank the positions that you are most interested in. Keep in mind that the number of available positions varies by year, so my experience from 2024 may differ from yours.
From Inbox to Itinerary: Building Your Interview Week
Ahead of finalist week, it can be helpful to draft personal emails to the offices you wish to contact to request interviews. However, do not actually send any emails to host offices until AAAS STPF has given the green light. I followed this structure for my emails:
- Introduced myself and my current role
- Expressed interest in the position offered at their office
- Explained how my background would be a good fit for the role
- Attached my resume to provide additional context
- Requested an interview for the week and provided my availability
- Expressed gratitude for their time
- Provided my email address and phone number for them to contact me
When Monday afternoon of finalist week rolls around (and AAAS STPF allows you to send emails), you’ll be ready to hit send on those draft emails to the host offices you are interested in and start adding interviews to your schedule shortly thereafter!
By using the above approach, I was able to add 9 additional interviews to my finalist week schedule, for a total of 11 interviews across the 5 days. Everyone has a different scheduling threshold. I found that 11 interviews was plenty for me to manage in one week, particularly since finalist week was in person in the DC area in 2024. This meant I was traveling across the metro area by public transportation and ride-shares all week. Don’t underestimate the travel time and the exhaustion that come with it if your interview week is also in person in the DC area. Additionally, don’t take it personally if some offices decline to meet with you. Certain offices quickly fill their schedule for the week. There will likely be other opportunities for you.
Your finalist week may be taking place virtually, which means it’s hypothetically easier to schedule even more interviews since you can take consecutive Zoom or Teams calls from the comfort of your home or current workplace. My advice would be to avoid overloading your schedule. Pick your top 5-10 positions as a starting point. Prioritize preparing for those interviews and gathering as much information as you can to help you make a decision should you receive a match. Packing your schedule with back-to-back virtual interviews is not only going to make it harder for you to remember the details of each position, it will also make it difficult for you to have time to reflect after each call and discern whether the position aligns with what you hope to obtain from this fellowship.
The Secret Weapon: A Good Note-Taking System
Whether your interviews are in person or virtual, you will want to have a way to take notes and process what you learn from each host office. Any notes you take either during the interview or just after, while in between meetings or in transit to the next meeting, will help you greatly after finalist week when AAAS asks you to rank your placement preferences for matching with host offices. Without notes, all of your interviews from this condensed period of time can quickly become a blur.
My strategy to facilitate note-taking was to have a printed template of questions to ask each host office. While my template, which I’m sharing here, contains many questions, I only had time to ask about 3-5 questions during each interview. I made sure to ask the same questions of each office, so I could do a true comparison between the positions.
Disclaimer: while some of the questions in my template were appropriate or relevant to ask in spring 2024, an election year, they may no longer be appropriate or relevant for the year of your finalist week. Use your own best judgment when deciding which questions are appropriate to ask at the time of your interviews.
The “notes” and “overall impressions” sections I completed in my template document after each interview ultimately helped me determine whether to pursue an opportunity, how to rank it, and what follow-up questions I might need to ask a host office and/or a potential mentor. Feel free to use this template file as you wish, deleting or editing questions as you see fit, or adding new questions according to your priorities for your fellowship. This document is just a starting point!
The Follow-Up That Could Set You Apart
After each interview, I sent each host office a thank-you email within 24 hours. While sending a thank-you email is often a matter of personal preference, it can also be strategic. This email allows you to express ongoing interest in the role, reiterate why you are a good fit for the role, and could provide you with an opportunity to ask a few remaining questions that you did not have a chance to ask during the interview. Don’t ask a million questions over email, however. Offices are generally very busy and will not have time to send a lengthy written response. If you are really interested in a position and it’s a top choice, you could potentially use the thank you email to ask for a second meeting with the host office, especially if it’s toward the end of interview week, you have remaining questions, and you sense that the host office may be mutually interested in hiring you as their fellow.
Fellows Know Best: Attending the Happy Hours for Insight
Outside of interviews with host offices, there will be opportunities during finalist week to meet current fellows during in-person or virtual happy hours. These meet-ups are often agency-specific, such as a combined happy hour with fellows currently placed at DOT/DOE/NASA or one with fellows placed at NIH. Attend these casual meet-ups to learn more about the culture of each agency and to ask any remaining questions. Current fellows are often more candid in a way that host offices may not be during a formal interview. Use these informal opportunities to help you further discern which agencies and placements will be the right fit for you. Note that alcohol is always optional at happy hours; people will be happy you are there to network, whether or not you are imbibing.
Dress Code Decoded
Lastly, I want to comment on attire, as it’s often a question at the top of many finalists’ minds. You don’t have to buy an entirely new wardrobe for interview week, although many people do take this as an opportunity to buy new clothing that they know they will likely wear again once they are fellows. The majority of finalists will wear business attire, such as a suit or blazer, to their interviews. Some finalists will opt for business casual attire. You’ll notice that attire within host offices varies from agency to agency. Almost everyone at the State Department dresses in business attire, whereas attire at NSF is typically business casual. The important thing is to look professional, feel confident, and be comfortable. If you are interviewing in person in the DC area, wear shoes you are comfortable walking around in!
You're About to See Inside the Federal Government Like Almost No One Else
Before my finalist week, an alum fellow told me to treat this experience as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see inside multiple agencies. I couldn’t agree more. When else can you meet with staff from NASA headquarters, the Office of the Director at NIH, and the Pentagon, all in the course of one day? Finalist week is an incredible opportunity to learn about the executive branch of our federal government, and it’s an opportunity most people never get. Trust yourself, be curious, and enjoy the process. Best of luck!
Author
Andrea Henle, Ph.D.
2024-2026 Executive Branch Fellow at the U.S. National Science Foundation
Editors
Swati Narasimhan, Ph.D.
Sci on the Fly, Editor
2025-2026 Legislative Branch Fellow at the U.S. Senate
Mahlet Garedew, Ph.D.
Sci on the Fly, Editor
2025-2026 Executive Branch Fellow at the Department of Energy
