When I moved to D.C. in 2009 I quickly discovered the most amazing thing on the planet. I discovered the chicken po’boy salad at Chopt. For those who don’t know Chopt is a chain that only serves salads and wraps at an absurd price that only big city snobs, like myself, would pay to eat. For nearly eight years I’ve been obsessed with this meal and often go to great efforts to obtain it. Chopt is very popular so I’ve spent countless hours waiting in line to obtain my po’boy salad. This may sound very shallow of me but I’ve noticed that almost all the people who eat at Chopt appear to be in relatively good shape. This has lead me to ponder ‘wouldn’t a salad place be filled with overweight people since they ‘really need’ to be eating salads.’ I know I sound like a total jerk, but the point holds value.
I had the same line of thinking when I launched D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship. I thought this new opportunity would attract the people who ‘really need it.’ I envisioned the person 4 years out of undergrad with their political science degree working at the mall desperately needing me to ‘turn them around.’ I thought of the college senior just weeks from graduation with no plan, a bad resume, and in desperate need of guidance.
I then started thinking of actual people I’ve interacted with the last two years. The people who were more than willing to let me spend hours reviewing their resume, giving them advice, and connecting them with my personal network only to never thank me or follow up with me again. I thought to myself ‘oh yeah these people really need the D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship.’
Throughout January and February of 2016 I spent 100+ hours creating, recording, and editing the first 15 modules for D.C. Boot Camp, the online crash course to Washington, D.C.. The modules walk you through how to understand, use, and create your own great resume and then become a master networker who no longer needs job boards or online applications. As I poured myself into these modules almost hourly I would think to myself ‘man this is going to turn their lives around.’
So when I opened my doors for business I didn’t see couch potatoes waddling in to get their salad, I saw tri-athletes and cyclists rush inside. Just in the first four months we saw three members of our group have landed jobs on Capitol Hill, a member got into a prestigious D.C. graduate school, another member has decided to enroll at a renowned law school, a member landed a job at the Department of Defense, one landed a job at Ameri-corps, while several others are making incredible professional contacts and personal strides. We’ve seen three members make it from the middle of the country to good paying professional jobs in D.C. and two others receive full rides to law school.
This is not to imply they were accepted into D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship and magically this happened for them. In fact most had these opportunities nailed down or at least lined up before joining our group. The point is the D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship continues to attract these types of applicants.
I can say with 100% certainty that every current D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship member is in a better position at their current age than I was at that age.
The overall eagerness, attitude, and spirit of our members has lead to inter-group networking, advice, and support that has been truly inspiring to watch. Yet I’m a little disappointed in myself for being so surprised. I learned a long time ago that successful people naturally end up together.
The 31 members of this group know the immeasurable value one can gain by surrounding yourself with successful people. They have each tasted failure, disappointment, and frustration and they all hated the taste! That is why they continually strive to learn more, connect more, share more, and grow more because they know they are far too young to be content.
You can’t reach a certain level of physical fitness then just start eating Taco Bell everyday; we all know what would happen. The same is true with your career; you have to keep eating that salad.
I recommend the chicken po’boy!
Click Here to Learn More on the D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship Page and how you can apply to be become a member…spots are limited!
Click Here to Watch a 20-Minute Video Explaining D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship