Bias and Selection

[WomanEngineer212]

I’ve been reading about bias for reaching out to SFs and I don’t see anything official about that on their website. I did reach out but only to their LinkedIn and I’ve emailed one person so far but no one actually knows me or has answered me… I’m wondering if I’m going to be disqualified and why hasn’t SMART explicitly stated this on their website? I understand that everyone deserves a fair chance but I don’t think I should be punished for being enthusiastic about potentially being a scholar at the facility I emailed.

[Anoyneoiuyes]

Where have you been seeing this bias for reaching out? Wdym by punished?

[WomanEngineer212]

I read it on this forum somewhere that if you reach out to an SF trying to advertise yourself, that it is frowned upon, which I don’t understand. And the way you are punished is that they will not select you for that reason

[Anoyneoiuyes]

There isnt anything you can do now, just don't worry about it

[Guest]

I read it on this forum somewhere that if you reach out to an SF trying to advertise yourself, that it is frowned upon, which I don’t understand. And the way you are punished is that they will not select you for that reason

I think that it is assumed that you aren't going to solicit Sponsoring Facilities. I can see why you would want to reach out -- applications have been submitted over a month ago and nobody has heard anything. It is nerve racking. But you have to understand, the selection process exists the way it does for a reason. These people have their own jobs and can only interview you and give you a recommendation. You need to be selected by SMART to receive the scholarship anyways.

Should/Will you be disqualified from the scholarship for reaching out to SF's ahead of time? Probably not, you are just being proactive. Is it inappropriate? Definitely yes.

[NuclearGirly]

Did you reach out before or after submitting? Honestly I don’t think it matters. If you want to put yourself at ease watch some of the video seminars smart has posted on their website. I’ve seen almost all of them. The people who select smart scholars for different SFs spoke about this specifically. The general consensus was that those who made an effort to reach out tend to get a few extra minutes of consideration. They did say that a lot of them are busy and many simply don’t have the time to reach back out. The point of this program is to get people into the DoD who want to be there and hopefully retain them as full time employees after their service commitment is over. Think of SFs as future employers. Reaching out to a prospective employer in response to an open position you are qualified for, expressing your interest in working for them, and asking for more information isn’t unprofessional… It’s a pretty standard practice. It shows your passion and interest. If contacting a SF hurt your chances they wouldn’t give you the option to do so in the application.

Again, watch the video seminars in them they encouraged people to reach out via HR emails, LinkedIn, and other contact methods outside of the app!

Hope this makes you feel a little better

[NuclearGirly]

Did you reach out before or after submitting? Honestly I don’t think it matters. If you want to put yourself at ease watch some of the video seminars smart has posted on their website. I’ve seen almost all of them. The people who select smart scholars for different SFs spoke about this specifically. The general consensus was that those who made an effort to reach out tend to get a few extra minutes of consideration. They did say that a lot of them are busy and many simply don’t have the time to reach back out. The point of this program is to get people into the DoD who want to be there and hopefully retain them as full time employees after their service commitment is over. Think of SFs as future employers. Reaching out to a prospective employer in response to an open position you are qualified for, expressing your interest in working for them, and asking for more information isn’t unprofessional… It’s a pretty standard practice. It shows your passion and interest. If contacting a SF hurt your chances they wouldn’t give you the option to do so in the application.

Again, watch the video seminars in them they encouraged people to reach out via HR emails, LinkedIn, and other contact methods outside of the app!

Hope this makes you feel a little better

Also, I reached out to a SF and they emailed anyone who did and hosted a zoom conference so we could learn more about them. You’re fine!

[Guest]

I read it on this forum somewhere that if you reach out to an SF trying to advertise yourself, that it is frowned upon, which I don’t understand. And the way you are punished is that they will not select you for that reason

I saw someone say they got interviews by reaching out in old posts somewhere and just sent an email to a facility to thank them for considering my application.

Seemed to make sense to treat it like a job application because sponsoring facilities are looking for candidates to hire. Thanking them for their time would be the professional thing to do if they are one of the facilities you selected so you know they got notified of your specific application it feels.

Videos on the website also encourage people to reach out to sponsoring facilities to learn more and engage, etc.