Atlas Corps considers applications on a rolling basis and year-round, but often launches special recruitment campaigns that prioritize the review of candidates with specific backgrounds in high demand. Please visit apply.atlascorps.org for new active opportunities.

Since Atlas Corps receives hundreds of applications each month, the overall vetting process may take 1 – 3 months to complete. For a timely consideration of their application, it’s recommended that candidates apply by a priority deadline if one is listed on the website for a specific opportunity.

1. Context and Plain Language. Avoid the use of jargon and assume that the application reviewer does not know anything about your professional background, industry, and why the work you do is important. Include relevant background details and historical information to help the reader understand your background, and don’t use acronyms without first spelling out the full meaning.

2. Details and Results. Avoid vague responses that lack clarity. Instead, provide detailed and concrete examples that demonstrate the results you have achieved in your professional career. We want to know about your individual contributions to the goals and objectives of a team or organization. When appropriate, use statistics and numbers to support these claims.

3. Consistency. Highlight professional expertise, including social issue areas and skill sets, throughout your entire application, such as in the biography, essays, social issue areas and skills sections. Your application should tell a consistent story about your professional experience and what you’re passionate about. Ask yourself if there is a clear connection between your work and your goals in the Fellowship. If you have changed fields or career paths, ensure that your application clearly communicates this change.

4. Keywords and Statistics. Please answer application questions thoroughly, as using statistics and keywords in your response will ensure that your application is matched with appropriate roles. In the skills section, you should write out technical terms describing your expertise and the proper names of the software you are proficient in.

5. Passion and Social impact. Communicate your passion for one or more social issue(s) by describing what inspired you to address this social issue and why it is important to you. Connect your passion to the impact you’ve achieved so far in the social issue area and your intended future impact. We especially want to know how the Fellowship will help you address social issues and achieve impact after the program.

6. Tell the Truth. Make sure your application is truthful, complete, and accurate. In interviews, Host Organizations test the skills (including softwares) listed in your application.

7. Write a Strong Biography. Your biography is very important as it builds the first impression of your overall qualifications for the Fellowship. Be sure that it reflects your professional skills and relevant experience as well as social issues you’re passionate about.

8. Skill expertise. The most successful candidates demonstrate their expertise in a specific skill area throughout the entire application, including the resume, biography, employment history, and short essay section. If your application does not demonstrate at least two years of experience in one skill area, then it is unlikely that your application will be successful. Keep in mind the following when filling out the skills section:

  • Give specific details and examples when you’re describing your skills and interests. If you say you manage volunteers, how many volunteers do you manage? If you work in fundraising, how much money have you raised or how many successful grant applications have you worked on?
  • In your application, you can choose up to 3 skills that best represent your professional experience. The first skill you list (Skill 1) should be your primary skill-set in which you have the most education and experience (think what does my role title communicate?). Do you have other professional skills and experience complementing your primary skill? They could be marked as your Skill 2 or Skill 3.

9. Additional Guidance. Atlas Corps has developed additional tips for filling out your application’s biography and skills section. Please see this guidance below.

Biography Section Guidance: bit.ly/AtlasCorpsFellowBioTemplate

Skills Section Guidance: bit.ly/AtlasCorpsFellowSkillsTemplate

10. Understand the Terms and Conditions. Review our current Fellow agreement for the Blended Fellowship to better understand the benefits and responsibilities of becoming a Fellow. You can access it here: https://bit.ly/BlendedFellowAgreement2023.

Applicants apply not to a specific Host Organization, but rather the opportunity to be placed at one of our partner organizations. Matching Semi-Finalists with Host Organizations is a multi-step process. Once we receive a position description from a Host Organization, we send them the profiles of several candidates that could be a good match. They then pick candidates to interview and may assign tasks such as a writing sample, portfolio, or an assignment, after which they may pick a candidate for the Fellowship, or choose not to host a Fellow at that time.

Candidates should have two or more years of full-time experience in select skill areas (refer to eligibility requirements for an overview of those skills).

Atlas Corps receives a high volume of applications each year, and to give each candidate a thorough review, it may take up to a few months for our team to complete each stage of the review process. We review candidates based not just on eligibility and quality of their applications, but also on how well they fit with the desired profiles our potential Host Organizations are looking for at any given time, so some candidates may advance more quickly through the process than others.

In some cases, strong applicants may be selected for the Fellowship in as little as 3-4 months after they submitted their application. In other cases, strong applicants may be considered for multiple classes, potentially longer than a year, before matching with a Host Organization placement. Reaching the Semi-Finalist stage does not guarantee placement. Approximately 10% of candidates who reach the Semi-Finalist stage are selected as Fellows. 

If you are offered a Fellowship after interviewing with a Host Organization, there may be a quick turnaround time between your acceptance and the beginning of the Fellowship. You would typically have around 4-8 weeks to give notice to your current employer before starting the Fellowship.

Applicants may indicate in their application or interview which organizations most interest them. However, we cannot guarantee placement at any particular organization, and in many cases, those organizations may be looking for a very specific candidate profile.

Candidates should NOT contact potential or current Host Organizations unless they have been contacted by the Host Organization first. Atlas Corps is best able to explain the benefits and responsibilities of hosting a Fellow to potential Host Organizations. Contacting Host Organizations directly will jeopardize your candidacy for the Fellowship. If you already do work with an organization based in the U.S. and would like us to send a U.S.-based staff member information on hosting a Fellow, please send us their contact information (at [email protected]); do NOT contact them yourself about hosting you.

All applications from before September 2019 have been archived. If you want to be considered for upcoming classes, you must re-apply on the application form we launched in September 2019 (see apply.atlascorps.org for instructions). You will still have access to your old applications if you use the same login, so you can re-use some of your answers on the old form, but please read the instructions and questions carefully to take note of changes on the new application form.

After Atlas Corps completes placement for each class, we email instructions to Semi-Finalists who were not matched for that class, but are still eligible for placement, on what are their next steps to remain in consideration for the Fellowship. Usually, these instructions include updating your availability for the next class(es), and occasionally filling out a new application form. You must update your availability through your account every 2-4 months in order to have your application considered for placement with prospective Hosts. Don’t forget to also update your application with any new and relevant information. Atlas Corps will continually reassess Semi-Finalists to determine if they are still being considered for future Fellowship placements. In some cases, Atlas Corps may ask for additional information or another interview.

If you applied in a previous application cycle and were NOT designated as a Semi-Finalist, you may reapply, but you should only apply once a year. We recommend, however, that you take your time and fill out the application completely, with detailed and thorough answers. In most cases, you will need to start a new application. See apply.atlascorps.org for the most up-to-date information on how to apply. Please review the eligibility requirements before applying.

The application process requires:

  • A copy of your undergraduate transcript or diploma: You will be able to submit your application without this attachment, but you won’t be able to move on to the final stages of the selection process until you submit it.
  • Two references: You will also need to submit contact information for two references as part of the application. Once you enter their contact information, the system will send your references an email with instructions on how to fill out our reference form. The reference forms do not need to be completed in order for you to submit your application, but you won’t be able to move on to the final stages of the selection process until your reference forms are submitted. Please choose someone who can comment in detail on your professional abilities․ Strong applicants choose supervisors/managers who can speak to their professional performance.
  • Samples of your work: You may be asked to submit samples of your work to provide evidence of your professional skills. See the Skills section (Part 8) of the application for instructions. 

Attaching a resume/CV is strongly encouraged but not required. Test scores or certificates from past training are not required at this time. You will also need to have a valid passport, but you do not need to attach it to your application.

Within the application form, you can resend the reference form to your recommenders, and edit or delete the contact information for your recommenders. If you are still experiencing issues, email [email protected] with the subject line “Recommendation Issue,” and explain exactly the problem you’re experiencing.

Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to translate letters of recommendation. Letters in English are required.