Helping to Prepare Future GovCon Industry Leaders

Across the GovCon space there are true leaders who are building their own careers but also giving back, supporting others in the community, helping to inform, educate and support others in their professional lives. One such individual is Meryl Angelicola, Founder of the non-profit ProposalTeam, a volunteer-led training and mentorship program whose mission is to bring innovation and diversity to the GovCon industry, by empowering individuals from outside industries to apply their skills and experience to a career in government contracting and proposals through mentorship, free training, hands-on experience, and industry partnerships. Meryl is also a recent Engage FedGov Honoree. She has a specific ask for companies and current industry leaders.

The Why

Like many people who landed in GovCon, Meryl came to the space somewhat by accident 18 years ago, starting in an administrative role with a company that happened to sell services to the government. “A few weeks after my first day, my boss left for a planned international trip without an easy way to commuicate. We were in the middle of a proposal, and the responsibility fell on my shoulders after she left. Fortunately, the company we partnered with walked me through what I didn’t know – which was everything! We won the contract, and I became the Program Manager, which was another exercise in learning on the fly, and asking for help.”

Over her career, appreciating that others had taken a chance on her and mentored her along the way, she did the same. “I found my career in GovCon because others were willing to mentor me. I’ve always tried to pay that forward. Over the years, we’ve helped people transition into GovCon from outside industries like higher education, research science, psychology, and more. The industry benefits from their skills just as much as they benefit from the opportunity to apply them to a new career.”

Explosion

While Meryl had previously mentored one or two people at a time, this year she made the decision to expand, posting the offer on LinkedIn and thinking she might grow to five. The demand was incredible.

“Thankfully industry stepped up and we were able to expand the program to 22 students, 8 industry mentors, and 3 guest speakers. We’ve been meeting for the past 12 weeks and they’re ready now to graduate.”

Leaning on mentors from industry, others known for their writing, coaching, GovCon knowledge and capture, the group has come together to provide training that gives students a baseline of knowledge, practice on proposals, and exercises providing hands-on experience on essential concepts like shredding an RFP, creating outline and compliance matrices, building outlines and templates, and the importance of compliance and customer-focus.

Finding the Fun

“This industry can often be overwhelming for beginners, so we really try to keep it fun and relate training to concepts that are familiar to students. Using this approach, we discuss the procurement lifecycle and what it looks like when the government buys goods and services.”

Students go through two mock proposals during training, focusing on the responsbilities they would be expected to carry out as a proposal coordinator. There is a mock kick-off, color team reviews, and even mock amendments and QA.

“Giving them an opportunity to support mock proposals not only prepares them well, but it also gives them an opportunity to see if they actually like proposals, which is just as important. At the end of training, we ask students to describe training in 3 words – and 90% of them described it as “fun” – finding people who enjoy doing this is half of the battle!”

Mentorship and Community

The program wouldn’t be possible without the support and participation of mentors. Individuals interested in mentoring commit to giving 3 hours a week, which is flexible. Tasks like monitoring a LinkedIn group for questions allows responding as there is time. There are two one-on-one discussions over the 12-week period for a small group of assigned students.

An added bonus: Mentors provide resume guidance through color team review exercises, and help connect students with employers interested in hiring entry-level coordinator.

Guest speakers are engaged to present but then also continue relationships with the students along their journey.

Everyone Benefits

Finding proposal talent is a well-known challenge across the industry, and ProposalTeam wants to contribute to a solution.

“I often tell students that this is a fantastic career and opportunity for them to grow, but that’s only half of the story. The industry needs them too.” This is an important opportunity for the GovCon and proposal industries to benefit from the years of experience, relevant skills, and fresh perspectives that each student brings to the table.

“We speak a lot about innovation in our industry and innovation is critical because the work we do doesn’t end when the proposal is submitted. Students will be supporting proposals and helping craft solutions that will turn into government contracts, and those contracts will impact real people. Innovation is not possible without outside experience and new perspectives, and you can’t have either of those without making this a more accessible, diverse, and intentional careerpath for all.”

Students approved for the program sign-up as individuals, often joining a group of complete strangers with a common goal: to pivot their careers. They complete assignments and show up each week, often juggling the responsibilities of their full-time jobs while completing training.

“The best proposal professionals I’ve worked with have four things in common: they are curious, self-motivated, natural problem solvers, and they enjoy what they’re doing. These are attributes that can be difficut to verify through a resume or interview, but ProposalTeam students have to demonstrate all of them in order to succeed.”

The Ask

With a current wait list of 250 students and the intent to keep the list open and the program going, ProposalTeam has the following asks:

• Employers: ProposalTeam just graduated its first talented group of 22 students, and many are looking for their first roles in GovCon and proposals. These students are proven performers who bring relevant skills and demonstrate self-motivation and problem-solving abilities. Now, they need employers willing to give them a chance to contribute to a team. Student resumes are available upon request.
• Industry Mentors and Guest Speakers: There is a need for industry experts who are able to dedicate 3 hours a week (for 12 weeks) to mentor students in small teams, providing guidance and helping to faciliate mock proposals.
• Industry Partners/Sponsors: The goal is to provide free training to as many students as possible, and in order to do that, ProposalTeam is in need of industry partners willing to donate, either through financial sponsorship, or through relevant tools, services, and resources that can be made available to students and graduates.

ProposalTeam is a non-profit offering free traiing to individuals who are looking to transition into the industry from other careers. All that is asked that they commit fully to the 12 weeks and bring their all.

For more information, or to lend your support, connect with them on LinkedIn, email Meryl at meryl@proposalteam.org, or visit the webite at http://www.proposalteam.org.

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