2021 fellowship and internship program at Rethink Priorities

In early 2021, Rethink Priorities welcomed its first cohort of Fellows and Interns. We received nearly 665 applications, out of which we invited 11 candidates to join our team. Between June and September 2021, we hosted nine Visiting Fellows and two Interns across all our departments, including Farmed and Wild Animal Welfare, EA Movement Research/Surveys, Longtermism, and Operations Research.  

Our Internship Program goals were twofold. 

First, we aimed to identify individuals with outstanding talent and equip them with the additional knowledge, skills, and tools to become even more competitive candidates within effective altruism (EA) research and operations. To do this, we:

• Created a high-quality, impactful, and unique learning experience to help our Fellows and Interns test their fit for particular roles. 

• Supported and advised them in their career choices. 

• Broadened their networks of relevant EA community members. 

Second, we intended to strengthen our staff’s management skills by creating opportunities to mentor either young professionals early in their careers, or individuals with previous research experience who were interested in deepening their content knowledge. 

At the end of the program, we deployed Exit Surveys to both Fellows/Interns and Managers to learn more about their experiences and better understand our impact. 

Program experience: Fellows and Interns

Overall, our Fellows and Interns had positive experiences while interning at Rethink Priorities. Several of them mentioned that RP’s Internship Program allowed them to gain more:

• Familiarity working within a specific cause area 

• Clarity about alternative ways of testing fit for a particular role

• Understanding about what skills to build and what roles/organizations might be a good choice for building their career

• Knowledge about EA concepts and the community

• Confidence about whether to pursue (or continue) a career in research

Additional testimonials from our 2021 Alumni can be found on our Internships and Fellowships page. 

Throughout the program, our Fellows and Interns had opportunities to provide us with constructive feedback and areas for improvement. They encouraged us to:

• Develop a strong internal infrastructure and support system for future Fellows and Interns (e.g., implementing regular check-ins and improving onboarding and other administrative processes).

• Provide development opportunities to exchange knowledge and information. As a result of this feedback, RP organized seven workshops and presentations during the program.

Furthermore, as part of the Exit Survey, our Fellows and Interns recommended that we improve future programs by:

• Increasing the number of social opportunities and other interactions to facilitate internal connections, foster the feeling of belonging, and strengthen collaboration across teams.

• Putting more emphasis on facilitating external networking connections and conversations about career choices.

RP’s Fellows and Interns made valuable contributions to our research and mission by working on major internal projects, as well as to the broader EA community by publishing the results of their research on the EA Forum. Several Alumni were offered new positions at EA-aligned organizations and others continue their education programs at universities. 

Program experience: Managers

Similarly, the vast majority of our Managers had positive and rewarding experiences while hosting Fellows and Interns at RP. 

They also made valuable recommendations for how to improve the program moving forward, including:

• Continuing to develop a strong support system for Managers (e.g., providing adequate training, creating relevant guidelines).

• Considering the amount of supervision and guidance they could reasonably provide when determining whether to host a Fellow/Intern. 

• Developing clearly defined program goals and objectives, including how much emphasis to put on each objective. 

In summary, feedback from both Fellows/Interns and our Managers provided a valuable perspective and ideas about how we can improve the program. This experience helped us test our organizational capacity and reinforced the view that we need to continue to build strong operations infrastructure to support such initiatives. Consequently, we are better prepared for the next cohort of Fellows and Interns, as well as the expansion of our teams and the organization.

Equipped with this knowledge, we are looking forward to hosting a second round of Interns/Fellows in 2022. Future role openings will be announced on our Internships and Fellowships page.