Thank you for your interest in the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program. The application process is rigorous, and the items below should be carefully reviewed to help you prepare for the application process.
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- Familiarize yourself with the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program by reading the website carefully, noting what is expected of you, if selected. The tentative seminar schedule for the class can be found HERE.
- If you are not self-employed, ask your employer to fill out the Employer’s Commitment Statement for submission with your application. It is important that your employer be aware of the time commitment of this program. Instruction for this form will be provided at the end of the application process.
- If you have a Spouse/Partner they should complete the portion designated as Spouse/Partner Supporting Statement. Again, instructions will be provided on how to submit this form once your application is submitted.
- Due to the security parameters of our system, please use a personal rather than company e-mail address to process your application.
- Applicants should pre-prepare responses to the following questions BEFORE beginning the application process. Responses may then be appropriately pasted into the application form.
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- Why would you like to participate in the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program? If selected, how would you plan to utilize the knowledge and experience gained through the program?
- Please tell us about the organizations in which you are involved (professional, religious, hobby, other). How long have you been a member and what leadership roles you have had, if any.
- Please comment on one specific example of an effort where you personally initiated, developed and played a major leadership role in the completion of a project.
- Discuss briefly what you consider to be the most important challenges or issues facing agriculture today. How do these relate to challenges or issues in our nation, the State of Illinois and in your local community?
- Give a specific example of a time when you listened to additional information or new facts from a reliable source and changed your opinion on a subject.
- Self-evaluate your own leadership potential. Please be specific.
- Please tell us about the business or pleasure reading you have done in the past year. What newspapers, books, magazines, journals or websites do you read often?
- Tell us about your foreign travel experiences, if any. Please give the country you visited, the year, and the nature of your trip (business or pleasure).
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- Application to the program requires that three references are provided. You should consider providing at least one personal reference (a friend, pastor, or person who knows you outside a work environment) and at least one professional reference (someone for whom or with whom you worked). Selection of personal recommenders should be made regarding their ability to provide the type of information requested on the form. Professional recommenders should be people you have known on a professional level. Send the following link to the recommendation page to the people you wish to make a recommendation on your behalf. http://form.jotform.us/71804302473147
- The application process requires that a recent photograph of yourself be submitted. Please prepare and have available a Headshot that is approximately 220px wide by 275px high @ 72dpi. The form upload will only accept jpg file formats.
- You will be asked to provide your updated resume. Please prepare a pdf of your resume and have it available for uploading when asked. Your resume must include name, address, city, state and zip, email, home phone, cell phone, gender, date of birth, citizenship, any felony convictions and work experience. Please list current job first and include professional and relevant work experience dating back to college. Include your current employer’s address or indicate if you are self-employed.
- Responsibility for submission of all forms rests with the candidate. Applications that are incomplete or lack a reference response from one of your references will not be considered.
- All applicants will receive acknowledgment of receipt of their application and recommendations from the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation. A committee will screen all applications. The Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation will notify each applicant of his or her acceptance status after the selection committee has concluded its work.
- Up to 30 applicants will be accepted to each class. If applicants are not accepted, they may reapply for another class.
- The deadline for submission is by February 28, 2018.
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PLEASE NOTE: Some browsers and computer settings may hinder the processing of the submitted application. The application has been tested using Chrome and the FireFox browser. Due to the security parameters of our system, please use a personal rather than company e-mail address to process your application.
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