Professional Development

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago offers many opportunities for professional development and career advancement. Through mentoring, rotational job assignments, and classroom and online education, Chicago Fed employees can expand their skills and shape their careers. Roughly 40 percent of job openings are filled by Chicago Fed staff members. Here are some of the ways we help our staff develop professionally.

Tuition Assistance

Because continual learning is a priority, employees with one year of service can receive tuition assistance for specific degree programs. The plan pays all tuition and applicable fees, and half the cost of books.

Bank-Wide Mentoring Program

This self-driven program focuses on individualized career development goals that can be reached in about 12 months. Both mentors and mentees benefit from this program as they work to develop specific skills identified by the mentee.

Technical Training & Development

The most important learning occurs on-the-job. Guided by experienced colleagues, staff members "learn by doing." Each department also offers formal staff training in technical areas relevant to specific jobs.

Performance Management

Employees are formally evaluated through mid-year and year-end reviews. Employees are accountable for articulating and pursuing their career aspirations, while managers are expected to provide continuous coaching, feedback, and growth opportunities.

Leadership Development

At the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, we believe there’s no “one size fits all” approach to developing a leader. We encourage a partnership with the employee and his or her direct manager to help identify areas to develop based on a person’s individual competence and work performance. From there, we encourage individuals to focus primarily on their on-the-job development through work assignments, rotational opportunities and cross-functional projects at either the Bank or System level. Additionally, development opportunities can be supplemented by a number of networking or peer mentoring programs offered within the Bank to help individual leaders grow based on their own personal development plans. Traditional classroom and online course offerings are also available to all leaders. These courses focus on developing our core leadership competencies through a variety of offerings.

National Leadership Development

The Federal Reserve’s System Leadership Initiative offers professional development conferences that bring together exceptional leaders from throughout the Federal Reserve System. They hear about relevant topics from other top Federal Reserve executives and outside experts. Emphasis is placed on mobilizing individuals to deliver results and address the complexities, dilemmas and communication needs inherent in being a Federal Reserve leader. In addition, leaders can work on temporary assignments in other Federal Reserve locations via the System Leadership Exchange. This experience expands the participant’s professional competencies and contacts across the Federal Reserve System.