ICF

Consulting and technology services firm
Last updated:
January 5, 2026
Company details
HQ
Reston, VA
HEADCOUNT
3000-9999
ORG TYPE
Corporate
SECTOR
Impact and NGOs
About the company
ICF is a global consulting and technology services provider that works with government and commercial clients on complex, mission-led problems. The company’s work spans areas like energy and utilities, climate and environment, disaster recovery, health, and digital modernization. Many roles sit at the intersection of domain expertise and delivery, including research, program implementation, data and analytics, product and engineering, and policy work. ICF also operates specialist teams (including ICF Next) for digital experience, communications, and marketing services.
Locations and presence
ICF has a large office footprint across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with major hubs including the Washington, DC area and London. The company hires for remote and hybrid roles as well as office-based work, with flexibility often tied to project and client requirements.
Palpable Score
74.0
/ 100
ICF offers real entry points through internships, early-career roles, and structured early-talent programs, and the company backs that up with visible learning infrastructure and benefits. Hiring transparency is reasonable thanks to publicly described interview patterns and candidate policies, but consistent, role-by-role clarity on process and feedback is harder to verify. Early-career outcomes look positive in parts, yet the company does not publish clear early-talent progression or conversion metrics, which caps the score.
Pillar 1: Early-career access

Score

16.5
/ 20
  • The company runs a defined internship program and explicitly frames internships as a pipeline into returning internships or full-time opportunities (contingent on performance).
  • ICF markets “early career opportunities” alongside internships, signalling that graduate hiring is not limited to a single annual intake.
  • The company also runs early-talent development programs like ICmyFuture in Consulting and a Summer Development Series, which broaden access beyond students who already have an internship offer.

Pillar 2: Hiring fairness and transparency

Score

13.5
/ 20
  • The company’s publicly reported interview stages commonly include phone screens, one-on-ones, and panel interviews, which gives candidates a workable sense of what to expect.
  • ICF publishes candidate-facing rules in job materials (including a stated policy restricting AI-generated interview responses except where used as an accommodation), which reduces “gotcha” risk but can feel strict for early-career candidates.
  • The company does not consistently publish role-level timelines, assessment details, or feedback expectations in a way that can be verified across early-career postings, limiting confidence in consistency.

Pillar 3: Learning and support

Score

15.5
/ 20
  • The company promotes a large internal learning catalogue (75K+ training courses) plus formal mentoring and peer connection programs, which fits early-career needs for structured skill-building.
  • ICF’s internship program pairs interns with peer mentors (typically 2–3 years ahead) and also positions mentors as guides for the “big picture” of client work.
  • The company’s early-talent development programs include practical sessions on applying, interviewing, and negotiating for a first role, which supports candidates who have not had corporate coaching before.

Pillar 4: Pay fairness and stability

Score

16.5
/ 20
  • The company publishes a detailed benefits summary for full-time US employees, including healthcare coverage beginning on day one, a 401(k) match, and clear PTO accrual language.
  • ICF’s benefits summary includes concrete early-career-relevant supports such as tuition reimbursement (separate undergraduate and graduate limits), professional development reimbursement, and paid parental leave.
  • The company frequently includes pay ranges in publicly reposted job descriptions (including internships and remote roles), but not every early-career posting is consistently easy to verify in full from the primary careers site once roles close.

Pillar 5: Early-career outcomes

Score

12.0
/ 20
  • The company positions internships as conversion opportunities (with eligibility based on performance), which is an outcomes signal for early-career hires looking for a path beyond the internship.
  • ICF receives mid-to-high employee ratings on work-life balance and mixed-but-not-poor scores for career opportunities in large-scale employee review summaries, suggesting progression exists but is uneven across teams.
  • The company does not publish early-career retention, intern offer rates, time-to-promotion ranges, or cohort progression outcomes, so the score cannot reflect proven early-career mobility at scale.

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