A Career Built on People: Human Capital Consulting at FMP

Human resources is one of those fields that means something different depending on who you ask. For some, it brings to mind onboarding paperwork and benefits enrollment. For others, it is strategy, organizational design, or workforce planning. For me, HR has always been about one thing: helping people and organizations get the best out of each other.

I came to this field through an unconventional path. My educational background is in psychology and counseling, and my early career was spent in higher education, where I supervised staff teams and led recruitment for both paraprofessional and professional roles. Those experiences gave me a strong foundation in what good hiring looks like, what effective development feels like, and how organizations can either support or undercut the people within them. That foundation eventually led me to technical recruiting and, ultimately, to human capital consulting.

What I Do at FMP

As a Senior Consultant at FMP, I work alongside federal agency clients to help them operate more effectively. My work sits at the intersection of human capital strategy, communications, and program management. On any given project, that might mean developing a strategic communications framework, coordinating large-scale federal events, designing training programs, or supporting an agency in thinking through how to better attract, develop, and retain talent.

I think of my role as a connector. I connect clients to strategies that work, connect teams to the resources they need, and connect the work being done on the ground to the broader mission of the agency. A big part of that is relationship-building. Getting to know a client well enough to understand not just what they are asking for, but what they actually need, is something I take seriously.

The HR Functions I Support

Much of my work touches talent acquisition and workforce development. At the federal level, these functions come with a distinct set of challenges. Agencies are working to modernize how they attract candidates, build strong talent pipelines, and create development experiences that keep employees engaged long after they are hired. I have had the opportunity to contribute to all three.

I have helped coordinate large-scale recruitment events designed to connect students and recent graduates with federal career opportunities, working across more than twenty federal agencies to make those events happen. I have designed and implemented training programs where the goal was not just completion rates, but genuine engagement and skill-building. And I have worked alongside agency teams to develop communications and processes that help employees feel informed, supported, and valued.

The common thread across all of it is a focus on employee experience. How does someone feel when they are being recruited? When they walk into their first day? When they sit down for a performance conversation? Those moments matter, and the work I do is aimed at making them better.

Why I Chose FMP

When I was introduced to FMP through a trusted colleague, what stood out was the depth of the client relationships. This was not a firm focused on delivering a product and moving on. FMP consultants are genuinely invested in their clients’ missions and in the people they work with every day. That aligned with how I have always approached my work.

My background in recruiting taught me how to get to the heart of what someone is looking for, whether that is a candidate figuring out their next career move or a client trying to articulate a need they have not fully named yet. That skill transfers directly to consulting. At FMP, I get to bring that curiosity and care to the federal workforce every day, and I get to watch clients grow in their confidence and capability over time. That is meaningful work.

What Keeps Me Energized

The part of HR that energizes me most is the human side of it. That probably sounds obvious, but it is easy to lose sight of in work that involves a lot of process, data, and deliverables. I try not to lose sight of it.

Whether I am helping someone prep for an interview, working with a team to build a more equitable hiring process, or supporting an agency in designing a development program their employees will actually use, the goal is always the same: help people succeed. That has been the throughline of my entire career, and it continues to drive the work I do at FMP.

If you are considering a career in HR, my advice is simple. Do not let the field’s breadth overwhelm you. Find the piece of it that connects to what you genuinely care about, and follow that thread. For me, it has led somewhere I am proud to be.

Ashley Dorsett is a Senior Consultant who supports the National Library of Medicine on their innovation and evaluation efforts. She holds an M.S. in Counseling & Student Development from Kansas State University and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Ashley has eight years of professional experience in human resources and learning solutions, with expertise in recruitment, performance management, and training design. For fun, she is an amateur ceramicist and loves to travel.