Political Job Search

If job hunting at any stage in life is a daunting process, searching for your first ever political job as a young person can be soul-crushing. While you may not be able to avoid all the headaches and meltdowns that accompany your transition into the Real World, these tips for your first political job hunt will at least help you breathe more easily (and maybe even sleep at night) as you navigate.

When I started on the campaign trail, I was lucky enough to go through the Campaign Management Institute, where I became focused on political campaigns and encountered great mentors like Peter Fenn, Richard Smolka, Bill Sweeney and Peter Lindstrom through college programs and internships. Meeting folks who had made careers out of politics encouraged me to set aside my mom’s vision of me becoming  a professional chef and instead, pursue a career in politics and find a political campaign job.

If political job hunting at any stage in life is a daunting process, searching for your first ever political job as a young person can be soul-crushing. While you may not be able to avoid all the headaches and meltdowns that accompany your transition into the Real World, these tips for your first political job hunt will at least help you breathe more easily (and maybe even sleep at night) as you navigate.

As someone who has recently gone through the daunting and tough task of job hunting, I can completely understand and attest to the fact that it’s tough to find political jobs in DC and even tougher to find a job that is the right fit for you. With so many newly minted undergraduate, graduate, and even law school grads hunting for jobs in the same market, it can sometimes be a very overwhelming and discouraging undertaking. But in the end, all your efforts will be worth it. Here are the tips I learned along my journey to finding a great job with wonderful people, and how you can do the same.

Here at TCW, we are fortunate enough to work with some really fantastic folks across the country. From campaign managers to photographers to data people and more, we partner with other supporting players to help our clients win. At the end of the cycle, and during an odd year, we often get asked by some of these folks for help in a DC-based political job search. Here are a few tips I often give people who are looking to land a political job in our nation’s capital:

If you are looking for a job in advocacy or politics, your search can seem daunting: lots of informational interviews, resumes to send out, and so much more. Staying organized in your search is key. My main tip is to focus on follow up after an interview. This is perhaps one of the most important parts of the job hunt, and something people frequently overlook!

So you studied political science in college and read fascinating theories about politics, social movements, theories of change and a whole host of other things.  Now, freshly graduated, what are you going to do with your degree? You could go work on a campaign at an entry-level position, knocking on doors, answering calls, processing donations or other data.

We are big fans of Code for Progress. They have a great mission and hold a yearly job fair. If you are you looking to hire an app developer or data analyst, check out the Code for Progress job fair. For more information about Code for Progress visit them here. If Code For Progress is not a fit for you but you are looking to work on a campaign, you can check out lots of great programs here.