Careers in Politics

Every year, campaigns are looking for cheap campaign staff who are willing to work long hours for low wages.  If you want to enter the field and you're smart and driven, you should be able to find a job. To be clear, it will likely take some time, and your first political campaign job might not be the exact job that you wanted. You will probably be required to travel, eat bad food, sleep in a house with way too many people, and work in an office that should have been condemned long before you arrived. Sound like fun? Then get on the road!

Here are some tips to begin your search for a campaign job.

A campaign job is a great way to gain political experience and responsibility quickly; however, not all campaign jobs are the same, and being a staffer is hard work. Whether you are looking at a long-term career in politics, using it as a stop on the way to grad school, looking for more meaningful work, or other paths, becoming a campaign staffer can be an important steppingstone. Below are some core choices folks make in the world of campaign jobs.

Keith Gaby is a political communications and public affairs specialist with over 30 years of experience. Previously, Keith has worked on two presidential campaigns, as well as being appointed to the position of Director of Intergovernmental affairs before working as a speechwriter for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Throughout his successful career he also directed two films, The Quality of Light and The Bigger Hammer, a film which analyzes the messaging of the Obama and McCain campaigns during the 2008 presidential election. Currently Keith serves as the Vice President of Public Affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund, an organization dedicated to climate justice across the globe. This week, we asked him 7 questions about his career path and experience. Check out the podcast interview here. 

Political campaign jobs can be elusive to find. As someone who has gone through the daunting task of political job hunting not too long ago, I know how tough it can be to land a political campaign job—especially your first. With so many newly minted undergraduate, graduate, and even law school grads hunting for jobs in the same market, it can sometimes be an overwhelming and discouraging undertaking.

Campaign unionization, is it right for your campaign? It seem obvious that Democrats should be supportive of campaign unionization… right? Not necessarily.

CEO Alex Niemczewski runs BallotReady an online voter guide for local, state, and national elections. In 2015, BallotReady started with a test run in Chicago’s 2015 mayoral runoff election on a budget of only $180. This year, BallotReady will be available in all fifty states.

Staying consistent with your campaign message is not easy. When first entering into politics some people may tell you to “never take it personal,” referring to the awful things people may say about you or your issues. "Stay on Message" "You need to have campaign message discipline" - is something you hear over and over again but that is easier in theory than reality.