Please enjoy this guest post by Alex Madaras and Sachi Madan, two students with experience working on political campaigns and other related activities. Their bios are at the end of the post.
The first time you apply to intern for a political campaign, it can seem daunting, especially if you’ve scarcely applied for jobs before. How do you narrow down your choices, present yourself as a strong applicant, and feel confident in any position you are offered? In this post, we’ll share some useful advice and actionable steps based on our own experiences with political campaigns, and what we wish we knew before we applied for our first campaign internships.
What is a Campaign Internship, Anyway?
A campaign internship lets you gain hands-on experience in how candidates get elected to office, including positions, at the local, state, and national level. Every campaign typically looks for students who are currently in high school or college to intern on the campaign. This is a beneficial experience for both the interns and the campaign.
When working on a campaign, you can expect to gain valuable organizing skills, learn more about electoral politics, and make life-long connections. Some of the work may seem menial - especially phone banking or canvassing. But it is important to remember that these tasks that interns carry out are integral to the success of the campaign. In addition, many campaigns also offer opportunities to grow in areas outside of these repetitive tasks, like marketing, finances, or human resources.
Finding Your Campaign Fit
While it might be tempting to apply to any and all campaigns that align with your political leanings, the secret to a positive campaign experience often lies in being intentionally selective. Before applying to a campaign, ask yourself what you aim to achieve. Every campaign will give you some hands-on experience and a front-row seat to how elections work, but it’s also worth thinking about other factors that are important to you. These might include:
Experience: Nearly all campaigns will require some phone banking or other contacting work, but others may afford other opportunities to learn new skills in social media, finance, or human resources. Smaller and less-seasoned campaigns are more likely than incumbents or well-funded challengers to offer unique experiences.
Mentoring: If building a relationship with the candidate themselves or senior campaign staff is important to you, look more toward smaller campaigns and local races. While better-known campaigns usually provide guidance, mentorship is more likely to develop in tight-knit campaign structures.
Prestige: Incumbents or exciting challengers may provide greater prestige to a campaign position than smaller, lesser-known campaigns. However, while prestige may be helpful for resumé building, it doesn’t necessarily predict the quality of your campaign experience.
Compensation: If financial compensation is a priority in your search, know that larger, more well-funded campaigns are more likely to have the means to pay their interns. There are always exceptions to the rule, as the extent of compensation can vary widely across many different types of campaigns. Truly, it’s best to consider payment as one of many factors that may change in importance depending on your financial situation and experience over time.
Issues: Sharing policy priorities and personal connecting with a candidate or campaign can be a powerful factor in your decision-making. Above most other factors, make sure you are passionate about the goals of the campaign you would be serving.
Location: Geographic barriers to campaigns have started to come down during quarantine, opening up a wide range of opportunities with remote internships. Consider applying to remote internships to explore a wider range of choices, but be aware that a digitized campaign may feel less tight-knit. If a sense of community and geographic ties are important to you, searching for local campaigns may be more beneficial.
Size: The size and structure of a campaign may influence how you interact with campaign staff, other interns, and the candidate themselves. If you are interested in a more individualized experience, look toward smaller campaigns. If being part of a team and observing many different types of work is important to you, larger campaign structures could be a better fit. Keep in mind that campaigns with larger, more well-established internship programs may be more organized and well-funded.
Future Opportunities: While smaller, local campaigns can be helpful for skill-building, incumbent and successful challenger campaigns can function as stepping stones to further opportunities. If you aim for a future in campaign politics, well-known campaigns can offer connections and resumé-boosting that will help you pursue greater opportunities beyond the internship itself.
Importantly, no matter which type of campaign you intern or volunteer for, having the experience on your resume will help you get other positions down the road. It will also give you contacts with professionals who can provide introductions and references for future opportunities.
Choosing Campaigns to Apply To
When it’s time to pick campaigns, there are two approaches. One way is to do your own research on campaigns that might interest you. Candidates’ websites are a good source for their policy positions, while Ballotpedia can help you understand their political history and even voting records. Searching for news articles about the race and digging into the typical politics of the candidate’s district and state can help you put together a clear picture of what the campaign’s goals are and how you identify with them. Keep a special eye out for personal connections you may have with the candidate or campaign; maybe you share a common religion, family type, or key issue. Sometimes, it might be a quality you can’t quite put your finger on that draws you to a candidate. If something about their platform or personality would motivate you to work hard for them, make sure to keep that in mind for the interview process.
Another approach is to look for postings of available opportunities. Blue Ripple Politics maintains a list of Democratic campaigns that offer virtual/remote positions to students. (Note: BRP’s list is temporarily on hiatus; we will relaunch it in advance of the 2022 elections. Stay tuned!) Other places to find openings might be conventional job-search sites like Indeed and Glassdoor, while a college resource like Handshake might also be helpful. For these positions, you should also thoroughly research the candidate, race, and positions to find out what aspects speak to you.
When it’s time to decide which campaigns to reach out to, a good rule of thumb mirrors a college application experience: apply mostly to your “target” campaigns you think are achievable, a few “reaches” or dream positions, and a few “safety” positions you might be less interested in but would still benefit from. Target campaigns might be ones with large internship programs that are less competitive but still relatively well-known. Reach campaigns could be more prestigious and less likely to take on first-time interns, but they could provide a unique opportunity if achieved. Safety campaigns could be smaller, local campaigns for which the applicant pool is much smaller, and you’d have a great shot as a first-timer. If you apply to a range of sizes, candidates with different levels of experience, and positions with differing job descriptions, you’ll have a greater chance of finding something you truly love.
Resumé and Cover Letter
When it finally comes time to apply to your choices, a resumé will be your first chance to make a positive impression on the campaign. Your resumé should be a clear, confident, and concise showcase of your skills and abilities. It should always be kept to a single page and contain information pertaining to your academics, clubs and activities, and main skills and interests. Don’t worry if you have no prior campaign experience or even political experience. Focus on the skills you have that could be applied or adapted to campaign work. Do you have strong writing skills? Graphic design? Maybe you speak several languages or have community service experience. All of these are useful details to include. Here are some good resumé-writing resources to help you get started:
A cover letter may also be necessary to include along with your resumé. The purpose of the cover letter should be to introduce your voice and what contributions you believe you could bring to the position. For first-time interns, it is always good to discuss your academic experience and applicable skills. Be confident, but not overly long-winded in your achievements. Always end with the intent to further communicate with the person on the receiving end. It might be tempting to ramble but keep your cover letter short as well. Neither the letter nor your resumé should exceed one page. For more advice, see this article with an example, and find another example here.
Keep in mind that every campaign is different, and this might require you to make changes to your resumé depending on where you are submitting it. Your cover letter should definitely change for each position. Be conscious of adaptations you need to make but don’t stress too much over the small details. Your best bet for putting together a strong resumé and cover letter is floating questions to more experienced peers or professors and using a strong template/guide. Your counselors in high school or your college’s resources can also be helpful in guiding you in the right direction.
Reaching Out
Once you have put your introductory materials together, it is time to reach out to campaigns. Usually, email is the best method of showing interest in an internship position. If you cannot find the appropriate contact information through Blue Ripple Politics’s list or another source, look on the campaign’s website; phrases like “Get Involved,” “Join Our Team,” and “Contact Us” are often good indicators. Some campaign websites have volunteer forms to fill out or job postings listed directly on their page.
Regardless of how you access application information, try to find out who will be on the receiving end of your communications. If possible, find out as much as you can about their positions, pronouns, and titles. Address them formally and keep your email respectful, clear, and concise. If you have a contact with the campaign, ask that contact’s permission to use their name, and mention your connection in the email. For more tips and outlines for your email, check out this helpful article. Don’t forget to attach your cover letter and resumé and, of course, end with your name and contact information. If you do not hear back from a campaign within a week or two, it may be appropriate to follow up by emailing them again.
Interview
In most cases, the campaign’s Field Director will email you if you have been selected for an interview. It is extremely important to prepare for it by thoroughly researching the candidate. The one question you should definitely be able to answer is “why do you want to work for this candidate’s campaign?” Typically, the candidate’s background, life experience, and policy positions are what inspires a student to work on the campaign, and these are all things you should research on their website before an interview. Being able to discuss their policy platform in detail is important; you may want to pick 1-2 policies that interest you and research them in greater depth. Other concepts to consider are the demographics and political climate of the district they are running in, their opponent, and the incumbent (if it is not the candidate you want to work for). This information can be found on the candidate’s website but also on websites such as Ballotpedia or local news. Also think about how you identify with the candidate; why are their policies important to you? Why do you want to be a part of the change they want to bring?
Apart from being able to discuss information about the candidate, make sure you have reflected on your own experience. What skills, qualifications, and leadership experiences do you have to contribute to the campaign? What do you want to learn from the campaign? Looking over your resumé before an interview is always a good way to refresh your memory on these topics, but be sure to have specific examples to back up your experience.
You should also have some questions prepared to ask the interviewer regarding what your experience on the campaign might look like. These could be things like how diverse the campaign is, what skills past interns have learned, how much exposure interns have with the candidate and senior staff, or what a typical day on the job looks like. Make sure to understand the campaign environment and see if it will be the right fit for what you want to learn and achieve. If your priorities are to work on social media, policy work, or campaign finance, ask if you will get a chance to learn more about that area. Keep your priorities in focus, because ultimately, your experience on the campaign is what matters.
Research is the best way to prepare for an interview, but some other good resources include:
Possible Questions (Based on Congressional internships)
The Internship
When you finally land a campaign internship, remember that each campaign is different regarding the involvement of interns, opportunities, size, and compensation. You should expect to do some menial work such as phone banking, donor outreach, and canvassing. This can sometimes seem boring, but it’s extremely important. Campaigns depend on interns and volunteers to do this work, and it contributes more than you realize. And, getting experience in these “core tasks” will help you down the road when you apply for other positions, whether in politics or beyond.
On the other hand, some things are unacceptable. If you experience any harassment or mistreatment, make sure to report it to your supervisor or another trusted adult immediately. Do not accept poor treatment from the campaign. This is your work experience and you deserve an opportunity to learn. Your voice should be important to the campaign.
Most people come away from their first political internship with a new perspective on the inside workings of campaign politics and important knowledge to apply to future campaigns or jobs. Not all experiences are wholly positive; sometimes, campaign work can be frustrating or exhausting for interns. But overall, being as prepared as possible throughout the entire process will help you learn tangible skills that provide a valuable experience.
Alex Madaras is a recently graduated senior from Mason, Ohio who will be heading to Northeastern University in the fall. She is the Editor in Chief and Director of Publications at the civic engagement nonprofit Next Generation Politics where she enjoys writing and editing political content as well as managing Blog staff. In addition to her involvement in local politics and organizing, Alex enjoys language-learning, playing music, and going biking.
Sachi Madan is from Bellevue, Washington and is a rising sophomore Robert W. Woodruff Scholar at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a current intern at T’wina Nobles’ campaign for WA SD28 and is also active in campus life at Emory as she serves on the executive boards of the Young Democrats of Emory and the Emory International Relations Association. She is also involved as a Legislator in Emory College Council. Outside of classes and politics, Sachi enjoys cooking, traveling, and reading.
Picture: Joe Biden for President