Katz: A presidential pick 'em at the White House

Katz: A presidential pick 'em at the White House

This is a great article although I think the President's bracket is going to be a disaster.

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Employment Outlook for a former campaign staffer

Washington, DC – The economic recession has obviously been the top issue on everyone’s mind these past few months, especially in the wake of President Obama’s Inauguration.

The reason I am writing this is because I constantly receive the following question: “what are you doing now? Are you working in the Administration?”

The answer is, “not necessarily.”

In light of the current economic, political and social landscape, I thought I’d provide an insight into what the perspective is from someone like me, coming off the successful Obama for America Presidential campaign.

I have been having numerous conversations around Washington, DC and conducting extensive research in hopes of finding a career path. Here is an outline of what I’ve learned the past few months; I hope it offers a clarifying perspective for some of you.

1. Political Campaigns -- for field staff, positions we would like to have do not technically exist yet. The DNC/DSCC/DCCC has not started hiring field staff yet and won't for at least 2-4 months and, in the case of the DCCC, might not until December. I look Politicsone.com, the Cook political report, RealClearPolitics.com and FiveThirtyEight.com to review the top races and then do research and ask around for the names of people doing the top ranked campaigns. In the meantime, I try to position myself as best I can with folks who will eventually make the critical staffing decisions for 2010 campaigns.

2. Administration -- Administration jobs are in short supply for former campaign field staff. We try to connect with current Administration officials and work from there. The paradigm we should use is to think of political jobs in the Administration like this: there is a long table in a conference room in a Department, say the Department of Energy, and there are individuals from different groups all sitting there -- someone from the White House, a career Department of Energy supervisor, the Secretary of Energy's personal staff and so-on-and-so-forth. And they have a list of dozens of resumes and candidates and they are collectively reviewing and reading-aloud the names on their list to the group. If your name is on two or more of those lists, you are in good shape. You have to see Administration jobs, as well as job in other industries in this format and this paradigm that should be the governing principle of the job search hunt. If there a people on the campaign who we know are working in the Administration, we ask them to help pass along your resume, but we need to have a specific position in mind if we hope to have our resume survive the gauntlet that lays before these people.

3. Government Career -- See Washington Post article, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/02/AR2009030202935.html,

This is the best opportunity available in terms of likelihood of employment. There are tons of career jobs in Administration departments and agencies. In a recent report, 300,000 vacant government positions were identified as vacant across the entire country from the federal government to state and local. We search USAjobs.com to search and contact specific agencies. In some cases, a career position can put you in the position of making more contacts you can develop and utilize to move into a more desirable position. Further, if you are interested in a specific policy issue, a career position can help buttress your resume. For example, if you are interested in technology and broadband networks, the NTIA in the Department of Commerce is hiring for 60 or so positions. You can learn the ins-and-outs of broadband policy and gain valuable experience in the industry. After working there for a few years you can enter the private broadband sector, advise policymakers on broadband issues, or enter a think tank to do research.

4. Private Sector -- The private sector is probably not the best place for most of us to enter because we do not have enough political experience. The private consulting sector has been the hardest hit of all these options by the economic crisis. Companies are cutting budgets to balance their budgets and one of the first casualties of budget cuts is outside vendors and consultants. So there aren't many jobs out there for campaign folks. However, they are looking for entry level positions and we should see an influx of hiring later in 2009 as private businesses and companies learn the new rules of the game established by the new, depressed, economy. They will need experts to help them communicate through media, grassroots, the Internet and politics. My advice is to research consulting firms with the key words, "grassroots," "issue advocacy," coalition building," and "policy advocacy." Firms that specialize in these mediums would be most interested in someone with experience in the Obama field campaign.

5. Academic - GSPM -- The Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University in Washington, DC is an excellent option for many folks for a few reasons. One, you take classes at night thus allowing you to hold down a regular job while learning skills and strategies necessary to excel in the political field. Two, GWU is actually, unlike many institutions, in excellent financial shape, which means they have more financial aid options for students than most academic institutions. Third, it places you in D.C. and in network of people who have vast Rolodex of contacts. Fourth, you can learn the whole spectrum of politics from lobbying, corporate public affairs, non-profit organization, fundraising and campaign strategy. All the professors have day jobs in the political sector which means you can network and build lasting relationships with them. One of my professors is actually responsible for putting me in touch with the right folks on the Obama campaign that led to my employment in 2007. Fifth, there are tons of field organizers and field staff around the country. As you look at building your career portfolio, a Master's degree can be a key differentiator for you down the line. Not in 3 or 5 years, but in 7 or 10 years.

6. Capitol Hill -- This is the area I know the least about, partly because I am personally not interested due to where I am at in my career. However, if you are young and are looking to gain a foothold, Capitol Hill can be a good position. Especially among freshman Democrat Representatives, their staffs can be small, which has two significant implications. One, Barack Obama's model for governance --- governing through continuing to campaign to interact with constituents -- will surely be adopted by congressman. Which means your field experience can be especially valuable. Secondly, small staffs mean quick movement and space to flourish and grow. You may enter as an unpaid intern, but there is potential to get a stipend salary within a couple months with a full congressional salary coming within 2-3 months later. If you can get in, do the grunt work and establish yourself you can make important contacts and you can also take a high position within the reelection campaign -- Representatives in the House frequently send some of their Capitol Hill staff back to the district to help run reelect campaigns because they are familiar with their constituents. In my opinion, this can be the greatest value-add because if you helped run the most successful field campaign of all-time and Democrats will be hot-to-trot to imitate Barack's model to the best of their ability. Your insight and experience can be valuable.

This is just a quick snapshot of what the landscape looks like from my personal perspective and does not represent a broader perspective held by any organization or group.

-NFK