Ploymint

I’ve had one too many drunken conversations with people at the bar who claim they would be a great candidate for political office, regardless of their lack of knowledge on current events or even how our political structure actually works. Thank the heavens that none of those people will probably ever hold a public office (unless their name happens to be Donald Trump). What most people don’t know is that there are a ton of jobs working in politics that don’t involve running for office or being a government representative, but it’s still hard work.

The vast majority of jobs in politics require you to be highly intelligent, eloquent, and sociable, but not all of them require a law or political science degree.

If you feel like you want to make a change, here’s how you can get a job in politics.

Start Small, Get Knowledgeable

Local politics is where you should start before you decide to move to Washington D.C. to tussle with the big boys. Most of our state or local politics will give you insight into some of the standards and structure of legislation. Most City Councils will have open lobby days where anyone can come to ask them questions or arrange meetings about issues that are concerning them.

Even if you aren’t applying to jobs in politics yet, you should start to get a feeling for what the local political atmosphere feels like by attending open lobby days and city council sessions. You should also learn and meet the decision makers in your town or city and begin to build relationships with them.

Realize Your Career

Working in politics doesn’t automatically equate with working for the government. There are many jobs outside of ones that are restricted to working in City Hall. For example, I work for a political nonprofit that works to push specific issues and legislation. If working in a government structure doesn’t seem enjoyable to you, the culture at political nonprofits may be completely different.

Either way, you should learn to utilize your strengths in the most meaningful way for your career. If you are an excellent public speaker who organizes and manages people and projects well, then being an actual politician may be your future. However, if this isn’t the case, and you are a more technically oriented person, it leaves the options for a multitude of careers in media and communications, logistics, and marketing. Identify what you are good at, and develop a career plan around your talents. You can also read the top 10 careers in politics if you’re unsure what road to go down.

Do a Fellowship or Internship

There are a lot of opportunities like City Hall Fellows that provide paid and unpaid opportunities for young people that want to work in politics. Again, many political nonprofits are looking for volunteers, and many politicians offer internships for college students. While you are working in that atmosphere, make sure you network so that getting a job after graduation becomes much easier.

Running for Office

Running for political office is incredibly complex, and there’s no possible way that I could summarize a campaign strategy in one article. However, if you find yourself in the position to run for City Council or Mayor, there are a couple of things that need to be established before you can even consider. For one, you need strong ties and a large network within the community you plan on representing. This means knowing local business, schools, and places of worship, as well as having personal relationships with pillars of the community. Voter turnout can sometimes be low for smaller elections, so the more endorsements you can get from local community centers and businesses will mean more votes. You also should have ties to local unions, firehouses, and the police department in order to gain support from their members.

In addition to your local ties, you’ll also need disposable income, or to be financially endorsed by a company, organization, PAC, or union. Fundraising always helps, but typically the bulk of a campaign is usually funded either by the person running, or an endorsing organization. Campaign funds are going to be required to send out canvassers, create promotional materials, and generally run your campaign and are critically important to its success.

In the end, in order to run for office you’ll most likely have to go through the steps that I’ve posted above. A law or political science degree also will aid you in a transition to politics, but traditionally people still need to put in the work in order to get there. Politics isn’t easy by any means. Your decisions affect a large group of people, and you will be held accountable for your actions in and outside of work. Having good ideas is great, but putting them into action is a entirely different story. Before you jump into politics, make sure it’s a pool that you can handle and one that you can actually enjoy.