How to Get a Job in Politics | Advice from Campaign Experts

NDTC’s Staff Academy is a free, 10-week program designed to recruit, train, and connect folks to paid career opportunities in Democratic politics across the country. Apply now for the 2023 cohort: https://traindemocrats.org/staff-acad...

Breaking into politics involves a lot of unknowns: Where can I get experience? How can I network? What jobs are even available? That's why NDTC sat down with seasoned campaign staffers to get their insider advice on landing a job in politics. With moderation from Laura Petrolino, Marketing Director at NDTC, our expert panelists included NDTC trainers Denis Geary Lopez, Sean Carlson, and Cal Jack Cade.

NDTC is the largest Democratic campaign training organization in the nation. We provide Democratic candidates, campaign staffers, and local leaders with the political campaign training they need to learn how to run for office and win their elections.

Want to learn more about how to get a job in politics? NDTC offers a number of resources on professional development in the political space, including help with the job search, networking in Democratic politics, building a top-notch political resume, and more. Take our course “Starting a Career in Politics” to begin your professional political journey: https://traindemocrats.org/course/sta...

Our course, “Build a Powerful Political Job Application” will talk you through how to optimize your resume for Democratic campaign jobs and other progressive employers: https://traindemocrats.org/course/pol...

Click below for a transcript of this video lesson.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c...

0:00 Intro to training
3:35 Meeting the trainers & how they got involved in politics
12:00 Key traits of successful campaign staffers
19:03 What aspiring campaign staffers can do right now to gain experience
23:38 Best entry-level roles in politics
26:38 Starting out in field & transitioning to other roles
31:38 Trainers’ key advice to those just starting out in politics
37:19 Advice for employers on hiring dedicated staffers for their campaigns
41:09 The importance of diverse, representative campaigns
45:35 Denis talks Staff Academy
49:24 Social norms & values of inclusive campaigns
53:27 How to try and land a role on a specific campaign
55:07 One final piece of advice from the trainers & outro

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