Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

THE YOUNG CONSERVATIVE JOB SEEKER'S
GUIDE TO WASHINGTON, D.C.

Originally Prepared for The Washington Conservative Placement Network

by Scott E Huch with J. Marc Wheat; June 1991, updated 1997

Section I - Preparing to Come to Washington

If you’re coming to Washington to look for a job (NOTE: this is a good place to point out that if you want a job in Washington, you simply must be here. It is virtually impossible to find a full-time position in D.C. from long distance. See more on how to pull this off in Section II), don’t be worried that you don’t have high-level contacts at the White House or on Capitol Hill. If you’re a movement conservative who has fought the good fight on your campus and/or in your community, you will find there are many people in Washington who will help you get your first job here. You just need to learn how to ask them to help you.

However, there are a number of things you can and should do before you come to town that will help speed things along.

First, write and print out your resume at home (about 100 copies should be plenty). A high-quality resume is key to making the right impression -- more about this in Section IV.

Next, get your information on file with the conservative Job Banks in town:

1. The Heritage Foundation (see instructions/details on previous pages)
2. The Leadership Institute
   1101 N. Highland Street
   Arlington, VA 22202
   703/247-2000

If you already know of some prospective employers for whom you’d like to work, contact them as well. Send them your resume and a cover letter. In your letter, give them the date when you’ll be in town, and tell them you’ll call their office on a specific date to set up an appointment. Then call everyone you contacted, to set up appointments for the first week you’ll be in Washington. Confirm all appointments with a written thank you letter on the same day the appointment is made. The more times a perspective employer sees your name cross his desk, the better your prospects will be. More on this in Section V.

Section II - Where to Live

Okay, so we would all like to live in a fashionable townhouse on Capitol Hill. Put this idea out of your mind right now! The job-seekers life is not a glamorous one -- you may have to sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor for a month or so. Many job-seekers are lucky enough to have friends or relatives who already live in the Washington area. If you can stay with someone free of charge, you should do so -- for as long as their hospitality will allow.

For those who are blazing their own trail, there are other options. Almost all of the colleges in Washington rent rooms in their dormitories, during the summer only. You should contact each of the universities before you leave home to compare rates and access to Metro and other amenities. (Note: you may want to ask about air conditioning--not all of the dorms have it.)

1. The American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20016
Telephone: (202) 885-1000*

2. Georgetown University
37th & "O" Streets, NW
Washington, D.C. 20057
Telephone: (202) 687-0100*

3. George Washington University
2121 "Eye" Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
Telephone: (202) 994-1000*

4. The Catholic University of America
620 Michigan Avenue, NE
Washington D.C. 20064
Telephone: (202) 319-5000*

*Phone numbers listed are for the university switchboards. Ask the university operator to connect you with the Student Housing Office.

You may also want to check the bulletin boards near the cafeterias and carry-outs in the House of Representatives and Senate office buildings. Ask the security guards or stop any staffer for directions. Hill staffers often advertise sub-lets, even for short periods, mostly during the summer, which are very affordable. Delis and carry-outs in the Capitol Hill neighborhood often have similar listings on their bulletin boards. And you may want to check the "Housings to Share" listings in the Washington Post and Washington Times Classified sections.

Finally, local churches sometimes have listings for people seeking roommates and sub-lets. Phone numbers are available through the phone book or Directory Assistance for area codes 202 (Washington D.C.), 703 (Virginia), and 301 or 410 (Maryland). Many universities also have Washington D.C. phone books in their libraries.

Section III - When to Come to Washington, D.C.

You will find that the availability of jobs and the competition you face in getting these jobs varies widely with the season. While jobs are available in Washington year round, the periods of greatest movement in the public policy job market tend to be focused around three main times of year.

Summer: This is perhaps the most difficult time to find a permanent job. One drawback to job-hunting in the summer is that many entry-level positions go unfilled because summer interns are doing the work at very little cost to the employer. But, with lots of internships available, you can easily get one and use it as a great platform from which to look for and secure a permanent position when the interns leave. Internships can also help you expand your network (more on this in Section V). An internship also can help you build your credentials and references for a permanent position (this is especially important for the person who is coming to Washington for the first time with very little public policy experience).

January: This is when most December college graduates and people taking the Spring Semester off from school will be in town looking for jobs and internships. This time of year is usually very slow in Washington because of the holidays. For that reason, it is most difficult to simply show up in town with your resume and find a job. That’s why it’s important for you to lay the groundwork of your job search before you come to Washington, and have plenty of interviews set up and confirmed in advance. Remember that this time of year is especially hard for the first time job-seeker just after a national election. That’s because campaign workers and hill staffers are also changing jobs.

September: August college graduates and students seeking Fall internships will be your main competition for entry-level jobs at this time of year. Many advantages to job-hunting in Washington in the fall include the fact that it’s a very busy time, there’s much work to be done, and there isn’t the usual glut of free interns to fill the entry-level positions.

Section IV - Your Resume

It is not the purpose of this handbook to teach you how to prepare a resume. Hopefully, you have been instructed how to do this by your school’s placement office. If not, many fine books on this topic are available at your library. However, as your resume relates to your ultimate success in finding a job in Washington, D.C., a few points are worth mentioning. Prepare your resume and have it printed in advance of your coming to Washington. Have it typeset and proofread it carefully -- you must make a professional impression! Now is the time to get your resume on a computer file (and on disc) so you can easily make edits, corrections or updates. Keep it to one page. Highlight your grassroots political experience, even if it’s volunteer work, as this is the best way to demonstrate your conservative movement credentials. Also highlight positions of responsibility you have held, including supervising other employees, handling cash, etc., even if these positions are not in the public policy field. For more information on resume preparation as well as sample resumes, check out the Heritage Foundation Job Bank resumes page.

Have a separate list of references, which includes addresses and phone numbers, which you can give to prospective employers if they request it. Employers will call your references, so make sure to notify everyone on your list and verify that it is OK for you to list them as a professional or political reference.

Have a writing sample ready to give out at an interview. Academic papers you wrote for college classes may look impressive, but they are usually not the best writing samples for your purposes here. Instead, use something you have written which advocates a conservative position on a public policy issue, such as a letter-to-the-editor, an op-ed piece, or an article for your school newspaper or a conservative publication.

Section V - Building your Washington Network

*** This is the most important, most valuable section of this handbook. ***

Start by contacting the conservative job banks listed above. These resources are very useful, but should only be looked on as a back-up to your own individual efforts to find a job in Washington. From there all you have to do is follow the bouncing ball and take the steps listed below in order.

1) Contact every prospective employer you learn about and ask them for an interview "to discuss your job search" even if they say no position is available.

2) At the conclusion of every interview, ask for the names and phone numbers of one to three other prospective employers you can contact as part of your job search. Most of the people you meet with will be happy to make this referral.

3) You should make a "NETWORK CHART" which shows the personal relationship between the contacts you develop. This will not only chart your progress, but it will remind you to check back with your primary sources from time-to-time to see if they’ve heard of any new openings. In addition, your chart can remind you of which contacts may be helpful in trying to persuade a prospective employer to hire you.

4) You should also keep a set of note cards, or better yet, a Rolodex, which lists each contact you develop. Make a careful note each time you speak to someone in your network. This will help you remember what you discussed, referrals which were made, and action you should take in your job search.

5) Call all the people to whom you are referred and ask for an interview. One way to get your foot in the door is to say, "I was referred to you by…" However, be careful not to imply that they are recommending you for a particular position. Rather, use the referral to let the person know you’re not calling out of the blue, but that you were sent to them by a fellow conservative. A referral is five times more valuable than a cold call.

6) Prepare for each informational interview as if it were a job interview, even if your contact has told you no position is available. Be sure to ask the new prospect for job referrals and continue to thus build your network exponentially.

7) Send a typed thank you letter to each person who meets with you. Send it on the day of the interview, and for hot job prospects, include another copy of your resume with your thank you letter. It’s good to include specific thanks for the referrals they gave you by name to again remind them of the contacts they gave you.

8) FOLLOW UP! This cannot be emphasized enough. If someone has helped you in your job search, whether it be a personal contact or a job bank service, keep in touch with that individual on a reasonable basis and let them know your status. As a Job Bank Coordinator, I can assure you that even if someone’s resume is impressive, if I haven’t heard a word from them in some time, I stop sending their resume out to prospective employers. It is especially important to notify everyone in your network once you have secured a position, whether or not they were instrumental in helping you get that particular job. You don’t want to become known around town as someone who doesn’t follow through.

9) Attend conservative events where prospective employers and others who may become part of your network are gathered. The most useful meetings for the conservative job seeker are listed here. Call the numbers given below for more information.

The Conservative Network
Locations vary. Call (703) 971-0692 for details on TCN’s monthly receptions

Section VI - Training Programs

There are a number of organizations based in the Washington area which train young conservatives for public policy positions. If you attend one of these programs, it can make you a more desirable candidate for many Washington conservative positions, and it will introduce you to more people which can become part of your referral network.

One of the best programs for training young conservatives is conducted by:

The Leadership Institute
1101 N. Highland Street
Arlington, VA 22202
703/247-2000

Their Youth Leadership School will teach you how to organize other young conservatives on behalf of a conservative candidate or organization. The Capitol Hill Staff Training School, also sponsored by The Leadership Institute, is aimed at young conservatives seeking a job on the staff of a conservative Congressman or Senator. Contact The Leadership Institute for details and registration information.

You can also do a lot to familiarize yourself with the conservative movement on an intellectual and theoretical level by reading classic works of conservative literature. You may have read some in college, but it is unlikely that you have covered them all. Lee Edwards has recently written a book entitled The Power of Ideas to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Heritage Foundation, which is also an excellent political history of the past quarter century as a whole (available for purchase from the Heritage Foundation Publications department in mid-December 1997). In addition, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) has a free booklet entitled "Ten Books That Shaped America's Conservative Renaissance," which outlines the most influential works of conservative thought.

Section VII - Financial Considerations

Budget carefully and be prepared for the fact that Washington, D.C. is a very expensive town in which to live. Take a temporary job, if necessary, to earn money until you secure a full-time position. Ideally, it should be something related to public policy and the conservative movement, but, as Morton Blackwell of the Leadership Institute likes to say, "You can’t save the world if you can’t pay the rent." Don’t go bankrupt in pursuit of the perfect job.

You can take an unpaid public policy internship during the day to build your network and credentials, but work a part-time job at night, even if it’s non-political, to earn extra money. For example, you can open mail and make xerox copies for a conservative Congressman for free by day, and work at a conservative phone bank operation for $6.00 an hour at night. Many people have done exactly this on their way to great full-time paid positions.

Keep enough money in reserve to return home if things don’t work out. Some people keep a bought-and-paid-for plane, train, or bus ticket in reserve to return home if needed, which can be cashed in if you decide to stay. But by all means, make provisions to get yourself back home just in case.

Section VIII - Real-Live Job Interviews

Job interviews are also something you have most likely read, heard and learned a lot about through college career services and the like, but there are some additional points for interviewing in Washington that will be useful to remember.

I have heard from a number of employers who are surprised when candidates come to their offices dressed inappropriately, unprepared, and/or unrealistic in their expectations about salary and job description.

First of all, as obvious as it may seem, dress for success. Business attire is expected in any interview for any job with any organization or office. Even if everyone else on the staff is wearing t-shirts and jeans, you show up as the best dressed person there. Guys, suit and tie; gals, professional dress or suit. It may sound old-fashioned, but skip the dressy pant-suits until you have gotten the job and made sure that such attire is acceptable within that office/organization. It’s naturally easier to point out potential pitfalls with female fashion since there is more for us to worry about so don’t take it personally. If necessary, remove chipped nail polish and use a light hand with makeup. Keep jewelry to a minimum, avoid visible runs or holes in pantyhose and even if you have to walk 40 blocks to the interview, switch out of sneakers to dress shoes before meeting the prospective employer.

Secondly, be prepared for the interview. Do your homework before you show up for your appointment. Specifically, find out all you can about the organization, Member of Congress, etc., so that you can talk comfortably about their mission, achievements and future goals with the interviewer. This is the kind of data you can secure in informational interviews as well as in many published resources, such as The Right Guide, the Congressional Yellow Book, the Almanac of American Politics, Politics in America, Congressional Quarterly, National Journal, newspapers and magazines, and the like. Look at your job search (and your entire career in Washington, for that matter) as a means of continuing your education.

Be prepared to ask questions of the employer as well. Although you may not have any additional questions, you want to avoid that awkward moment when the interviewer says "Well, do you have any questions for me?" and you respond with a blank stare. Even if it’s something you already know the answer to, ask it anyway. For example, you can inquire further about the specific tasks you would be expected to perform, or ask about the upcoming projects/initiatives on the organization’s radar screen, etc. Even though interviewers may tell you it’s OK if you don’t have any questions, if you are able to ask two or three substantive questions, you will leave a better impression.

Thirdly, be realistic in your expectations about the job, without selling yourself short, of course. There is a happy medium between someone who thinks they are prepared to write legislation immediately upon graduation and the person who expresses no confidence in himself whatsoever. It is one thing to talk frankly about your abilities and experiences, but another to make claims that you simply are not able to fulfill as a newcomer to the workforce. Bear in mind that any entry-level job in Washington is going to involve pretty much the same tasks, i.e.: a percentage of administrative/clerical duties such as answering phones, typing, sending faxes, running errands, etc. If you tell an employer that you refuse to do anything of the kind, you should probably not expect to hear from them again. If, instead, you indicate your willingness to "get your foot in the door," both in terms of the tasks you will perform and the salary at which you will start working, you will almost always find someone who later will be a huge help in your making the next step upwards to a better job and a better salary. As you probably know, you will most likely not discuss salary (in terms of specific numbers) in the first interview - unless the employer brings it up - but once negotiations do begin, you should not be surprised if entry-level jobs pay anywhere from $18,000 to $22,000 a year. If by chance you are able to find a first job that pays you $25,000 or more, good for you, but by no means count on this kind of cash for a starting position.

Section IX - Some Parting Words of Encouragement

In all likelihood, you will not find a job overnight. You will almost certainly spend several weeks working the phone, pounding the pavement, and flogging your resume.

Don’t become discouraged, as many others have followed this route including the authors and most of their friends. We haven’t lost anybody yet.

Nothing can take the place of persistence in a successful job search.

You can make a difference. You can have an effect on public policy. You can advance the conservative philosophy you believe in. Just keep trying, keep smiling, and keep your chin up!

Acknowledgements
The 1991 author gratefully acknowledged the assistance and collaboration of Marc Wheat, a good friend and fellow Illinoisan, without whom this handbook would probably still be an outline. Marc’s assistance to young conservative activists seeking public policy employment is given unselfishly to all who ask for it.

Much credit goes to The Honorable Morton C. Blackwell, President of the Leadership Institute, whose article, "Staffing the Conservative Movement" [ Conservative Digest, April 1979], inspired this booklet. Morton taught me and many others the importance of his rule: "Go out of your way to help other conservatives."

Thanks also goes to Ed Frankenberg and Dave Mason of The Heritage Foundation, who were the forces behind the Washington Conservative Placement Network, the original publishers of this handbook.

Finally, personal gratitude is extended to the people who helped me learn first hand, through my own job searches, the information I have shared in this handbook: Larry Herbolshelmer, Joe Duggan, Walt Longyear, David Barron, the late Lee Atwater, Helen Sanders, Dennis Kilcoyne, David Miner, Jim Lamb, Dave O’Neal, Sandy Butler, Richard Viguerie, and many others.