Cloture Girl – On the Job Hunt

I am a college senior graduating in May wondering how I can find a job on the Hill.  I was Deputy-Campaign Manager for a DC Council At-Large race, was a policy intern at the lobbying firm [redacted], and also was an intern at another firm.  I’ve been busy serving as Chief of Staff for Student Government and President of my fraternity, and with graduation coming up I am becoming nervous about where to look for employment come mid-May!  Any advice that you could give me would be much appreciated and extremely helpful!  Thank you!

Best,
P

Dear Prospective Hill Staffer P,

There is no one way to skin a cat, as they say.  People come to the Hill from all over the country, with very different professional backgrounds, so it makes sense that they find themselves here for a myriad of reasons.

If you do not have a particular office that you are connected to in some way, I suggest you make an appointment with the Senate Employment Office or review the information on the House of Representatives’ Office of Human Resources’ webpage.  This can give you a better sense of who is hiring right now.  You might also scan the bulletin they put out to see if there are openings for jobs in any states that you have a strong connection to, such as being born there, having gone to college there, or being a voter there.

Given your experience, I would be looking for a Staff Assistant or Intern position.  Unfortunately, you are trying to start work on the Hill at a time of year (the start of the summer) when unpaid or barely-paid interns are plentiful.  This means that paid positions will be in scare supply.  That said, if you do have the financial ability to support yourself for the summer or are willing to take on a second job to make ends meet, a Hill internship is a very good thing to add to a resume.  Most offices on the Hill ideally want to see some sort of Hill experience for their paid positions.  Also, once you are on the Hill, it is much easier to network and find a paid position.

Besides the actual job websites for the House and Senate, there are several other email lists and websites that you can go to for job postings.  We make an effort to put all accessible positions on our website, but you might also try out Brad Traverse’s website.  It costs money but it also has Hill jobs. (http://www.bradtraverse.com)

Lastly, I would reach out to your former bosses to see if they know anyone hiring or if they could put a good word in for you for a job that is open.   Happy hunting and good luck!
Senate Placement Office Contact Information:

SH-116, Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-9167

http://www.senate.gov/visiting/common/generic/placement_office.htm

Office of Human Resources
102 Ford House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Fax: 202-226-7514

http://www.house.gov/cao-hr/

Hello. I tried to send an application for the following position, but the contact email (senatearchivistjob@gmail.com) is not working. Is it still available?

Sincerely,

A

• http://www.clotureclub.com/2010/03/senate-employment-bulletin-for-march-1-2010/

Dear Archivist A,

While I have no way to know whether this job is still available, perhaps I can give you some information on how best to proceed.  Since this is a publicly listed Senate job posting you could try contacting the Senate Placement Office (see above post for contact information) for ideas on how to get your resume to the correct office.  Remember to tell them the Job Reference number (201048).  My guess is that the job would be for Senator Bayh, Senator Dorgan, or Senator Dodd, but in D.C. you never know…

As always, thank you all for your questions. If you have anymore, feel free to submit them to me. I answer as quick as I can here on ClotureClub.com

Enjoy the recess everyone!

- Cloture Girl