Three Tips To A “Good” Political Appointment

1. Don’t Network…Make New Friends

People hire people they can trust their name, money, and reputation. I have learned not to be a fan of the term “networking” because seems like a cold transaction. It’s like saying, “Good afternoon, lets start sleeping together” the first time you meet someone at a bar. People are more than willing to go out of their way to help those they have personal relationships. You build them by doing little things like inviting political contacts to your functions and attending theirs. If there’s an article in the paper they would find interesting, forward it along with a few comments (Be careful when writing comments because they could become public…LOL). Also, a morning cup of coffee, an afternoon beer, or a phone call still goes long way.

2. Help People Get Elected

Whether the White House, Governor’s Mansion, or City Hall, elected officials, and the people who make their hiring decisions monitor who helped during the campaign. I highly recommend spending your time after work helping people get elected if you want a political job. And by helping, I mean really help, don’t just show up for the cocktail and the victory parties. You can raise money, work grassroots efforts, be a policy advisor on different subjects, heck I’ve seen a guy get a job after a campaign who drove a Congressman to events around the district. A great example of is former Sectary of State, Condoleezza Rice. While Provost at Stanford, she advised then Texas Gov. Gorge W. Bush on foreign policy issues when he was considering running for President back in 2000. Once Bush won she was appointed National Security Advisor.

3. Keep Your Day Job

“Stay Employed” is my number one political rule because political careers are unstable. Depending on the official you want to work for, they may have only a few jobs available. People are always seeking subject matter experts because believe it or not, the people we elect don’t have answers for everything so becoming an expert in your current profession can pay off.

Remember, some political jobs pay little money, so you don’t quit your job to help someone get elected and they offer you a job that pays 20%-30% less than you made before. Or better yet, quit your job and your candidate loses (I have a few McCain/ Palin friends who experienced this first hand). I forgot to mention earlier Condi didn’t just up and quit her Provost job at Stanford to help President Bush, she took a leave of absence just in case.

Marcus Skelton is former State Chairman of the District of Columbia Young Republicans. He currently works as a Grants Advisor for a higher education association in Washington D.C. and lives in Prince Georges County Maryland. He’s also a Republican Strategist and contributor for National Public Radio.

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