How To Connect Two People Who Don't Know Each Other

This business is all about networking. Time and time again on here and on YouTube I have stressed the importance of using your current connections to introduce you to more people to help broaden your horizons and propel your career. However there is a right way and a wrong way to make an introduction. It can be very irksome to get a connection email out of the blue or without a clear understanding of what the connection is asking for. I am not a super formal person, but I do wish we had some better etiquette as a community. Here is some advice for connecting two people who don't know each other professionally.

1) Ask first. It's jarring to get an email out of nowhere introducing me to a new person, especially if that person is going to be asking for my time or resources. You're essentially volunteering me for a job without my consent. There are very few circumstances in which I wouldn't help someone if it were in my ability to do so, but for example I may be dealing with something in my personal life that means I don't have a ton of capacity, I may be conflicted out of a specific conversation because of my job, or I might feel like I'm not the one to help with that particular task. Your ask doesn't have to be formal but it does have to exist. Depending on our relationship text or email me with a little relevant context and then wait for a response. It might look something like "Hey Nancy, my cousin's boyfriend is graduating college and is interested in working on a campaign. I told him you run a listserve and also have advice for people starting out. Would it be okay to connect you?"

2) Follow my preferred mode of conversation. If you connect me to someone via Facebook DM, I am unlikely to ever see it. I don't talk about partisan things on my work email and texting feels too personal for me so in the above example I would prefer to talk by email, but everyone and every situation is different so make sure to ask how I would prefer you introduce us. (You can simply ask "is email okay? Is it still ...") Even if I've agreed to have a conversation, it can be off-putting and inefficient to initiate the conversation on an unanticipated platform, so make sure to clarify before setting it up!

3) Provide accurate context on both sides.  I've spoken before about how it can feel disrespectful to get networking questions about which I have no expertise, but if you haven't adequately prepared the person you are introducing to me it's hardly their fault. Similarly, the advice I'd give to someone who has done several campaigns is very different to that which I would give a career switcher so its helpful for me to have context going in as well. It's good to brief us separately and then provide context when you actually connect us so that our expectations are aligned. I can't tell you how many calls I've had where the person wanted to ask me about how to work in a legislative office or be a journalist. It's fine for someone to want to know about multiple career paths but to set them up for success, they need to know which one I can help them with. Often intros are for people new to the space or fresh out of school so it is especially helpful to provide a little guidance so that they can make a good first impression with their new connection.

A good intro email might go like this:

Subject:   Ann <<>> Nancy (CampaignSick)

Hi Nancy, 

Introducing you to my former intern, Ann, who just graduated from Tufts. As I was telling you yesterday, Ann helped on our city council race last year but is looking to hop on the Presidential in 2024. I told her you might be able to talk her through what the different types of roles available to a new graduate might be and also sign her up for your listserve. 

Ann,

Nancy runs the CampaignSick blog and listserve and has written all sorts of advice on starting out on campaigns. I'll let you take it from here.

Best,

Jeff

I hope you find this useful and I wish you happy and productive connecting!

Campaign Love and Mine,

Nancy 

How To Leave A Job

Campaigns teach you many skills: time management, how to make a pitch, how to set and meet goals, but one thing they definitely don't teach you is how to leave a job of your own accord. That's because win or lose the job is over on Election Day. This means many of us find ourselves later in our careers in jobs that make us miserable or no longer serve us without a roadmap to get out. 

Here are some tips on what to do when you think you may need to move on from a gig that doesn't have a pre-set end date. 

1. Get clear on why you're leaving. You can't look for a new job until you know why you want one. Maybe you love your current employer but there's no room for growth there. Maybe your organization is under new leadership and you're no longer happy in the culture. By identifying why you want to leave you'll know what to look for, and what to avoid, in your next role. 

2. Give your job a chance to make it right (maybe). This one is optional and depends on your particular circumstances. If you know you gotta go and there's nothing your org can do to change that, then there's no reason to bang your head against the wall. But, if for example, you're thinking of leaving because you feel like you should be making more money, it's worth having a conversation with your boss about whether there's room in the budget and what you would need to do to up your compensation. Unlike campaigns, longer term organizations often have built in room in their budgets for raises and also have the runway to build a plan with you to develop toward a promotion and if not they won't be scratching their heads when you ultimately decide to go. 

3. Start looking earlier than you think you need to. My experience on most campaigns is that by the time they are ready to interview you, they needed someone yesterday. By contrast, interview processes in the non-profit sector/real world can take weeks and sometimes months. We are in a very competitive job market so even things that seem like they would be a fantastic fit based on job description won't necessarily call you back. Even while you are happily employed its a good idea to keep a casual eye on job postings and occasionally apply to things that feel like they would move your career forward. Applying, and even interviewing, doesn't mean you have to take the job if offered. Once you are positive you need to leave, you'll want to start applying almost like searching itself is a second job.

4. Continue to be a good employee. This is a huge one. I've known people who have become petulant and withdrawn at work once they are passed over for a promotion or leadership makes a decision with which they disagree. This is a losing strategy. First of all, our world is very small. Even if you don't list your current employer as a reference, it is very possible that potential future employers will do a soft reference check by asking one of your coworkers with whom they have a relationship what they think of you. Second, eventually almost everyone at your org will move on to other things and you don't want a lasting reputation as someone who is gruff or hard to work with. You want to leave your job on as good of terms as possible, so when you do leave make sure any projects you were working on have been handed off, files you owned have been shared, and you give appropriate notice.

5. Network (on the DL). It is totally fine and expected and necessary to ask friends and mentors to start keeping an eye out for you once you've decide you need to move on. In fact, you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't do this. However, make sure you choose your alliances carefully. Unless you are entirely confident that you have that kind of relationship, do not ask your coworkers or worse yet clients, vendors or partners with whom you currently work to help you leave the place you're working. Again, we live in a small world. Make sure when you do ask for help that you let people know you are not being public with your search out of respect for your current employer and don't post about your search on social media.

That's it for now! Let me know- have you left a job recently? If so what did you wish you had known?

CampaignShtick, Dos and Don'ts for Candidates Around the High Holidays

Shalom!

It's your favorite Jewish Campaign Bubbe! Year after year I see cringe-worthy posts from well-meaning non-Jewish candidates trying to be down with MOT, but ultimately swinging and missing. This year rather than simply mock these poorly constructed posts, (although I will definitely be doing that as well) I thought I would offer some proactive constructive advice for candidates wishing to be considerate and inclusive of their siblings in Sinai. I'm telling you ahead of time, so don't make these mistakes.

First of all, let's discuss my qualifications. I am a 17-year veteran of Democratic campaigns and non-profits having worked everywhere from Brooklyn, where my district included the Hassidic community of Boro Park to Beaumont, Texas where it...did not. I have worked and been a Jew on all kinds of campaigns all across the US with both Jewish and non-Jewish candidates. Religiously, I'm a moderately observant Reform Jew which means both that I am the most Jewishly observant person in my family and friend groups and that my observance would barely register to an Orthodox rabbi. All in all, take the disclaimer that I am lot more comfortable speaking for all campaign operatives than I am for all Jews (after all two Jews, three opinions) so if you are seeking Halaka, look elsewhere. 

Let's start with the basics: 

What are the High Holidays? Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, collectively known as "The High Holidays" or "High Holy Days" are the most important days on the Jewish religious calendar. The period, inclusive, between the two holidays is sometimes referred to as the Days of Awe or in transliterated Hebrew, Yamim Noraim. 

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and in addition to beginning a period of prayer and introspection it is also a time for celebration, food, and family. (Should I post my favorite Rosh Hashanah recipes? @ me if yes). 

Yom Kippur is the Jewish Day of Atonement.  It is a day for prayer, reflection, and repentance. Most even moderately observant Jewish adults fast on this day and many refrain from using electronics, showering or even brushing their teeth. If you see food associated with Yom Kippur, it is most likely for a break-the-fast which occurs on sundown at the end of the holiday. 

When are the High Holidays? This year, the secular calendar year of 2023 (on the Hebrew calendar it will be 5784) Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown of September 15th and ends at sundown on either the 16th or 17th depending on an individual's tradition. Yom Kippur begins on sundown of September 24th and lasts until sundown on the 25th. Note, Jewish holidays begin and end at sundown which means if you want Jewish constituents to see your social media post about their holiday you should share it during the day preceding the evening on which that holiday begins. 

Now let's discuss campaign events. What should or shouldn't your campaign do during the High Holidays? Although it is in no way a perfect corollary, in general when considering whether to hold an event think of the High Holidays the way you would Thanksgiving on the secular calendar or Christmas or Easter on the Christian one. 

Can I host campaign events or fundraisers on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? If you have a sizable Jewish population in your district or your donor base or are just trying to err on the side of being respectful, I would refrain from hosting rallies or holding fundraisers on either of these holidays. As a Jew I will tell you it feels insensitive and I feel excluded if an organization I work with plans a once-a-season happy hour, conference, or major action on one of the holiest days of the year because you have a whole year of warning and I am guaranteed to be unable to participate. As a campaign I would avoid scheduling one-off events like fundraisers, surrogate visits or meet and greets with a candidate. Personally, if your campaign has something like a recurring weekly phone bank, I would have no qualms with that continuing even if it falls on one of these days and long as you are taking care to exclude Jews from that day's voter contact universe. See next question. 

Can I include Jews in my voter contact or fundraising universes on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? Absolutely not. If you have heavily Jewish neighborhoods in your district do not call or canvass them on these days. If you have Jewish donors do not solicit them on these days. I would also instruct  canvassers to avoid doors with mezuzot and generally do what you can to avoid contacting Jews on these days. Again, imagine if someone canvassed you in the middle of Thanksgiving Dinner or called you during Easter Mass. 

Can I host campaign events between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? Eh, depends who you ask. Practically if you have a sizable Jewish population in your district or donor base, I would avoid the Days of Awe because you are just less likely to get a good turnout. Think about the time between Christmas and New Years. People are likely to be cooking, visiting family or recovering from doing one or both. If your district includes more observant Orthodox Jews I would avoid it out of respect. Otherwise, not your best option but from an optics perspective you are probably okay. 

Can/should I host Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur themed events? If you are Ruchie Freier  it's very possible you know a way of doing this that is contextually and community appropriate, but if you are reading this blog and you have to ask, the answer is no. 

Let's get down to brisket. How do you keep yourself looking more like a mensch and less like a schmuck when posting a holiday greeting on social media? As with all aspects of campaigning it comes down to research and authenticity. Do I want to see a post from a baptist preacher that reads "On this blessed day may HaShem subscribe you in the Book of Life?" I do not, nor do I want to see a Yom Kippur post that is full of pictures of menorahs and challah. 

Appropriate symbols to include in a High Holiday graphic:
Doves

Shofar
Star of David 

Apples and Honey*

Pomegranate*

Wine*

Challah*

*= Rosh Hashanah only, no food on Yom Kippur! 

Inappropriate symbols to include in a High Holiday graphic and why:

Food/Wine for Yom Kippur (It's a day of fasting.) 

Menorahs, dreidels, latkes, gelt (These are associated specifically with Hanukah, not all Jewish holidays.)

Matzo, seder plates (These are associated specifically with Passover, all not Jewish holidays.)

Random Hebrew letters (Would you put a mishmash of the Roman alphabet on your 4th of July post?)

Fireworks and champagne glasses (Jewish New Year is not the same as secular New Year.) 

Appropriate Greetings to post on Rosh Hashanah 

Happy Rosh Hashanah 

Chag Sameach 

Shana Tova or L'Shanah Tova 

Appropriate Greetings to post for Yom Kippur

G'mar Chatima Tovah

May God inscribe you in the Book of Life or May you be inscribed the the Book of Life

Wishing you a meaningful fast or wishing you a meaningful Yom Kippur 

What not to say

We don't say "Happy Yom Kippur" because while it is among my personal favorite holidays it's less a time of celebration and more a time of introspection. This may be more of a personal pet peeve but I really hate when non-Jews end Jewish holiday greetings with "to all those who celebrate." You wouldn't post "Happy New Year to all those who celebrate" and rarely see "Happy Easter to all those who celebrate" so adding this qualifier feels othering to me. It's as if you are going out of your way to point out "it is weird or abnormal to celebrate this holiday and so I am distancing myself from it and don't want to offend people who don't celebrate this holiday by implying that they might." So just do me a favor and leave it out. Finally, don't add your own theology in an attempt to dress up a greeting. Last Hanukah I saw a post that said "may love and peace reign among your household during this festival of lights" which while not awful...is a weird thing to post for a holiday predicated on a military victory. When in doubt just keep it simple. 

And because they didn't fit elsewhere...some miscellaneous questions:

How do I pronounced these things? Good news for you, because these are Hebrew words that are thousands of years old and have been spoken in hundreds of languages there are myriad of ways of slicing this honey-covered apple. I will spare you the indignity of linking to a pronunciation site and assume if you wanted to do that you would have done so. When referring to Rosh Hashanah in Hebrew or a liturgical sense you may hear Jews put an accent on a different syllable than we do in casual conversation. The most common pronunciation I would suggest you use sounds like "Rush Hush On Ah."  While you may hear Yom Kippur pronounced such that it rhymes with "Tom Clipper" the most common (and my suggested for the layman gentile) pronunciation is such that it rhymes with "Foam Flip Four." 

Should I give my Jewish staff the day off? Would you ask your Christian staff to work on Christmas? Since "Jewish" is a religion, a culture, and an ethnicity, different staff members may or may not choose to take off based on the religious or cultural significance of these holidays to them. You should make it known that the option is available and that their choice to do will be regarded neutrally by the campaign's management. For many years in New York City we had September primary elections. People took off for High Holidays and everyone lived to tell the tale. If your campaign is so weak that it's going to crumble from a handful of staff taking off for a religious observance you probably weren't going to win anyway. 

That's all she inscribed! Fellow Jews, tweet me and let me know what I missed. I hope this helped and look forward to seeing your culturally appropriate holiday posts. Until then...

Campaign Love and Mine,

Nancy

Help! I Just Got Laid Off! Now What?

 

There seems to be an epidemic of layoffs in progressive sphere. Obviously if you are working on the ground on a campaign you were expecting an end date but if you have taken a job in the broader campaign-aligned world with the express desire for some job security this can come as a bit of a shock. Before you embark on a brief but well-earned pity party here are some steps to take to make sure you are set up for success when you're ready to move on. 

1) Be clear on what the company is offering you. How long will you continue to have health insurance? When is your last paycheck? Are they offering you resources like access to career coaching to find your next gig? (This is something I am seeing more and more in the progressive non-profit space.)

2) Gather any important metrics that you will need for your resume. This might include number of volunteers trained, size of a rallies organized, amount of grant money secured etc. Download any documents you created that you might want to use as a writing sample or portfolio. 

3) Thank your boss and let them know you would love the opportunity to work with them again when funding and your skill set are aligned. If this is truly about eliminating a position or a department it is helpful to let them know you'd like to be considered for future opportunities with the organization.

4) Ask if you can rely on their help. It can feel daunting and embarrassing to reach out two weeks later to a boss who has just let you go but if/when you are in an emotional place where you feel comfortable doing so you can say something like, "I am really sad to hear that but I understand. As you know I am passionate about this work and I know you are really respected in the community. Is it okay if I reach out to you for some networking help while I'm looking for my next thing?"

5) Apply for unemployment. Where I grew up there was a definite stigma about receiving unemployment benefits so I want to be very clear. This scenario is exactly is what unemployment exists for. I credit my husband for really helping me understand how bizarre that stigma was. You have been paying into these benefits so take advantage of them. 

6) Take a moment for yourself. Feel your feelings. Relax. Not having a job can be super stressful but if you are able take some time while you are looking go ahead and visit friends, get some exercise, enjoy nature, journal, whatever sparks joy for you. It is true that when you have time you don't have money and when you have money you don't have time so if you do have a little bit of money saved up, make the most of your time so you can go into your next adventure as the best version of yourself.

7) Let other people know you are looking. The further along you get in your career the harder it can feel to ask for help. Each of the last couple times I have been between things I have had the distinct pit in the stomach feeling of "Ugh I shouldn't have to be doing this." But here's the thing: EVERYBODY does. Literally no one in this business has gotten where they are without networking (incidentally what that means for equity in our industry is a whole other kettle of wax, but it's the truth). In fact, if the people you're networking with are consultants, no matter how fancy and important they are they are doing this all the time. So truly do not feel gross about doing this and if people make you feel gross, they are gross.

8) When you are telling people you're looking make sure to be as specific as possible. When people tell me "hey I'm looking let me know if you hear anything" I am likely to just invite them to join my listserve. But if someone tells me "I'm looking for a job working in LGBTQ+ politics" or "I want to be based in Nevada" then I'll think of them when those jobs come up and send them along. If you have a close relationship with the person passing along opportunities consider giving them feedback on the jobs they're sharing with you. For example "thanks so much. That would be a significant pay cut from what I had been making I'm really looking for a salary of at least X." 

I'm sorry you are in this position and I hope this post is helpful! Until next time.

Campaign Love and Mine,

Nancy 

What No One Told Me About Navigating DC Political World

 

Growing up, I always wanted a big sister. Someone who had been to high school dances, for example and could tell me what people wore, what to expect etc. This would have saved me a lot of grief when I showed up in a bridesmaid dress from the Nordstrom Rack sale section to an event where everyone else was wearing baby tees and jeans. (Keep in mind this was in the earlier days of the Internet when there was no YouTube or Instagram to tell me how to "dress my aesthetic.")  This feeling continued well into my 20's when I did find mentors who were well-intentioned but I soon discovered victims of the same myths and pressures I was battling myself. What I would have given for some straight talk from someone who has been and there and was willing to admit, nay declare, that the Emperor is often without clothes. As my favorite British comedian Joe Lycett would say "sometimes if you want something to exist you have to make it yourself." 

If you have ever felt like you missed the day of school where they taught you how to "be" in politics this post is for you. This is not tips for networking, or resume writing or job searching. Rather this is about the smoke and mirrors I wish someone had discussed with me when I was intimidated and more or less navigating our unique social structure on my own. Let's go! 

1) Being a "consultant" doesn't mean shit. Okay maybe you all are a lot smarter than I am but when I was in my early to even mid-twenties working on campaigns and doing informational interviews in DC I assumed campaign consultants were all hyper-successful-know-it-alls joining conference calls when they deigned to from their second beach house. The truth is being a campaign consultant can mean a wide array of things. In the first place any asshole can set up a website and hang out a shingle and put up a front but that doesn't mean they are either exceptionally qualified or exceptionally successful at it. In the second place, junior associates or account executives even at well established and respected firms are not necessarily making more money than an RFD on a statewide or a manager on a city council race. (Though they should still take you out to dinner on the company's dime if they come to visit.) This also means that they last minute help that you may be lucky to get from your TV or mail firm is not necessarily deserving of the disdain with which you might be tempted to treat them (and I speak now in retrospect to my asshole of a past self) sure a lot of these DC ship-ins can have chips on their shoulders but some of them are there to earnestly learn what goes on on the ground. TL; DR all "consultants" are not equal. 

2) Campaign awards are basically a giant circle jerk. I love and respect my friends on every 40 Under 40 List, recipients of Pollies, and Reed awards. I will be excited for them every time they are nominated, slightly wistful that I am not there myself, and wholeheartedly post about how deserving they are. That said, these awards like everything else are lower case "p", political. Awards go to managers and consultants who are nominated by big firms, and those that are paying members or sponsors of the lists, publications, or organizations that are issuing them. They are great for marketing and a great way to recognize quality or enterprising work but you are not finding your way on to these lists based on merit alone. Conversely while awards are nice for marketing no one serious is counting awards when it comes to which firms to bring in on a project.

3) Selfies with principals are proof of...having access to a cell phone. My grandson, Organizer Memes, recently posted the lament of an anonymous reader who was worried they were falling behind because their contemporaries were taking pictures with "important politicians" while the poster was on the ground doing what I might call "the real work." While having your picture taken with a Member of Congress who you admire can be fun and meaningful, what it doesn't mean is anything about your relative importance. Back in my day when I had to walk uphill both ways to canvass and had exactly 0 days off a month, we were taught "no star fucking." Essentially, pictures with candidate or their surrogates are for donors and volunteers and you are there to work and MAYBE get a pic along with the rest of the staff if you are lucky.  Taking a picture with a politician means that you were there and you asked them. This could be at a rally, a fundraiser or even when you bumped into them with you boss after returning with his Dunkin' order. But just like having your picture with Mickey Mouse in Disneyland does not make you an Imagineer, having a picture with AOC on its own says only that you have a picture with AOC. 

To drive home my point,  here are some pictures of me in 2007 with Howard Dean while campaigning for disgraced Senator John Edwards and maybe the worst picture of my face in existence with Senator Tammy Baldwin when she visited the MN DFL Headquarters in 2019. 

4) Confidence does not equal competence. Maybe it is how I was raised or more likely how I was socialized but if I don't know what I'm talking about I tend not to speak on a subject. If I care to, I try to learn and ask questions. Not so for a lot, and I mean A LOT, of people in our industry. (I will leave you to infer the race and gender of most of them.) When I would visit DC in my younger times, because I was a beautiful naive ingenue, I would marvel at the way that acquaintances would casually drop the names of congressional committees and the bills before them and even more so self-assuredly offer opinions on their sponsors' potential career trajectories. It look me years (read: way longer than it should have) to realize that most of these predictions were ripped straight off of Politico and 538 at best and more likely straight out of their asses. I can't tell you how many people came to me for advice during the 2020 primaries saying "I want to work for X candidate but someone is telling me that only Y can win and I will be burned if I don't work for them." If the past several election cycles have taught us anything it's that nobody knows anything for certain and in many ways conventional wisdom is overrated. The longer I spend in this town the more I recognize overconfidence and lack of curiosity for the red flag toward Losertown that it is.  

5) All the above this advice boils down to the following: take the work seriously, don't yourself so seriously! This is not House of Cards or West Wing and anyone acting like it is, is in fact themselves desperately insecure. While the stakes of our collective work are literally life or death, the stakes of your particular career are not. Don't drive yourself crazy over your "career trajectory." Do what lights you up, that makes you feel passionate and excited to go to work with people you enjoy working with. This is the best way to gain a good reputation, make a real difference and ultimately advance your career. 

Join The CampaignSick March Madness Bracket

March Madness is upon us! 

March Madness was wildly popular when I was starting out on campaigns and I was never really into it. Then my husband (then boyfriend) was away running a Congressional and I wanted something in common to talk to him about every evening other than work so I gave it a shot. If you are a doubter I am here to tell you March Madness is mad fun. If you feel like you can't participate because you don't follow college basketball the thing you need to know is that no one does! Last year, 15 seed* St. Peter's led by friend of the blog, Shaheen Hollway*, beat number 2 seed Kentucky and made it all the way to the Elite Eight*.  So no one knows. All you need is basic knowledge of basketball and the willingness to lose your mind over $20.*

So with that in mind I have created a CampaignSick March Madness Bracket! There is no entry fee and as such no monetary prize but there are bragging rights! I created this bracket group specifically for the campaign and progressive community because I thought it would be fun but you don't need to be part of the community to participate. I invite you to participate especially if this is not generally your thing but you want to give it a shot in a supportive low-stakes environment.

So give it a shot! Feel free to share widely and tweet me @CampaignSick with how your bracket is doing!

Campaign Love and Mine!

Nancy 

*seed indicates how highly ranked a team is 

*current coach and alum of Seton Hall, where my husband went 

*the final 8 teams left in the tournament 

*I find wagering even a little on the games gets me really passionate about them but you can also just enter brackets for fun, like this one! 

Tips For Campaign People Interviewing At Non-Profits

Happy New Year! Long time no blog! As you may have seen in some of my YouTube videos I had crappy year, health-wise. BUT I am feeling much better and ready to share more job search wisdom post-2022 cycle. I did a poll on Twitter and you all said you would rather have this information in written blog form rather than YouTube or TikTok. In truth, nothing about my views and engagement leads me to believe that's the case BUT since I've never been able to monetize any of this and blogging doesn't require me to put on makeup on my last day of vacation, let's do it! 

I've already done posts and videos on topics like what to ask on an informational interview (video version here), job search frustrations and writing a campaign resume. You can find lots of other advice here in my archives. 

In searching for a topic that a) I haven't written about before b) would be helpful to job searchers and c) I am better equipped to write about now than I was 5-10 years ago when I wrote most of the advice referenced above (TEN YEARS? I am officially ancient), I thought of a question I get asked a lot. It's usually some variation of  "How do I make the leap from campaigns to X campaign-adjacent field?" Today,  I'm going to talk about progressive non-profits because that's what I've done and it is also where most of the opportunity to do this switching is. Specifically I want to talk about job interviews because it's something I haven't covered before and as a hiring manager I have seen my share of mistakes. Below you will find my tips for campaign staff interviewing for jobs at a non-profit. 

 

1. Don't sound lazy.  In the past I have asked a former campaign staffer "why do you want to switch from campaigns to non-profits?" and gotten some version of "I am burnt out on campaigns" or "the campaign lifestyle is too intense/crazy hours." These, in my opinion, are bad answers. They are not wrong answers. No one knows better than I do the lure of stability, work-life balance and ability to plan for the future that pulls a person from campaigns- but they're not what a hiring manager wants to hear. 

The problem is that you are essentially saying "I want to do something that is less difficult, less time- consuming and/or less work" and when you are trying to get a job it is unwise to tell the person with the job to give that you are looking to do less work. 

Regardless of how the question is phrased, you want to use every opportunity to discuss what excites you about this new role and what you can bring to the new organization - not what you've disliked about the things you've done in the past. 

I believe in my interview for my current job I answered this question with something like: 

"I've been doing this for a long time and jumped around a lot. I am looking to use what I've learned to grow a program over the long-term and make my mark on something." 

Some other examples might include: 

"The time constraint of campaigns doesn't always give you the opportunity to be as intentional as you'd like to be when making decisions. I'm really passionate about X (healthcare, voting rights, whatever this organization works on) and I want to be a space where I can work strategically on it." 

"Because of the way they're structured organizing on campaigns can be very transactional, I love the idea of being able to take my time to invest and build relationships in the community here." 

Of course your answer will depend on the job/organization but the point is your can still get across wanting more stability or a slower pace in a way that highlights what excites you about the job and what you can bring to the table.

As an addendum to this point, don't insult my best friend, campaign work.  As you can tell from this blog, my social media presence and the everything about me, I friggin' love campaigns. Not every hiring manager at a non-profit will have a campaign background and fewer will be as enamored of the lifestyle as I am but especially if you are looking to work somewhere politically oriented, they may be. I have had applicants straight up diss campaign life is a misguided effort to I don't know what...bond? I had one candidate (and when I say candidate in this context I mean job candidate not candidate for office) say to me, "The campaign lifestyle is just unsustainable. No one could do it for more than a few cycles unless you're crazy." (Umm hi, hello, me, I did that.) 

2. Know why you want to work here. This sounds like interview 101, right? But if you think about it candidate campaigns are all pretty similar in that the answer, at least in a general election, to "why do you want to work here" is often "Democrats good, Republicans bad. I want to elect Democrats." Even in a primary a simple "I saw the Senator speak and I was really inspired" or "I come from a working class background and it's really important to me that we nominate someone who will focus on income inequality" will do the trick. 

When it comes to non-profits you may not have even been aware of the organization before you saw the job posting, so it is important to do your research and not just superficially. A meh answer is "You work on abortion and I am passionate about abortion rights." A great answer is "Well I am passionate about abortion rights because of X succinct experience/identity/reason and I am specifically drawn to your organization because you are at the forefront of on organizing for rights at the state legislative level." A thoughtful, researched answer demonstrates that you are excited about the job (even if you aren't) and managers want to hire applicants who are excited to work there because they're more fun to be around and do a better job. At worst I have seen applicants answer this question with what amounts to "I care about this issue and I don't want to work on campaigns anymore" and we have already discussed why that is no good.  

3. Spell it out.  I've mentioned the possibility that your interviewer could be a campaign veteran, but the opposite could be true as well. Even in at a politically oriented non-profit you may be interviewing with someone who has never step foot in a field office. Make sure to explain tasks and job-specific terminology. Make the bridge between your past experience and what you'll be doing in your new role. Your interviewer might not realize the amount of responsibility that goes into running a GOTV operation for a whole region, so include details about how many other staff and volunteers you oversaw, what they (and you) were doing and how that contributed to the campaign's overall success. Unless you know your interviewer has a campaign background define terms like staging location, Votebuilder, or caucus captain. If it turns out the person interviewing you does have a campaign background, they should let you know pretty quick in their response. 

4. Demonstrate that you understand the difference between this new role and campaign work. One thing I always ask an applicant who is coming from campaign world is "how do you think working at this organization will be different from working on campaigns?" While it is true that (generally, certainly in my current role) non-profits offer greater stability and better work-life balance, they also lack some of the things I love about campaign work and have their own frustrations. For example, in comparison to campaigns where every moment is of the essence, decisions at non-profits tend to be made slooooooowly and often by committee. Campaigns, while hierarchical, also tend to give a lot of responsibility to relatively junior staff (where else in my first job out of college would I have overseen 200 people across three offices?), non-profits not so much. If you are used to, and have an affinity for, campaign life I want to make sure you're not going to be bored in a role that will be a slower burn. 

In addition, even titles like "organizer" or "manager" can mean wildly different things from campaigns and  even within the progressive non-profit space. Make sure you read the job description and ask  questions about what the role entails so that you give thoughtful, informed answers. 

5. Let's talk about salaries. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be comparing any industry's salaries as unfavorable to campaigns'. However, campaign salaries, especially on federal campaigns, have skyrocketed in the past couple of years. Primarily we can credit a) the ridiculous number of candidates and therefore higher demand for talent during the 2020 primary and b) campaign staff unions. This is great news! But, it does mean you may be taking a pay cut to move over to the world of non-profits. 

That doesn't mean you won't be as well or better compensated when you factor in things like benefits and work-life balance. For example, I've never heard of a campaign with a 401k match and progressive non-profits usually have excellent and highly subsidized healthcare, not to mention accrued vacation. Unless you are applying for a cyclical position, you also won't have to account for a period of unemployment every November and December. 

Your mileage may vary in either direction; I've certainly heard horror stories about toxic and exploitative workplace cultures across the progressive non-profit sector and some non-profits do pay very well, but I say all this to encourage you to do your research and think holistically about an offer and an organization when negotiating your acceptance and deciding where to apply.

That's what I have for you. What else do you want to know about? More career switching? Interview tips? What I wish I had known in X situation? Hit me up! And until next time...

Campaign Love and Mine,

Nancy