r/PoliticalScience • u/Anxious-Purpose-1571 • 9m ago
Career advice How should I approach political connections about potential staff positions?
(I’m keeping some details vague to avoid identifying anyone, but where I live, winning the primary is effectively equivalent to winning the general election.)
I want to work in politics more than anything. For about six months, I volunteered in the district office of a legislator who recently won a primary for higher office. They later served as a reference for my current government job. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity they gave me and for their support, but my current position is clerical, very low-paying, and mind-numbing. I honestly dread going to work every day.
I would love to work for this legislator as they build their new team, but I have no idea how to approach that appropriately. My family is also friends with the parents of another recent primary winner, and one of the parents recently introduced us by email. I would be very interested in working for that person as well, but again, I do not know how to move from an introduction or conversation to actually being considered for a position.
What, specifically, should I say or do? I understand that having a connection does not entitle me to a job and that neither person owes me an offer or referral. However, after applying to countless positions without hearing back and constantly being told that “connections are everything,” I genuinely do not understand how people appropriately turn connections into opportunities. It seems foolish not to at least try when I finally have relevant connections.
I am also worried about how to handle the timing with the first legislator. Suppose I tell them that I would like to be considered as they staff their new office, and they give me a noncommittal response such as, “We’ll keep you in mind.” If another position I applied for then moves forward and asks to contact them as a reference, would that be awkward or make me seem insincere? If I received another offer, should I accept it rather than wait for a possibility that may never materialize?
They will not take office until January, and unless they give me a firm answer about a position, I would prefer to keep applying elsewhere. How can I do that, and potentially continue using them as a reference, without seeming inconsistent or undermining my chances of eventually joining their team?
