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This is the time of year when campaigners and political practitioners are pounding the pavement trying to find their next campaign job and as someone who has done that a lot, I have a few unsolicited thoughts, following last year's thread on resumes. Thread:
First, thank you for your work last cycle. Win or lose, if you worked hard and gave your all for your candidate, you deserve thanks and a vacation and hopefully another great job in campaigns. And those of us who've been there want to help.
I mean it: nearly everyone who has done this before knows how hard it is and wants to be helpful for the crazy souls who want to keep doing the work to make things better. I can't remember asking a friend to meet with a job-seeker who has turned me down.
So you're doing the right thing by trying to talk to people--and it's nice to be asked for advice. But there are good ways and bad ways to reach out, so a few things to think about as you do it:
1) Recognize that the person you're asking likely has a job and is likely very busy. So be patient and flexible with scheduling. If they don't get back to you right away, give them some time, ping once more and then give it a rest.
If they say they'll meet but forget to close the loop, gently bump the latest email in a reasonable time frame (i.e. not the same day).
2) Again, their logistics are tougher, so work within their schedule (don't offer up only one specific time), and you should go to them. You goal should be making the logistics as easy as possible for them so you can have them just focus on your questions.
3) Once you've set up the meeting, send them your resume in advance. If they have time to review, they might be able to think through some ideas early. (But also, come with a copy in case they haven't reviewed).
4) Come to the meeting with a list of questions. Please don't sit down and say "tell me what you know," or expect them to drive the conversation. Those questions can vary widely, everything from:
"Would you recommend I do a House or Presidential campaign" to " What role am I qualified for" to "Here's where I want to end up--what's the best path" but you have to come with questions.
5) Also, review the bio/Linked In page of the person you're meeting with. It will make your questions to them more targeted and helpful and make sure that you are getting the most out of their experience.
6) Most important: Follow up. Both immediately (or at least same day) to say, thanks for meeting with me, here's my resume and thank you for offering to share with X or connect me with Y; and also long term--it's great to hear where you landed!
7) If you are trying to be helpful and hoping to connect two people you know, ALWAYS ask first. I'm generally happy to talk to a friend of a friend, etc., but it just makes sense to check in before offering someone else's time.
8) Finally, remember that job hunts are hard--finding the right fit is not easy and always takes longer than you want. And there's far too much rejection, often for reasons you never find out. So remember that EVERYONE has been rejected for jobs and you will land somewhere good.
