“This site continues to be AWESOME!  I should have been a Political Science major instead of Journalism.  I’ve always been fascinated by politics!”

Thanks for the compliments, Andreana; we’re glad you like Killer Campaigning.  But don’t fault yourself for not getting a political science degree and instead choosing something a little more practical.  To tell you the truth, I’d actually advise anyone thinking about getting into politics to steer clear of a political science major.

There are a couple of reasons for this, and the first has strictly to do with employment prospects.  A political science degree doesn’t really give you a leg up on the competition in any specific field when you get out of college and hit the job market.  In the private sector, political science degrees are usually looked at as generic “I got a diploma” fields of study (much like an English degree, which I have).

For future employment and career advancement, a much more pragmatic degree would be in business, communications or pre-law . . . something that I always tell any politically-minded students who ask me about pursuing a political science degree.  You might like the idea of being involved in politics now, but it’s nice to have something to fall back on if you lose your enthusiasm for campaigning.

Even if you’re thinking about making a full-time career in political campaigns and elections, a political science degree won’t necessarily make you any more marketable.  As a former campaign manager and consultant, I can tell you that a lot of high-level political campaigns like to hire staffers with educations in other fields, since it adds some depth of experience to the team.

In fact, a political science degree is probably going to do little when it comes to actually getting your foot in the door for a paying election job.  Campaign managers are looking to hire full-time staffers who have political campaign field experience, and the only way you can get that is by volunteering and working your way up the ladder.  You can do that with pretty much any kind of college degree.

If you’re intent on studying political science in college, take my advice and make it your minor, not your major.  You will still be able to mention on your resume that you studied political science in school, but you’ll have a much more marketable degree that will make you attractive to potential employers.

UPDATE: One of our readers has some more good advice regarding pre-law majors:

“Pre-law at most colleges is useless unless you are going to law school. I’m a lawyer, I researched pre-law before going to college because I knew I was going to law school. Don’t get a pre-law degree. In most cases, THAT is more of a joke than poli sci.”

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If you’re someone who is looking for a political campaign job, a career in the government sector, or just opportunities to volunteer in elections, it can sometimes be difficult to search for all of the different positions out there. One of the reasons we started the Killer Campaigning Forum was to help organize all of those campaign and government jobs in one easy-to-view place.

If you’re an employer, elected official or politician who is looking to hire someone for your political campaign or for a government position, it’s super easy to post a job listing in our forum.  Just click on “add a new topic” you can list your election job advertisement or intern opportunity for everyone to see.

People looking for political campaign, election or government work and internships are also encouraged to post their resumes and information in the forum.  Once you’ve posted your information, be sure to subscribe to the topic feed so you can be notified of any updates that might be made on your post from other viewers.

I hope you like the Killer Campaigning jobs board, and please let us know if you have any ideas to make it easier to use or more helpful for visitors.  We will be posting new political campaign, election and government jobs & internships in the forum every week, so make sure you bookmark it and come back often to see new opportunities.

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After their first election experience, many volunteers and paid workers decide that they want to go into a career in political campaign management work, which is terrific.  If you’re the right kind of person for the job, professional political campaign management, fundraising and organizing can be a rewarding career.

But a word of warning to young people thinking of starting a career in politics and election strategy: political campaign management work is not for everyone.  While working on a high-profile campaign can be an unforgettable experience, a full-time job in campaigning is stressful, demanding, and often heartbreaking.  It often involves a significant amount of travel, and political campaign consultants can frequently find themselves without a job due to the unpredictability of elections and the quirkiness of candidates.

Regardless of how hard you work as a campaign manager or how flawless your political candidate is, the possibility of defeat looms in each campaign.  You might do everything right on the campaign trail and have the perfect strategy, but a single event or gaff can derail a campaign quickly.  Those derailments can affect your confidence and your reputation in future campaigns, but no consultant is without them; in fact, some of the most famous and successful political consultants in the country have more defeats than victories under their belts.

When it comes to political campaign management work, you often get none of the glory in a victory and all of the blame in defeat.  Politics is a business of big egos, and many candidates don’t like to admit that they need the help of a professional campaign consultant.  If the campaign is successful, you might find that the candidate thinks he could have won without you; if it is a failure, you might find that he thinks he lost it because of you.

One of the reasons why I ultimately left full-time political campaign work is because of the difficulty it presents to someone who wants to settle down and raise a family.  Travel requirements, job insecurity and unpredictable hours all combine to make campaign field work a decidedly difficult career to have if you want to be a dedicated family person.  There’s a reason why many key players in successful political campaigns go on to take full-time government positions; it’s much more stable and reliable.

If you still want to become a professional campaign manager or consultant–even in the face of the difficulties–then you may have what it takes to be successful in the political campaigning field.  I’m thankful for my experiences on the campaign trail, and I’m sure you’ll look back on yours with appreciation, too.  Always be on the lookout, though, for ways to translate your talent in campaign management to a more reliable, stable and lucrative career!

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In large campaigns like Congressional, Senatorial, Gubernatorial and other state-wide races, experienced political consultants are a must-have.  There are more efforts involved in large political campaigns than most people realize, and the candidate often doesn’t have the experience–and certainly doesn’t have the time–to worry about details like volunteer recruitment, polling data, marketing, fundraising strategy, message and a hundred other things.  Competent political consulting, while not an exact science or quantifiable service, is vital component of any successful major campaign effort.

That’s not to say, however, that every dollar billed to a candidate by “political consulting” firms, companies, businesses and independent contractors are legit  and necessary.  The term “political consultant” is pretty vague in itself, and it’s often a title chosen by campaign workers who really haven’t had much serious experience in election work.  There are no laws and regulations that say who is allowed to call themselves “political consultants” and who is not.

For this reason, it’s always best to research any political consulting prospects you are considering to hire for your campaign.  If an independent political consultant or a consulting firm is as good and experienced as they claim, then they should be able to easily provide you with references and examples of campaigns they have worked on.  While a winning track record isn’t necessarily indicative of talent–hey, some races are just not winnable, after all–it is important that anyone you are paying money to has at least a modicum of political campaign experience.

People who are interested in building a full-time career as a political consultant almost always have to “pay their dues” by starting out as volunteers and unpaid managers on local campaigns.  Working your way up the ladder is part of the political campaign consultant process, and most consultants worth their salt will have plenty of volunteer experience on their resume.

That’s not to say that you should begrudge a young, ambitious person for taking on the title of “political consultant” and expecting to get paid some sort of compensation for all of the hard work they want to do for your campaign.  Don’t dismiss a youthful campaign applicant who might not have a lot of election experience, but don’t be fooled into handing them a huge monthly paycheck, either.

If you’re running as a candidate in a local political election, do your really need to secure the services of a paid political consultant?  Probably not.  Local campaigns need to conserve as much money as they can, and probably won’t be able to afford the hefty fees of most professional political consulting experts, anyway.  On a local level, the best campaign consultants you will have is your own political kitchen cabinet: friends, family, neighbors and local political party gurus.

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The best political campaign advice that a candidate receives, though, is often from a small, select group of advisers who serve as a sounding board for ideas and strategies that you’re thinking of implementing on the campaign trail.  This private political campaign team–or “kitchen cabinet” as it’s referred to in some political circles–usually consists of friends and colleagues whose opinions you admire and trust.

The term “kitchen cabinet” was first coined by President Andrew Jackson, who often met in the White House kitchen with some of his closest friends to discuss political strategy and government business.  And while you might not necessarily meet with your special campaign team in your kitchen or even in your living room, it’s important that you define prospective members of your kitchen cabinet before launching your political campaign.

The best members of a kitchen cabinet team aren’t always party insiders or people with political campaign experience.  While it’s good to include other elected officials on your team, the duplicitous nature of politics sometimes means that you can’t entirely trust other politicians with every intimate detail of your campaign–even if they are members of the same party.

In fact, some of the most valuable advice you’ll receive will likely come from close friends, relatives and colleagues who don’t have much experience with political campaigning at all. To be successful, a political candidate for office needs genuine moral support, encouragement and constructive criticism–none of which are likely to come from party hacks or elected officials with agendas of their own.

Instead, look to members of your own family, close friends and associates whose opinions you value to make up your kitchen cabinet campaign team.  Let them know before you launch your campaign that you’d like to bounce ideas off of them in the future, and that you need them to offer their genuine opinions and ideas.  If they don’t think that they have the political know-how to help, let them know that you want them to be a part of your campaign team because of their common sense and trustworthiness–not for their political acumen.

Your kitchen cabinet doesn’t necessarily have to be a group that has scheduled meetings together, but it does need to consist of people who you trust completely and who you know will offer their honest opinions without ulterior motives.

So, who will be the members of your kitchen cabinet?  By putting together your trusted political campaign team early, you’ll ensure that you have a reliable sounding board for identifying the most effective tactics to use on the campaign trail.

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As cool as a professional campaign headquarters office can be, though, do you really need to open your own in order to win your race?  Believe it or not, while a political campaign headquarters might benefit some larger campaigns, it can actually do the opposite for smaller local races.

In big statewide campaigns or congressional races, a campaign headquarters office–or perhaps even more than one–isn’t something you can do without and still run an effective campaign.  When a paid campaign staff is involved in a campaign, then a home base headquarters to house them and organize their efforts makes things run much more smoothly.

For large races, the campaign headquarters serves many important roles: a place for staff to report to work every day, for campaign materials and equipment to be stored, a meeting place for volunteer efforts.

Another important benefit of having a political campaign headquarters office is often overlooked: it creates the impression in the community that your campaign is professional and has momentum. While I’m sure some large campaign headquarters have been centered out of the candidate’s home basement, having a professional office headquarters creates a better perception with the media, your supporters and voters in your district.

If you’re running in a small local race, though, a political campaign headquarters office can do more harm than good. Here are a few reasons why.

The first is your campaign budget and the amount of money that a headquarters office can eat up out of your bank account.  Unless you know a building owner who is willing to give you office space during election season as an in-kind-donation, it will probably cost hundreds of dollars to rent or lease an office to serve as your headquarters.  Especially in a local campaign, this is money that can better be spent on other vital things like mailers and yard signs.

Secondly, if you are running in a smaller race like city council or school board, you aren’t likely to attract many dedicated volunteers even if your campaign is going well. In this case, opening an official campaign headquarters can actually create a bad perception among locals when they see that not many people congregate there on a regular basis.

Lastly, a political campaign headquarters can be a huge waste of time for a local candidate if you don’t have anyone to staff the office for you.  As a local political candidate, your biggest responsibilities are to knock on doors, meet voters and raise money.  These simply can’t be done from a campaign office, and if you feel obligated to stay at your headquarters even a few nights a week, it can add up to a monumental drain on your resources.

So remember: opening up an official campaign headquarters might make you feel good as a candidate, but what makes a candidate feel good doesn’t always win an election. In smaller races, it might be better to run your campaign out of your own home and save the time, money and effort that would go into opening a separate office.

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Here’s a quick disclaimer: as a former professional political campaign consultant, my opinion is a bit biased.  Still, I can’t imagine a candidate making a serious bid for a larger elected office without a professional campaign manager to keep the behind-the-scenes political machine running smoothly.

Scheduling, fundraising, media outreach, all-around problem solving, message development and polling, staff hiring and firing . . . all of these aspects and more can be handled effectively be an experienced campaign manager.  The right manager can take a huge amount of weight off of the political candidate’s shoulders, allowing the candidate to focus on campaigning and raising money.

Still, as essential as campaign managers and staff are in larger races, a campaign manager can actually end up hurting a much smaller campaign. If you’re running for an office like city council, school board, or even mayor of a small city, the odds are that most of the duties that are traditionally performed by a campaign manager can be just as easily done by you.

Don’t get me wrong; it’s great to have volunteers that are willing to help with some of the more difficult tasks in your campaign.  But an official campaign manager is unnecessary in smaller races, and can even end up causing a bit of confusion and squandering of valuable time.

Large campaign committees that are packed with people of various titles love to schedule brainstorming meetings, and they also tend to endlessly debate unimportant details.  Most of the vital tasks that need to be performed in a smaller campaign are easily planned and implemented by the candidate himself, and too much manipulation from other sources can bog down a good local campaign plan.

If someone is interested in being your campaign manager and you think the role isn’t necessary, suggest instead that they take the title of “campaign chairperson.” Let them know that they will help your campaign in an advisory capacity, but that the day-to-day operations and decision making will be mainly done by you.

Remember: the more meetings you are having with members of a campaign committee, the less time you are dedicating to what really gets votes: knocking on doors, making phone calls, and writing letters, among many other things.

If you’re a candidate in a smaller local political race, you might want to forgo the naming of a campaign manager and instead manage the important elements yourself.  As your political ambitions grow, you’ll find a professional campaign manager to be much more beneficial in larger races.

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