As I mentioned before, I am deeply interested in breaking into the realm of political PR and actually, my dream job is to become the White House Communications Director! However, I was not sure on how to go about this path so I reached out to the connections I made over Twitter and asked for help; one of them being the wonderful Lisa Crocco. I quickly came to value Lisa's advice since she was the first person I came across who was interested in the same area of PR as me and we have the same dream job! I am delighted to say that Lisa is here today to share some advice and tips for those who want to get involved in political PR. So grab your notepad because Lisa is about to pass on some enlightening wisdom!
PR/Politics—A beautiful combination
By Lisa Crocco
There are so many different types of public relations one can go into. One of the less popular areas is political PR. The world of political PR is exciting, fast-paced, and fulfilling. If you are looking to get involved in political PR I have some suggestions for you.
So a couple things I recommend to you:
This will allow you to network with other people interested in politics, alert you of any internship or job openings in the political world, meet a ton of politicians, etc. Do it, you won't regret it. Through the College Democrats of Illinois I went to Virginia for free to help campaign during the governor’s race...how awesome is that right?
Like I had to do with my current internship for a local congressional candidate, I simply shot them an email saying I wanted to help out on the campaign doing something involving communication. Most campaigns are desperate for volunteers who can help them in any way so it will be fairly simple to get, as well as become a rewarding experience.
Many people think that you automatically have to work on campaigns if you want to work in politics…this is simply not true. You can work for your local state or city government agencies in various departments that may interest you, such as education, transportation, etc. Also be sure to look into political consulting or public affairs if you want more of the PR agency life.
They don't have to be littered with your political opinion, but it's important that other people see you know your stuff about politics and can be unbiased. I'm a contributing writer for a website called Lipstick and Politics, and also try to write political based pieces for other websites (such as this one!). Being a contributing writer for political websites is fairly simple as well. I received most of my opportunities to write by once again, literally shooting them an email saying I wanted to write and was given a chance.
There is nothing wrong if you do not have it all figured out yet. With so many different paths to choose it can be difficult to navigate. So why don't you try everything and see what you enjoy best!
Best luck on the search! Feel free to reach out to me if you have any comments, questions or just want to connect. I’m always here to help!
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By Lisa Crocco
There are so many different types of public relations one can go into. One of the less popular areas is political PR. The world of political PR is exciting, fast-paced, and fulfilling. If you are looking to get involved in political PR I have some suggestions for you.
So a couple things I recommend to you:
- Join a local College Democrats or College Republicans Chapter
This will allow you to network with other people interested in politics, alert you of any internship or job openings in the political world, meet a ton of politicians, etc. Do it, you won't regret it. Through the College Democrats of Illinois I went to Virginia for free to help campaign during the governor’s race...how awesome is that right?
- Create your own opportunities
Like I had to do with my current internship for a local congressional candidate, I simply shot them an email saying I wanted to help out on the campaign doing something involving communication. Most campaigns are desperate for volunteers who can help them in any way so it will be fairly simple to get, as well as become a rewarding experience.
- Look into political consulting and political consulting agencies
Many people think that you automatically have to work on campaigns if you want to work in politics…this is simply not true. You can work for your local state or city government agencies in various departments that may interest you, such as education, transportation, etc. Also be sure to look into political consulting or public affairs if you want more of the PR agency life.
- Write for political websites and blogs or write political pieces
They don't have to be littered with your political opinion, but it's important that other people see you know your stuff about politics and can be unbiased. I'm a contributing writer for a website called Lipstick and Politics, and also try to write political based pieces for other websites (such as this one!). Being a contributing writer for political websites is fairly simple as well. I received most of my opportunities to write by once again, literally shooting them an email saying I wanted to write and was given a chance.
- Try a little bit of everything
There is nothing wrong if you do not have it all figured out yet. With so many different paths to choose it can be difficult to navigate. So why don't you try everything and see what you enjoy best!
Best luck on the search! Feel free to reach out to me if you have any comments, questions or just want to connect. I’m always here to help!
Are you interested in political PR? Or do you have any other tips or stories? Leave a comment or get in contact with me! And get in touch with Lisa because she is one valuable connection you don't want to pass up. Until next time....
~Selina
~Selina