Campaigns & Elections' Politics - February 2008 - (Page 42) Don’t Jump! Obviously, switching campaigns before your current candidate gets picked off is a bad idea. Even if defeat seems likely, “it’s important to give the campaign your all, regardless of what the polls show,” Varoga says. “What impresses consultants is people who never give up.” Another strategist told Politics that if a staffer were pulling punches—to not offend the opposing campaign in hopes of future employment—it would be transparent. And campaign managers should recognize that any attacks made against their candidate are just part of the game. In the course of sweating blood for a candidate, you’re also auditioning for your peers. her new job, she writes up contracts for clients. “In the end,” she says, “‘talking’ for a campaign and ‘talking’ for a business aren’t that dissimilar. Both parties are trying to put their best foot forward. One is trying to get your vote, one is trying to get your business.” Courtney O’Donnell, too, has parlayed campaign experience into the private sector. She’s currently working at the William J. Clinton Foundation as a marketing director. “The advice I always give people who work on campaigns or come off campaigns,” she says, “[is that] I’ve found across the board both public and private sector employers respect the skill sets people develop on campaigns and the ability to work hard. Those are highly valued skills, along with working under pressure.” O’Donnell adds that the ability to develop integrated media plans within a compressed amount of time and with limited resources has helped her with marketing efforts, online outreach, partnership development and developing publications for the foundation. One Democratic operative says it really does come down to how you spin your role in the campaign. “I was on a campaign where we lost but nearly pulled off the biggest upset of the cycle with no resources,” he says. “That cache and the relationship I had with media consultants and the party turned into a recommendation to another big-ticket campaign.” Keep in mind that you need to spin the campaign loss in a completely positive way. That means being totally realistic about why your candidate lost, and not pointing fingers at anyone, according to Varoga. No one wants to bring on board someone who plays the blame game. Tip No. 2: Look Down the Road At the same time, it’s important to remember that you’re always grooming your resume for future employers. “In the course of sweating blood for a candidate,” says one Republican strategist, “you’re also auditioning for your peers. If you’re a young staffer you want to make sure to know the campaign manager and the higher-ups on the team. You want them aware of your hard work.” And don’t just leave your career to chance. Sure, being in the right place at the right time can jump-start a career. But if you’re interested in moving from advance staffer to campaign spokesman, figure out what you need to do to get there—which skills, mentors and contacts can help you most. “Just as a campaign wouldn’t be run without a campaign plan, staffers should have a plan for what they’re going to do for their next job,” Varoga says. Of course, it’s really important that you don’t mess up in your current job. “It’s rare to find a staffer who has committed an egregious error. A well-organized campaign wouldn’t allow someone to be put in that position,” Varoga says. But not every campaign is a model of organization, and big mistakes do happen. Just make sure none of them have your fingerprints on them. Once you have a reputation for screwing up, it can dog you forever. Tip No. 3: Spin Like a Champion Field, finance and press operatives—three cornerstones of a campaign organization—each have different ways to prove their prowess and land on another campaign. A finance director may have helped his losing candidate out-raise all the other candidates in the field. The field director can point to her innovative GOTV effort. The press guy can prove that he’s successfully coordinated with scheduling teams so that press opportunities match up. Last fall, an operative who flew out to Iowa to help a second-tier Republican campaign prepare for the Ames straw poll parlayed that into a successful private-sector position. One of the skills she says she could point to was scheduling. “I was able to say that I organized 15 bus routes and more than 1,000 people made it to the straw poll.” At her new job at a recruiting firm, she’s found that “dispatching people in a campaign is very much like organizing people in an office.” On the campaign, she helped edit speeches; at 42 Politics Tip No. 4: Save That Cash If your candidate has managed to hold on after Super-Duper Tuesday, there are a few things that could help you now. We know you don’t need to be reminded that you’re not making much money, but sock away whatever you can. In the 1988 race, Pascoe had been volunteering for Jack Kemp, who, as we all know now, lost the primary. A few February 2008
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