Campaigns & Elections' Politics - February 2008 - (Page 43) weeks after Super Tuesday, Pascoe and Bush manager Lee Atwater discussed the possibility of Pascoe joining the victorious Bush campaign as the liaison to the conservatives. “I didn’t have any kind of formal job offer at that point,” he says, “but Atwater made it very clear that he wanted my help.” Pascoe did some odd work here and there for the campaign, but wasn’t extended a formal offer until the Republican National Convention that summer. The lesson learned there, he says, is that “the odds are good that even if you can pull it off, it won’t happen for awhile.” O’Donnell, too, had to put in her time working for the Democratic National Convention before she landed on the Kerry-Edwards team. Tip. No. 5: Network Like a Fool Another key? Promote yourself! “The big thing is that a lot of people who work in campaigns are good at promoting candidates and they need to be reminded to promote themselves,” Varoga says. A former Republican operative who’s now a political appointee in the Bush administration managed a 2006 congressional campaign in the Midwest at the ripe young age of 23. While his campaign ultimately lost, he says, “I was able to point to the fact that I was 23 and running a multimillion dollar campaign and managing a staff of eight.” (What were you doing when you were 23?) How did he land such a great campaign job? He knew he wanted to work on a congressional race, so he tapped the large network of contacts he amassed working on the Bush campaign in 2004. He talked with the NRCC, which introduced him to people, and soon he was boarding a plane. After the campaign ended, he worked his network again, this time with impressive experience under his belt, and landed the plum job in the administration he holds today. So while you’re still on a campaign, take advantage of your best resource for the future—the ability to network. The big campaigns give you an opportunity to meet with the people who could give you your next job. “Campaigns are competitive, but they’re also social,” Varoga says. “People like to help you where they can.” And don’t forget about those you worked with in the past. Reach out to them regularly, too. Whatever you do, don’t despair if the job-hunting takes longer than you’d hoped. The beauty of politics is there’s always next cycle. Theodora A. Blanchfield is associate editor of Politics magazine. February 2008 Politics 43 http://www.d-flat.com http://www.d-flat.com
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