Moving to the head of the class, Capitol Hill style

Lyndon Johnson began his political career as a House legislative secretary, and scores of lawmakers began theirs as summer interns on the Hill. What does it take for a young staff member to advance in his or her career? The answer, according to senior congressional staff, comes down to the three R’s, modified a bit from their school-day incantation: Reading, Writing and Responsibility.

READING

An advanced degree or law degree can be critical to career advancement, senior staff said, so ambitious young staffers should be willing to crack open constitutional law textbooks in their after-work hours.

Rochelle Dornatt, chief of staff to Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), explained that she had 200 resumes on her desk to look through. “How do I sort out those resumes?” she asked rhetorically. “What’s in that person’s background that’s going to benefit the office?” she said. “I look at their training, and I look at their education.”

“I think that additional degrees and law degrees help you get used to the intensity that working on here [on the Hill] requires, the long hours, the amount of work that you have to do,” Congressional Legislative Staff Association president Brian Clifford said.

Dornatt added that staff who seek internal training through congressional training and resource offices or the Congressional Research Service also attract her notice. “The staff who take advantage of these programs are bringing skills that are value-added to the office,” she said.

Alan Salazar, chief of staff to Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), said he also looks for staff with demonstrated intellectual curiosity. “I always look to hire people who read lots of newspapers, magazines, and books — and those who view public affairs as a major area of interest beyond their professional life,” Salazar wrote in an e-mail. He too values law degrees, writing that “it’s always a plus to have a law degree because even non-practicing lawyers learn how to frame arguments objectively and gain valuable research skills.”

WRITING

Though society’s growing reliance on technology may make writing skills seem less important than one’s ability to keep up on the newest office product or smart phone, senior staff reiterated over and over again their need of staff with strong writing and communication skills.

“Staff who can write well, use the English language well are high-value — and that’s different from text-messaging,” Dornatt said.

“Writing, writing, writing,” stressed a Republican senator’s chief of staff who prefers not to be named in news stories.
“Know how to take a complex issue and completely distill it in a brief form that can cover everything from issue, priorities, solution, [to] recommendation vis-à-vis a solution,” he advised.

The Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) offers free beginning and advanced classes on writing constituent mail to House staffers.

CMF Executive Director Beverly Bell suggested ambitious staff, in addition to improving their writing, may want to develop web-design skills, as “very few offices have a slot for a webmaster, but it’s certainly a very needed skill on the Hill.”
Senior staff also mentioned their value of additional language skills, particularly Spanish, “a hot commodity in offices today,” according to Dornatt.

RESPONSIBILTY

Taking responsibility for one’s own career success also makes a big difference, the senior staffers said. “It’s complete self-motivation,” said the senator’s chief of staff. Young staffers can “network until [they’re] blue in the face,” he said, but what can cocktail hour-conversations tell prospective bosses about their work ethic?

“If you want to be [smart] about it, find an area you can be an expert in, and it’ll pay for itself,” he said. One way to do this, he suggested, is for entry-level staffers to volunteer to help research legislation or an issue area in their free time.

And, at the end of the day, what can leave an impression is an individual’s attitude, writes Salazar: “Whether a staffer aims to be a press secretary, a legislative assistant or a constituent services representative, having the right team attitude is important. Aim to be glue in an office rather than grit.”

SPECIAL SECTION: Continuing Education
Online education: Graduate schools are more accessible than ever
The University Continuing Education Association
University programs