COMM 207: Where the jobs are (add 1)

A postscript to last Thursday's discussion of jobs in government affairs, lobbying and legislative liaison ... one of the home industries in Springfield ... and a link to a Web page put up by the American League of Lobbyists on how to break into a career in lobbying. An overview:

Most lobbyists are college graduates, and many have advanced degrees. Of these advanced degrees, the most prevalent is legal training, with other common backgrounds being communications, teaching, public relations and journalism. Lobbyists must be able to understand their clients' interests as well as the laws and policies they hope to influence. They must be able to communicate effectively with their audience, both orally and in writing. It is also necessary for them to understand the legislative and political process.

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... The best suggestion we can make is for individuals [wanting to break into the field] to use the contacts they have through previous work or studies, seeking informational interviews and networking as much as possible. As indicated in the paragraph above, political or government contacts are particularly helpful in entering the field.

In short, it helps to know someone. But the way to get to know someone is to take an interest in the political process, volunteer for campaigns and network with people whose politics and philosophies match your own. We have had several students from Springfield College line up internships with local members of Congress, and that is probably the best way to get a feel for the legislative process. The key: Network, network, network.

In class today I will hand out photocopies of the "Illinois" pages in a Springfield telephone book. Most of the listings there, from the Illinois Conference of Churches and the Illinois Conference of Teamsters at the top of the first page to the Illinois Press Association and Illinois Primary Health Care Association at the bottom of the second, are associations that maintain a legislative liaison office in Springfield. Many of them have a full- or part-time communications director on staff. Those that don't sometimes contract out for help with fliers, brochures or other media. You can get a similar list of associations in Springfield, as government affairs offices are often called, by searching in Yahoo! for "Springfield" and "associations."