How To Land A Congressional Internship In Five Days

Each week, calls come in from parents and college advisors seeking guidance on how to land congressional internships for the best in class. Recent placements have included the Virginia Military Institute (hat tip to the incredible Eric Hunter of the VMI Alumni Association), Brandeis University, University of Connecticut and the University of Virginia just to name a few.

Time On The Hill works with institutions and individuals who seek a little support with written deliverables and placement. Your LinkedIn profile, resume and cover letter fall into that category. This is how we support a thriving national operation. But the precise process for landing a congressional internship is given away right here, right now, absolutely free.

Here we go...

Step 1.) Write down a list of all the states where you have lived or worked. I grew up in Pennsylvania. I went to school in Virginia. I have worked in New York, Texas and North Carolina. I now live in Washington, DC.

Step 2.) Would you prefer a Republican or Democrat as President? You pick.

Step 3.) Look at the states from Step 1.

Step 4.) Based on your presidential selection in Step 2, write down a list of all the corresponding members from your states. If you selected a Republican President, write down every Member within the Republican delegation (both House and Senate) from your states. If you selected a Democrat, write down all of the elected Democrats in the delegation.

Step 5.) Now, count the total number of Members and make sure your list is no longer than ten Members. We don't need to let this get out of hand. This list will be your Top 10.

Step 6.) Every Member of Congress has an official Web site. Go to the Web site and find the Washington, DC office phone number. Write this number down next to the name of every Member from your Top 10 list.

Step 7.) Call the phone number of each office. When the office picks up the telephone, please say the following:

“Good morning, my name is _______. I am currently attending _________ and I am trying to gather as much about info as possible about a possible service opportunity in Congress. Does the Congressman have an Intern Coordinator?”

“Why yes we do. His name is __________ and I can give you his email address. It’s firstname.lastname@mail.house.gov."

“Excellent! Thank you for your help!”

Step 8.) Call every office one-by-one and work down your list. Some states have very small delegations so this won’t take you very long. You should be able to complete your entire Top 10 list in about 25 minutes.

Step 9.) Before sending anything to the Intern Coordinator, evaluate your LinkedIn profile. There is a 100% guarantee that your LinkedIn profile will be searched and reviewed before any opportunity is sent your way. Send nothing to anyone until your LinkedIn profile is flawless. How do we do that?

Step 10.) Edit your LinkedIn URL within the LinkedIn platform to something simple. Now you can add it to the top of your resume adjacent to your email and phone number.

Step 11.) Take a brand new photo in front of a backdrop that looks at least vaguely congressional. No party shots. No random arm over the shoulder. Just you. Big smile. Friendly. Like Christian, or Jonathan or Nick. 

Step 12.) Within your LinkedIn profile, only include the past opportunities that relate to Congress. Anything in the food industry should not be on your LinkedIn account. Anything in retail (J. Crew, Old Navy, etc.) should not be on LinkedIn. Less is more. The cleaner the better.

Step 13.) Remove anything that indicates a GPA. Magna, or summa or University Dean's List is solid.

Step 14.) Unless your target audience has a specific and relevant fraternal history, tone down your sorority or fraternity. There is a lot of risk here and little chance of reward.

Step 15.) Delete anything personal from your LinkedIn account like your birthday or your relationship status or your class schedule.

Step 16.) Now it's time to review your congressional resume. The entire document should fit on one page and only one page using 12 point font. The same theory used on your LinkedIn account is administered here as well. Present only the attributes and experience that bring value to Congress. List your experience at the top, your campaign and/or volunteer service in the middle and your education at the bottom.

Step 17.) Craft a cover letter with the following format:

Paragraph A.) I am very interested in serving the Congressman…..As a member of the powerful ________ Committee….. This particular area of policy…..

Paragraph B.) By way of background, I am currently a student at the…..and while my academic environment is delivering a strong understanding of the legislative process, I crave firsthand experience.  

Paragraph C.) In closing, an opportunity in Congress…..  Please see my materials attached. My contact information is included as well.

Sincerely,

Step 18.) Your cover letter and resume should match. Same margins. Same headers on both documents. Same font. Keep everything crisp, and congressional and uniform.

Step 19.) Email your cover letter and resume as attachments to the Intern Coordinator. Save each document separately as a PDF file. If you send PDF files, no matter who opens the document, no matter the computer, the layout of your document is safe.

Step 20.) In the body of the email, include the following:

Subject Line: Introduction

Dear Intern Coordinator Smith,

I was given your contact information by a member of the Congressman’s front-office team. I am highly interested in Hill service as a Congressional Intern. My resume and congressional cover letter are attached for your review. I would be very grateful for your guidance.

Sincerely,

Michael

Michael P. Smith
University of Texas, Class of 2017
Telephone Number Here
Email Address Here
Customized LinkedIn URL Here

Step 21.) Send your emails (customized of course) to all of the offices on your list referencing the Intern Coordinator in each email.

Step 22.) Now we wait. This is the worst part. Waiting is terrible. You simply need to wait a moment for the office to respond.

Step 23.) Here comes the Intern phone interview. Research the Member quickly! Listen 60% and talk 40%. Why this Member? Why do you want to serve in Congress? What is your favorite issue? How did you select your political party? Does the Member have military experience? How many terms has the Member served? What committees does the Member serve on? Don't just take up a chair. Bring savvy and bring value. 

Step 24.) Sort out the details of the Internship. Most opportunities are unpaid but in some rare cases you can garner up to $1,000 per month.

Step 25.) Welcome to Washington! (Don’t forget, if housing and/or money is an issue, you can always serve as a congressional intern in the District office.)

Typically, this entire process takes about five business days. Internships that are being planned for the following season often take longer because there is no inherent rush to confirm placements. Offices that need an Intern right now will call with lightning speed to learn more about what you're all about.

More Hill jobs have been garnered as a result of successful congressional internship experiences than any other method. If you have any questions, on any topic at any time, simply visit www.timeonthehill.com or give us a call. Good luck. There are always openings on Capitol Hill. The harder you work the luckier you will be.

(Results may vary but for the diligent, five days is historically the norm for all of the people we have placed. This photo above was taken with the House Majority Leader during my 2014 masters fellowship with Syracuse University. Once you succeed, send us your congressional pic!)