Getting an Internship

The first step to getting an internship is preparing your resume and identifying a campaign.

Step One: Prepare Your Resume

• As a first step, you need to prepare a resume. Don't worry if you don't have very many experiences -- once you do a few internships, your resume will fill up fast.
• Read through the section on Writing an Effective Resume in the Xavier Job Search Guide (the section on resumes starts on page 14). If you are an incoming student, also take a look at the Career Center's sample resume for students making the transition from high school to college.
• Read through our advice on resumes. Effective resumes are Concise/One-Page, Meaningful, Edited, and Readable. Keep it simple!
• Probably the best way to build a good-looking resume is to find a resume that you think looks good and use it as a template. Find A very simple resume template for political internships here.
• For additional ideas, take a look at resumes submitted by several members of our 2018 senior class: Gabrielle Mooney (Word; PDF); Brendan McCarthy (Word; PDF); Grace Beham (Word; PDF).

Step Two: Identify a Campaign

• Think carefully about your own political views and values. Are you a Republican, a Democrat or an Independent? If you are an independent, do you lean towards one of the two major parties? If you aren't sure, these short quizzes by Pew Research Center on party preference and ideological preference might be helpful.
• Do some research on the congressional races in your area. Is there a U. S. Senate race this year in your state? What U.S. House district do you live in? Who are the candidates? *Students may also choose to intern for a news organization, political party, PAC, or independent group whose work is related to campaigns, voting or elections.
• Visit the websites for your local newspaper and television stations in your media market and see what stories they have run on the race. From this coverage, try to discern which candidates are truly viable (have a chance to win). Which candidates have earned endorsements from prominent local leaders? Which candidates have earned the endorsement of their party?
• Next, visit the websites of the candidates who are running in your area. Read up on their background, policy positions and press releases to find a candidate for whom you would like to intern. Note that there are no rules that require interns to live in the district in which they campaign but you may find it more practical to intern for a campaign in a district that is close to your home.
• If no particular candidate interests you, consider doing an internship for a local party or good government group. Many cities and counties have party headquarters that provide support for a number of campaigns at all levels. In addition, many communities have one or more "good government" groups that engage in activities designed to help register people to vote or provide voters with information by sponsoring debates and other events.

Step Three: Contact Us!

• Connect with the Directors of Xavier's Campaign Internship Program. Once you have a draft resume and have done your research on campaigns in your area, its time to contact the directors of the campaign internship program. Send us an e-mail to share your thoughts about what campaign most interests you and why you think it is a good fit. Attach a draft of your resume (preferably formatted for Microsoft Word) to the e-mail. Include your cell number in the e-mail. We'll follow up with an e-mail or phone call to provide you with feedback and help guide you through the next steps.