WHERE, IN WASHINGTON
The centers of all three branches of the U.S. government are in Washington. Also situated in the city are the headquarters for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank, and other national and international institutions, including labor unions and professional associations. With thousands (and thousands) of internships to choose from in Washington, it may be difficult for you to decide how to limit your search. If the idea of working just about anywhere in Washington excites you, bringing your list of potential employers down to a page or two will require some careful decision making. Think of this chapter as focusing in on a Google map; what at first looks like one big place where you want to be is actually easily divided into broad areas, some of which you may find don't really interest you and some of which are exactly what you're looking for. While there are lots of different ways to look at Washington, this chapter identifies seven categories: the House of Representatives, the Senate, the White House, federal agencies, advocacy organizations and think tanks, lobbying firms, and political organizations. For each category the chapter provides an overview of the working environment, the types of jobs that are typical, the people you'll meet, and the type of work that an intern typically does. Once you've read this chapter, you can start to build a list of actual organizations to which you would like to apply; the next chapter will help you there.
INTERNING IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
GOOD BOOKS AND WEBSITES
The House: The History of the House of Representatives by Robert V. Remini (2006)
Where You'll Be
All official legislative offices are part of the U.S. Capitol complex in the very center of Washington, where the four quadrants of Washington converge, also known as Capitol Hill. There are three House office buildings which contain personal offices for all the members of the House of Representatives, as well as committee offices and hearing rooms. Cannon House Office Building (CHOB) was the first building to be built for Members of Congress in 1907, and sits next to Longworth House Office Building (LHOB) and then Rayburn House Office Building (you guessed it: RHOB). The three buildings are directly across from the U.S. Capitol along Independence Avenue, and are connected to each other, the Capitol, and the Senate by an underground maze of tunnels and trains (and elevators and escalators and more tunnels…). Wherever you end up working within the complex, you will likely get to know all the buildings pretty well as you run errands, attend hearings, and scout out the best frozen yogurt.
There are basically two internship options in the House: personal offices and committee offices. The more common (and much easier to get) internship is in the personal office of the Member of Congress in whose district you reside.
Personal offices in the House of Representatives typically have staffs of fifteen or fewer; half are administrative and half are legislative. The physical office space in the House of Representatives is limited; legislative and press staff usually share one room, at best with dividers between desks. Interns may share a table or desk. A rather extreme example is offered by a student who was in a House office last summer: “My experience on the Hill was sharing one cube among three interns. We had one computer, one desk for the three of us. Working the following summer off the Hill I didn't have that experience. I think it has something to do with what they expect out of their interns. On the Hill where I worked where the responsibilities were a little bit lighter, what came with it was a little bit lighter.” Workspace can be an issue on the Hill, and some House offices may not organize their internships to provide projects that are more challenging intellectually, though that's certainly not always the case. One student told me about her internship in a congressional office where she spent most of her time conducting research on foreign policy issues, preparing briefing memos and actually briefing the Member of Congress. If you are looking for a more substantive work experience, make sure you ask and get a clear answer during the interview. We'll talk more about how to ask without seeming pushy in the chapter that deals with interviewing.
The other option is to work for a committee. For example, if you have a particular interest in diplomacy, you might want to work for the Committee on Foreign Affairs (http://foreignaffairs.house.gov). Committee internships are fewer in number and very hard to get; while I have had a few students get accepted to committee internships, I have also heard stories of committee internships being distributed to the sons and daughters of the committee chairman's closest friends. Committee offices are scattered throughout the House office buildings, and the physical space restrictions are similar to personal offices.
What You'll Do
In personal offices, interns are asked to answer phones, sort and sometimes respond to constituent mail, conduct tours of the Capitol for constituents, and may be assigned special projects. For example, interns might conduct research on a new or developing issue area, draft talking points, or be asked to attend and summarize hearings. Before dismissing a congressional internship as too much grunt work, read on.
GRUNT WORK
A grunt, as we all know, is someone who does routine, unglamorous work. Things like making copies or filing fall neatly into that category. While it is true that interns on the Hill will be expected to do a fair amount of grunt work (and we'll talk more about strategies to reduce your grunt workload later), if you are on the Hill to (among other things) learn how things really happen there, a congressional internship is a great way to do that. So, sure, you're answering the phone. But the calls are from constituents calling to express their opinion on some subject (“I want you to tell the Congressman he's an idiot if he doesn't vote for passage of H.R. 123”) or inquire as to the Member's views on a topic (“I want to know if my Congresswoman supports this ridiculous proposal to increase my taxes that's being voted on today”). If you are interested in the policy process and the influence of constituents on voting, these are interesting phone calls! You might also be giving tours of the Capitol to constituents visiting Washington. Boring? Only if you think having a special-access pass that you get to flash at Capitol security as you airily escort your party through one of the most important buildings in the country is not really cool. And, as we'll discuss later, being thrilled to do grunt work is just about the best way to land yourself some really interesting projects-like writing talking points for your Member of Congress that you later get to watch her use on the floor of the House. From a student who was in Washington this past summer:
I think one of the really key things about doing well in a Washington internship is to recognize the culture of Washington and always say yes to assignments and not pestering people but being there. People who are there and diligent at the beginning always get good assignments by the end and the people who annoy their supervisors or aren't as eager or act affronted when they get a menial assignment definitely has repercussions and that person will still be doing coffee and copies in the eighth week of their internship. I think more than other places, there's a culture of Washington that rewards enthusiasm and so by the end you can get really good projects if you show that enthusiasm.
The People You'll Meet
Let's start with the people you'll be working with. First, the internship coordinator role varies from office to office; in some offices the receptionist/staff assistant (the first job on the congressional office career ladder) gets that privilege. Yes, they're just a receptionist, but be careful not to dismiss him or her; having an ally who makes assignment decisions could be very useful. Also, people move very quickly in Washington, with job changes/promotions happening as often as once every year or two. That means you should be nice to everyone and keep in touch with them after you leave, because you never know where they might be and what they might be able to do for you.
Moving