To make a long story short, I did a phone interview and was accepted into a 2 week internship in voter registration at Trump Tower, after which I could be promoted to another department. I’m a Finance major, so would this be worth taking, or could I pass it up? I’m a full time student so taking this internship would be difficult.
I don’t know how political internships work, so is this something they would have given to anyone who applied? I’ll admit I got it rather easily. Also, I assume it’s unpaid and I’m unable to get credit for it.
Are you interested in a political career?
Is voter registration a position with a clipboard out on the street signing up new voters?
As a finance major, I’m not really interested in a political career, but if there’s an opportunity here I feel I’d be naive to pass it up.
I was told I would be answering phones and emails and assisting people with registering to vote. This wasn’t what I really wanted when I applied. but I was also told after twp weeks I could be promoted if I did well.
As someone who held a political organizing leadership position on my campus, I can tell you that generally most employers won’t care who the candidate is so long as your experience is strong (if that’s what you’re concerned about). I applied to top-tier internships for junior year summer and had no problems with listing the candidate’s name on my resume. It was actually a fun conversation starter for some places. I’m not sure how it would be with such a hugely polarizing candidate like Trump, but if you make sure to preface any references to your experience with something like, “Political affiliation aside, I learned a lot about ____ and _____ and was excited to be a part of the ever-changing political landscape…” then you may be okay.
If you’re concerned about whether or not the work experience will be fulfilling, I can also tell you that no, you’re not likely to be challenged in this role. It’s not even really a real “internship” so much as a volunteer opportunity. You’ll be doing basic administrative work, and most campaigns say that you can be promoted if you do well, but very rarely does that go anywhere. I would take the position if you’re interested in the political process and want to get involved, otherwise you’re better off applying for other positions (even remote internships during fall semester) that are more suited to your career aspirations.
You say you’re a FT student? How many hours would you have to put in? Would you be blowing off classes to do this?
Thanks for the long response. I was already leaning on passing it up, but this has been pretty enlightening as I don’t really think it would be useful for my major. I’m not really that talkative as well so answering phones would be a challenge.
Yeah, as a full-time junior finance major I would be taking away significant time from my coursework to do this. And It’s unpaid so my financial situation would be a problem as well.
I just wanted to be sure I wasn’t passing up some major opportunity. It’s good to know I’m not, so I’ll probably decline the offer.
Edit: Thanks for the responses. I think I’ve made up my mind so if the mods want to close/delete the thread feel free to.