<p>I live in Florida. I’ll be in D.C. for about a week at the end of June/beginning of July. My intention is to use this trip as basically one massive networking event, but I’m not really sure the best way to go about it. The goal, right now, is to just find something with a paycheck in it, that’s international affairs-focused (preferably policy-related), and that will get me moved to D.C., so that I can begin laying down roots. I know that’s all incredibly vague; it’s meant to be. As a new college graduate with limited relevant experience, I’m really not that picky. Really. I’m open to just about anything. </p>
<p>What is the best way for me to maximize my job hunting/networking opportunities over a week in D.C.? I’m guessing that going into the lobby of places I’d like to work and dropping off resumes with the receptionist would be futile. Ideas! Lay 'em on me. Thanks.</p>
<p>the very first thing I would do is get in contact with your school’s career services lady (preferably the one within your major/college). Try to get names/emails of people who are doing what you are interested in doing in DC, shoot them off a brief email (not a “can you give me a job?” email, but a “do you have any advice for a recent graduate looking for job opportunities in your career field” type of email). If they email you back, be sure to mention that you will be in DC and would love to grab coffee to chat if they were available (or something of the sort). If you can’t get in touch with alums or if your career services person is no help, I’d use a slightly shadier method (but potentially as fruitful) -linkedin. If you don’t have a linkedin profile already you should get one. Add your friends/classmates/former coworkers and then within your school network, you can search alums’ jobs/keywords and inbox/message them the same type of “looking for job advice” email. </p>
<p>The second major thing I’d suggest you to do is start applying to all entry level jobs in DC that you can find. My favorite websites are [Job</a> Board | Young Professionals in Foreign Policy](<a href=“http://www.ypfp.org/jobboard]Job”>http://www.ypfp.org/jobboard) and Brad Traverse Group (a paid subscription service- ick I know, but it is super helpful and has thousands of job postings for DC/policy-jobs). If you applied to various places, it might make it easier to breach the ice when you decide to visit them on your DC trip (tread very carefully though - if they are very specific on their website about “no phone calls” or “emails only” they probably would not like an in-person visit to inquire about an application).</p>
<p>I wonder if it would be a good idea to get on with a local job finder in the area, even if you have to pay for it.</p>
<p>It’s not likely you’ll be able to get contact info, even email, beforehand, though it won’t hurt to try.</p>
<p>S has been working with the career center this week to try to follow up on apps he’s already sent in, and the lady there can’t even get him a number to call, even though the positions are in the same state as the college he attends. </p>
<p>I’m interested to hear how you make out with this, as son has now been told it’s too late to get something for this year, and he’s hoping to do some footwork this summer to make contacts for next summer. Even having a parent who works for the company, which employs tens of thousands of people, is not getting his foot in the door.</p>
<p>I agree that it might be worth your time to look for a staffing agency… they might be able to find you an entry level admin type job while you look around for what you really want.</p>
<p>DC is where the policy jobs are… but there aren’t very many of them compared to the people that want them. (Example: when I applied to the State Department entry level hiring program in 2010, the score cutoff was over 100, which means that the only people that made the hiring list were veterans). So no matter how smart or valuable I might be, there was exactly zero chance I would be hired.</p>
<p>You might want to consider graduate school locally (DC) and put all your efforts into finding relevant internships.</p>
<p>Thanks for the great advice. I intend to apply to grad schools this fall. All the IR masters programs I’m looking at (SAIS, SFS, Tufts, etc.) really emphasize work experience. I have a few relevant internships in the field and about 10 years spent playing in two different professional, touring rock bands before going to college. I have yet to figure out how I’m going to market that last one to my benefit.</p>
<p>Definitely. I’m going to apply to GW and American. George Mason doesn’t sound particularly appealing. It’s not a name that ever comes up when I’m researching IR programs. Just out of curiosity, soccerguy315, do you/did you go to any of these schools?</p>
<p>I’m basically doing the same thing you are, but to interview for summer internships. I actually am an undergrad at GW. I’m not in the Elliot School but I know it’s supposed to be amazing, and supposedly has great career services. GW actually has a really great career service center for the whole university as well.</p>
<p>Lena - do you think signing up for the Brad Traverse group would be helpful for finding an internship for this summer? I know it’s on the later side, but I’ve still been able to find a good amount of openings. I would just hate to sign up and see the same jobs I’ve been seeing on the Washington Post, etc. I have three interviews lined up (hopefully I’ll have more scheduled by the time I go up there) so, I’m debating whether or not it would be worth it to sign up</p>
<p>@sarah9, in your case since you already have 3 interviews, I’d probably say skip Brad Traverse. I’d say Brad traverse is most useful for those who don’t really know where to look or need a place to start looking. A lot of the stuff from Washington post overlaps with brad traverse/other similar websites, but I’d say in comparison Washington Post is kind-of a headache to look at specifics-wise and Brad traverse is generally a better aggregator (and once in a while you’ll find listings on brad traverse that you can’t find elsewhere).</p>
<p>Mark - agree on the name issue. That said, my impression is that name brand doesn’t count nearly as much in the federal government as it does in the private sector.</p>
<p>Some of the best ways to get into the federal government are through the intern programs that are only open to students. Many of these intern programs offer automatic conversion to a permanent position when you graduate. I believe that this is a reason that you should heavily consider going to school in DC. It offers you intern opportunities in the fall/spring semester that you cannot apply for if you aren’t in the area. Semester internships are also generally less competitive, because all the people that don’t go to school locally are not applying.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM if you want. I don’t like to talk specifics out in the open, but I am finishing my thesis at a lesser known graduate program in the DC area and had (with lots of hard work and arguably some good luck) my choice of federal government jobs in the national security field. I got a job doing exactly what I want to do. Not that it wasn’t hard… it was a 4 year process from the end of undergrad until now, so it didn’t come quickly, but I have a good list of high quality internships that is more than comparable to any student from the “top” (and significantly more expensive) programs.</p>