How working on a political campaign prepared me for work at LS2group

Written by ls2group

Prior to working at LS2group, I had the opportunity to work on not just one political campaign, but several. This also proved to be some of the hardest work I have ever done. Each political campaign was a truly invaluable experience.

Here are five things I learned working on campaigns that have continued to help me on a daily basis at LS2group!

How to adapt quickly

There is always something new happening at LS2group. Whether it’s a new client or a new project, it’s important to be able to adapt quickly.  Working in an agency means working for multiple clients at once and being able to switch from topic or client multiple times a day. Working in a campaign is no different. Effective campaigns have a lot of moving parts to them. With so many facets to running a successful campaign – including courting donors, staffing events, responding to voters and media, and more – it is not uncommon for someone to need to quickly switch to a new task on short notice. This allows for hands-on experience in many different areas and means it is important to learn to adapt quickly and run full force into a new project.

Always know your current events and how to research

While many companies focus on specific industries that they belong to or want to expand into, campaigns focus on virtually every industry that will affect constituents. With the media’s watchful eyes on a candidate and their team throughout a campaign, it is important to be educated on any current event or news headline that may come up at an event or have an impact on constituents. After working on a campaign, I left with a wealth of knowledge in a wide range of topics and industries. At LS2group, we have clients in a wide range of industries as well, including agriculture, energy, education, health care, fiscal issues, and more. The knowledge I gained from working on a campaign has prepared me with background information on just about any industry that will impact our clients.

Know your target audience

Working on campaigns taught me how important it is to know your target audience and how to frame a message for each. Building relationships with people is important, as well as knowing about a variety of topics and industries. Combining both of these skills to frame a message in the correct way to each target audience can turn a good campaign into a great campaign. After all, a campaign is all about showing the voters why the candidate is the best man or woman for the job, and the most effective way to do that is by framing a message to show a voter how the candidate will have a positive impact on their lives and the issues they care about. This is a helpful skill to have at LS2group when recruiting activists to a cause or pitching media on behalf of our clients.

Be prepared and know every side of the story

Predicting how an opponent thinks and will respond to a news story or event is important. This challenged me to not only pay attention to how my campaign or political party viewed a particular situation but how the opposition will view the same situation. Think through how the media will respond to each situation. Knowing each side of a story not only taught me more about my audience, the opponent, and the media but more about my views and led to new ways to communicate the issues at hand. This is the same tactic we use for our clients when responding to a news story or pitching a release to the media. When we have thought through every possible viewpoint or idea, we can adequately prepare for any response, positive or negative.

Sometimes it’s who you know

When working on a political campaign, I met new people every single day. As the saying goes, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” This is true in campaigns and it’s true in almost any other career. The relationships with some of the people I have met while working on campaigns, whether they were volunteers, donors, reporters, business leaders, or everyday voters, have stood the test of time. The people I have met have helped me open new doors in career choices, introduced me to new friends and professional connections, and have even become lifelong friends.

The experience I have gained from my work on campaigns has prepared me to do the best work I can for my clients at LS2group.

Even if you never pictured yourself working on a political campaign or in a career in politics, most people who have worked on a campaign would recommend you trying it out at least once in your life. The experience and knowledge you gain is unmatched, and will prepare you for a career in any industry.