Communications is the heart of politics. Candidates communicate to voters via speeches, their websites and other forms of communication in hopes of being elected to office. Those who are successful then communicate the decisions that they’re making while in office and why those are being made. Of course, creating and changing laws involves quite a bit of communicating with others involved in the political process. Thanks to all of this communication, a number of communications-related jobs are available in this field.
Related Resource: Top 20 Best Online Communications Degree Programs
Press Secretary
According to The White House Historical Association, press secretaries manage the public and media relations efforts for those in office, as well as governmental organizations. In addition to running press conferences and sending out press releases, they develop productive relationships with those who work for a variety of media outlets so that the preferred message is communicated to the public. One important feature of this job is being able to adjust to constantly changing environments and crises. Writing speeches and letters is often necessary as well.
Political Journalist
Journalists are needed to communicate to the public what is going on in politics beyond what politicians are saying. Their focus is on holding those in political office and governmental agencies accountable and, in the process, discuss political and social issues that are or should be of interest to the general public. Having professional relationships with press secretaries and those disseminating the messages from these entities is an important part of the job. Reporting topics include speeches, debates, rallies, campaign conventions, the process and impacts of the lawmaking.
Campaign Strategist
Campaign strategists are pivotal to getting people elected to office. They understand the issues that are important to the public and how the candidates should effectively communicate to garner the most votes possible. Keeping abreast on the progression of the marketing campaign is an important element of this. They will also write or help write speeches for their candidates. Some will focus all of their time on one candidate while others will assist a variety of them or work with a political party or a governmental agency.
Lobbyist
Those who work as lobbyists are generally employed by corporations and other organizations that want to influence public policy in a manner that is beneficial to those they are working for. Developing productive relationships with people who hold lawmaking positions helps accomplish these goals. The art of persuasion is especially important for lobbyists. This is done by tailoring their messages to people they are trying to convince individually or as a group such as those who are from the same region or who hold a similar view on a different issue.
Regardless of the communication-related job that’s being undertaken in this field, long hours and, for the most part, high stress levels should be expected. Entering the field is quite competitive and may require an advanced degree or years of experience to gain one of these positions. However, communications jobs in politics can also be amongst the most rewarding ones out there as it is results are often easy to see.