Getting a rewarding job in politics is often competitive and challenging. To make yourself stand out it will require experience to show a genuine interest but also a practical understanding of the political process.
Relevant work experience can cover a broad range of different sectors and roles. It may also be important to get a breadth of experience see examples below :
• Trades unions
• Political parties
• MP/MEP
• Regional assemblies
• Public affairs consultancies
• Campaign work with charities/pressure groups
• Student/local politics
• Student/local media
• Think tanks
• Local government
• NGOs
• European Institutions
Useful links can be found below :
• www.w4mp.org – lots of advice and some opportunity listings
• www.electus-start.com/ – useful advice as well as some advertised internships
• www.publicaffairsnetworking.com – this can be used to search for vacancies, get advice and find out about free networking events
• www.parliament.uk/about/working/jobs/ - listing of parliamentary opportunities and also an email jobs alert function
• www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/ - list of contacts for MPs by
political party or region
• Working for the Civil Service - Civil Service - GOV.UK - the Civil Service offers work experience, visits and a Summer Internship Programme Summer Internship Programme | Civil Service Fast Stream