First of all, you have shown an impressive amount of stamina! Well done.
My guess is that if you want to pursue this path, you should focus on getting more political contacts, for example get involved in party politics. I know a lot of people who worked for MPs (albeit in a different country) who got these roles via party political work.
Net-work to get-work. Go to as many political and think tank events as you can. Talk to people. Ask advice. Make friends.
You might also consider options like working in the civil service or think tanks, which can lead to party politics later. Don’t bet everything on the ‘work for an MP’ path, even though it is a common route.
Thank you for your kind words, and taking the time to give your thoughts.
Admittedly, I could be doing more networking. I made a few attempts to parlay a campaigning role for several candidates into parliamentary jobs for those candidates (they lost or directed me to official channels), met with former special advisers, current parliamentary staff through my own network as well as through cold emails and events, and cold-emailed MPs.
But I have done so in short bursts, and could do better in being more consistent over a sustained period. Hopefully this will be easier post-COVID.
First of all, you have shown an impressive amount of stamina! Well done.
My guess is that if you want to pursue this path, you should focus on getting more political contacts, for example get involved in party politics. I know a lot of people who worked for MPs (albeit in a different country) who got these roles via party political work.
I’d agree. We have this old blog post based on 4 interviews with insiders in the UK:
https://80000hours.org/2016/01/10-steps-to-a-job-in-politics/
And the first point is:
You might also consider options like working in the civil service or think tanks, which can lead to party politics later. Don’t bet everything on the ‘work for an MP’ path, even though it is a common route.
Thank you for your kind words, and taking the time to give your thoughts.
Admittedly, I could be doing more networking. I made a few attempts to parlay a campaigning role for several candidates into parliamentary jobs for those candidates (they lost or directed me to official channels), met with former special advisers, current parliamentary staff through my own network as well as through cold emails and events, and cold-emailed MPs.
But I have done so in short bursts, and could do better in being more consistent over a sustained period. Hopefully this will be easier post-COVID.
Thanks again!