After landing an internship on Capitol Hill, I was so excited about the opportunities that awaited me but also under-educated about all facets of what it meant to be a Hilltern.
Because Hill internships are not paid and are solely for experience and resume-building, a Hilltern has every right to make the internship their own. Here are 15 ways that will make your time on the Hill both meaningful and exciting.
1. Explore (and get lost in) the many interconnected buildings.
Before starting on the Hill, I didn’t realize that many of the buildings are actually connected by way of an underground tunnel. The House buildings, Longworth, Cannon and Rayburn, as well as the Capitol can all be reached without going outside.
I recommend having a staff member or a friend who knows their way around take you for a little tour before trying to get around on your own, but getting lost is a great way to make small talk with Capitol Police (who soon become your friends and best direction-givers).
Find out early on how to get to the Capitol, a place with food and the supply store.
2. Take the tram to the Capitol.
You may be frequently asked to run a lot of errands to and from the Capitol, and while walking all the way there is a great workout, taking the Capitol tram is an experience in and of itself.
It also makes you feel super important for the 15 seconds that it takes to reach the Capitol.
One of my favorite memories from my internship was riding on the tram with Carolyn Maloney, the Congresswoman I interned for.
3. Do your research.
You are going to realize very quickly when you start picking up the phone that you have to be on top of your representative’s views and what issues people are calling about.
Try to do your research as much as possible about what committees and sub-committees the representatives sit on, as well as legislation they are pushing for or cosponsoring.
A great place to start is their website. It is not only good to know, but will give you more legitimacy for the constituents who are calling.
4. Get to know the people who work in your specific office.
If you have a specific interest or passion, most offices will have a person who works on the specific issue area. Get to know this person and they could be the ones writing you a reference letter for a job in the future.
It is also good for networking and knowing who you will be seeing around the office!
5. Check out the dining hall in your building.
During my first day on the Hill, I said goodbye to J-Street, my college dining hall, and hello to the wonderful Rayburn House dining hall.
I was impressed by the wide array of options, and the space served as a good breather from the office and computer. If you will be working during a mealtime, be sure to visit the dining hall for a lunch or coffee break.
6. Actively find out about the various events that you can attend as an intern.
Roll Call and Capitol Grapevine are two really great resources that I found out about during my time on the Hill. Roll Call, a Hill newspaper, is delivered to every office throughout the week. It includes the daily and upcoming events so that you can pick a few that you are interested in and get permission from your staff to attend ahead of time.
Capitol Grapevine is a website that allows you to also see upcoming event descriptions. You can also RSVP online for the ones that require an RSVP.
7. Don’t be ashamed to ask questions.
It sounds cliché, but there are no dumb questions to ask! If you seem to be in the elevator with someone important but don’t know who it is, ask someone else on your way out.
If you are unsure how to do something or where something is located, most Hill staffers are friendly and willing to help lost interns.
8. If you often find yourself doing the same thing in the office, ask if you can learn a new skill.
I can promise you that after a little while, writing constituent mail is going to get boring. It is okay to ask your staff if they can teach you how to do something new around the office.
Some of my favorite tasks included coordinating White House tours for constituents, learning how to put in a flag request or getting signatures for co-sponsor sheets by going around to different offices.
9. Two words: Lunch briefings.
Lunch briefings can be found in Roll Call or on Capitol Grapevine and are usually separated by the topic of the briefing. It’s usually a speaker panel or a presentation that you don’t have to participate in. You can munch on free food while learning a lot about a new topic.
10. If possible, try to get to know the representative you are working for.
It’s no secret that Congresspeople are busy and often have very little free time in their schedule. If you happen to be in the office on a day when a staffer is picking up your Congressperson from votes, ask if you can come along! Introducing yourself and even conducting small talk will make the internship feel a lot more personal.
11. Don’t be afraid to ask if you can attend any special events.
Sometimes interns will be allowed to attend press conferences (if they are in the area), hearings or even a White House tour. Often, though, you will not have the chance if you don’t ask. I had the privilege of touring the White House twice, all because I simply popped the question to my staff.
12. Stay informed and up-to-date.
Keeping yourself informed and in-the-know about current events is especially important for this job because people will frequently test your knowledge on the phone. It is better to be prepared, even if it means skimming the front page of the Washington Post or New York Times.
13. Keep track of what you do in the office.
Every day, I tried to write a little summary of the tasks I did in the office that day. This helped me when it came to writing a blurb about my experience on my resumé and is good information to have in your back pocket for future job interviews.
14. Have a positive attitude.
Face it, you’re not going to enjoy everything you do on the Hill. Keeping a positive attitude whether you enjoy the internship or not could make or break your experience. If you dread going every day, you are setting yourself up to be unhappy, so it’s important to keep an open mind about the experience.
15. Reflect on your experience.
Last but not least, it is important to do some reflection for any internship you have. Whether you prefer to mentally reflect what you liked and didn’t like, or actually write it down, your feelings about the internship are important in your career search. Things that you didn’t like could help you to eliminate certain career paths and bring you one step closer to finding something that you are more passionate about.
Whether you’re an undergraduate student going to school in DC, or a graduate student from the West Coast, this is an experience that not everyone gets to have. A Hill internship not only helps the office that you work in but also helps you discover more about yourself in the process.
Best of luck to those just beginning, or those who wish to intern in the future! It’s truly a unique and awesome experience.
