Job-Searching and Drug Policy Activism
by Alison Green, chief of staff, Marijuana Policy Project
Wondering about whether employers will see drug policy work as a stigma? Or how to get a job in drug policy? Read on…
Will putting my drug policy activism on my resume create any problems in my job search?
Generally, no. Employers are used to seeing students with all kinds of activism in their backgrounds, plenty of it controversial. The key is to be able to talk about it in responsible terms; you want to be able to concisely convey to an employer that your activism wasn’t about promoting drug use but rather about changing policy.
At MPP, we’ve had past employees go on to jobs in all kinds of fields – including journalism, business, politics, and education – and we’ve never once heard about someone’s employment with MPP posing a professional obstacle.
In fact, campus activism can often work to your advantage, by demonstrating skills that employers are looking for. For instance, if you helped organize a campus event, talk in your resume, cover letter, and interview about what went into pulling it off successfully – how you had to organize dozens of volunteers and get specific results from them, or all the logistics you had to stay on top of to make sure the event ran well.
What kinds of jobs are available in drug policy, and how can work in drug policy after I graduate?
Jobs in drug policy cover a wide range of fields – from legislative analysis, lobbying, and media relations to IT work, fundraising, and administrative work.
Most national drug policy reform organizations post their job openings online. For instance, see:
http://www.mpp.org/jobs
http://drugpolicy.org/about/jobsfunding/
What kinds of skills do employers in drug policy look for? What can I do to prepare myself for working in drug policy after I graduate?
First, keep in mind that when considering recent graduates for many entry-level positions, employers often look less at “hard skills” – which develop over time through work experience – and more at things like work ethic, attention to detail, organization, and other “soft skills.” So being a hard-working, organized, meticulous person with examples you can point to in order to demonstrate those traits will help.
Next, figure out what you do well and cultivate those skills, particularly in ways that will help you demonstrate them to employers. For instance, if you write well, writing for your campus newspaper or freelancing for a local publication will give you opportunities to create samples of your work for employers to see. If you’re great at organizing events or fundraising or Web design, put those skills to work on campus so that you create a track record of successful work. Employers prefer to hire based on an actual track record of doing the work successfully, rather than on speculation that the candidate might be good at the work – so by creating that track record, you significantly increase your chances of being hired.
And if at all possible, do an internship (or several) before you graduate. Internships will give you work experience, and employers greatly prefer to see that you’ve worked in an office before and have some familiarity with an office world. Your internship doesn’t need to be in drug policy, although many drug policy organizations (including SSDP and MPP) do offer internships throughout the year.
