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How to get an internship in Congress? (Part 2)

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Application processes vary significantly by office. Instead of viewing congressional internships as run by one large organization, it’s useful to think about it as if “you’re applying to internships at one of 535 different small businesses”.

Still, some aspects of the application process are generalizable. When applying for a congressional internship, you’ll typically need to submit your resume and cover letter. The application may sometimes include short answer essay questions specific to the office. If the office likes your written application, the second (and typically final) round consists of an interview by the staff assistant, or whichever other staffer runs the internship program.

Because congressional internships are quite competitive, it’s generally best to hedge your bets by casting a wide net, applying for many offices rather than just a few. 

Timeline

Application release dates vary by office. For congressional summer internships, Senate office applications usually close in March, and House office applications usually close in April. Offices typically send invitations to interview between 2-4 weeks after applications close. Applicants are notified of a final decision within 2-4 weeks after the interviews are over. 

For example, this database lists all the 2023 Senate summer internships and their deadlines.

How to learn about internship opportunities

  • Check personal office websites
    • For personal offices you are particularly interested in, see if they’ve posted details on internships on their website. You can find this information on https://www.congress.gov/members or simply by googling the office you’re interested in. 
  • Call the office
    • You can find the phone number of the office on their website. You can find the office’s website at https://www.congress.gov/members, or simply by googling the office you’re interested in. 
  • Check Listservs
    • Consider signing up for list services (aka “listservs”) such as Tom Manatos, Roll Call Jobs, and Traverse Jobs. Listservs are digital bulletin boards with open internships and job positions. Many listservs are free, but some require a paid subscription. Once you sign up, you will receive emails with directions on applying, including the required material and how to submit your application. See if your school’s career center has additional recommendations for listservs to join.
  • Subscribe via email to the House Employment Bulletin and the Senate Bulletin.
    • These publications typically contain information on job openings, staff changes, office closures, training and development opportunities, and other news and updates relevant to House or Senate employees. 
    • You can also follow @senate_jobs on Twitter
  • A note on congressional committee internships, and how to find them.
    • Some congressional committees advertise their internship applications publicly, such as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. Most committees have two sets of staff, with one assigned to each party. The majority staff reports to the chair, while the minority staff reports to the ranking member. Both parties usually run their own internship program for the committee. Some chairs and ranking members merge their committee internship and personal internship. To find out if this is the case for a particular committee, you can check the chair or ranking member’s website, the committee website, or call the personal DC office or committee office.

How to prepare for the first round of the application process

The first round of applying to congressional internships typically consists of a written application asking for a cover letter and resume. This may also include short answer essay questions specific to the office. This section reviews tips for writing a good cover letter and resume. In addition to the resources below, your school’s career center may provide you with support and feedback on your application. Private companies like NSCLI can also provide feedback if you’re willing to pay for extra support.

At this stage, it is valuable to request a relevant contact of yours to contact someone they know in the office to “flag” your submitted application, e.g. by sending a short email noting that they heard you were applying and want to recommend you for the role. This practice is very common in hiring on the Hill (especially for more senior roles), and helps ensure that your resume and cover letter are at least read by the staffer managing the hiring. You can also accomplish something similar if you’ve had an informational interview with someone in the office, by contacting them to thank them for discussing the program and flag that you’ve submitted an application. This “flagging” process is by no means mandatory, and it’s unlikely to be very helpful in the absence of an adequate resume and cover letter—but if you can pull it off, it may greatly increase your chances of landing the role.

Writing a good cover letter

Writing a cover letter for a congressional internship is similar to writing a cover letter for other internship applications. A congressional internship cover letter is an opportunity to construct a narrative around your resume and further elaborate on why you’re a good fit for the role. Even if an application only advises you to explain how you would benefit from the internship, the primary purpose of your letter should be to convince the office that they would benefit from having you as an intern.

Additionally, your cover letter should explain why you’re interested in a specific office or committee rather than why you’d like to do a congressional internship in general. You can do this by identifying the congressperson’s key legislative issues and connecting them to your interests and expertise. You can also reference the legislation they’ve helped pass, their congressional committees and caucuses, and their views on certain topics. The office’s website, GovTrack, and Ballotpedia are all great resources for this information.

Many organizations provide resources on writing a good cover letter, both generally and for government jobs specifically.

Cover letter resources specific to jobs in government:1

General resources on how to write a good cover letter:

Drafting a good resume 

Drafting a good resume for a congressional internship is also similar to other internship applications. A good resume will show you have the relevant skills and work experience to excel at the internship you’re applying for. Somewhat unintuitively, it may be good to include customer service experience in your resume for this reason. Constituent services, such as responding to letters and handling phone calls, require comparable skills to those of customer service. Staff assistants seek applicants who are likable and work well with others, and including this experience may demonstrate that.

A resume should typically be no longer than one page, or two pages in exceptional circumstances. ResumeWorded—provided for free by many, but not all, universities—is a very helpful tool for resume templates and resume best practices.

It can be useful to have a “master resume” of all your work experiences and skills that’s longer than one page. From there, you can tailor your resume by only including the most relevant experiences and skills for the internship you’re applying for.

Resume resources specific to jobs in government:

General resources on how to write a good resume:

How to prepare for the second round of the application process

The second and final application round is typically an in-person or virtual interview. During this stage, you can expect to be asked a range of questions about your background, work experience, qualifications, and questions specific to the office you’re applying to.

In addition to assessing your qualifications and experience, the interviewer may look for qualities essential for success in a fast-paced and demanding environment, such as teamwork, respect for others, and the ability to work collaboratively with senior staff and other interns. To evaluate these qualities, you may be asked questions like “What skills do you bring to the office?” and “Can you describe a time when you resolved a conflict with others?”. The interview is a critical opportunity to showcase your strengths, demonstrate your interest in the office, and highlight your potential to contribute to the office’s work.

You should also expect to be asked questions about the office and how it aligns with your personal interests and career goals. Seek to demonstrate your knowledge and familiarity with the congressperson and their policy priorities. Be prepared to answer questions such as “Where do you and the congressperson share common ground, and where do you differ?” or “Why are you particularly drawn to the congressperson’s issue areas?”. By showcasing your understanding of the office and the congressperson’s work, you can demonstrate your enthusiasm and commitment to the role and increase your acceptance chances.

To prepare for the interview, you can write answers to questions you anticipate being asked and/or—preferably—do a mock interview with a friend or your school’s career center.

Additional resources on how to prepare for the interview:

Case study

These reflections were written by an undergraduate while they were applying for congressional internships:

I successfully applied for Congressional internships in the summer of 2023, interning in the personal office of a Member of the House of Representatives. Below, I’m sharing my application process—not because it is optimal, but because it might give additional insight into what it is like.

First, I made a document about what I was looking for in a congressional internship and what congresspeople I was tentatively most interested in and why. My reasoning was primarily based on my party affiliation, location, and what issue areas I was interested in.

After conducting initial research on congressional internships, I sought feedback from individuals who could “sanity check” my assumptions and thought processes. I’m glad I did this, as I quickly realized that some of my initial assumptions were incorrect. For instance, I had assumed that a congressperson’s issue areas and committee assignments would be the primary factors to consider when selecting an office to intern in. In reality, it’s a bonus if a congressperson’s issue areas and committee assignments align with your interests rather than a decisive factor. Additionally, I believed the political party in charge would strongly influence the experience and opportunities available during an internship. But I discovered that while political dynamics can certainly play a role in shaping the work of Congress and individual offices, a successful internship is often more about developing the skills, connections, and insights that can help you succeed in any political environment.

I also asked people in my network if they could connect me with current or former congressional staffers who might be willing to share their insights and experiences.

Through these conversations, I gained insights into the day-to-day realities of working in a congressional office, including the office culture, team dynamics, and the professional development opportunities available. I learned about the unique challenges and opportunities that come with working for a particular congressperson, as well as the important skills and qualities that successful congressional staffers tend to possess.

I found speaking with congressional staffers incredibly valuable to gain a deeper understanding of the nuances of working on Capitol Hill. This allowed me to better assess my fit for the role and make more informed decisions about where to apply.

From there, I wrote my resume and cover letter. I found ResumeWorded a helpful resource (that my college had free access to, although it may not be free for everyone). I used Georgetown’s cover letter templates to get started on my own and reached out to friends to read and edit my cover letter once it was done.

How to get and excel in a Congressional internship:

Resources to learn about Congress:

Read about different offices and congresspeople:

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Footnotes
  1. Note that these resume resources show a big header section with personal details but a congressional resume should likely instead be quite compact. These links were included because their other information seems correct and helpful. ↩︎