The policy world is vast, with different institutions and roles requiring highly varied skills. Clearly, the skills and personal attributes needed to excel as a think tank researcher are very different from those of a legislative staffer in Congress, a manager in an executive agency, or an advocate working for a non-profit interest group. 

Still, there are certain skills that are essential in various policy positions, regardless of the specific institution or role. Developing and demonstrating these will help you get relevant policy jobs and make you more effective as a policy professional. 

See also our guide on testing your fit for policy careers for a list of personal attributes, character traits, and attitudes that make you more likely to enjoy and excel working in policy. Unlike skills, these attributes are harder (but not impossible) to change.

Essential skills for policy work

Pay attention to and actively seek out potential skill-building opportunities. Ideally, you can directly practice the skill you want to become better at (e.g. improving your public speaking by giving a talk at a conference), but you can also learn much from engaging with relevant resources like books, articles, podcasts, and online courses.

Writing

Clear and succinct writing is essential for most policy jobs. Academic writing typically differs substantially from policy writing, e.g. writing policy memos. So, it’s important to practice writing outside of the classroom and get feedback from people with non-academic backgrounds, ideally from those with policy experience.

You’ll likely also need a high-quality policy writing sample for internship, job, and graduate school applications in DC. If you’re a student, you can often get a writing sample by taking a policy-relevant class where you write policy memos as assignments; alternatively, you can also create your own writing sample following advice online. 

Options to practice and improve your writing include writing for a relevant publication (e.g. campus magazine) or doing independent research. Many schools also offer writing classes and resources.

Networking and social skills 

Networking is a trainable skill that you can improve with practice. See our networking in policy guide for tips and resources on how to train this skill and build your professional network.

More generally, strong interpersonal skills—that is, being good with people—is among the most essential skills in many policy positions. This includes the ability to build a strong network of allies, navigate bureaucratic politics, and form coalitions to promote particular ideas. 

You don’t need to be an extrovert for most policy jobs, but it generally helps a lot if you can confidently navigate complex social situations and leave a good impression on people you speak with. 

Research skills

Many (but far from all) policy jobs involve a research component, particularly in think tanks. Both the process and products of policy research tend to differ substantially from academic research. Policy research is generally less theoretical, more applied, and often aims to come up with concrete, practical policy proposals aimed to inform or convince policy practitioners.

You can develop research skills by doing research projects, whether as part of a research internship/job or as independent research under a skilled mentor. If you’re a student, you can also (1) work as a research assistant for a professor, (2) choose policy-relevant topics for your college assignments and thesis, and (3) take research-oriented classes that allow you to explore policy topics.

Public speaking

Some policy jobs involve a significant amount of public speaking, while many other positions rarely require this. To improve your public speaking skills, consider taking a course (online) on public speaking/persuasive communication, joining a Toastmasters club, or getting advice from a public speaking coach. If you’re a student, you can also participate in campus clubs like debating, Model United Nations, mock trial, etc.

Language skills

If you want to work in foreign policy (e.g. the foreign service or a relevant think tank position), language skills can be essential—particularly languages like Chinese, Russian, and Hindi that are assigned special priority by the US government. 

There are several foreign language education programs for students, including the Boren Awards and the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program.

Technical skills and knowledge

Subject-specific technical knowledge: If you want to work on technology-related policy issues, it helps to have at least a foundational understanding of the technologies you’re interested in. For example, it is valuable to understand the basics of modern machine learning for AI policy and microbiology for biosecurity policy. But you don’t generally need to be able to train your own ML model or have worked in a laboratory—though if you have, that’s great and you can highlight this experience in future applications, where relevant. 

General technical skills: Technical skills like data analysis and coding are typically unnecessary for most policy work, but they can make you more competitive for certain roles. These skills are sometimes essential for research-based roles, such as at think tanks. For instance, Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET)—a prominent AI policy think tank in DC—is very data-driven and often requires its researchers to bring some technical skills or at least literacy.

Learning how to learn

Becoming more efficient at retaining information and learning new skills will compound over time and offer significant benefits in your personal development and career. For advice on how to learn more effectively, see this online course.

To improve your understanding of policy topics, seek out experts (e.g. relevant professors, policy professionals). Talking to people is often more important—and easier to neglect—than just reading articles, and conversations with experts are particularly effective in determining what to read, who else to talk to, and what opportunities to pursue.

Further resources

• Graduate School USA — skills-focused courses designed for government employees (e.g. Communication and Professional Skills). Anecdotally, the content can be fairly basic but still helpful; often courses are 1-3 days each (typical range $600-$1,2000).
• Many think tanks and universities offer “executive education” courses, which can be useful but often come with higher price tags. Examples include:
  • Brookings Executive Development (see e.g. classes listed here)
  • CSIS Executive Education (see e.g. “Global Policy Courses”)
  • GMU Schar School executive education program
  • UC San Diego workshops, including Public Policy and Nuclear Threats, Chinese Defense and Strategic Innovation Policy Training Program and Chinese Innovation and Industrial Policy Training Program
  • Potomac Institute for Policy Studies has 1-3 day courses in its Science and Technology Policy Training Program

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