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Mooseontheloose posted:It's a fraternity and not in the college sense. You make tons of bonds working those 80 hour work weeks. And no one else can quite know what you went through other than fellow organizers (or fundraisers). The reason you miss it so much is because of the emotional roller coaster. EVERYTHING just feels so enhanced and stakes feel so big from the smallest race to the biggest. Amen. I find it's an amazingly close yet also very lonely lifestyle. I love that I can meet people from all over America, and we can form bonds that rarely exist in other professions, yet post-campaign it's always depressing to know that my closest friends are often thousands of miles away. It's really amusing to meet someone in one state then work a job a thousand miles away and run into them again. I got started in 2012 at the lowest end of the totem pole and have since worked several special elections up and down the east coast. Now I'm out west working an issue based campaign until mid-April then we'll see where the wind blows. So...any awkward supporter housing stories? Or crazy vol stories?
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Jan 27, 2014 03:29
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Looking for some advice here; I'm wondering if it's in my best interests to go in as an FO or just hold out for an RFD position? I've worked two special elections as an FO, oversaw interns and volunteers for a municipal, and worked an issue based campaign most recently at a quasi-FO/RFD hybrid level. All of my friends and former colleagues tell me I should go in as an RFD, I feel confident in my ability to be an RFD. I've had a few interviews but no luck so far, I think a lot of that is because I haven't worked a campaign more than 3 months which makes it hard for anyone to want to hire me. I just feel like having FO over and over again on my resume is a red flag and I won't feel like I made any progress in the past two years honestly.
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May 21, 2014 19:36
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G-Hawk posted:Absolutely go for RFD. 2014 cycle, there will be (and are) a bunch of positions. 3 months doesn't matter at all, i've had bigger gaps multiple times. Campaign people get it. And having FO over and over again is the reddest of red flags, generally. Also, if you don't move up this cycle, 2015 is going to be real tough, but if you rfd this year, you're probably in good position to find a virginia or new jersey FD job in 15 or maybe even land a FD on a congressional special if you get lucky. (Or, head to Iowa/New Hampshire) Thanks for the reassurance. I've had a few interviews but they haven't panned out to anything so far and I've also been getting nervous since a lot of the top campaigns seem to have staffed up. What about partner groups? Would taking an RFD position with something like Planned Parenthood or the League of Conservation Voters be a good idea or should I still exclusively to electoral campaigns?
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May 21, 2014 22:06
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Ofaloaf posted:Yesterday I got one (1) scheduled volunteer out of ten or so hours of calling, and out of something like 14 contacts total and about 300 dials. I (or any other FO) could've gotten one volunteer from attending one of the party meetings going on last night, and it wouldn't have taken 10 hours or cost the party 10 hours' worth of wages. If your numbers are accurate then you have some terrible data OR you are in a non-battleground state that doesn't have any sort of serious field infrastructure. Probably a combination of both to be honest. Are you pulling lists based on when people are home? (calling people 55 and older during the day and 54 and under at night?) Local parties are a mixed bag. It should be your RFD that meets with them and keeps them happy and recruits from them when possible. For the most part a lot of them are very old and very entrenched in their methods, they may just be all about poll-watching or worse, they may be ran by a local consulting firm which does paid-canvassing. The ones that are volunteering now out of local party are probably the only ones you'll get. As for numbers: http://campaignsick.blogspot.com/2012/07/voter-contact-formulas.html this is a pretty decent list of formulas, but don't consider it as being from the mouth of God or anything. Now as an FO you can't do squat but just truck along and realize it's a very very slow and grueling process. I've worked in non-battleground states with poor data and it takes awhile and a lot of not homes to get anywhere. Just be aware that 3 months from now you'll be amazed at where you are. I think every FO goes through a period where they think "this is a complete waste of time." but trust me; you'll find a volunteer one day through phone calls that is PUMPED to help out and they will be your best friend. Also if other FOs don't know the difference between 'disconnect' and 'deceased', that's very alarming. RFDs should be phonebanking and entering data alongside new FOs to make sure this doesn't happen.
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May 22, 2014 21:06
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