The end of an election cycle can feel anti-climactic. For those of us who have been on campaigns for a long time, it’s as if the hourglass has simply run out. We know it’ll only be so long before it flips back over again.
I love my work and the team I’ve put together, but if you’re a campaign manager, staffer, employee, or the owner of a political consulting firm, by the time Election Day rolls around, you’re just flat out tired. Despite the exhaustion that comes with crossing the electoral finish line, sooner or later you’ll have to get back to work. With that in mind, how about a few tips on what to do now that the votes have been counted?
Rest up
Start with a vacation—you need one. Maybe even take that trip you’ve always wanted to go on. But a vacation only lasts so long. Personally, I can only manage to take a couple weeks off without itching to get back to work. Others have stayed away longer. In fact, there are legends of operatives who started working at a bar in Vieques, or others who opened a coffee shop in Sioux Falls and simply never came back to the grind of the campaign world. That’s great if you want to work at a bar or own a coffee shop. I like beer and coffee as much as the next person, but my advice is to not make big decisions right after the cycle. Once you leave, it might be hard to get back in.
Thank people
Thank the folks you worked with throughout the cycle and be sure to keep in touch. Whether that means assisting an intern or a temporary staffer with finding a job, doing GOTV for a friend in a run-off for free, or doing post-election calls with clients and staff, take the time to reflect on the cycle and look at how you can help folks in the future. These folks, after all, are the ones who will help you later down the road.
Do the things you haven’t done in six months
As a campaign manager, my desk, my car, and my apartment looked like a time capsule by the time my campaign ended. Everything I owned was covered with a thick layer of laundry and pizza boxes; it wasn’t pretty. So once the cycle is over, get to work on that to-do list. Pay your student loans, pay your bills, go to the doctor, work out, visit your mom, call your friends, start a 401(k), fix that peeling plaster on your ceiling, or even go fishing. Now is the time to do the things normal people do.
Throw stuff out
Figure out what you can get rid of and actually get rid of it. Yes, you might need to talk to an attorney and figure out what you can chuck and what you need to keep. But it’s very freeing when you finally get rid of the large piles of paper on your desk or clear out your inbox. And if you don’t get rid of it now, it’ll just stick around until next cycle.
Give back
Now that the election cycle has ended, you likely have some time and there are lots of great organizations that can use your help. I had a great experience doing work with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems, International Republican Institute, and some domestic nonprofit organizations are also always on the lookout for help. Our skills are transferable and can be useful to lots of folks. Who knows, this could turn into a new client or new passion you didn’t know you had.
Hone your craft
Most athletes don’t get better during the season, they get better through practice and hard work in the off-season. The same can be said for political operatives and consultants. Take the time to build your skills, especially in the areas you are weak. Look at the work you have done with a critical eye for what could be better in the future.
Create systems
The best organizations and companies have replicable systems. Don’t go crazy here, but defining systems that are easily recreated is something a campaign manager or a consulting firm can write down and use as new folks join the team. Use a tool like SweetProcess to document and reuse these processes in the future.
Learn a new skill
Are there skills you don’t have that would help you be more marketable to clients or help your employees do a better job? Go out and take a course in editing, programing, or Excel.
Figure out what you really want to do
Campaign consulting and working on campaigns isn’t for everyone. If you love it, great, but if you don’t, get out. Life is way too short to do something you don’t love and with the time you’ll spend on campaign work, you could be making a lot more money doing something else. I do this because I love it. Many of us do. But if you don’t, find something you do love and go do that.
Look for work, but don’t jump at the first thing
Every November I get calls from campaign folks who want a job right away. Yes, there are some jobs out there, but the best campaign jobs are usually not D.C. based. If you’re willing to put your stuff in a car and drive anywhere, and I mean anywhere, you can usually find something, but be careful. Make sure the job moves you down the path you actually want to go.
As for consulting firms, this time of year there is a bit of staff juggling. Folks start firms, leave firms, and dissolve firms. After the cycle is the time it starts, but a lot of this does not fully shake out until after the holidays. If you aren’t happy at your firm, look around, but be careful. There are no secrets in this town and there’s always a lot of talk about who’s going where.
Start a business
Maybe you were at a firm for a long time and want to strike out on your own. Perhaps you owned a firm for a long time and want to get out of the business and get into something new. Whatever part of the job cycle you’re in there are always different options available. My experience is that acting without a plan is a bad idea. You may need to move quickly, but having a plan is key. If your goal is getting out or getting into the business, talk to folks about how to do it. There’s a pretty good community out there and lots of folks are willing to share their experiences.
Invest
After the cycle, be sure to put some money away. This is the time of the year when you should have a bit of money so do what you can to save it. Yes, there’s now more off-year work than ever before, but there are also more people doing this type of work than ever. The competition is stiff and we are all fighting for similar work. This is also the time to invest in staff that you want to keep for the long term.
Promote yourself
The end of the election starts a blitz of self-promotion. We all get it, but make sure you’re smart about it. Try not to blow your accomplishments out of proportion. Maybe you did play a big role in the last two weeks of a campaign that you dropped in on, but there were a lot of other folks there as well. Maybe you did write some great ads, but you were not the only one on the team. There’s plenty of credit and blame to go around. Make sure you give credit to the staff you worked with and the rest of the members of your team.
Don’t eat the furniture
I once heard campaign staff described as border collies that destroy the house when the sheep are in the barn. I think this is a pretty accurate analogy. In many firms, when the work slows down folks find it difficult to do the day-to-day tasks of building and keeping a firm running. This can lead to sniping, back biting, and a bad company culture. If you’re an employee of a firm—chill out and enjoy the down time, because it’ll disappear quickly. If you’re in charge of a firm, it’s important to realize that folks have worked really hard and give them a break.
Nobody is immune from this syndrome, but you can create a culture where this behavior is minimized. It’s better to give your employees the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day off than have them sitting around the office doing nothing except looking for a new job.
Joe Fuld is president of The Campaign Workshop, a political and advocacy agency in Washington D.C. that provides strategy, digital advertising, direct mail, and training services to nonprofit and political clients.