The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), seeks to provide advocacy and outreach and politically-balanced policy making in hopes of reaching both sides of the political spectrum. Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell founded the organization in 2007.
With a hope of bringing together both Republicans and Democrats, the Bipartisan Policy Center brings together former elected and appointed officials, business and labor leaders, and academics and advocates to face some of the key issues facing our country today.
Internships:
The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) offers full-time summer, and part-time fall and spring internships each academic semester. During the course of the internship, interns will work directly with project analysts and staff who are involved in various projects while also providing functional support to staff and participate in research to help the organization reach its goals. Interns will provide functional support, conduct research, and work directly with project analysts and staff in various capacities.
Fall & Spring Programs:
Internships offered during the academic year are part-time and unpaid. Students must be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program in order to participate. The hours for the internship are flexible in order that they do not conflict with class and academic requirements.
Summer Program :
Summer interns work full-time and will be assigned to a specific BPC project or functional area. Summer interns may be involved in an array of tasks, such as: providing administrative support, assisting with events and meetings, conducting research, and assisting with the development and writing of reports, white papers and proposals.
Interns get exposure to a wide-range of issues that provide great learning experiences to someone just starting out in the field.
Benefits:
Students working in the Summer Internship Program are paid $12.50/hour for up to 10 weeks (with a cap of $5000). Internships available during the academic semester are unpaid. Interns get an opportunity to work on some very significant projects that provides valuable work experience to include on their resume.
Interns in the program get an opportunity to weekly lunches with project directors, senior fellows and other senior members. These lunches give students exposure to the field and to the organization with a chance to discuss policy, politics and career paths with professionals currently working in the field.
Qualifications:
Qualified candidates must be eager to work and motivated to learn what it takes to work as a regular member of the team. Interns must have an interest in working in one of BPC;s policy projects or functional areas, such as:
- Communications
- Democracy Project
- Development
- Economic Policy Project
- Energy Project
- Government Relations
- Health Project
- Housing Commission
- National Security Project
To Apply:
Serious applicants must submit the following documents in order to be considered for an internship:
- Cover Letter (indicate top two areas of interest from BPC’s project and functional areas listed above).
- Resume
- Writing Sample (approximately 3 pages)
- College or University Transcript (unofficial is acceptable)
- List of References (including phone numbers and email addresses, including one professor and one other individual familiar with you and your work.
Incomplete applications will not be considered for an internship and due to the large number of applications received each year, BPC will not contact those who have not been selected for an internship.
When applying for internships be sure to check out Five Easy Ways to Improve Your Cover Letter and The 5 Ways to Improve a Resume prior to sending in your documents.
5 Steps to Improve a Resume:
- Organize your information
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5 Steps to Improve a Cover Letter:
- Address your cover letter to the right person
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- Ask for an interview at the end of your letter
By following these 10 steps you will be well on your way to getting yourself noticed by employers in hopes of getting called for an interview. The sole purpose of a resume and cover letter is to land an interview, so the effort it takes to improve your documents is well worth the effort. Be sure to check out Alison Doyle's, About.com's Guide to Job Searching, website to pick up some valuable internship and job search tips.
