Over the last few days I've had a few career coaching conversations with field organizers wrapping up campaigns. When I was an organizer, I had no clue what I was doing career-wise and wanted to share a few things here in the hopes it can help someone.

1. Map an axis w/ your job goals + risk tolerance / financial needs. Not everyone can afford to wait til the next cycle to work & it's more than fine to pick up shifts while you figure it out. I sold & after the '12 cycle--this work isn't linear like corporate jobs

2. Apply your organizing skills to your job hunt & make yourself the candidate. There's some legendary stories about organizers hustling for jobs, but it's mostly about doing a ton of 1:1s & "informational interviews" to learn about specific roles OR that person's experiences

3. Be prepared & make it easy for people to help you. That means having an updated resume ready (not more than 1 page!) and LinkedIn and clear, hard asks for people the you are connecting with. Save the "what should i do in my career?" convos for your close mentors & friends

4. Last, but most important: don't get discouraged by the process. Yes some people will ignore emails. Yes campaigns & orgs have the same bias & discrimination as every other job. But keep hustling, stick to your game plan, and you will find your way