April 17, 2010 – Washington, DC

Katherine Hoehn has served as the Deputy Director of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Corporation of National and Community Service, the Director of Government Affairs at the Halliburton Company, Executive Assistant to Dick Cheney at the American Enterprise Institute, and the Director of Development for the American Heart Association, among other notable positions.  

The breadth of her knowledge is extraordinary.  Check it out:

You are someone with considerable experience in both the public and private sectors.  Talk about the differences between working for a corporation, and working for the federal government.  (Speed, pressure, satisfaction, culture etc.)

In the corporate world everything is driven by stock price and the bottom line.  In government, well, you know the bottom line and it is blood red.  In government, spending wisely and frugally is rewarded by cutting your budget so when a government agency has been frugal and moves into the final months of the year with extra funding, they do everything they can to spend it so it doesn’t get taken away next time. That is counterintuitive and as an investor/taxpayer, I wish I had a corporate relations office to call and complain to.  

It is very hard to get rid of deadwood and unproductive people in the Federal government.  I worked for a corporation that had an excellent and efficient dispute resolution/mediation program that handled most issues and incompetent people simply didn’t keep their jobs.    Have you ever heard of anyone getting fired from a government job?

It can be laborious to get anything done in the Federal government.  I found that challenging at times and sometimes just had to move ahead with what I knew was right and apologize later.  

I will say that some of the most dedicated people I have ever worked with were in the federal agency where I worked. They were the backbone of the agency and were very helpful to me and tolerant of my ignorance as I slowly acclimated.

I was in a busy government relations office in a federal agency.  Sometimes the pressure was quite high.  Our most important function was to give good customer service to Members of Congress and their staff.  If we didn’t give them timely, correct or appropriate information, legislative activity could be affected in a negative way.  It was a fantastic learning experience.  I would recommend to anyone who is looking toward a future in government relations to work in the government relations office in a federal agency.  You see a completely different side of the legislative process and you come to appreciate the underpaid and highly competent hill staff.  The appropriations staff on both sides of the aisle are amazing.  They have incredible power and they work very hard for their bosses and I was constantly amazed at how extensive their knowledge of the agency was.

I never got the acronym thing in the federal government.  People in my agency would put letters together and pronounce them creatively in ways I never could understand.  It was like listening to those Sesame Street characters that only said “bogga booga bogga booga” and each knew what the other was talking about but nobody else got it.  That was me in a meeting with technical staff who were unfortunately not as entertaining when I didn’t get it.  

The other thing that strikes me about working for the government vs. working for a corporation is that as a professional, I was still treated like an entry level employee in the government until OPM determined that SES-equivalent staff could receive that level of benefits (increased vacation time).  When I arrived at my agency job, I was in my late 40’s, had more than 20 years of work experience under my belt and went from getting more than 4 weeks vacation back to two.  Additionally, I had to fill out a time sheet each week and say I worked 40 hours even if I worked 60 but I had to make sure I accounted for any time away from work such as an hour for a dentist appointment that could not be made up by the extra 20 hours I worked some weeks.  It is not a system that encourages professionalism nor bringing in new blood from outside.  In the corporate world it would implode, but the government as a whole really doesn’t work on an accountability system and as its stockholders, we are generally unaware of the specific inefficiencies.

You’ve said that your father taught you to appreciate the art of written communication.  How important is it to have strong writing skills in a career in public affairs?

I think it is appreciated less and less. Grammar and spelling are problems for many.  But what I think is important is to have a strong ability to be convincing in your written words.  My ability to write has probably saved me when I didn’t excel at other things.  

Has it become an expectation for someone to have an advanced degree before beginning their career?

As an older worker without an advanced degree I believe very strongly in the value of life and work experience as a great educator.  That said, I have always regretted that I didn’t get my Master’s Degree.  I don’t know if it would have made a difference in my career path, but others may have paid more attention to me at times.  I have heard that some companies are now not looking at candidates unless they have advanced degrees.  That seems shallow to me, but with so many seekers out there, it may be the most effective way to reduce the field to a more manageable number. 

We’re always told that it’s about “who you know” in this town.  Is this true?  Talk about the importance of sharing contacts and professional networking in Washington, DC.

I have gotten most of my jobs as a result of contacts and networking.  I think that increases in importance the older you get.  That of course does not work if you want to get into the federal government as a career employee.  But for everything else, it probably has the greatest impact.  I have always advised mentees that they should keep up with people (being a good writer helps with that), take advantage of every opportunity to meet new people and do unto others.  When someone else is looking, use your contacts and help them.  You may need the same some day.  

One good way to network is through volunteering for a cause that you feel passionate about.  In my early days in Washington, I completed the first one-year certificate program in fundraising administration at GWU and one of the instructors was the director of development of the National Symphony Orchestra.  He asked us to consider volunteering for one of their events.  I did and I met an amazing volunteer named Patty who took me under her wing and I ended up chairing events and the volunteer organization.  I also met two of my dearest friends through that work (more than 25 years later they are still very close friends) and met people who were instrumental in my securing subsequent positions.  

Networking in this field is critical. You have always got to be on top of who is doing what to whom and where and with what legislative tactics, etc.  Listening and talking to others is the best way to learn and it’s so great to have a network of contacts to call and ask questions about the specifics of an issue, campaign or legislation.  I also belong to Women in Government Relations, which is a fantastic resource and offers opportunities to get involved as a volunteer, too.  Men are also allowed to attend meetings.  One of the best series they offer is “Direct Connect to Congress” taught by Judy Schneider of the Congressional Research Service who is an expert in procedures and all legislative processes.  If this is your area of interest, find out when the next course is and take it.  No matter how much you think you already know, you will learn something and you will meet other interesting people to network with.  

Washington is a funny place.  It is all about who you know and who you work for.  In other parts of the country or the world, they would consider it rude to inquire about a person’s employment immediately after an introduction.  And the funny thing here in DC is that people will actually introduce themselves by name and title and for whom they work.  I hope never again to be defined by who I work for but I understand the way it all happens.   

Unemployment is expected to hover around 10% for some time.  You’ve had stints of unemployment recently, and have written extensively about the experience.  What are some practical steps an unemployed person can take to land a job in this competitive political job market?  

Stints of unemployment?  I have been unemployed since January 20, 2009.   In all fairness, I have had some flexibility and have been able to use this time to explore, write, do some part time consulting and wait for the market to get a little bit better.  I have several balls in the air right now and I am also signed up to be a census enumerator in my neighborhood. I thought the experience would be invaluable for working on my conversational skills and give me some interesting material for my writing.   Meanwhile, I have some consulting work through my LLC, am consigning clothes, selling on eBay, boarding international students, writing magazine articles, and being very very frugal. Why not?  Everything adds up to experience and that’s what it’s all about.  Don’t ever think you are above any work you see another person doing.  ”There but for the grace of God go I.” I never in my wildest dreams imagined myself in this place, but now that I am here I am glad for the opportunity to look at life a little differently.

Many of our readers will be graduating soon and are hoping to embark on a career in politics.  What advice would you give to a recent graduate looking to make it in this field?

Go for experience over money.  Working on Capitol Hill is a fantastic way to find your niche – committee work doing something you are interested in will be rewarding and exhilarating and you will learn the legislative process as no textbook can teach it take Judy Schneider’s course; I mean it).  You will then become invaluable to a company, consulting firm or nonprofit in that field and land your next employment.  If you have contacts to get you into a federal agency as a political, do it.  It was a life-changing experience for me and I learned more in that job than any other than my first job out of college.  

Things come your way for a reason.  Take time to reach out to people and simply ask for a little time to meet with them and get their ideas.  People love to help and give advice. It is a great ego boost.  And before you leave your visit, ask for the names and contact information of three people you can call, use their name, and do the same thing. Even better, see if hey will forward your email to those contacts and ask them to spend some time with you. Soon, you will have met with dozens of people and seen many offices and companies and spread your resume around town. If you don’t have a lot of your own contacts to start with, ask your family or other friends.

Finally, don’t be afraid to start at the bottom. My first job out of college was as an executive secretary at a nonprofit organization. I was a terrible executive secretary so I got promoted to run the volunteer services (there were only three people in the whole office). I got to do so many things, including traveling, and I learned all aspects of the management of the organization and fundraising. It was invaluable, and all because I was willing to start at the bottom.

I had to crawl back into the mainstream again after I stayed home for 6 years with young children. In those six years, technology changed a great deal and desktop computers became commonplace as did fax machines. I had an early home computer so I was more computer literate than many in my office, but the fax machine was a challenge. I spent my whole first day at that job faxing documents and making so many errors. Eventually I worked my way up and developed a grassroots program for the association and made myself much more valuable to them. 

Washington is such a great place to be and you will do well if you keep at it.

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Check out Katherine’s blog here.