Decision Time

A weekend off, and full of "What if's..?" The last chance to imagine myself in a variety of offices, and to keep checking email to see if I've heard from any others. If only these staffs were on the same time schedule, and all of the offers came in around the same time. There are offices high on my list of desired assignments from whom I haven't even heard back, with one (very high on the list) making me a rather insistent offer. Everyone but one person encouraged me to take it (easy for them to say...). Luckily, there are few wrong decisions for an assignment, as I would learn a lot in any of them.

Considerations for making a decision (in no particular order):

- How nice is the staff?
- How organized is the office?
- How experienced and respected is the member?
- What are they working on this year?
- Will they be distracted by a campaign (and a contentious one, at that)?
- To whom will I be directly working with, and are they someone who can mentor me?
- How much will I be involved in policy vs. constituent work?
- Is there opportunity for meetings with senior staff and the senator?
- Is there an opportunity to get to the Senate floor? To participate in hearings and bill mark-ups? To offer ideas for amendments? To be responsible for tracking bills?
- Are there opportunities to learn new issues, or will I be concentrating deeply on just a few?

Many offices are small (especially on the House side), and staff work very closely together - both in terms of physical space and on projects - so you really want to feel as if you fit in. It's been described as working like a family (you just hope that it's a functional one).

I've read the reports of past Fellows, describing their selection process and fellowship experience. Being respected and considered part of the team, and having a good "gut" instinct about the fit seem very important.

The staffs in one Senator's and one Congressman's office have been professional, warm and encouraging, both inviting me back for follow-up meetings with either the hiring person (legislative director) or Representative himself. I learned that you don't take these meetings unless you are ready to accept on the spot if the offer is made.

The staff in other offices also responded, indicating that they weren't looking for a health fellow at this time (finance, environment, military were their needs this year, and they wanted someone with more experience and content in those issues). Still others indicated that they already had a health fellow in the office.

So while a Fellow might be "free" skilled labor, it still needs to be the right fit at the right time, in an office that literally has an extra desk and chair. One office reluctantly turned me down based on having not another inch for a person to work at. And this isn’t the kind of work that you can telecommute to. Relationships, networks, flexibility and instant response are the coin of the realm in this world.

While waiting to hear, I've organized my notes from the training and added the key websites to my "favorites" list. I'll share them in my next entry. I also want to visit the senate bill room, the congressional research service and the legislative information service before I start, as these resources will also be very helpful.

This week, I'm having lunch with a lobbyist (sounds scandalous, but it's an old colleague working for a nonprofit in D.C.), another health fellow (sponsored by the Association of Schools of Public Health, who has an assignment with the HELP - Health, Education, Labor and Pensions - committee), and dinner with an old friend from school. In between, the cable guy should be coming (4th attempt, don't even ask), the Brookings Institution has a lecture by the author of "Eleanor & Ike," and the Kennedy Center had an uplifting free concert by Coolooloosh (look it up...).

Oh, and I accepted an assignment with a Senator's office. (You guessed that, right?) I'm familiar with this particular state and its issues, the staff were wonderful (friendly, smart, encouraging and professional), and I can both work with the health LA (legislative assistant) and on other projects (starting with reviewing the president's budget). The senator is well respected and expected to have a long and distinguished career. Perhaps I can increase the visibility of public health issues on his radar, especially as he grows as a leader in the senate and the party. I start Monday (1/28/08), and will describe more about the assignment and getting started in another post.

Relief - and anticipation! And my newly purchased walking shoes really helped (6 miles today). Achy knees, but the shins are fine.