Man, hiring a political assistant? Sounded way more straightforward on paper than it actually turned out. Figured I’d just find someone sharp with a poli-sci degree and call it a day. Huge mistake.
Where It All Started
First thing I did? Dusted off the old job description I used ages ago for a marketing assistant. Swapped out “social media whiz” for “policy analysis guru” and thought, “Yeah, that’ll work.” Threw it up online everywhere I could think of. Got tons of resumes fast. Felt pretty good about it.
Started interviewing folks. Most had killer degrees and knew policy inside out. One guy could debate trade sanctions like a senator. Impressive? Sure. But…
- Red Flag #1: Every answer felt rehearsed, like a campaign speech. Zero personality.
- Red Flag #2: One spent half the interview trash-talking different political parties. Passion’s great, but this? Too much.
- Red Flag #3: Another barely mentioned teamwork – just talked about their “vision.” Hmm.
The Big Mess Up (And What I Learned)
Ignored the gut feeling saying, “This ain’t it.” Hired the trade sanctions expert. Disaster. Week one: Tried turning my team meetings into policy debates. People were rolling their eyes by Wednesday. Worse? They kept leaking tiny bits of team gossip – nothing huge, but the trust vanished fast. Had to let them go before things got poisonous. Felt like an idiot wasting weeks on this.
Took a step back. Realized I messed up big time focusing only on smarts and political know-how. This wasn’t about finding the smartest person; it was about finding the right glue for my team.
Doing It Right (Finally)
Wrote a new description from scratch. This time:
- Shouted about neutrality: No pushing agendas here. Needs to handle info from all sides fairly.
- Pounded the drum on discretion: Your mouth stays shut about internal stuff. Period.
- Highlighted the boring stuff: Seriously mentioned scheduling and admin chaos – that’s the real job!
Changed the interview game too. Stopped caring about their opinions on the latest political drama. Asked instead:
- “Tell me about a time you juggled insane requests from multiple people.”
- “Show me your system for tracking policy stuff without bias.”
- “How would you tell me I’m wrong about something, respectfully?”
Interviewed far fewer people this round. But the candidate who clicked? Didn’t shout about policies. Talked about how they learned everyone’s coffee orders at their last internship to build rapport. Explained a simple spreadsheet they used to flag potential bias in research summaries. Showed genuine curiosity about how my team actually functioned day-to-day.
Why It Actually Worked
Hired them. Difference was night and day. They slid right in. Handled grumpy policy experts, managed my frantic schedule, filtered news updates without drama, and remembered birthdays. The calm in the chaos. Months later, it’s obvious: The flashy knowledge means nothing next to being reliable, neutral, and truly understanding how to support the people already here. It’s not about politics – it’s about making the team better.
