hiring

Tip O'Neill once said, "It's easier to run for office than to run the office." Running a campaign and creating a congressional office are vastly different tasks. Setting up a House or Senate office includes all the challenges of starting a small business with all the red tape of a bureaucracy. During the past 40 years the Congressional Management Foundation has helped thousands of new members of Congress and their staffs set up freshman offices. Here are 7 mistakes to avoid.

Hiring Your Core Staff

DO's...

• Do select your Chief of Staff first, if possible. A good Chief of Staff is instrumental in setting up your office and must be someone you trust to make critical decisions during the transition.

• Do pick a core staff that will be able to perform the essential functions of your office for about six weeks. January is a slow legislative month, and it’s more important to answer phones and greet visitors than to research legislation.

• Do hire the remainder of your staff between January and May, as you become sure of your needs.

DON'Ts...

• Don't only review the stack of incoming resumes in seeking potential staff. Find other candidates so you aren’t limited to hiring only those people who have contacted you.

• Don't choose a full staff before January, even though there is enormous pressure to have a lot of staff in order to “hit the ground running.”

• Don't hire staff without a written job description for each position. It is essential to clearly identify the principal duties and functions of the job, and helps ensure that the office and the candidate/new hire are in agreement regarding the responsibilities of the position.

• Don't hire someone you cannot fire. For example, don’t hire the child of a prominent politician or another key stakeholder from the district/state unless you’re absolutely certain that you want this employee for the long term.

Details

Copyright 2020, Congressional Management Foundation
Paperback/Softcover: 312 pages
Publisher: Congressional Management Foundation; 17^th edition (November 3, 2020)
ISBN: 978-1-930473-24-9
Dimensions: 7.5 x 9.25 inches

• Download the entire book in PDF: Setting Course: A Congressional Management Guide - 117th Congress Edition(2.6 MB)

Pricing for Hardcopies

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Past CMF reports detailing compensation, benefits, and office management practices in the House and Senate.