What Do I Wear?

Your appearance in your workplace is very important. Your look not only reflects upon your school, but also on your state and most importantly, your senator, representative or organization. Various offices have different expectations of how their interns should dress. Attire on Capitol Hill also varies depending on whether or not Congress is in session. Here are a few general guidelines:

- Bring nice, professional looking attire. This includes a tie, jacket and slacks for men and nice slacks, skirts and blouses for women.

- When Congress is in session, most offices require a jacket for both men and women at all times.

- When Congress is not in session, many offices allow their staff to wear jeans as long as they do not look sloppy.

- Most companies/organizations have Casual Fridays which allow for more relaxed attire. This may or may not include jeans depending on the company.

- It would be advantageous to call your individual office and inquire regarding proper dress; this way you will not pack things that you don=t need.

What Will I Do As An Intern?

Intern duties vary from office to office. Intern duties are also assigned differently in each office. Some offices may assign each intern to a staff member who will train you on your specific duties. Other offices may give all the interns daily tasks. Some general duties you will do as an intern include:

- General office work, faxing, copying, answering phones (some offices), running errands, etc.

- Focused research is another aspect of intern duties. Many staffers are busy and will ask you to research different topics for them. This may be for their knowledge and preparation of specific legislation. Some will have you write issue briefs on the topics assigned.

- General projects may also be assigned to an intern.

- On the Hill, most interns are given the opportunity to give Capitol tours to constituents.

- Press Intern: Each office has a press intern who is in charge of daily news clips. It is the duty of this intern to put together a packet of the news clips of the day that are applicable to or mention the senator, representative or the state they represent.