Humanists are using their doctoral training behind the scenes in a variety of U.S. government positions. Their ability to process new information quickly and efficiently and to convey key issues to policymakers in clear and concise language makes them valuable contributors to politics. Humanists in government emphasize that it often takes time and perseverance to convince employers that you have the skills they seek, but they say the rewards are worth the effort.
Through the Mellon/ACLS Public Fellows Program, Literature PhD Laurel Seely Voloder began a position in the Office of International Religious Freedom at the State Department in 2012. She stayed on after her fellowship, where she was hired as a Foreign Affairs Officer. Working on her graduate studies at UC Santa Cruz, Voloder realized that academia was not a good fit for her personality. She prefers collaborative work, and her work at the State Department allows her to flex her intellectual muscles while working closely with others. She also values the work-life balance that her job provides, which allows her to disengage from her professional life at the end of the day and focus on her family.
The Office of International Religious Freedom focuses on the full range of religious freedom issues around the world. They monitor religiously-motivated threats to individuals and groups, synthesize information for written reports, and create talking points for policy makers to help them prepare for meetings with foreign representatives. While the work can be high pressure, Voloder appreciates the remarkable opportunity to promote human rights around the world with the backing of the United States government, not to mention the immense resources that she can access through her position. She finds it very gratifying to see her work having a tangible impact. For example, when she sees her research translate into an official statement by the State Department condemning a violation of religious freedom abroad, she knows that her research and writing have the potential to directly help people.
When asked what helps her succeed in her work, Voloder cites the transferable skills that many humanists point to—close reading, analysis, critical thinking, ability to synthesize information, and oral and written communication. She admits that it can be difficult to make your case to employers about just how transferrable these skills are. It took a lot of preparation and practice before she learned the most effective way to make that case—she reckons she applied for around 75 federal jobs before she was hired full time at the State Department.
Getting work experience inside the State Department helped Voloder understand how the hiring process works for federal employees. She learned how important it is to interweave key words into a CV by paying attention to the recurring language in a job description and working to mirror it in her materials. As she was applying for jobs, she also kept in mind that she was presenting herself to two audiences—HR professionals who choose which applications make the cut but may know little about the position, and hiring officials who are experts in a particular field.
Voloder suggests that graduate students be as proactive as possible early on in their studies, pursuing networking opportunities and internships wherever possible. She is happy to know that Rackham Graduate School is developing initiatives like the Mellon Public Humanities Fellowships, and hopes that such opportunities can eventually be built into graduate curricula to ensure that all students will take advantage of them.
Beyond the State Department, humanists with advanced degrees work in other capacities in government. Historian John A. Lawrence worked for 38 years as a staff member in the U.S. House of Representatives. For eight years he was chief of staff to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He says that his doctoral training in history helped him understand “the enormity of the decisions being made, and how they would shape the course of our national history.” Based on his own fulfilling career in government, Lawrence believes that history as a profession remains far too conservative about encouraging history PhDs to move beyond the academy. He feels that historians “share a special responsibility for reversing the current state of historical and civic ignorance,” and that the best opportunities for doing so often lie outside of the academy.
Lawrence emphasizes similar transferrable skills to those that Voloder uses in her work at the State Department, noting historians’ specialized ability to employ critical analysis to understand how society and its institutions have evolved over time. This sort of foundational historical knowledge can make valuable contributions to the complicated machinery of policy-making and legislation.
The primary vehicle for finding a job in the U.S. Government is www.usajobs.gov, a website that can be overwhelming in its vastness and its peculiar language. Ryan Reft, who earned a PhD in History from UC San Diego and now works as the Modern U.S. historian in the Library of Congress’s Manuscript Division, offers helpful and comprehensive advice about how to position yourself for success when applying to federal jobs. He suggests ways to effectively represent graduate school experiences such teaching and writing as preparation for specific duties in job descriptions.
People who bring humanities PhD into government report high degrees of career satisfaction. They enjoy seeing measurable impacts of their work, welcome the intellectual challenges of working in a fast-paced high-stakes environment, and tout the competitive salaries, ample opportunities for advancement, and work-life balance as advantages of their profession.