r/PublicPolicy • u/LostInYesterday00 • 2d ago
Career Advice Struggling with job search three years after MPA
Hey everyone, I got an MPA three years ago and i currently hold a job in the Federal government. I’m trying to find policy analyst jobs, but I have absolutely no experience besides grad school.
I have the good old question of how can I get experience but these jobs won’t hire me because I don’t have experience? Even junior analysts require a lot.
Any hints on where I can step into and get the needed experience?
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u/samdasnek 23h ago
What is your current role? I’m a data analyst in state government and make products that factor directly into policy decisions but am also trying to pivot to policy eventually and am not sure whether what I currently do would be considered policy adjacent
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u/nian2326076 22h ago
Think about using the skills from your Federal government role. Jobs like policy analyst often share skills with other positions you might know. Make sure to highlight these on your resume or cover letter. If you're considering volunteer work or internships, check out non-profits or local government projects in policy areas you're interested in.
For job searching, LandOffer.ai lists policy analyst roles and lets you search by role and location. It might help you find positions needing skills similar to those you've gained in the Federal government.
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u/perseportland 2d ago
You’ll have to lateral then get a bump up by arguing you deserve as a higher step. That’s assuming that your role is completely unrelated to policy analysis (eg HR). The good news is that once you’re past a certain number of years of experience you get to apply to roles not open to the public by classification. So at least it should in theory be easier than if you were going in with zero job experience. You’ll also benefit from some internal networking to get an idea of which agencies could open up roles come the new budget year.