Reputation and Organization of Politics

Since beginning my work at the U.S. Department of Education I have found that there are many different types of workplace relationships and forms of communication depending on your position, time in the office, and experience. The ways in which I have observed organizational culture has mainly been through Skype calls and emails. I find the calls to be very interesting and they give me insight into workplace dynamics.

 This week I had the opportunity to meet with several members of the Secretary’s office, including Secretary DeVos herself. These calls were organized for myself and another intern to get to know other members of the Secretairy’s office. On my first call, I learned about the values, attitudes, and expectations of an intern in DC. On the next call, I and the other intern spoke with the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Outreach in the Secretaries office. She was very friendly and relaxed when we spoke with her over Skype. One thing she mentioned a few times was how important first impressions are, and how building your reputation in Washington DC starts right now. I found this to be very interesting and relevant to workplace dynamics and organization. I had an understanding that having a job in politics was largely based upon connections and networking. However, I did not know just how important it was to constantly work towards improving your reputation and building relationships with others are. This message was also shared with us during another call with three entry-level employees in the Secretairy’s office. The type of communication shifted between these two meetings from a more formal and structured meeting to a casual conversation. This allowed me to understand how important it is to present yourself well to all members of the office to work towards building your name in DC.

Whether my conversation was with Secretary DeVos or an entry-level position in her office I spoke with the same sense of professional stature and asked previously thought out questions. Because I am unable to be in person, I have enjoyed getting to know the organization of the office through these meetings. I am looking forward to meeting more people this next week and continuing to learn about the office organization through these calls.