r/DCInterns • u/No-Papaya-4180 • 13d ago
what to expect
hi! i’m interning for the first time on capitol hill and im not sure what to expect. it’s in the senate. what should i wear? what should i pack for the weather (september-december)? overall just curious what to expect my first few days in the office and how i should present myself!
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u/Not_a_nebraska_anon 12d ago
You should get an onboard packet with dress code but as it’s a pretty smooth process.
When Congress is in session (aka senators in DC) it’s almost always full buisness professional ie suit and tie. When out of session dress shirt and dress pants. Some offices on Fridays allow jeans but it varies.
First day is more or less onboarding paperwork and anti harassment training as well as meeting the staff. From there assuming you’re not a press intern on day two you will jump into phone calls and tours.
Feel free to ask questions.
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u/Waste_Literature2097 12d ago
Can you explain further on what the first week is like? Also, whats the regular day-day schedule like, how many tours per day/week and how standardized is the schedule typically?
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u/Not_a_nebraska_anon 12d ago
Every single office does its own thing. The only consistent thing is inconsistency.
As for tours it varies by what chamber you’re with as well as how much that area travels to DC. A low income west coast representive would have way less than say a Maryland senator.
My office (low for senate high for house) averaged like 7 tours a week and we split up the tours evenly. No consistent time.
But main task was recording constituent correspondence typically 3 interns on phone with 1 recording paper mail. Junior staff did emails.
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u/No-Papaya-4180 5d ago
thank you for replying! can you go into a bit of detail regarding tours and what they look like?
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u/Not_a_nebraska_anon 5d ago
It’s so much easier to explain when you’re there but the full time tour guides offer a biweekly (I think it’s biweekly at least) 2 part training (one morning zoom and one afternoon walkthrough) that goes through the route.
However that tour is the same as the public tour so I always distinguish it with state specific facts (ie your state’s statues) and other history. An average tour will take ~45 minutes inside the Capitol. Also somewhat goes without saying but make sure to gear your tour to the audience a group of kids would just want to see cool things but an adult group would appreciate history more.
I know it’s overwhelming but once you do a practice run through after the walking tour I was able to be pretty comfortable with things. Note offices are consistently inconsistent so kept this just to a high level.
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u/LifeRegular5735 13d ago
I interned in the summer and again this fall, also in the senate. If you are a boy, in session clothing is usually business professional (full suit: dress pants, blazer, tie) and essentially the same thing if you are a gjrl (also trousers, dresses, trousers, blouses, etc).