You may be amazed on how legislators seem to know everything about a law or other topics related to it, but the truth is they don’t know everything. That is why they would hire a Lobbyist to help them with this. They inform legislators on the things they need to know about a public issue to guide them to choose the right topic they have to vote for.
Do you like the challenge to be able to persuade people? This can be the career you should take.
What is a Lobbyist?
A Lobbyist is a person hired by a group or an individual to help them uphold their position to the legislators. They work to modify the opinion of the public by influencing leaders and advertising campaigns the way their employer want.
Duties of a Lobbyist
- A Lobbyist above all should know the interests for their client. They should know the goals they want to achieve and be aware of the things that would prevent them from achieving this. They work together with other people that are concerned with the organization of their client to make strategies.
- A Lobbyist should study all proposed legislation and to understand this bills that would become a law if passed. They must be able to interpret the legal language how this proposed legislation affect the interest of their client.
- As a Lobbyist they are also tasked to meet with legislators on the state. They must know the possibilities of all the voters in the leading body and talk to those may need to be persuaded to get what they desire. At times they may give favors in exchange of their votes.
- Organizing meetings between clients with the same goal to get the message they want to be out to the public is another duty of a Lobbyist. They also meet with the media to help them disseminate the message they wanted to be out.
Work Condition of a Lobbyist
A Lobbyist usually works in an office. They meet with their client, legislators, campaign managers, media and the public. They normally work eight to ten hours per day and forty or more hours per week. But they may be asked to work overtime and during weekends. They may have to travel to places as part of their work.
Educational Requirements of a Lobbyist
They don’t have a specific requirement for those who want to be a Lobbyist but it would be an advantage if one holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and other related fields. A Lobbyist should be skillful in dealing with people and be up to date of the current news and legislations.
Occupation and Progress of a Lobbyist
Most of the Lobbyist was legislators before they decide to move to this career; it’s either they lost in a re-election or just decided not to continue. It is an advantage for them since they can be paid higher and knows more people that they have worked with in the past. They work for those who have the same belief as they had when they were in office, it can be seen as an abuse of their position but it is legally accepted.