Overview:

Civic engagement and advocacy involves working on behalf of a certain group of people and advocating for their advancement and enfranchisement within a community. In this field, organizing people and working with others to enact various changes, ensure civil rights, and equal opportunity is key.

The range of groups and interests you could serve are expansive. Whether it is to ensure immigrant’s rights, organizing for gay marriage, or against hate speech, many opportunities exist within the field of civic engagement and advocacy.

Potential Jobs in the Field/Potential Projects:

Job Readiness Trainer

Job Readiness Trainer Job Description
As a job readiness trainer, you could be responsible for developing curriculum to help unemployed adults find work. In addition, you could provide counseling and build systems of support for those who are unable to find work, while also helping them with mock interviews, polish their resumes, and develop their skill sets in general.

Project Director- Research and Emerging Services

Advocacy Jobs: Project Director- Research and Emerging Services
As a project director for research and emerging services, you could be working as an advocate for education reform meeting with local, state, and federal leaders, developing strategies for education reform. You would also be involved in managing relationships and presenting to various stakeholders while creating data-driven reports about educational reform.

NAACP Voting Rights Initiative Director:

NAACP Voting Rights Initiative Director Description
Working as the Director for the Voting Rights Initiative for the NAACP, you could be organizing a campaign to ensure voting is accessible to all citizens through meeting with government officials and legislatures, organizing grassroots activists, and managing the public relations for the campaign. Your projects could include working to help craft legislation, organizing marches, or leading presentations to raise awareness.

Resources on Campus:

Amnesty International Columbia Amnesty International Chapter

Hillel Social Justice Committee Hillel Social Justice Committee: A group of students who plan social justice events at Hillel, ranging from greening initiatives and speakers on poverty, to participating in campus-wide social action programs, such as Relay for Life and Take Back the Night.

ACLU Columbia chapter of the ACLU

Columbia Global Justice Columbia Global Justice: A student group working to ensure health and human rights.

Everyone Allied Against Homophobia Everyone Allied Against Homophobia: A group working to fight homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of oppression within the CU community and beyond. 

Students for Education Reform Students for Education Reform: A student group empowering students as stakeholders in the education policy discussion and mobilizing them to close the achievement gap

Links:

Bureau of Labor Statistics on Advocacy Industry General information about advocacy as an industry (with comprehensive statistics) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Advocacy Jobs A niche job board that focuses entirely on advocacy employment opportunities and candidate recruiting nationwide.

Law Crossing Guide to getting Advocacy Jobs (specific for legal advocacy)

Career Builder: Advocacy Listing of advocacy jobs from the U.S.’ largest job search website.