Welcome to the Government, Law, and Public Policy Community!

The following sampling of tools and resources should be combined with your own research. We suggest you use targeted keyword searches to find representative employers and opportunities, explore professional associations, join LinkedIn groups, and browse additional job board postings. Remember to also search LinkedIN and MyPenn (formerly QuakerNet) to connect with Penn alumni in fields related to your interests. Additionally, the sample jobs and employers are only a small selection of what’s posted in Handshake – log in to see much more! We also suggest using the Career Exploration section of our website for more information or researching by major.

Explore Careers in Government, Law, & Public Policy

There are a lot of career paths to consider when pursuing a role in government, law or public policy and you may also discover a bit of overlap among those fields. Some examples of roles within these industries are policy analyst, paralegal, politician or campaign worker, lobbyist or attorney, to name a few.  Many of these roles are fantastic opportunities to gain experience and responsibility very early in your career.

Connect with Employers and Alumni

Through networking you can making connections and build relationships with professionals who can help you to learn what it’s like to work in a particular role, field, or industry. You can use Penn’s alumni database, MyPenn (formerly QuakerNet) as well as LinkedIN to find and connect with alumni who work in industries that are interesting to you. Read more about how to make connections. 

Finding Opportunities

Opportunities in government, law and public policy can be found in a variety of places, from larger job boards, to industry-specific niche job boards, to the career page of company websites. When you’re on a larger job board like Handshake, make sure you’re using filters and keywords to hone in on opportunities that are relevant to the types of roles you are seeking. We’ve also curated a list of industry-specific job resources related to government, law and public policy that can help you launch your search.

Find Resources

On this page, we’ve compiled many resources to help you prepare for a career in government, law, or public policy. Of particular interest should be the Tom Manatos Job List and professional organizations such as Idealist.

What's New?

Explore Public Service Careers with the new Public Service Internship Finder

Interested in making a difference through your work, but not sure what that could look like? Public service careers extend far beyond the traditional image of working in federal or state government. From communications and public health to international affairs, …

By Anne Dickinson
Anne Dickinson Senior Associate Director, The College
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New Resume Samples to Help PhDs and Postdocs Tell Their Story

Most PhD students and postdocs are very familiar with curriculum vitaes (CVs), and you probably already have one!  CVs are used for lots of academic purposes – applying for graduate programs, grants and fellowships, and for academic jobs.  You probably don’t …

By Dianne Hull
Dianne Hull Senior Associate Director, Graduate Students & Postdocs
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A Summer in the Nation’s Capital

Zoya Hasan, COL ’28, Mechanicsburg, PA

This summer, I interned at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., a think tank focused on foreign policy and international affairs. As a research intern, I supported projects through background research, drafting materials, and …

By Career Services
Career Services
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Career Resources

Vault Guides

The Vault Guides to Jobs series provides essential information about key careers and industries, with an emphasis on preparing for …

The Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms rankings. Use this guide to identify your target law firms, get …

Practice Perspectives is the insider’s guide to what it’s really like to practice at the nation’s top law firms. This …

The Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms is the most comprehensive, candid guide on the nation’s most prestigious …

The Vault Guide to the First Year of Law School offers advice for new law students on surviving law school, …

Labor Market InsightsIn partnership withLightcast logo

Explore occupations by career categories and pathways and use real time labor market data to power your decision making.

First, choose an industry of interest, then filter for occupation. (If you'd like to see data for a specific location only, filter by state.)

Location

Phone
(215) 898-7531
Address

Penn Career Services
3935 Walnut Street, Suite 300
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Service Hours

Monday 9am-5pm
Tuesday 9am-5pm
Wednesday 9am-5pm
Thursday 9am-5pm
Friday 9am-5pm