RIPPAC Internship Guide - Summer 2021

Name of Company / Association / Organization   Checkmate Strategies / Trailblazer Public Affairs

Internship Coordinator John Lyons   Coordinator’s Phone / Email   John@Checkmatewins.com 

Location of Main Office 12 Bank Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701  # of Summer 2021 Interns Accepted 4

Where will the internship be done?

X In the main office       X Remotely (student works from home)        X Combo At-home & In-Office

Dates / Length of Summer Internship   

Required Hours/Week Minimum 20

Is there some type of salary or stipend?  Yes  If so, how much? The internship itself is unpaid, but depending on the assignment there may be an opportunity to be paid.

What is the application process?  (Please include deadlines & other requirements.  Feel free to attach additional pages)

Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and at least one reference. 

Intern work areas:           Clerical  X     Research  X       Errands  X       Organizing  X

Please explain the work that will be required of the intern:  The work required of our interns can vary from data analysis, research, social media design/development, policy analysis and other tasks.  Prior to accepting an intern based on their skillset and our current workload we will give the intern an idea of what their tasks will be while they are with us. We try to match based on the intern’s skill set, opportunities we have available and areas of growth for the intern.  In some cases hours are varied and include working outside of a traditional work schedule or work day. 

Will there be opportunities for the intern to observe:

Internal strategy sessions?  X       Legislative sessions?  X    Committee hearings?  X

Is the intern expected to work evenings and weekends?  If so, please explain.  Yes, our business is very much a 24/7/365 operation and we pride ourselves on being available for our clients.  We do our best to schedule accordingly and not put our interns in a position where they are working during unscheduled hours but it’s possible.  Part of the experience with us is learning to operate in the high pressure, fast paced environment of political campaigns and public affairs.

Do you have any suggestions for the applicants? (Please use additional pages if necessary)

Applicants should be open to various opportunities that we have available.  With our base of political, governmental and private business clients we have varied opportunities for interns to add value and learn.  Although some of our interns may be assigned to specific campaigns to provide support, others may work on data analysis, marketing projects and other tasks to provide support to the firm.  Interns here just don’t perform menial tasks, if they bring their A game skills to the table they could find themselves at the tip of the spear in public policy in New Jersey.