I found a listing for Campaign Researcher in Chicago and submitted my resume and a thoughtful cover letter. Two weeks later, I was invited to have a phone interview, and I felt like it went really well. I was told that I would hear about their decision by next Wednesday regardless. I heard nothing, despite having reached out with a thank you and follow up information. On Monday of the following week I recieved an email asking me come to meet this Wednesday. I said yes, and asked for more information, excited that they decided to continue me in the hiring process, since it seemed like an important and exciting organization. However, when he called me he told me that I did not have enough campaign and research experience for the position, but wanted to meet me about a apprenticeship program. I expressed gratitude for his honesty and interest in connecting me with the program. I told him was hesitant at the word apprentice as I am looking for full time professional work, but wanted to hear more in advance. He revealed that as a “campaign apprentice” I would work get a hospitality job and organize my coworkers, basically being a low-wage plant with two jobs, one of which is extremely risky and the other which seems to be unpaid labor. To me, this feels like a total bait and switch. I regret the time that I spent learning and writing about Unite Here. While I enjoyed my phone screening, this is a manipulative and hypocritical recruitment tactic. Just be honest about what you are looking for! At least from the beginning of the phone call. This was very disappointing, and gives me a less hopeful view or the organization.

I was contacted by an senior organizer based in San Francisco for an initial phone screening. Then, contacted by a Los Angeles organizer for another phone screening. I was given a writing exercise and then asked to come in for an in-person interview with a group. The in-person interview was not particularly hard. They had a list of questions and made sure to go through all of them. I quickly realized that it wasn't going to be a good fit personality and culture-wise. I found one of the interviewers to be pretty rude from the beginning, but it might have just been their interview tactic to see how I reacted under pressure. Nonetheless, I found it unnecessary. UNITE HERE is a labor organization that prides and promotes itself as a radical, militant union that represents mostly immigrant women of color. What I found strange was that I was interviewed entirely by white people. They were transparent about the fact that their main goal is to build their membership and that they are hierarchical meaning you're expected to execute orders from above and not push back. They're not really at the vanguard of movement-building so I'd suggest to look elsehwere if you're seeking more mind-expanding work. They seem like a good training ground, though.