Internships
Our organization
Founded in 1980, the Human Rights Campaign is the largest national advocacy organization working for the civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. We envision an America where GLBT people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community. HRC has more than 600,000 members – all committed to making this vision of equality a reality.
HRC effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support to fair-minded candidates and works to educate the public on a wide array of topics affecting GLBT Americans, including workplace, family, discrimination and health issues. The HRC Foundation, an HRC-affiliated organization, engages in extensive research and provides education and programming.
Our internship program
Our internship program pairs interns with specific departments or programs so that they will receive a valuable, in-depth experience. We strive to treat our interns as junior staff members, and so an intern should expect both substantive and administrative work. Along with the duties listed in the descriptions below, interns receive special projects that will allow them to grow and explore their interests while here at HRC, and every intern should also be prepared to perform the various administrative duties that come with being an intern. Our internship program also includes a series of educational brownbag lunches, through which every intern will learn about all aspects of the organization. We also offer Law Fellowships and Research Fellowships.
Our internship offerings
While HRC is in part a political organization, we offer internships in nearly all of our departments and programs, every one of which will provide you with training that can help start your career in the non-profit world. Find descriptions of all of our internships at the Internship Descriptions page.
Intern qualifications
We look for interns who are ready to join the HRC and work for GLBT equality. We have tailored our internship program to undergraduate college students, but we regularly hire recent graduates and graduate students. Because interns in each department or program undertake different tasks, each internship requires a different level of skills, demonstrated interests, and prior experience. Selection is based on the application (including cover letter and resume) and an interview, either over the phone or in person. Here are some general criteria we look for in all the interns we hire: demonstrated interest and enthusiasm in the role of policy advocacy around gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues; ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment; and experience with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, Access).
