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Policy advisor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
Quoted experts
Paul Manna,
Elizabeth Sasser
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical policy advisor skills. We ranked the top skills for policy advisors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 10.4% of policy advisor resumes contained public policy as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a policy advisor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 policy advisor skills for your resume and career

1. Public Policy

Public Policy is refers to a public course of action created and seen-through by a government or government organization in response to a public issue, such homelessness, discrimination, poverty, other forms of bigotry, and public health issues like pandemics. The process of coming up with, and designing a public policy can alone often take quite a while, especially as governments may take quite a lot of time to notice public issues in the first place.

Here's how policy advisors use public policy:
  • Formed collaborative relationships and negotiated with legislators, constituency groups, and administration officials to further key public policy initiatives.
  • Provide policy, business, and technical analysis for Health Reform and Public Policy for the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace.

2. Policy Issues

Policy issues are key issues that influence the economic, social, and political life of a place where conflicts arise over the direction of government policy. Often the policy issues are general, dealing with broad approaches to problems, such as whether the federal government should increase spending on national defense or whether social security should be privatized in some fashion.

Here's how policy advisors use policy issues:
  • Analyzed international and foreign policy issues and devised effective advocacy and program strategies.
  • Recruited and mentored community leaders on policy issues and social justice equity.

3. Policy Development

A pоlісу dеvеlорmеnt is thе process оf dесіdіng what tо achieve, what tо be dоnе tо асhіеvе іt, how to асhіеvе it efficiently and economically, who should do іt, еtс It аіmѕ tо develop policies gеnеrаllу tо hеlр buѕіnеѕѕеѕ run еffісіеntlу іn achieving thеіr оbjесtіvеѕ and tо соmрlу wіth the lеgаl and social еnvіrоnmеnt in whісh they ореrаtе.

Here's how policy advisors use policy development:
  • Advised Division management in organizational planning, policy development, and personnel matters.
  • Composed comprehensive reports analyzing the implications of federal and local education policy developments.

4. Policy Recommendations

Here's how policy advisors use policy recommendations:
  • Drafted responses for the OMB and Congress articulating and defending policy recommendations for the President's Global Engagement vision.
  • Crafted policy recommendations pertaining to Good Governance, Strong Institutions and Public Sector Reforms.

5. Policy Analysis

Policy analysis is a method of identifying or determining a possible policy basis or conclusion that can solve a particular issue or problem. It includes monitoring, assessing, and evaluating policies intended to improve the quality and development of a project. After analyzing the data collected, such as the cause of the problem, they need to choose is the most effective and efficient solution.

Here's how policy advisors use policy analysis:
  • Provide policy analysis and support to Treasury leadership on issues related to illicit finance and sanctions implementation.
  • Provided legislative and policy analysis for the Oregon House Republican Caucus.

6. Government Officials

Here's how policy advisors use government officials:
  • Negotiated bilateral assistance agreements with senior foreign government officials.
  • Researched, wrote and delivered papers, speeches, testimony and negotiation scripts for senior government officials.

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7. Policy Research

Policy research can be defined as the process of conducting research or analysing a fundamental social problem to provide policymakers with rational, action-oriented recommendations to resolve the problem. Largely, there are two categories of policy research: Policy Evaluation - determines the impact of specific policies, programs, or procedures. Assessment is also introduced after implementing the policies to evaluate success or course correct, if necessary. Policy Analysis - It incorporates a 'best alternative of comparison' of various procedures, policies, and strategies.

Here's how policy advisors use policy research:
  • Conducted policy research and analysis on strategic state, county and city issues for the Essex County Delegation meeting, e.g.
  • Worked on the Policy Research Office Fact Book with regard to Public Safety issues for the new Governor's perusal.

8. External Stakeholders

Here's how policy advisors use external stakeholders:
  • Drafted press releases and other communications to Capitol Hill and other external stakeholders regarding salient issues before the Chairman's office.
  • Coordinate strategically with Administrative agencies, external stakeholders, and constituencies to clarify legislative priorities and promote effective, bipartisan legislation.

9. Human Services

The field of human services is centered around meeting human needs through applied interdisciplinary knowledge. The study focuses on prevention, solving problems, and improving and maintaining the quality of life of service populations.

Here's how policy advisors use human services:
  • Assisted with budget development and oversight for the Departments of Human Services, Transportation, and Corrections Appropriations Subcommittees.
  • Conducted research and manage complex evaluation studies, economic research and assessments of human services programs and services.

10. Public Health

Here's how policy advisors use public health:
  • Monitored 42 Community Public Health and Safety capacity-building grants state wide.
  • Facilitate meetings and training sessions for staff and community groups regarding relevant public health laws and regulations.

11. Medicaid

Here's how policy advisors use medicaid:
  • Prepare State Plan Amendments related to Medicaid reimbursements which include detailed analysis and reports for federal review and approval.
  • Led interdepartmental effort to enroll residents in expanded Medicaid and health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

12. Policy Proposals

Here's how policy advisors use policy proposals:
  • Developed policy proposals and composed issue briefings, speeches, Op-Eds, press releases, and website material.
  • Worked with other commission offices and department leadership on budget and policy proposals.

13. Policy Positions

Here's how policy advisors use policy positions:
  • Developed policy positions in the areas of housing and urban revitalization.
  • Assisted in development of all education policy positions, speeches, and briefing materials for Senator Edwards.

14. Federal Government

The fеdеrаl gоvеrnmеnt іѕ a ѕуѕtеm thаt dіѕtrіbutеѕ power between a strong national gоvеrnmеnt and ѕmаllеr lосаl gоvеrnmеntѕ. It consists оf thrее dіѕtіnсt brаnсhеѕ: legislative, executive, аnd judісіаl, whose powers аrе dеlеgаtеd bу thе соuntrу'ѕ constitution, the president, аnd the fеdеrаl соurtѕ, rеѕресtіvеlу.

Here's how policy advisors use federal government:
  • Saved $1.5 million in grant money from being returned to the Federal government.
  • Provide information and technical assistance to the Legislature, Governor's Office, Congressional Delegation, federal government, and industry.

15. Federal Agencies

Federal agencies are specialized departments of government set up by the government to perform specific duties. They can have responsibilities such as management of resources, overlooking of financial position of industries, national security issues, and so on.

Here's how policy advisors use federal agencies:
  • Facilitated and leveraged strong international partnerships and relationships with foreign federal agencies.
  • Served as brain-trust on Chinese energy policy to senior leadership at various federal agencies.
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What skills help Policy Advisors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What policy advisor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Paul MannaPaul Manna LinkedIn profile

Director of Public Policy, and Isabelle and Jerome Hyman Distinguished University Professor of Government, Website

Quantitative and computing skills certainly will increase in demand, but that has been true for a while. With more and more people learning these sorts of tools these days, including some that are highly technical, a couple of things help set some folks apart from the crowd. First, being technically sophisticated is great, but adding to that the ability to interpret the results of complex analyses and communicate them to policymakers and the broader public is even better. People who can write and speak clearly about these matters, especially doing so for audiences who lack technical skills, are hugely valuable. Second, stepping back a bit, people who are able to think broadly about the ethical dimensions of policy work will continue to be highly valued. Rather than data-driven thinking, I push students to embrace a different approach: values-driven thinking with data. The ability to use critical thinking skills to recognize key values and value tensions in policy, and then knowing where to look for data to grapple with those tensions, is a hugely important skill that has always been important and is becoming more important each day as the policy world becomes flooded with data. How to make sense of it all, and how to leverage it to address key values that communities care about, is hugely important.

What soft skills should all policy advisors possess?

Elizabeth Sasser

Teaching Assistant Professor, Interim Director of Experiential Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Employers tell us that they value teamwork, strong written and verbal communication skills, and sound time management skills. Our Public Policy Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill helps students hone these soft skills through an experiential education course where students work with a non-profit or government client on a real-world policy problem. In this class, students also sharpen their professional etiquette, leadership, and problem-solving skills, which are crucial for pursuing a career in public policy.

What hard/technical skills are most important for policy advisors?

Elizabeth Sasser

Teaching Assistant Professor, Interim Director of Experiential Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Strong quantitative analysis and writing skills are two of the most important skills a public policy analyst needs. Quantitative analysis might include the ability to use statistical techniques to draw accurate inferences from a sample of data. Strong writing skills are necessary because policymakers don't have a lot of time to read through lengthy, dense reports, so public policy analysts must write clearly and concisely. They need to be able to distill today's complex problems in a way that clarifies how to think through and address a challenge.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about policy advisor

List of policy advisor skills to add to your resume

Policy advisor skills

The most important skills for a policy advisor resume and required skills for a policy advisor to have include:

  • Public Policy
  • Policy Issues
  • Policy Development
  • Policy Recommendations
  • Policy Analysis
  • Government Officials
  • Policy Research
  • External Stakeholders
  • Human Services
  • Public Health
  • Medicaid
  • Policy Proposals
  • Policy Positions
  • Federal Government
  • Federal Agencies
  • Social Justice
  • Strategic Plan
  • Treasury
  • Private Sector
  • Technical Assistance
  • Financial Institutions
  • National Security
  • Local Government
  • Law Enforcement
  • Government Agencies
  • Environmental Policy
  • Economic Development
  • Congressional Testimony
  • Press Releases
  • Policy Papers
  • Policy Changes
  • State Agencies
  • Medicare
  • DHS
  • Foreign Policy
  • NGOs
  • USAID
  • Community Development
  • Public Safety
  • CMS
  • Advisory Committee
  • Policy Statements
  • Natural Resources
  • Veterans
  • Legislative Proposals
  • Think Tanks
  • Ministry
  • Legal Issues

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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