Really? Who could be bothered, right?

Most of us are trying to figure out what classes match what major requirements; or, just anticipating tackling our undergraduate just to thrust ourselves into the jungle of the dreaded job search.

Becoming involved in the political process any further might seem like an invitation to a cactus-eating contest. Still, for those not in the know, there are great opportunities in untapped experiential benefits to be gained from contributing in an election season, even without touting a political agenda.

Recently, the economy was a very relevant point of contention in the first debate between President Barack Obama and his challenger Gov. Mitt Romney and appropriately so because the economy is what many people are basing the potential success of their rounds in searching for real-world employment.

We assume one of the first orders of business will probably be how to get the American unemployed back into the hunt with tools that can deliver. Yet, who knew actually working the election could give you just the edge you might need to shift the work opportunities back into your favor.

Jahmese Myres, Research and Policy Associate for East Bay Alliance for Sustainable Economy provides how helpful a volunteer role for an election season phone-banking job can be. Also, mention door-knocking to reach potential voters in communities and even working a voter registration table on the street somewhere can make a difference.

“It gives you some basic skills in how to be a member of the community functioning citizen; like administrative skills, very basic communication skills,” says Myres.

In the job force, potential employers want nothing more than people who are eager to learn the culture of their company and to sell management on ideas that can forward the organization’s agenda and goals. In particular roles like phone banking while carrying the unpleasant association with cold calling as operators are assumed to have to necessitate a salesperson type of attitude, still can yield vast employer-valued abilities.

“They don’t have to be partisan one way or the other. They don’t have to have a particular viewpoint. It’s just getting them reacquainted with the issues that our communities and our countries are facing,” details Myres. “And then they’re on the phones so they are learning how to read a script. They are exercising their basic literacy skills. They are exercising how to communicate, intonations, what words to put emphasis on .”

Being persistent is a trait that is tough to develop for new entries to the force of job seekers because it requires tough skin and a consistent sense of confidence. Yet working the phones during voting season can help with that too.

Myres elaborates, “They are practicing persuasion because in phone banking you have to keep someone on the phone—most folks are like, ‘I’m not talking to you, I’m going to hang up.”

The phone roles aid in computer training because most of the work is all on the system. The phones usually auto-dial so all the information can shows up on screen and workers can plug in the responses by typing or using the numerical key pad.

The parallel between the different types of election roles and their corresponding résumé benefits are strong.

“[They are learning] basic math and statistics because they usually have to keep their numbers up in order to reach their nightly goals,” Myres states, “So if your nightly goal is 200 contacts, how many contacts do you need in an hour? How many [contacts] do you need to have between now and your next break?”

Oakland Rising, a campaign organization that takes to the streets to physically interact with community members hires re-entry populations. These hires are newly released from jail or prison populations who have been in out of the work force for a long time and may have difficulty getting back into the workforce.

The program proves successful in enhancing the marketability and hiring worth for these individuals through working election-related roles.

Myres says employment skills are gained, “especially for reentry folks, I find that they have a hard time doing face to face because it requires looking you in the eye, holding eye contact with you for a long period use your body language as well as vocal communication.”

Next time you get a call from a phone banker, receive a election-related door knock or pass someone with a clipboard asking you if your are registered to vote, even if you must shoo them away in disinterest, just know that they could be gaining the skills and experience that nets them a great career.