The White House is full of unique job opportunities.
While there are certain jobs for which a political background will make you a more favorable candidate for the role, there are many that require skills that aren’t political.
Even the leader of the country doesn’t necessarily need a political background, although many often have one.
The only written requirements to be president, as outlined in the Constitution, are that the individual must be a natural-born citizen of the country, at least 35 years old and a resident of the United States for 14 years. Former President Trump became the 45th president without having held any government position prior to being elected to lead the country in November 2016.
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Take a look at unique White House jobs you may be unaware of that don’t require an extensive political background of those hired.
- Executive pastry chef and executive chef
- Calligrapher
- Social aides
- ‘Body Man’
1. Executive pastry chef and executive chef
You may not need a political background for either of these jobs, but your background in cooking or baking will have to be up to par.
The executive chef at the White House has a lot of responsibilities beyond just cooking for the president. The executive chef is also in charge of coming up with menus for state dinners, social events, receptions and official luncheons, according to The Associated Press.
Cristeta Comerford, who was the first woman to ever hold the role, was the White House’s executive chef for almost 30 years.
Before working at the White House, where she earned an assistant chef role in 1995 and later was named executive chef in 2005, she worked at a series of hotels in Chicago and restaurants in Washington, according to The Associated Press.
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“I always say food is love,” Jill Biden said in July 2024 regarding Comerford’s retirement. “Through her barrier-breaking career, Chef Cris has led her team with warmth and creativity and nourished our souls along the way. With all our hearts, Joe and I are filled with gratitude for her dedication and years of service.”
While the White House’s executive chef takes care of the food served, the executive pastry chef is dedicated to desserts.
The White House’s pastry chef, Susan Morrison, spends a lot of her days planning and making desserts for events taking place at the White House, although there is another order of business that is usually on her mind.
“I spend all year thinking about the White House gingerbread house, but we don’t begin baking until November. Then, for about four days after Thanksgiving, we work tirelessly to build the house before moving it to the State Dining Room, where more than 60,000 guests will cycle through,” Morrison told Oprah.com.
“And it has to look as perfect as it did on day one, which means it can’t melt, it can’t be affected by humidity and it can’t be touched!”
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Before working at the White House, Morrison had an extensive baking background, including working at the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia, per the source.
2. Calligrapher
If you have beautiful handwriting and artistic skill, you may just be the next White House calligrapher.
Calligraphers play a large role in making documents and invitations look elegant through their process of carefully constructing each letter on the page.
This person is responsible for writing invitations, menus and letters for the White House, according to Reader’s Digest.
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This is a job for which you don’t need a political background, but one in design and art is neccessary.
3. Social aides
While an extensive political background isn’t required for this job, White House military social aides spend a lot of their time attending presidential events.
Individuals in this role are members of the military who act as assistant hosts at White House functions.
They often speak with those in attendance and help events run smoothly.
This job comes in addition to other military duties. There is no additional pay for the role, according to The Washington Post.
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The biggest events social aides work are state dinners, per the source.
4. ‘Body Man’
An individual known as the president’s “body man” is someone who is a personal aide to the president.
The body man, or body woman, is by the president’s side very often and is responsible for keeping the leader of the nation’s life in order.
“Most of it is showing up, solving problems and trying to anticipate the needs and issues that may arise,” Reggie Love told Politico in 2015 about being Barack Obama’s body man.
Love also shared what he kept with him at all times while he was working for the president.
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“My checkbook, my passport. I’d have a bag of potato chips just in case I couldn’t find something to eat on the road that day. Tons of water,” Love told the outlet.
There are lots of requirements that come with the job as an around-the-clock assistant to the president.
“The biggest part about it is that you want to be prepared to anticipate the needs that may come or arise as the candidate or the principal is making [his] way through the day. It’s everything from making sure they have a proper meal to eat at lunchtime or dinnertime or whatever, to making sure that they are prepared with all the detailed information they may need for an event,” Love told NPR in 2015.
“There were some days when I would sit next to the teleprompter operator to make sure that while the candidate was on a riff, that the teleprompter operator didn’t get too out of control with where he was scrolling the text. You’re a problem solver,” he added.
Before becoming Obama’s body man, Love didn’t have much political experience. In fact, prior to becoming a political aide, he was an aspiring NFL player.
He wrote about his time working for Obama in the book “Power Forward: My Presidential Education.”
Read the full article here
