Is there any point in applying for a job as Parliamentary Assistant at 48?

[Perfectjob]

The person specification is:

"PERSON SPECIFICATION
*We are looking for a candidate with excellent interpersonal, communications, and organisational skills, as well as an interest in the policies and the future of the Liberal Democrats. This post would suit a young individual who is looking for political
experience in Westminster.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
The successful applicant will have:
• Excellent organisational skills
• Exceptional interpersonal skills
• Good time management and the ability to prioritise effectively and to work to
tight deadlines
• Strong IT skills
• Discretion

DESIRABLE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
• A commitment to the aims and values of the Liberal Democrats"

I would love to do this and I think I do have organisational skills, enthusiasm, and an interest in Politics (and the Lib Dems in particular). I am just not a young person!

Is there any point in applying for this job do you think?

I have met two MP's PAs, one was mid-40s and one older. The second one had been a PA elsewhere and the first one had no qualification or experience in that type of role before. They were like the gate-keeper, initial responder to letters and emails, diary-runner and maintained the MP's online presence. They probably did lots of other things I am unaware of as well! If that appeals to you, go for it.

I'm on about running the MP's office, btw, not the inital job you quoted.

Go for it.

I work for an MP, they have 5 staff aged 30-45 and the Parliamentary Assistant is about 40.

Good luck!

Sorry, I meant to type 30-55, not 45!

I've worked closely with MPs. Some MPs do have older parliamentary assistants. Whether the MP would consider someone at your stage in their career will entirely depend on which MP it was. I think some would love an application from an older applicant, some would have some serious reservations. These might be:

The workload is likely to be high. You might be expected to be there late into the evening, routinely when parliament is sitting. Standard Office hours are likely to be late afternoon / early evening even when not mad busy. Workload peaks sometimes very unpredictable and it wouldn't be ideal if your assistant had parents evening / a child with chicken pox/ need to get back for a child's hobby. I would be concerned that with three DC you just couldn't commit the time necessary. MPs are individual businesses, and their staff are employed by them, not the House of Commons, and absolutely can decide not to employ people on these kind of grounds.

Parliamentary assistants are sometimes expected to do a huge amount of dogs body work, relatively junior work. Some MPs might be worried that someone a bit older wouldn't put up with the kind of drudge work, or with the mad kind of deadlines and pace at which parliament/ MPs operate, or being essentially almost at the bottom of the office pecking order. Some might be worried you might have too much initiative and not take direction.

HOWEVER, some might really welcome the maturity you'd bring, and your experience, and so you've got nothing to lose by applying. You also need to get the office manager on side, as he / she is likely to be involved in the recruitment as well as the MP. I'd give them (office manager) a call before you apply to talk through the role and whether they'd consider an older applicant.

A former colleague left the workplace to do that job and he would have been around that age.

Go for it!

Thanks to everyone for the advice and interesting information. Will mull it over and then decide.

• Exceptional interpersonal skills

Ahh that's me fucked then (autism) 😁

Well they are not allowed to advertise it like that

Yes they are. It's a suggestion of who it might suit, and it also means either unpaid or very badly paid. It doesn't restrict to any age group.

It was about £20,800 a year, but a short contract that finishes in the summer.

Obviously there are a lot of jobs in Parliament, but often these assistant jobs are a bit of a vocation: you are looking at spending weekends canvassing (I know the LibDems sent down "mobs" in a coach to target seats), possibly attending the party conference and certainly working unsocial hours.

An MP's secretary might be better in terms of fixed hours, but even then at times you will not be able to work 9-5.

Are you a Lib Dem activist? Everyone I know who's done this type of role has been a party member (though I don't know anyone who's worked for the Lib Dems, so may be different).

Ok, so £20k a year and a short term contract means it's essentially a paid internship and they will be expecting you to do a vast amount of drudge work for the love of it, because you are young and desperate to get into politics.

Agree you may well be expected to do additional work at weekends - attending party events, leafleting, canvassing, because of your dedication to the party.

I'd ring the office manager before applying to have a proper chat about what the envisage this person doing. You will get a real sense of what their expectations are.

Agree with a PP that Parliamet is recruiting at the moment and that might suit you better. Have a look on the jobs section of www.parliament.uk.

Notjustuser - do you know me?! I worked in DCCS....

Yes, you outing loon. Luckily no one else will know what that means.

I'm your not job share.

Well quite - it was a secret code!! Now where did I put my jersey...

(Am I right?!)