Aibu? DS should talk about his party politics activities in interviews?

[Theworried]

DS is at uni and applying for internships etc. in the field of finance. A lot of these interviews ask typical skill or behaviour questions- e.g. tell me a time when you have shown teamwork etc.
DS is an active member of the young conservatives and has done a lot of activities in his uni and in our local young conservative group- e.g. take an active role in meetings, canvassing support amongst young people etc.
He thinks that he should be able to use these examples in job interviews as they highlight his skills and is a big part of his life, but DH thinks he should shy away from it as it is do with party politics and is quite a divisive topic in society.
I think that DH is worrying unnecessarily and interviews would not look down upon it as he is developing skills through this activity.

YABU. If I were a Tory the last thing I’d do would be admit it in public.

While canvassing etc locally shows commitment and teamwork it can also show you’re a one track minded headbanger, with potentially odd views for someone so young. I wouldn’t talk about it at interview.

It's a finance internship, so yes he should talk about it. He's right it shows skills and education. It also shows he thinks for himself as Torries are rarely popular amongst students. Traditionally, the Conservatives have been good for businesses such as finance, so he'll probably be fine.

Yes I agree

I think he mentions what he’s been doing but either says “an organisation” or “ a political party”

tbh I’d advise that whichever party it was, as I don’t think interviewers need to know which party.

Having the sense to anonymise it would play well because it suggests they know when to be discreet and also they won’t be banging on about it in the office, which would be another fear.

But - employing a person who is involved in party politics outside work, does not undermine the political neutrality of the employer.

We need people to be involved in local politics on a voluntary basis, which means they need a job to be able to support themselves. It's self-defeating to say that someone who campaigns locally for a party or cause, shouldn't be allowed to work because they might influence their employer.

A great demonstration of how bigoted and closed minded the left can be, all while pretending to be inclusive and liberal.

No one should be belittled for their values and beliefs (unless they extremist and harmful), be it political, religious or philosophical.

I’m actually shocked by the overt hatred towards Tories (which is similar to the attitudes towards GC feminists) by people holding themselves out to be “better”.

And I’m not a Tory voter, I’m just someone who is tolerant of others…

I hate the Tories but admire people who put effort into changing society in ways that they believe in. What a dilemma.

I think should say he was "active in a political society at university". Not really appropriate to mention who it is, especially when it's that bunch of cunts.

No one should be belittled for their values and beliefs (unless they extremist and harmful).

Exactly.

So it's fine to continue the Tory pile-on.

100% 🌟

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Talk about it in terms of being a society lead or, if pushed, acknowledge that it was as a lead for a political society at uni.

I would not say the party. If asked explicitly I'd make light of it and say something jokey about never talking politics at work and if they really pushed I'd joke about not wanting to overstep into Equality Act territory for protected beliefs - at least until I got the job!

Having the sense to anonymise it would play well because it suggests they know when to be discreet and also they won’t be banging on about it in the office, which would be another fear
Agree with this.
At an interview, someone in interview talking about how great they were at activism in Young Conservatives would go down the same to me a someone talking about their rallying organisation skills for Momentum/Young Labour. It would say to me that they're likely to bring up politics in the workplace and I that doesn't show good judgement to me.

@VeggieSalsa

No one should be belittled for their values and beliefs (unless they extremist and harmful), be it political, religious or philosophical.

The values and behaviours of the Tory party are harmful though. They are directly harming people right now, including the most vulnerable people in the population.

To claim their values, policies and behaviours aren't harmful is madness.

Can't he use the examples but not mention the organisation they are for?
I wouldn't mention the Conservative party

monsteramunch

so I presume you would say exactly the same about the Lib Dems, greens and some front bench Labour Party members who are advocating for male rapists to be in female prisons? A directly harmful stance.

I wouldn’t hire him. Work is politically neutral and if he started talking politics in an interview I’d think he was foolish and naive

Plus I’d secretly think a young person who supports the Tories is some sort of sociopath but obviously I wouldn’t put that in the notes. Just that he lacked awareness of suitable topics for an interview which made me questions his judgement and suitability for a role at this point.

And no I wouldn’t hire him if it was young labour or young greens or any other party either.

I’d see a 21 year old who supports this corrupt bunch of incompetents as having very poor judgement.

This. Given what's happened over the last 13 years, we're way past pretending it's morally acceptable to campaign for the Tories. If your DS supported them under Johnson, which presumably he did, it raises serious questions about his understanding of issues such as integrity and transparency.

Problem is, political affiliations are seen as a byword for personal values. (Not always true eg for single issue voters like me, but certainly true for a political party activist). Also, given the country is so politically polarised you don't know how those chips are going to fall with a recruiting manager (agree with a PP that very many people in financial services sector are not in favour of Tory party at all!).

If he's done anything within another group, I'd wrap up the skills under "uni society activities". Bottom line is that if I were looking for someone to join my team then, assuming everything else was ok, I'd be more interested in their personal values than additional evidence of skills.

Agreed

Christ I'd be mortified if I'd raised my kid to identify with tory values

Same @ToK1. I would disown him.

I worry that if someone was so overtly political that they mentioned it in an interview it would affect how they carried out their role if they were asked to work for a client whose views did not align with their own.

He should be embarrassed about supporting such a horrible party, so yes, YABU.

I agree with @LolaSmiles, @Theworried - he can talk about what he did, in general terms, without specifying which political party. I don't agree with his politics, but I think that what he has done is admirable - he has put his time and effort into a cause he believes in, and that shows commitment and the ability to self motivate - both good qualities in an employee, I'd say.

I’d never hire a Tory. Honest truth. I’d think he was a dick to be campaigning for personal wealth over growth of society.

It's a decade ago now but I was a Young Conservative interviewing in a pretty left wing industry, and I always found honesty was the best policy. I had my voluntary positions on my CV and was always open about where my experience came from at interview.

Politics is not for the workplace so I often would acknowledge that directly, then demonstrate it by not talking about ideology at all and instead focussing on the skills my roles helped me to develop.

Getting a question about a difficult situation can also be a really good one to answer with political experience - I bet your son has hard conversations on the door step. He should use his answer on that as an opportunity to demonstrate that he is reasonable and not an ideologue (e.g. by saying he can understand why people are angry with the government, and so while it's hard to be shouted at he keeps in mind that people are struggling and stays calm, tries to be kind, etc).

He should also make sure that he talks about other experience/interests so that he isn't presenting as one dimensional.

My approach was successful. I know times are different now, but I reckon the Tory hate in a left wing industry 10 years ago is probably roughly equal to the Tory hate in finance nowadays 😂

I think his experience is useful and if he tries doing as PP have said and omits what party, it'll be weird. It may well make it more of 'a thing' than mentioning it once then focussing on skills - if he doesn't say, they'll probs be listening and trying to figure it out, then wondering why he didn't say, then maybe feeling a bit deceived.

This

I don't think you can assume that the nature of the business gives you clues about the political leanings of the interview panel.

Either avoid referring to the type of organisation at all or say it is political but and if pressed that he doesn't consider party politics is suitable discussion for the workplace.