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.

I work in finance. Although there are many transferable skills from the OP's DS's membership of the Young Conservatives, I wouldn't love that he was so involved in any party.

Religion and politics are both divisive.

If someone emails in advance to warn that they don't shake hands for religious reasons or turns up wearing a headscarf or a kippah, that's different. They're not making a point that they have certain beliefs; they're just not hiding them.

If someone tells me that they are an active member of a political party, I would fear that they would want to talk politics all the time, and that could alienate colleagues and/or clients. Talking about their involvement at great length (by using this for competency examples) would only play into that concern.

If I found out randomly that someone was a Tory or a Labour supporter, that wouldn't bother me. I mean, most people vote for someone. But if I found out because there was a massive deal made about it, I would feel differently.

People are entitled to their own beliefs outside of work as long as they can ensure those beliefs don't interfere with work. You don't need to hide your beliefs, but you have to be respectful that other people don't share them. And in an interview situation, you have to convey that you're not going to bore and/or make people feel uncomfortable about whatever it is you hold dear outside of work.

I'd caution against refusing to answer what party - being evasive is not a quality most employers look for.

And the Big 4 hire loads of political activists from across the spectrum. I have friends in some quite interesting situations on teams with former political opponents. I think most successful businesses recognise that you achieve neutrality not by pretending people don't have political opinions, but by acknowledging them, getting a range of them, and having robust systems which do not allow individuals to pursue their own agendas.

If he can demonstrate similar experience elsewhere (uni society etc) I'd stay well away from anything he's done with the young conservatives.

If not and it is really relevant skill sets then as others have said be vague about the organisation and if pushed say a mainstream political organisation but he'd rather not go into specifics as he doesn't want to discuss politics in the work place.

He needs to be careful how he phrases any experience so he's focusing purely on the skill sets rather than anything that could be seen as pushing political views.

You've got no idea who the interviewer is and how his views would go down. They definitely shouldn't refuse to hire just because they disagree with his political views (though mentioning any at all will likely not go down well) but we all know real life doesn't always work like that and if there are two or more candidates who score very similarly you don't want to have given any hint of anything controversial in the interview.

That would be the same for membership of any political party, not just the tories. Its not a good topic of conversation, and active involvement can lead to worries about whether you'll start pushing political views in the workplace.

HermioneWeasley
I wouldn't not hire on the grounds of different mainstream political views. I would have reservations about professional judgement if any candidate brought politics up at interview.

I also took a dim view of (generally) younger left leaning colleagues talking politics around brexit in the staffroom. Yes teaching is left or centre left on the whole, but it doesn't make the workplace the place for contentious political discussions

Personally I'd listen to @CinnabarRed who actually knows what they are talking about. I also work in the Big 4 and it's irrelevant what party he campaigns for, he should keep politics out of it. As a PP suggested, I'd raise it more in the context of campaigning for local issues affecting young people.

Also agree with several other PPs who have said that there are a wide range of political views in finance companies... especially with this particular government where I'd suggest that a lot of concerns are around general incompetence and corruption rather than the fact they are "Conservatives" per se

Absolutely not. I agree with your dh

If someone said they were an anti-vaxxer, I wouldn't hire them.

I have a duty to keep my team safe - and myself safe - and if someone was so blatant in their tinfoil hat lunacy, I wouldn't expect them to provide mutual support and respect. I need someone who wants to work as a part of a team, and someone who refused to get vaccinated and is proud of that fact is unlikely to be someone who gives a shit about anyone else.

I think students get play by different rules during interviews, mostly because it’s expected that they’ll be drawing a lot from non work experience.

I think the way he does this is to talk about his experience in a ‘political society’ and to not mention the specific group. If pressed for it he can explain that he doesn’t necessarily want to bring politics into his interview as that is generally a topic avoided, but that his experience gained would be similar no matter which side he supported.

This will allow him to highlight his skills and his judgment.

If he has done a lot of work with them it would be very hard to not give the name if he will be giving detailed examples. And won't it be on his cv?

My brother's gf does a lot of work with young labour and she speaks all over Europe at conferences, I don't think she would just say a political organisation she would be specfic I think.

I work in Finance and am involved in recruitment. If that’s the ONLY way he can demonstrate those competencies, he should go for it but not unless it is the only example. If he mentioned a university society, my next question would be “what society?” and any evasion would worry me.

it’s absolutely not the case that being a Tory would make you a shoo in for finance 😂😂. I work with people of all views, but probably more left leaning/liberal than anything. That said, I would never bring politics into an interview as you have no idea about the views of the recruiter and whether they’d be able to set them aside or not.

1. On a purely practical level, unconscious, or in this case conscious bias is always a factor. I'd advise anyone to be circumspect about the specifics.
2. I'd question the judgement of anyone who brought specifics into an interview situation. It's not the done thing, whether you're an atheist, Jewish or pastafarian, or whatever political party you choose, unless you're actually interviewing for a job in that area. You talk about generalities of the situation, and specifics of what you achieved.

And it works both ways - I've encountered candidates who've tried to impress me on their assumption of my own morals and leanings.

I worked with two people, one of whom was very active with Labour and one with the Greens. They were both an enormous pain in the arse in terms of being entirely unable to keep it out of the office. Refereeing adults was exhausting and they seemed incapable of ignoring other people making innocuous comments - for example, someone completely casually said they'd felt unexpectedly sorry for May when she resigned. It descended to the point that I actually had to raise my voice like they were children.

It's an experience that's definitely made me wary of people with overt political affiliations on their CV.

I'd be worried if a candidate shoehorned political activities into an interview. It would make me assume that either it is extremely dominant in their life (so they'd be a bit of a knob talking about it constantly) or that they lacked a bit of awareness that politics is a bit of a tricky discussion topic in the workplace. Or both.

Either way they probably wouldn't get the job!

@VeggieSalsa that was a very long post that unfortunately didn’t land the point you were trying to make at all. Voting - and indeed dedicating your life to campaigning for - for a political party who impose their views on all of us through governmental laws is nothing like being a Muslim and linking that to extremism. There aren’t some Tory extremists that sit outside the main party. The party themselves ARE the right wing extremists.

I'm a true blue conservative (well, wish the actual Tories would be as well, but that's another story) and I work in finance and interview graduates.

I wouldn't assume everyone in finance at junior levels is keen on the Tories - you do get well-meaning lib dem types, and people in HR also may be more social justice-y with stereotypes.

Also keep in mind that even actual card-carrying Tory party members often find Young Tories really obnoxious - remind your son to not turn up in a tweed suit... Although if he's into finance he might be better able to seem normal than the ones who become spads.

With that said I think it would be fine to mention the activities, say "a university society", if pressed say "a political society - I'd prefer to focus on my activities in the role rather than the politics, I hope you understand..." and if really pressed then say "the Conservative party" without sounding apologetic, just neutral/straightforward.

It might be worth preparing a couple lines about why he supports them, which relate to finance and the importance of the City of London to the British economy blah blah rather than brexit or immigration or trans issues or something. Don't volunteer them but good to have on hand if for some reason interrogated, so he can transition the convo back to why he is passionate about finance etc.

Also this isn't PC but I mean, read the room and signals from the person, there's a difference between the HR interview and the partner chat. I still wouldn't go into full campaign mode and would try to focus on the finance industry etc, but it would be weird to not name the party in the partner interview and probably is safe to do so. Sorry for long response but good luck to your son

This seems like a good approach to me

This. I think it’s a big sell to say he was involved in political activism. But he should absolutely, in a light hearted way , not say which politics
party and refuse to answer if they ask, by just joking that he doesn’t want to prejudice them.
again
his cv again, do mention it’s political, don’t mention which brand

as someone who has interviewed many people, including uni leavers, he does need to refer to these sort of excellant experience and soft skills and be able to talk about it freely. He needs to practice using another work instead of “conservatives” or “young conservatives” so he doesn’t slip up, something like “the party “ or “the youth group “

As an aside: get him to practice STARs as the main part of his nervier prep. Even with companies that don’t “do” competency based interviewing, preparing by developing your bank of STARs is the best way. It is way more powerful to talk clearly about what you HAVE done and not about what yo7 might do , even if the interviewer asks “what would you do” questions .
ifnyou/he haven’t come across STARs , look it up (situation, task, action, result)

It’s not illegal to reject a candidate because you perceive them to have poor judgement.

Fedupofdiets · Today 10:17
I agree with your DH tbh especially when he is a Tory party member - very divisive and you never know if could sway an employer.

I agree it's best not to give away too much politcally - it's bound to be divisive. But skillls and experience acquired during his activities could be touched on.

Laughing at the above response - you do realise that half the population vote Tory? It's not illegal and Tories tend to be 'shy' because your'e not supposed to be a Tory - it's not really allowed. I'm not even one, but I hate this dictatorial, censorious rubbish spouted in order to bully people.

I work in finance, specifically in investment banking. It's typically pretty right wing as a sector so I don't think it would be a massive issue, however, if he can frame it as 'being active in a local political party' it's probably safest.

I'd suggest he say that he is involved in a local group (at Uni/outwith Uni), and the skills he's learned there. So, if it's competency based about teamwork:
"I volunteer as part of a local community group, and within that, I have worked as a team member in spreading awareness, and gaining support for the group. I co-ordinated a small group of members to flyer, and speak to people in the local area. The outcome of this has been increased membership."
or something like that.

So, he can make it a SMART answer, without saying what his group is. Good luck to him.

If a candidate mentioned their religious or political leanings in an interview I would discount them, not because I am unable to appreciate diverse views, but because it demonstrates a lack of judgement and maturity.

The Conservatives were the party that actually put male rapists into women's prisons. Another of their directly harmful policies.

Ok, reading a lot here about “bringing politics into the interview”

He doesn’t , and shouldn’t do this.

he must work on his STARs that he can take out of that experience as a soft skills, technical skills, knowedlge etc.

with STAR based approach the “situation” might be “when I was at uni I was involved with a political party where I was doing xyz roles” , the “task” might be “I was tasked with leading canvassing for xyz event” , that’s it, it’s doesn’t need further detials, he doesn’t need to talk politics, he just needs to set the scene. The “Action” is “ I decided this, I did this, I worked with these people to get this done by xyz “etc- here is where the detail is needed. He talks in terms of how he went about it, it matters not a jot what the S and T were by that stage. He finishes with the “result” along lines of “as a result of my action xyz happened and this led to abc”

Not talking about this significant experience is a waste of his opportunity in the interview. It is not allowing interviewers to assess him properly

This really is not difficult. Avoid naming the party. Use STARS. His opinions and views on politics doesn’t come into it, any more that his views on which football team he supports or the game last night , if he had experiences to “sell” about managing a local amateur football team. 6ou don’t voice personal opinions in an interview, but that in no way precludes you talking and selling stuff you’ve done.