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.

STAR not SMART. Whoops. Thinking about work. 😣

He should definitely not mention this at interview.
Even if it the party was not mentioned, the interviewer would be second-guessing and it could backfire.
Politics is far too divisive and is best kept out of the workplace as far as possible.

Blossomtoes · Today 10:16
Team DH. I’d see a 21 year old who supports this corrupt bunch of incompetents as having very poor judgement.”

This.

@CoffeeCantata

Laughing at the above response - you do realise that half the population vote Tory?

This simply isn't true though.

Only 67% of the population even voted at all in the last general.

In my industry (professional services - used to be very conservative but trying to be more inclusive now) there would be a question mark over political activism. The company does not really want to be associated with any political party. So whilst the experience is valid, as are the beliefs , the level of involvement could potentially be an issue. Plus… does he want a career in finance or a jump start into politics?

Just to give a real experience. My son is studying politics in uni and last year did a summer internship with the Tories. He would have gone for any political party that would have him

He put it on his cv and has interviewed with a range of companies in different industries and got a summer internship with a good company. I also recruit young people for internships. Good recruiters won’t judge the politics, it is the underlying skill and relevance that we will look at.

I hope this helps

Why are we supposed to tolerate the intolerant? Do we accept Nazis because they hold a different view to us? No. We rightly consider them evil personified.
Politics is not just about finance. It shows what kind of people we are. I would not want such an uncaring person in any organisation I'm a part of.

Yes, it's very obvious that the multi race, multi faith cabinet currently governing this country is gearing up to murder millions of people based on race/religion, isn't it? 🫣

@Newgate Isnt that slightly different though? I have a DD at Uni (Bath) and she is also studying Politics and will be doing a placement year next year. If she got a placement with the Tories I would fully encourage it for political work experience. Just because your company wouldnt judge does not mean others won't and in this day and age with placements / graduate roles being fought over it could be perceived as a disadvantage.

I assume he’d have the sense not to apply somewhere where his views would be in direct opposition to the company’s aims. That said assuming a graduate role it’s likely he disagrees with most of his direct peer group so it would be much easier to hire someone with less contentious views.

This.

I certainly wouldn't mark them down on paper on this basis. But I'd definitely be looking to score them down where possible, and score up other candidates.

Someone that supports a party with such values would be a definite reg flag for me.

Mention in general terms and avoid the affiliation. The usual lefties are out on force on this thread - I'd most likely see someone in that position who was a Labourite as a potential trouble maker and tiresome - I'd rather not know the specifics is shield them from my slightly less than unconscious bias!

I’d disown mine. Although mine was offered a job as a journalist at the Daily Mail and turned it down due to their ethics.

I'm not a tory, but to compare the current tory party to the nazis is just fucking stupid.

People go into politics or just support political parties for a whole host of reasons. Not everyone who votes tory is a bad person, and not everyone who votes green/lib dem/labour or whatever is a good person.

Christ, it's no wonder we are sleepwalking towards facism in this country where no other opinions other than our own are to be tolerated.

@Theworried well if nothing else show your son and husband this thread so they can see for themselves the astounding level of hyperbole and melodrama that is out in the world. 😉

Assuming he was not actually volunteering for a Nazi organization He’ll be fine describing it as “a political organization“ and using his experiences. Just one word of caution it’s likely that they’ll google his name after the interview to get more general information so if he’s been active on SM with his organization it’s likely they’ll find out either way. He might as well use it in his interview.

Yes people can carry their own prejudice when hiring so I’d tone it down and use caution

admitting that they would completely ignore the equalities act and discriminate against someone on the basis of their political beliefs

Except nobody has - or at least I haven’t. I see it as a manifestation of very poor judgement. That’s the basis on which I’d reject him.

But that’s all the rage communist dictatorships. Now don’t disparage the good little comrade. Che and Karl would be so proud

Not a Tory, have hired people who have worked for a Tory MP or the Party in the past. It really depends on the person. I’ve hired a former momentum activist too.

But it is a red flag, frankly. The original Young Conservatives were disbanded back in the day for their extreme views, and there does seem a high preponderance for xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny in the current crop of young cons. I’d be very unlikely to hire one in its current iteration. All very reminiscent of the Monday Club, Bruges Group and Traditional Britain Group.

The sheet cheek of tories on here screaming that they’re being discriminated against for their views - grow up. The current Tory Party is veering so far to the right that it’s hardly recognisable. There are next to no moderates left, just Suella yelling about immigrants, Rees-Mogg trying to ban abortion at every turn, and the others frothing at the mouth at how everyone who disagrees with them is apparently a woke trans communist.

You don’t get to claim you are discriminated against when you’ve been in power - and dragging the country into the dirt whilst lining your pockets - for 13 years.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow Bit extreme to disown them based on a Uni placement (which are incredibly difficult to get especially in a Political party) but I guess that would be your call.

Why stop at disowning, go all out…

Shhhh…we don’t talk about the part out loud. 😉

The sheet cheek of tories on here screaming that they’re being discriminated against for their views - grow up. The current Tory Party is veering so far to the right that it’s hardly recognisable. There are next to no moderates left, just Suella yelling about immigrants, Rees-Mogg trying to ban abortion at every turn, and the others frothing at the mouth at how everyone who disagrees with them is apparently a woke trans communist.
I have to say I agree.
The adults and moderate conservatives seem to have lost the party in a take-over by an ERG, extreme group who are running a kleptocracy to enrich their friends.

Run of the mill centre-right conservatives have fairly moderate political views, but it concerns me that the top tier party and a lot of the activism has lurched to the right.