Does volunteering for a campaign look good on a resume?

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>Now I am asking this question not because I want to volunteer for a political campaign for the sole purpose that it might look good on a resume, I've already signed up and everything and I am very excited about being involved in the campaign process at any level I can. This was just a curiosity, later, down the road, when applying for an internship, grad school, or law school, would I be able to list that as one of the things I've done during my time in college or is it nothing noteworthy at all?</p>

<p>I'm a Political Science major so I was thinking that maybe there's the small chance that it would help for internships?</p>

<p>Thank you in advance! :)</p>

2

<p>as a college student, volunteer work can go on your resume. The big part of it though, is when you get in the interview, that you can explain to the interviewer what you learned by working on the campaign, and how that will help you do a better job at whatever you are interviewing for.</p>

3

<p>It couldn’t hurt. And it’s actually pretty relevant if you’re applying for internships in government or policy organizations.</p>

4

<p>That’s along the lines of what I was thinking about.</p>

<p>Thanks for the replies :)</p>

5

<p>Many admissions people like to think they are impartial, but let us not take risks on human nature. Citing work on this campaign for admissions has about a 50% chance of working, and the same chance of backfiring on account of party affiliation.</p>

<p>I would advise working on the campaign anyway, but keeping mum about it.</p>

6

<p>If an admissions officer is going to be so petty as to count working for an opposing party against me, I don’t want to attend his or her institution.</p>

<p>Even if it’s Harvard.</p>

7

<p>It can help a lot for internships, I am in political science myself. The only problem is if you want to work for a rival after you graduate, it’s not particularly useful on your resume. I craft a different resume that is specifically suited for whatever job I am applying for and occasionally I will write something like, “volunteered for state senator campaign” rather than naming it specifically if I have any doubt in my mind about it, which I usually don’t.</p>

<p>Get as much experience as you can with campaign work. There are few things quite like it and it’s valuable to understand how it works when you’re going into poli sci.</p>

8

<p>Some are petty, some are not. That said, why be so lofty? If the college is decent, do what one must.</p>

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<p>Actually, Vanagandr brings up a good point as I was a tad worried about that. However, it seems that Emaheevul’s solution is a good one, not naming the candidate specifically :)</p>

10

<p>I like that solution too; takes the bias out of the equation, but it does raise the question of verification of references.</p>

11

<p>If I get to the point where they are asking for references, I think I am in pretty good shape. I don’t put my references right on my resume.</p>

12

<p>Bear in mind somebody reading your resume may say “Oh, so he’s a Democrat/Republican/Libertarian/Green/Socialist/Whatever, well forget him!”</p>

13

<p>Just be careful about what campaign you get involved with. Some can make you look radical, and like it or not some people will hold your political affiliation against you.</p>

<p>As a Poli Sci major, you will want to get Hill experience before you graduated, and this is a good step. So I would do it, just really look into what the candidate is about and what the issues are.</p>

<p>One way to avoid this is to work on smaller scale, local campaigns that have very little relevance to hot-topic issues or party affiliation.</p>

<p>For example, look into campaigns such as mayoral, sheriff, city council, municipal positions, ect. Not only will these campaigns keep you from looking “agendasized”, they can very likely allow you to get more involved, and give you more responsibility than a larger campaign like Congressman, Senator, Governor.</p>

<p>I actually did this until I got my new job, which forbids me for showing an public political affiliation, other than voting. But, I did it alot, and almost went to work for a political consulting firm that focused on state issues.</p>

<p>Good Luck.</p>

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<p>That’s a good idea Beast, I’ll definitely look into it! :)</p>

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<p>Do not put down who you campaigned for on the resume or tell the interviewer who it was. Plus over the next couple of years people are going to be less radical progressives, meaning the political beliefs right now are going to change in 2 or 3 years. Right now, YAL posted an article showing that voers 18-35 are choosing a republican over Obama for the 2012 election, and Americans are identifying themselves as conservative 2-1. Basically, what may seem trendy now will change in a couple of years and your views may change, so don’t be quick to advertise who want to campaign for. I know Prof’s have given me a look when I tell them I’ve campaigned for Ron and Rand Paul, mostly because in my department 70%+ of the Prof’s self identify as liberals. Just something to keep in mind.</p>

16

<p>“Do not put down who you campaigned for on the resume or tell the interviewer who it was.”</p>

<p>If an interviewer asks, and you refuse to answer, that would seem very suspicious.</p>

17

<p>Better to volunteer and use it to network?</p>