<p>Would it affect the way future employers see me as an intern/full-time employee if they see me having worked at a political organization that suggests that I have a preference for a certain political view, and thus may affect my ability to be employed? I know this sounds kind of paranoid and employers are probably not allowed to discriminate based on political views but I'm just wondering how much it could affect someone, and what the general impression it gives someone if they see that I worked at a political place.</p>
<p>For example, If I worked a summer at a conservative think tank => "oh this guy must be a republican"
or, working at a liberal-leaning institution => "oh this guy must be a democrat"</p>
<p>I have worked with a libertarian think-tank, and it does causes employees to infer about your ideology. I myself would not call myself a libertarian in as much of itself, but the fact I worked with a group brings attention to my beliefs. Especially if employers see a trend in where you work. If you create a trend of working with organizations with similar ideologies, it will catapult your work with such organizations, but at the same time will cause opposing viewpoints to look with more discernment at your resume.</p>
<p>Thus far, I’ve been fortunate enough to have enough relevant experience to omit partisan internships from applications to non-political organizations. I think that’s the best approach, if you can do so while having a sufficient resume.</p>
<p>I interned at a think tank for a semester and then moved into career focused (vs political) offices. At the think tank I worked on issues that were related to my career goals, so I think that it helped me.</p>
<p>I know so many people who were staff/interns with me on the Obama campaign. Many have already gotten jobs, political and non-political alike. Obviously you don’t want to apply at, say, Fox News if you worked for the DNC. But political work is such an amazing experience, hopefully non-partisan companies and organizations will recognize this and consider you more favorably.</p>
<p>For example, many people I know from the 2012 campaign were field organizers. Most were just out of college; one was still a college student, taking a leave of absence from school. Each FO (field organizer) was responsible for managing hundreds of volunteers and organizing them into multiple teams. They had to find locations for events that couldn’t be held at the field office, plan all the logistics of these events, and make sure there were enough volunteers recruited for each one. They also had weekly goals, which they were required to meet. If there was a special event (say, the President came to speak), they had to help plan that and direct a team of volunteers at the event. The job required outstanding communication and technology skills as well as excellent personal organization, time management, and management/leadership. How many other first jobs offer this?</p>
<p>Yes, someone might be discriminated against by a really idiotic, dogmatic jerk of a boss who refuses to hire someone who disagrees with them. But would you even want to work for someone like that? For a supervisor who was only interested in finding the best person for the job, I think political experience would be a huge asset, if you accurately explained your responsibilities and didn’t come across as extremely ideological or intolerant.</p>
<p>this is true… and is true everywhere. You need to package the experience that you have to show how it brings value to the place you want to work. Being a super big Romney or Obama fan is not worth a lot. The ability to manage people and help run successful events is worth quite a bit.</p>