How to decide on inclusion of relevant but controversial work experience on cv?

Question

Recently I applied for a job that includes a lot of interpersonal interactions with customers. I have no/little work experience (still at university). But I do have quite a lot of experience volunteering at a political organisation, which is almost entirely about interpersonal relationships: Working with diverse people (including difficult ones), approaching strangers, etc. The political organisation is strongly hated in some circles, but there are also areas (urban) where a majority supports it.

I decided to include it based on some speculation about the hiring manager's political orientation (based on demographics and knowledge about the company, mostly).

That went well (I got the job), but is there some more strategic approach to this? I guess once I have some more neutral work experience I should leave the potentially damaging experience off the cv? But what if the controversial work still makes up half of my experience in 10 years time?

Because I will keep working political jobs (paid or unpaid), but don't want to lock myself into doing only political jobs.

It is definitely risky. When you’re starting out and it’s all you’ve got, it’s worth playing anyway (as you’ve demonstrated). But as soon as you have better, more relevant, actual work experience I would leave it off. — Kaz, Apr 24 '21 at 15:08
Does this answer your question? Is it appropriate to put politically aligned internships on a non-political application — gnat, Apr 24 '21 at 15:21
@gnat No. Even going down the road, a significant chunk of my work experience is going to be controversial. It's not comparable to a single internship, I'm asking the general question. — Nobody, Apr 24 '21 at 15:27
if you are looking for a more general guidance, we had quite a bunch of thorough discussions of these matters already, see eg Should I include controversial achievements in my resume? and questions linked to it — gnat, Apr 24 '21 at 15:43
@gnat "It's not "controversial" it's unprofessional, unethical, and indicative of low character, and borderline illegal" Well, thanks. It would be a very very small minority who would characterize my work like that, not the majority opinion like in your linked question. — Nobody, Apr 24 '21 at 16:02
Related: How to show past work for a political organization when applying as a graphic designer — ColleenV, Apr 24 '21 at 17:44
@Nobody It sounds like this cause is important to you, in which case it's worth asking yourself the question "do I want to work for somebody who'd consider it a negative?" (which is not always easy to answer; we all have to eat). — GB supports the mod strike, Apr 25 '21 at 00:53
You might want to look into how people with confidential clients and/or employers talk about their work experience. I can’t really look myself at the moment but IIRC, there was a question about that here too. Might have tips on how to not name who you worked for. — BSMP, Apr 25 '21 at 08:35

score 7 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 24 '21 at 15:16

7

Keep it "party neutral" . The valuable part are the activities you did, not for whom. You don't need to mention the name or affiliation of the organization or candidate you worked for. There is always the risk than someone will ask or maybe Google it. That's a gamble you need to take. If you are not comfortable with this, leave it off the resume.

answered Apr 24 '21 at 15:16

Hilmar

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So you think it's okay to just describe the work and say it was for a "political organization" or for "a party" or "an NGO"? That's very helpful, good to know. – Nobody Apr 24 '21 at 15:26
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@Nobody - yes, for sure. That sounds great. "Senior organizer and accountant for local NGO." – Fattie Apr 24 '21 at 16:30

How to decide on inclusion of relevant but controversial work experience on cv?

1 Answers1