If your New Year’s resolution is to make a career change, especially outside of your current organization, ensure that you thoroughly do your homework.  It may not be your resume, skills or who you know that can impact your chances of landing your next gig – instead it may be how you vote and donate politically.

At first thought you may not think how or if you vote could impact your chances for receiving a job offer.  However, some organizations believe that their employees should vote and donate politically the same way that the company does.  These organizations want their staff to be fully aligned with the company’s political goals – and not what’s necessarily in the best interest of the employee.

Organizations such as Oppenheimer Funds, make the assertion in their ‘Data Privacy Statement’ when potential employees are completing the application process.  As you may know, very few people actually read the data and privacy statements – therefore, they’re unaware that not only their political affiliation, but also that of certain family members are reviewed and weighed by companies such as Oppenheimer before an offer is extended.

And it doesn’t stop once the offer is extended.  For your tenure at these types of organizations, you must obtain pre-approval of all future political contributions.  This is extended not only to you but also certain family members as well.

Magnified view:

Is it fair?  No, but at the current time there are no protections for potential employees to undertake to guard against these types of pervasive actions.  Donating to the Right, Left or not at all could potentially hurt your chances of being hired.

So, if you don’t receive that new job offer you’ve been hoping for – it could have more to do with your political association than it does your actual talent.

Rolanda Gregory ©2016
All Rights Reserved.