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Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 11:05 am
by canafsa
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Re: Conservative-leaning 0L in late stage interviews for a liberal think tank
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 11:21 am
by bretby
canafsa wrote:I am in late stages of an application to a well known liberal think tank for an internship position. I find myself disagreeing with most (if not all) of the institute's positions, but would be happy to build my resume and critical thinking skills in anticipation of law school.
Is this a good thing to do? Or am I making a mistake? I don't have a problem researching things that contradict my own beliefs, but I am also not shy about sharing my views on issues. I may want to become involved with conservative groups later in my career, and I wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea about my working for this institution. Is it reasonable to work for an institution your deeply disagree with? Is it ethical?
Thoughts?
Whether it is ethical (and by this I mean personally ethical not professionally ethical) depends on the basis for your disagreement and how strongly you hold your position. If a person believes that it is unethical for family planning services to be denied to poor women in rural states, then working for a think tank that promotes state restrictions on abortion clinics would likely violate their personal ethics. If a person believes that climate change is best addressed through a hybrid solution involving both traditional energy sources, alternative energy sources, and some form of tax incentives/penalties, then working for a think tank that advocates a different balance of these interests is less likely to cause personal ethical conflict.
As far as how employers down the road will perceive it, it will certainly signal some sympathy with the organization. Few people work for organizations they find completely objectionable, particularly when it's just an internship and they could most likely get a different position.
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Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 11:37 am
by canafsa
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Re: Conservative-leaning 0L in late stage interviews for a liberal think tank
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 12:57 pm
by WheatThins
Just do whatever you want to do. You don't seem to have a question.
Re: Conservative-leaning 0L in late stage interviews for a liberal think tank
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 1:04 pm
by RaceJudicata
Infiltrate the liberal tank and change their views...and then, change the world.
Re: Conservative-leaning 0L in late stage interviews for a liberal think tank
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 1:27 pm
by Goldie
Just realize that there will be employers in the future who will use your past employment as a proxy for your own ideological leanings. If you ever plan to clerk for a conservative judge/justice, some of them do care about their clerks ideology and will look at past employment. If you ever plan to work in a conservative administration (state or federal), something similar could happen. Read this report to get an idea of how that could play out:
https://oig.justice.gov/special/s0901/final.pdf (This may be a bad example, because the political leanings of a job candidate aren't supposed to play into hiring for career positions, at least, but that might be different for political appointee positions). If you ever plan to be appointed by a conservative president to some position, realize that you might face opposition from people who doubt your conservative bona fides due to your affiliation with the think tank.
Re: Conservative-leaning 0L in late stage interviews for a liberal think tank
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 1:42 pm
by Anonymous User
Goldie wrote:Just realize that there will be employers in the future who will use your past employment as a proxy for your own ideological leanings. If you ever plan to clerk for a conservative judge/justice, some of them do care about their clerks ideology and will look at past employment. If you ever plan to work in a conservative administration (state or federal), something similar could happen. Read this report to get an idea of how that could play out:
https://oig.justice.gov/special/s0901/final.pdf (This may be a bad example, because the political leanings of a job candidate aren't supposed to play into hiring for career positions, at least, but that might be different for political appointee positions). If you ever plan to be appointed by a conservative president to some position, realize that you might face opposition from people who doubt your conservative bona fides due to your affiliation with the think tank.
This was one of my larger concerns. Thank you for speaking to this. I am definitely intent on joining the fedsoc in 1L, which might mitigate this a little, but it's also very possible someone reading my resume might just see me as ideologically confused or an opportunistic mercenary. Maybe the benefits of the internship are outweighed by the reservations I'll give future employers. Tough decision!
Re: Conservative-leaning 0L in late stage interviews for a liberal think tank
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 1:48 pm
by grades??
I think it is a good thing to work for people/organizations that go against one's worldview. It helps expand your thinking and all that jazz. But more so for conservative groups in my experience, having something like this on your resume could be an immediate killer. Conservative organizations (tend, just in my experience) to prefer ideologues and having something on your resume like this might signal that you aren't a "true believer". While this may or may not be the case, in the current form of republicanism in power right now, its very clear ideologues are being rewarded and non-believers completely excluded.
Food for thought.
Re: Conservative-leaning 0L in late stage interviews for a liberal think tank
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 2:26 pm
by cron1834
WheatThins wrote:Just do whatever you want to do. You don't seem to have a question.
Re: Conservative-leaning 0L in late stage interviews for a liberal think tank
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 2:27 pm
by cron1834
Also, this forum isn't for 0Ls.