Will being openly liberal hurt my job prospects?

I'm currently a college senior. I'm pretty liberal in my political views (pro-choice, pro-legalization of weed, pro-socialized healthcare). I'm not super SJW but I'm guessing I'm to the left of most people on Wall Street. My political views are pretty easy to find on the internet because I was a columnist for the school newspaper. Freshman year I wrote an op-ed in support of affirmative action in college admissions.

I'm looking to break into IB after 2 years of finishing a program that I'm in. I go to a target school and have a pretty solid network of people in finance so I'm not super concerned about getting my foot in the door. I was just curious if anyone could comment on whether finding out about a person's political stance affects your opinion on them as a candidate during the hiring process. I'm guessing most people google the candidates they're interviewing - would you think differently of someone if you saw that they were liberal?

(I'm not worried about my political views on the job because I'm pretty good about keeping my mouth shut. Just wondering about implications for hiring.)

I'm not looking to get into a heated political argument - I'm very centrist on a lot of issues (ID politics has gone too far, gender differences exist, free market values etc.) I'm just curious how you think this would affect my candidacy. Thanks!

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I wouldn't worry about it. By the time you are making any significant money and paying a 50% tax rate, you will be turning conservative.

 

Lmao idk why you got down voted. Too many college kids here acting like they know banking when they never really experienced it.

 
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nope, most bankers are fiscally conservative and socially liberal. That translates into a lot of centrist democrats or republicans. As long as you don’t constantly bring up politics or make everything political, which most bankers do, you’ll be fine. People will constantly bring up Trump tweets and make jokes about it, but I think most people stayed apolitical during the Bush and Obama presidencies.

 

Strongly agree with this - especially with the younger crowd you have plenty of center left individuals (including myself). Many of us believe in a fiscally responsible government but the current republican administration is NOT fiscally responsible.

A lot of us did support Mayor Pete now you mention it.

 

How open is "open"? No one should know your political views in the workplace. I'd go as far as calling it inappropriate. I can count the number of times I've witnessed or participated in political discussions in an office or office-related social activity. When they do happen it's been more jokey and casual. Better to mind your manners there.

 

Fine to be on the Left. However, I would maybe draw the line at AOC and Bernie Sanders fans.

This is a job where you have to analyze facts, put them through your brain's processor, and come out with a rational answer. If you follow either of those politicians, I seriously doubt your capability to do so.

Also, related to this, a requirement of any banking job is a basic knowledge of economics regardless of political persuasion. If you do not have that, you are not qualified for the job.

 

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