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I am interested in working for the government in the US at the federal, state or city level. Obviously everyone has their own political views, but how important is it to share the views of the elected official of the government you are working for? Could it impact the hiring process or the actual workplace? Are they pretty hardcore on making sure you have the exact same political views as them?
I'm looking at more back office functions like finance, analytics, etc...
Full disclosure. My father, my uncle, my brother, and I have all worked for the government.
The best approach to a government job is simply to keep your political opinions to yourself. When I worked for one agency, I stopped posting on social media, and stepped down from a moderator position on a political board.
The office politics are complicated by the actual politics, but I have seen people hired and promoted regardless of their politics provided they don't cause trouble. Keep social media calm, don't campaign for anyone, and don't attack others for their politics, and you should be safe both during the hiring process AND while employed.
In the US, political views are largely protected by both state and federal law, e.g., see this page from the EEOC.
Generally, if you keep your personal views to yourself and don't allow personal beliefs to impact your ability to conduct your work, you will have no trouble. This is true for both private and public sector employment.
Some things to keep in mind:
Best of luck with the job search!
I've worked in state and federal positions for about a decade now. Some of those roles have brought me close to elected officials, so I can speak from a bit of experience.
Should your political views match those of your bosses? If your position is a government position and you are hired as a staff member, then your political views will be largely irrelevant. There are a few situations where your views may matter a lot:
As a staff member in a government office, you will be expected to enact public policy whether you agree with it or not. Your own beliefs and values should not influence how well you do your job. All of the offices I've worked in enforce a very clear code of conduct which includes non-partisanship. You should expect people to discuss public policy in a professional tone based on the function of your office, department, and specific job.
Federal jobs may fall under the Hatch Act, which describes what kind of political activities are allowed. The specifics will vary based on what kind of job you have. Some state and local offices opt to follow the Hatch Act, even though they aren't required too.
During the hiring process, it's best not to discuss your political views unless asked. Offering your views up front may indicate that you aren't able to perform your job in a professional, non-partisan way. It is acceptable to answer questions about your field, but do so in a non-political way. For example, if you were an auditor in a Department of Labor you could expect questions about fraud in unemployment programs. This isn't a question about you personal political views, but about the job of being an auditor and their business environment.
how important is it (during the hiring process and in the work place) to have the same views as the elected official of the government you are working for. Are they pretty hardcore on making sure you have the exact same political views as them?
It depends almost entirely on the position, and the part of government in which you would work.
Some roles are appointed by each administration. For those roles, compatible political views are likely important.
Other roles persist through and across administrations. For those roles, it would likely be best to keep strong political views to yourself.
What the other posters haven't yet mentioned is that the vast majority of their experiences are before the current administration. There was a long history of government agencies being rabidly apolitical in order to attract top talent who were looking to make a career out of this.
Obviously this does not include political appointees and cabinet secretaries that change when administrations change, but they're expected to follow the advice and counsel of the career government workers despite not being required to share the same political neutrality.
Unfortunately, the last 3 1/2 years has changed this fundamentally. Anti-retaliation legislation has become essentially worthless given the long lag time between the president firing someone and the commission case challenging his reasons for doing so, and the loss of security clearance makes it extremely difficult to transfer after an event such as this. So yes, at this point in history, it is important to share the political views of the government in power, because it is no longer an apolitical entity that values the best and the brightest.
Unless you are dealing directly with the elected ones, most chances are that your views should have no bearing on your position.
This is a great thing as you can have a long career, that should be stable.
The only exception is if you are close to the elected officials/party. In this case if your position depend on them you will probably be booted once someone else is elected are your connections were more important than your skills.
I am not sure if this was the intent of your question or if you have strong views that you need to express, if this is the case the other answers might be more relevent.
In my experience, yes. Not for professional reasons, but for your personal health.
You are seriously contemplating spending a good part of the day working against your own political beliefs, in exchange for money. In your free time, your options are either more political work that counteracts what you do during the daytime, or abstaining from politics completely, making the politics you disagree with the only political work you do.
That way lies burnout.
Speaking from personal experience, I tend toward the view that nothing gets done in an echo chamber. We have many highly successful international corporations excelling because of their diverse hiring practices.
Why would a pacifist work for a defense corporation, for example? Because it serves as a check on company practices. That company won't make DU munitions, clusterbombs, or landmines; but will focus on precision strike technology, intercept, hypersonics, ... y'know, defense.
Applied to your question then, if political loyalty is expected, you're not working for a government but a dictatorship. And going further, if your views differ from the government and you have a chance at a position in that government, then I say it's your civic duty to seek employment there.
(And after all you might get there and be surprised that others also don't share the administration's views. You'll have a coffee & donut buddy at least.)
