Today’s college students are arguably the most politically active in history. The time students spend on these activities can have a tremendously positive impact as it relates to campaigns and issues. It can also build your experience base and strengthen your resume – if you choose to put it on your resume.

But should you?

I wish there was a simple black-and-white answer to this question. There isn’t. The upside of putting political activity on your resume is that if you were able to organize people to achieve a goal, it could be very powerful with a recruiter to convince him or her that you’re a leader and difference maker. That’s just the kind of thing that can land you a job.

However, if your political affiliations do not align with the person recruiting you, you could be discounted and not get beyond an interview and not even know why. You’d like to hope that people would be “bigger” than that, but in reality, that’s not always the case. The political environment today is pretty hostile. The days of civility are long gone. Given that, I would steer clear of putting political activity and affiliations on your resume under all but the following three cases, 1) the activities showcase your leadership skill and ability to get things done in such a remarkable fashion that you’re willing to alienate 50% of recruiters so that the other 50% can see what you’ve done, 2) you’re so strong in your beliefs that you wouldn’t entertain working for an organization that you felt was not in alignment with your views anyway, or 3) you want to work in politics – in which case you are going to have to pick a side.

Bottom line: Given the bitter political divide we seem to be facing as a country, I would steer clear of putting political activity on your resume, other than in a few specific cases. Give your time, effort, and money to support candidates of interest, but don’t be defined by your politics as you take steps to enter the workforce as a professional for the first time.