I was inteviewed several days ago by Sharon Gutowski for her blog, "Advocate By Design". which talks about "Designing Solutions for Global Problems". I thought I'd share Sharon's posting here. I appreciate her interest in talking about Non-Profits.
Due to increased pressure to stand out and tell a compelling story, non-profits have been raising the bar in their communications departments, making them an increasingly attractive option for ambitious professionals. For Executive Directors hiring marketing staff for the first time, or expanding their departments, the interview process can be fraught with uncertainty, with few places to turn for guidance.
Bob Bishop has had a rich career as a professional photographer and a premier recruiter for the creative industry. He has also has served as a board member for many non-profits, including recent election to the board of directors for theInternational Photography Hall of Fame and Museum, now located in St. Louis. His unique background makes him an ideal person to shed light on best practices for hiring in the social economy. When it comes to hiring, he’s seen it all and knows what works. And it’s actually not any different for non-profits than “for profits”.
First, let’s be clear on how the recruiting process works. Bishop Partners, LLC is a retained fee search and recruiting firm. This means the recruiters work for the company, not the candidate. That’s not to say that the candidates don’t matter, because recruiters thrive on introducing people unlikely to meet. It’s actually a great situation to be in as a potential employee: they get paid when they connect you to your dream job.
A Job for Everyone and Everyone Applying for a Job
Hiring isn’t easy. Just look at the challenges created by Monster.com and similar sites. According to Bishop, it goes something like this: a hiring manager needs a new employee.
(Woohoo! Economic recovery! Opportunity!) She proceeds to write the job description with a title, a list of daily chores and desired attributes, most of which involve the “ideal candidate’s” previous work experience. Many of these ads are then posted on general, wide-reaching websites where resumes in response often disappear into an electronic void, with little hope of reaching human eyes. And of course, the expectation is that the candidate will seek out every opportunity on their own. Et tu, Mashable?
There’s a kind of logic to this. The hiring manager needs work accomplished and wants to reduce the risk of embarrassment by asking for a track record. But this process reduces the applicant pool to a commodity and blocks her path to success with a mountain of resumes. Half of these resumes will not be worth the six seconds she spends looking at them. It also limits her pool of qualified people to those who have already had jobs exactly like this one. What does that say about growth for the new hire? And what if the best candidate is blogging or designing for someone else, content because he doesn’t know about your unique, career-changing offer? That person won’t be actively searching job boards.