Talent Tips

Talent Tip #152: You’re Not the Snoop to My Dogg: 4 Common Reasons for Rejection

February 21, 2023

Claire Dixon

“I just want to know why it didn’t work out between us.”

That’s how he started the phone call. No greeting. No small talk. Just straight for the jugular.

I knew I shouldn’t have picked up. After all, rule #1 of dating is never take a call from an ex unless you want to attempt to jump-start that ol’ jalopy. Because the moment you pick up, you’ll find yourself right in the middle of your very own rom-com post-break-up scene where the dumper is explaining to the dumpee why he’s not the Snoop to her Dogg.

And nobody wants that.

But do you know what everybody wants? They want to know why. If they aren’t “the one”, they long for an explanation. Was it something I said or something I did? Did the words not come out right? (5,000 bonus points for anyone now signing the rest of that stanza.)

Job applicants are no exception. They want to know why.

It turns out that the vast majority of candidates we see are declined for one of only four reasons.

And what better way to illustrate these reasons than to use four ghosts from my dating past? Names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Passionless Pete – At first glance, Pete had it all. Smart. Funny. Good job. Mature. Solid family. Handsome. But I’m not gonna lie, he was kind of a snoozefest. On the enthusiasm scale, he never broke past a 2 or 3. He could be watching his favorite football team in a nail-biter ending OR uploading his 1099-DIVs on TurboTax and the expression on his face would be the exact same. Pete lacked passion.And this is the same reason we have to decline countless candidates each year: they lack passion for the job to which they have applied. Or, to be more precise, they fail to articulate their passion for the organization’s mission and the job at hand.Our clients care deeply about mission alignment, and they want to hire candidates who are just as excited about the work as they are. That’s why the application instructions for our searches ask candidates to articulate their interest in the nonprofit’s mission. Sadly, many candidates ignore this very simple request.And in doing so, they risk ending up in the trash heap of Coulda Beens, right next to Passionless Pete. Don’t let that be you.
Experience-Lacking Luke – Luke had a lot of things going for him…but being age-appropriate for me wasn’t one of them. He was only three years younger, but it felt like we had a 20-year fissure between us. I wanted to enjoy dinner out; Luke wanted to go to a bar where your feet stick to the floor. I lived alone; Luke had 5 roommates. My idea of savings was investing in a 401k; Luke’s idea of savings was enough beer money for the weekend. I knew Luke was going to be a great catch, but he just needed a few more trips around the sun.Likewise, candidates frequently get sidelined for lacking the requisite experience for the job. In fact, I’d say this is the number one reason candidates get rejected in our world.That said, I think applying for a role that is slightly above your experience level is still a good idea. Why? Sometimes hiring managers opt for less experienced candidates who have long-term potential and a lower price tag. So why not throw your hat in the ring?Experience-Lacking Luke was ultimately just too green for me, but you never know unless you try.
Expensive Ethan
On our first date, Ethan showed up in a high-end Beemer, dressed like he had just come from a bankers’ conference. He insisted we go to a swanky restaurant. It was one of those places where the waiter brings you the first course “compliments of the chef,” which is code for “we’re going to gouge your eyes out to the tune of $457 for the next 6 courses.” I swear the sprig of parsley on my main course plate was bigger than the actual food portion. At some point during the evening, I commented on his watch, which, it turns out, was roughly the cost of the downpayment on my first house. Don’t get me wrong, Ethan was a good guy. He was smart, successful, and kind. But he was just too rich for my blood.Ethan got rejected for the same reason many candidates do: their price tag is too high.Imagine this: you apply for a job and are just as qualified as three other top candidates…but your salary requirements are $30K higher. It’s quite possible you won’t even get an interview if the hiring manager feels she can find someone else with a similar skillset at a significantly lower cost.Now, I’m a capitalist pig and I want you to make as much money as possible. So, I’m NOT suggesting you lower your salary requirements! If the hiring manager likes your background and has budget flexibility, everything could work out. But if not, you might end up next to Expensive Ethan with overpriced parsley in between your teeth.
Distant Dax
Dax was a wonderful guy, but he lived three states away. And while I was absolutely open to a long-distance relationship, everything is relative. You see, it just so happens there was another gentleman caller (we’ll call him Local Lou) who was equally wonderful and lived just across town. I met both around the same time and the logical side of me just couldn’t justify taking a 747 to get to dinner with Distant Dax when I could bike to dinner with Local Lou! And so Distant Dax became a distant memory. Come to think of it, so did Local Lou, but that’s not the point of the story.The point is that most of our clients are open to hiring virtually, but again, everything is relative. And if you’re the best candidate and you live 853 miles away from the nonprofit’s office, you’ll probably get the job. But if there is an equally or more qualified candidate within a 20 miles radius of the office, you and Distant Dax could find yourself in the same place (metaphorically speaking).

If you’re wondering how my real-life rom-com post-break-up scene went, it was fine. I told him the truth. And while I’m sure he didn’t enjoy hearing it, I think he was relieved to understand why.

Likewise, the next time an organization says they are going in another direction but they don’t offer feedback about why, there’s a good chance that the reason relates to Pete, Luke, Ethan, or Dax.

1,000 Placements! Talent Market Celebrates a Milestone!

January 24, 2023

Talent Market is thrilled to announce our 1,000th placement!

You read that correctly. We’ve helped one thousand amazingly talented individuals land critical roles in the free-market movement.
We are both excited and humbled to hit this milestone. And to appreciate where we are now, you have to rewind 13 1/2 years.
In 2009, Tracie Sharp (President and CEO of State Policy Network) and the late Whitney Ball (then President and CEO of DonorsTrust) had an idea for an organization that would be dedicated to providing the free-market movement with the talent it needs. Whitney and Tracie understood that next to financial resources, human capital is the most critical component to advancing liberty. Even if free-market organizations are well-financed, they cannot succeed without talent. Later that year we launched Talent Market. In the years since, we have become a critical part of how the liberty movement finds talent.

Talent Market has assisted more than 230 nonprofits, including national organizations, state-based think tanks, and numerous start-ups. We’ve placed talent in 46 different states and placed hundreds of individuals in virtual roles. At any given time, Talent Market is managing dozens of critical searches for talent for free-market organizations.

From the five of us at Talent Market, thank you for everything you’ve done to help us get to this amazing milestone!

Talent Tip 151: Yipee Ki Yay: Four Interviewing Lessons from Die Hard Characters

December 23, 2022

Katelynn Barbosa

How can you tell it’s Christmas in your house? Is it the Christmas tree decked-out with treasured family ornaments from childhood? Snow on the ground? Competition with everyone you know to avoid Mariah Carey as much as possible?

I love Christmas lights and Santa as much as the next guy, but in my house, it isn’t Christmas until Hans Gruber plunges 30 floors from the top of Nakatomi Plaza.

When reflecting on why Die Hard has earned mandatory Christmas-watching status, I keep coming back to the rich, textured characters. And because I have been interviewing candidates non-stop lately, I got to thinking about what makes someone successful in an interview using Die Hard characters as my guide.

Fallibility Is An Asset; Not A Liability
My favorite thing about Die Hard is that John McClane talks out loud to himself throughout the movie. He tells himself he shouldn’t have said that to his wife. He yells at himself “What are you doing, John?!” when he is about to jump off the building. He bleeds and limps after he walks over glass and admits to his police friend that he might not make it. He tells himself “Now, I know what a TV dinner feels like,” as he sneaks around an air vent.In short, McClane is a fallible, relatable hero, and he’s not afraid to tell the viewer that.

I like this quality in my candidates, too. When I am interviewing someone for a job, I don’t want Rambo or Schwarzenegger vibes. I want to see confidence, but I want the candidate to have questions about the role, to admit they have made mistakes, and to acknowledge there are areas where they can grow and learn in their career. I want to talk to a real human being!

Which brings me to my next point…
Authenticity Is King.
Remember Harry Ellis? Harry Ellis is the smarmy, greasy, corny, cocaine-loving yuppie who “negotiates million dollar deals for breakfast” and gets shot when he tries to smooth talk Gruber. You can tell he is fake from a mile away.Don’t come across like Ellis in an interview. You don’t need to talk yourself up and use buzzwords and meaningless workplace jargon. Don’t try to oversell yourself or try too hard. Bring your genuine self to the conversation.
Don’t Be Afraid to Be Earnest
I was once moved to tears in an interview when a candidate told me how much freedom means to him because his immigrant parents gave up everything to make a life for his family in this country. The honesty and vulnerability this candidate displayed made it impossible not to root for him.This is the same feeling I get about Sgt. Al Powell, the cop who talks to John McClane on the walkie-talkie throughout Die Hard, when he opens up about being scared to ever pull his gun again because he shot a kid on accident early in his career. Without fail, when Powell shoots the final bad guy at the end of the movie, saving our main characters, I tear up.

Sometimes I think candidates shy away from earnestness, worried that it will come across as hokey. But I promise it doesn’t! It gives me insight into who you are and what motivates you. It makes me root for you!
A Sense of Humor Stands Out
I would argue that Hans Gruber is the most memorable villain in movie history. Why?Gruber is hilarious. His deadpan sarcasm is the distinctive trait that elevates him from strategic genius with a cool accent to worthy of his own advent calendar.

As it does with German terrorists, during a job interview, a sense of humor stands out. If you make me chuckle, I am not going to forget you and if the opportunity I just interviewed you for doesn’t work out, I am going to have you in my mind as someone I want to place in the future!

I hope you enjoyed this list and I wish you a Merry Christmas and at least one Die Hard watching this holiday season!

Talent Tip #150: Lessons from Peter Gibbons: Things to Consider Before You Leave Your Job

November 22, 2022

Claire Kittle Dixon

“I don’t like my job and I don’t think I’m gonna go anymore.”

“So, are you going to quit?”

“Nuh-uh. Not really. I’m just gonna stop going.”

That’s the Peter Gibbons way to quit your job. (If you haven’t seen Office Space, you should cancel this evening’s plan and watch it. It’s a classic…like The Godfather, except funny…and the only thing that meets an untimely death is a malfunctioning printer. It’s one of the finest scenes in cinematic history. But I digress.)

Peter Gibbons is a personal hero of mine, but there’s a better way to part company with your employer.

Give adequate notice. Two weeks is standard, but in some cases, it might not be enough. For instance, if you run your institute’s most important student program and there are three weeks left before it concludes, it would be ideal to give at least three weeks of notice. Or, if you’re in charge of your organization’s largest annual event in one month, it would be wise to stay through the event and avoid giving your boss heart palpitations. You want to avoid putting your organization (including your supervisor and co-workers) in a bind.
And whatever you do, don’t pull a Peter Gibbons and just stop showing up. It makes for a fantastic storyline, but it’s a terrible career move.
Work hard until the end; don’t be a quiet quitter. By the end of his tenure with Innotech, Peter Gibbons was gutting fish on his office desk. You might say he had checked out.
Speaking of checked out, I once worked with a woman who phoned it in during her last few months on the job. While she wasn’t bringing in the catch of the day to filet on her desk, she might as well have put a Gone Fishin’ sign on her door because she clearly wasn’t working. And even though she hadn’t given notice, it became clear to the entire staff she was on her way out.
By the end, her work product became an organization-wide joke and co-workers were forced to pick up the slack. Needless to say, she left everyone with a bad memory of her and left herself without a single positive reference from the organization. And, in the free-market nonprofit world, that can spell disaster for your career!
Don’t burn the bridge (or the office). Office Space ends with a disgruntled employee, Milton, burning the office building down. It worked out for Milton because he escaped to a tropical island shortly afterward. But unless you plan to skip town and never look for employment again, it’s best to keep all relationships intact. As tempting as it might be to tell your boss to go play in traffic, the upside will be fleeting! You never know when you might need her to serve as a reference. After all, it’s a very small liberty movement!
Exit as though you might return. Another reason not to take a match to the office is one day you might want to go back! Sound crazy? In the last year, I’ve worked with three individuals who ended up returning to a previous employer. In all three cases, the employee left the organization on a high note and was welcomed back after his/her absence.
Don’t trash talk after you leave. Picture this: you’re one month into your job with a think tank and just starting to feel comfortable with your new co-workers. You go out for happy hour with the team and after three Kentucky Mules, you start dishing on your old boss and how much you hated him. You talk about how he micromanaged you incessantly, unloaded endless TPS reports on you, and you add a little flourish by describing his dragon breath and three-legged cat named Sue. Everyone is rolling on the ground…except the girl next to you who turns out to be DragonBreath’s daughter. Oopsy. Again, it’s a small free-market world.
Best to keep your true feelings to yourself and maybe a trusted friend (a la Michael Bolton…but not that Michael Bolton).
Adjust your expectations: the new job won’t be perfect either. You’re leaving your old job for a reason. And hopefully you’re excited about the next chapter in your career. But remember no job is perfect. You’ll likely discover something you don’t like (a co-worker, the mandatory justify-your-job meetings, mandatory minimum pieces of flair, the commute), but give it time. Keep in mind that Peter Gibbons found happiness on a construction crew!

And remember, if you’re jonesing for another job, send Talent Market your information here. We’ll keep your information confidential and we’ll keep YOU informed of relevant opportunities!

Talent Tip #149: Hiring Horror Stories: (Just in Time for Halloween!)

October 25, 2022

Katelynn Barbosa, Stephanie Keaveney, Lydia Ocampo, Katy Gambella, Claire Kittle Dixon

In the spirit of Halloween, our team wanted to share our best hiring horror stories with you. Names and identities have been altered to protect the innocent (and the ghoulishly guilty!).

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When a Stranger Calls
Years ago I arranged a phone interview with a candidate for a search I was managing. I called at the time our interview was scheduled, but my call went directly to voicemail. I called back a minute later and when he answered, I started by introducing myself. He responded by telling me he was expecting an important call and was not interested in whatever I was selling and hung up.

On the third try, we finally got the confusion cleared up. I appreciate one’s vigilance in screening out spam, but if the telemarketer call comes at the precise time of your interview, you should think twice before hanging up!

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Ghosted
On one search I managed, the hiring manager went on vacation or was otherwise out of pocket six times – totaling more than one month – of the two-and-a-half-month search. Like a ghost, he would appear and then vaporize without warning.

Candidates were starting to doubt if the client even existed because none of them actually got to see or interact with him. I thought about taking a picture of him, but everyone knows ghosts don’t appear in photographs.

Finally, the hiring manager resurfaced long enough for us to fill the role! But his internal nickname is now Casper.

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Bubble Bubble Toil and Trouble
Years ago we worked with a candidate who was philosophically aligned with the hiring organization, had experience relevant to the job opening…and was very, very laid back. The client decided to interview him, but shortly thereafter, they declined the candidate.

Surprised, I asked why. “Well, it was going pretty well until the middle of the interview when we started to hear bubbling. I couldn’t understand what was going on initially but then realized he was lighting up a bong.”

The client decided that doing bong rips in the middle of an interview – while a clear signal of an enviable level of confidence – probably isn’t a good sign.

Fortunately, the organization did eventually find a good fit for the opening. No word on where the bong guy landed, but if we ever have a Chief Party Officer opening, he will be our first call.

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Dorm Room of Doom
Early in my career, I had a Zoom interview with a college student. As soon as he joined the call, I realized I had been led into the horrifying sight of his college dorm room! In fact, you could call it a dorm room of doom: poorly lit, dirty laundry everywhere, beer pong table set up in the background…not to mention the saucy lady poster askew. The room screamed angsty college bro with no escape!

Perhaps not surprisingly, our Zoom interview turned out to be just like his dorm room: a horrifying mess! By the end, his chances of getting the job were dead as a doornail.

—

The Zodiac (Interview) Killer
As a student, I applied for a part-time job at my university and was thrilled when I was moved forward for an interview with the department’s director. That is, until her first question for me was, “So what’s your sign?” I initially laughed, thinking it was a joke, but she remained very serious and waited for an answer.

So I told her. She spent the next 15 minutes breaking down what my sign indicated about me. I guess I was lucky that she thought highly of my sign because I ended up being offered the position. But it remains one of the most bizarre interview experiences I can remember.

Because I’m a risk-taker and maybe a glutton for punishment, I ended up accepting the job. Working for her was just as perplexing and unpredictable as you imagine it would be.

And if you’re wondering, I’m a Gemini.

—

When The Power Goes Out and Phone Lines Go Dead…
In every scary movie, it seems the power goes out and the phone lines go dead…and then you know all the good murdering is coming. Well, something similar happened with a search I worked on years ago.

My first couple of search update calls and emails to the client went unanswered, but I chalked that up to him being busy. I reached out again. Still nothing. At this point, I was mildly annoyed because we had candidates waiting for news, but I also understood how life can be. So, I reached out again…and again. Crickets.

At about 30 days in with no response, my mild annoyance turned to general concern. What if something bad had befallen him? Was he kidnapped and now being held against his will in a remote forest? Maybe he slipped and had fallen down a well? Or perhaps a murderous lunatic broke into his house, cut the power, severed the phone lines, and well…you know. Eek!!!

I stepped up my communication. More emails, more calls. I even tried reaching out on social media. Silence.

Then, after all of the candidates had lost interest and moved on, I finally heard from the client. It was about 90 days into the search. He offered no apology, no excuse. Just said that he found a candidate (perhaps it was the murderous lunatic that he had talked out of killing him and talked into a new career?). I wished him all the best, and strangely, we haven’t heard from him since.

—

Bad Omens
Around Halloween, one should be on the lookout for bad omens.

Years ago right around All Hallow’s Eve, a candidate I’d never interacted with before emailed me six separate documents and asked me to combine them into one PDF so that she could apply for a position. Initially, I thought the email was sent to me by accident and that she intended to send it to her secretary, so I responded and told her very gently about the mistake. She quickly replied and confirmed that the email was not a mistake and could I please make haste on my administrative assignment because she wanted to get her application in early.

Then, before she actually applied for the position, she passed along a Calendly link to her schedule for the week and asked me to get her interview on the books ASAP, because, you know, she likes to plan ahead.

She finally applied correctly for the position (after a mere 9 incorrect attempts), but, perhaps not surprisingly, the client declined to pursue the candidate for “multiple egregious errors” in her application. Scary stuff.

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When the Grim Reaper Comes For Your Mission
Years ago we worked on a search for a new client, which, as you’d expect from our clients, seemed committed to hiring someone philosophically aligned with its liberty-advancing mission. But several weeks into the search, things took a creepy turn. The hiring manager shocked us by saying he was not really concerned about philosophical alignment after all, and that he was most interested in someone local and known to him personally.

So, in the swipe of a scythe, he declined more than a dozen liberty-minded candidates and that was the end of our search. We later learned he hired someone whose beliefs were quite antithetical to free-marketing thinking, but who ran in the same social circles.

When the Grim Reaper comes for your mission and you offer it up to him on a silver platter as this hiring manager did, things typically end poorly. We heard later that the surprisingly hired became the predictably fired. And word on the street is that the hiring manager has a new-found concern for mission alignment!

Talent Tip #148: Six Things The Movie Castaway Taught Me About Hiring

August 24, 2022

Katelynn Barbosa

I don’t know about you but for some reason, the dog days of summer make me nostalgic and I start re-watching old movie favorites. This past weekend, on the docket was the 2000 film Castaway starring Tom Hanks.

If you haven’t seen the film, let me give you a brief summary. Tom Hanks plays an extremely busy FedEx systems analyst executive (don’t ask me because I don’t understand either) who runs all around the world to fix big important FedEx problems. He is in love with Helen Hunt’s character, he has a toothache that is growing worse by the day, and he needs to go to Malaysia stat to fix a problem. On that flight, his plane crashes in the South Pacific, killing everyone on board except for him, and he finds himself marooned on a remote island.

He survives on that island for four years with FedEx packages that wash ashore to help him, most memorably a volleyball that he names “Wilson” who he talks to throughout the film as a little companion, and a mysterious package with angel wings that he never opens. Eventually, he is rescued by a container ship but when he returns home, he finds that his family, friends, and Helen Hunt have moved on, quite logically assuming him to be dead. He delivers the mysterious package, crediting it with saving his life, and moves ahead with his future.

Inspired by my nostalgic movie adventures, I am here to tell you the six things you can learn about hiring from a re-watch of this 2000 classic.

1. Waiting to get news is painful. When candidates apply for a position, they are investing time and energy into the hiring organization. Crafting a thoughtful resume and cover letter is time intensive, and candidates become frustrated when it feels like their application went into some black hole, read by no one. I think you know where I am going with this…applying for a job and waiting to hear back can make even the most emotionally healthy candidates feel like they are stranded on a beach, many miles away from the nearest beating heart, with no one thinking about them at all.

2. Regular updates mean the world. Tom Hanks never would have survived without his friend Wilson, the volleyball. Wilson was his little buddy the entire time he was marooned. He confided in Wilson, expressed his fears and hopes, and felt like he had someone to commiserate with. When it comes to candidates, you as the hiring manager should think of yourself as the volleyball! Keep candidates updated regularly, all with a bloody smile on our face! (Pun intended.) When someone applies for one of your open roles, thank them for their interest in the position and confirm receipt of their application. Update every candidate regularly along the way and keep them in the loop, even if it means just letting them know there isn’t any news yet. And if Talent Market is managing your search, we can do all of this on your behalf!

3. If no one hears from you, they will think you are dead. Helen Hunt was totally in love with Tom Hanks and his disappearance destroyed her. But, eventually, when he didn’t come back, she was forced to accept that he was dead and she moved forward with her life, marrying another man and having a daughter. When Tom Hanks shockingly did return, she told him she was still in love with him but she couldn’t leave her family.
The lesson? For organizations that don’t move quickly on promising candidates, they will find that no matter how much a candidate might love them, they will make like Helen Hunt and move on with someone else if they don’t hear anything in a reasonable amount of time. At Talent Market, we see this scenario play out with some regularity.

Don’t let your dream candidate think that their chances of landing the job are dead. Be communicative!

4. Closure is meaningful. The unopened package with angel wings saved Tom Hanks’ life because it gave him something to live for. He knew that if he was rescued, he would one day be able to successfully deliver the package. Indeed, once he returned the package at the end of the movie, he was finally able to move forward with his post-rescue life.

For candidates, when they get declined from a job opportunity, they can finally move forward with their job search and pursue other opportunities. But as long as they are on the hook waiting to hear back, they feel like Tom Hanks with that undelivered package. Again, this is why it is vital for clients to communicate with candidates regularly, even when the news is rejection.

Want proof? Getting closure is so appreciated by candidates that we constantly get thanked for rejecting people!!

5. If you have uncertainty about the role and your organization’s needs, resolve them before launching the search. For me, the most viscerally disturbing scene from Castaway involves Tom Hanks’s tooth. Stop reading now if you’re squeamish about tooth stuff. Remember at the beginning of this article when I said that Tom Hanks had a toothache he failed to address before leaving on the trip that left him stranded? Well, that tooth became infected and he ended up taking matters into his own hands with the only resource he had – an ice skate from one of the packages that washed ashore. YIKES!

If your organization is experiencing the equivalent of a toothache (thoughts of restructuring your team, eliminating or combining positions, budget uncertainty, or other changes you’re seeing on the horizon), it would be wise to solve those things before launching the search. If you don’t, you could find yourself reaching for an ice skate three weeks into the search when you realize things have changed!

6. Today’s mismatch is tomorrow’s perfect fit. When the various packages washed ashore, Tom Hanks treasured every single one of them, even if he couldn’t immediately see a use for each item. And yet many of the items later proved very useful (i.e. the ice skate and volleyball). Do you remember that Tom Hanks also used the netting from a dress to catch fish and the tape from a VHS tape to tie a raft together? Who could have imagined such a use for these things?

I think the lesson here is clear: when a talented candidate applies for a role with your organization but isn’t a fit for the role you have open today, keep the door open for a conversation about future openings. Tell the candidate you see potential in them for a future role and keep their contact info handy!

I hope our Castaway analogies provide helpful insight for you and inspire you to up your communication game with candidates.

Oh, and if you have an upcoming flight that passes over a major ocean, think about making a trip to the dentist first.