Talent Tips - Talent Market

Talent Tip #75: Field of Dreams: Job Descriptions That Attract Talent

February 16, 2016

Talent Tip #75: Field of Dreams: Job Descriptions That Attract Talent

If you write it, they will come.

That’s the Kevin Costner-esque attitude many hiring managers employ when it comes to authoring job descriptions. They believe a carefully crafted job description will result in talent appearing.

I know what you’re thinking.

Right….and Shoeless Joe Jackson is going to pop out of the corn field and play baseball with them, too.

Actually, I think these hiring managers are onto something. Remember how much care Costner’s character put into creating that baseball field? And recall that the legends eventually showed up? Likewise, amazing job descriptions often lead to amazing candidates. And, not surprisingly, poorly crafted or thrown-together job descriptions rarely attract the kind of candidate you want — and they may even scare off some applicants.

So, what are the keys to crafting a major league job description?

The Hook – Pull in your readers with the very first sentence. Start by explaining how your organization is changing the world and why it’s exciting to work there. Don’t assume that everyone comprehends the depths of your awesomeness; this is your chance to tell them. Here’s one fabulous hook from my friends at the Adolph Coors Foundation: Before you read another word, please google “Coors family.” Read every word of what you find including the wacky, conspiratorial stuff. If names like Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and Adam Smith freak you out, or if you think terms like traditional American values, capitalism, free markets and personal responsibility are obsolete, this job may not be a fit.
And here’s another great hook from my friends at Atlas Network: You came to DC to work on some of the world’s biggest challenges. And there’s no bigger challenge than helping to secure people’s freedom and prosperity. Freedom to make choices that are best for the individual and their families. Prosperity to lift people out of poverty. That is where Atlas Network comes in…

What Needs to Be Done – Why is this position important to the success of the organization? What are the core responsibilities? How will this person work with other staff members and fit into the existing team? How much travel is required?

Who Needs to Do It – What does the ideal candidate look like? Make sure to address years of experience, background, education, and temperament. Which elements are required and which are preferred?

Provide Enough Detail – But Not Too Much – One paragraph isn’t going to cut it, but let’s not model the description after The Grapes of Wrath. If the role is relatively straightforward, 300-500 words might be plenty. An executive or more complicated position might require something closer to 800 or even 1000 words. Case in point: a client recently sent over a detailed three page job description; but he then took a step back and realized that if he were a candidate, he would be more intrigued by a concise, bold description written in real terms. His updated description was only 300 words — and it was gold!

Match the Tone to the Role/Organization – If your organization is high-energy and zany, make sure the description reflects that. Likewise, if your organization is buttoned-up and low-key, the description ought to be consistent with those traits. Unless you are consciously trying to change the culture there, go with a description reflective of your organization that will attract similar personalities.
What You Need From Candidates – Outline exactly what interested candidates need to send. You almost certainly need a resume and cover letter; but do you want the cover letter to address things such as philosophical interest in your organization’s mission and salary requirements? How about a writing sample? Without being too burdensome, ask for all of the information that will help you determine whether a candidate is worth an interview. Also, consider asking for the materials in one PDF. Maintaining one document per candidate is easier than trying to track 4-5 separate ones; it’s also a nice test to see if candidates pay attention to instructions.

If you factor in these points, I promise you’ll hit the next job description out of the park.

Talent Tip #74: Give The Gift That Keeps on Givng…er…Giving

December 17, 2015

Talent Tip #74: Give The Gift That Keeps on ~~Givng~~ Giving

Still struggling to find the perfect gift for that special someone this season? Debating between the Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer and the Perfect Bacon Bowl?

Well, debate no more. I have the perfect holiday gift for all of your friends and loved ones — especially those on the job hunt.

This year, give the gift of Spell Check.

Not only is it free and currently available for use in nearly every software program and app on earth, but it can also help that special someone avoid making a costly job search mistake.

Case in point, consider this email I received recently from a friend who is an executive with a liberty-oriented legal organization.

“I recently decided not to interview a Georgetown Law student for a law clerk position. His writing sample, which he actually spelled “wring sample” in his cover email, was not up to our standards. Of course the email error was just a typo, but it doesn’t make a very good impression about how interested someone is in a job when their cover email is that sloppy! There was only one glaring typo in the five or so page writing sample, but again, this is a writing sample. Am I wrong to think it should be pristine? The writing sample was otherwise good enough that we probably would have gone ahead with an interview, but we really want to only bring in clerks who need to be edited for substance, not grammar, typos, etc.

And I just saw another resume from someone who has a “Bacherlor” of Arts degree. I’m not even sure it’s a typo, because she actually has two B.A.s from two different schools and spelled it “Bacherlor” both times. Don’t these people know that spell check is their friend?”

Sigh. If I had a dime for every time a candidate eliminated himself from the running due to an easily preventable spelling error, I would not have to buy my wine in 1.5 liter bottles.

Now, you might think only a Grinch would eliminate someone for one or two errors. But even sweet Cindy Lou Who will tell you that if simple mistakes don’t exclude a candidate, they certainly add a little tarnish to what could have otherwise been a perfect application. And when the competition is stiff, tarnish matters.

A few of my favorite recent examples:

A communications candidate wrote with enthusiasm about her interest in our “comminucations director” opening
A policy candidate noted her “extensive backround in numbers” (Hey, at least she didn’t say it was in spelling!)
A journalist wrote about former “President Geoirge Bush” (Let’s call this “spelling strategery.“)

You get the idea. What’s mind-boggling about these little tragedies is that Spell Check is right there for the using!

So, if you have a friend who doesn’t have (or doesn’t seem to notice) those red squiggly lines under words on the screen, please, please consider bestowing Spell Check upon him this holiday season. Like the Jelly of the Month Club, it’s the gift that keeps on ~~givng~~ giving!

Talent Tip #73: Turnover Turnaround: How To Keep Your Best Employees

November 17, 2015

Talent Tip #73: Turnover Turnaround: How To Keep Your Best Employees

Last month we talked about the six most common reasons for staff turnover in the free-market nonprofit movement. Apparently, we struck a root.

My inbox was deluged with responses such as “Your list was spot on. I recently left my job for reason #4.” and “My best friend just quit his job for reasons 1, 2, and 5.”

While it was disheartening to read some of the emails, I was comforted that the reasons we identified were consistent with what readers have experienced.

The first step is identifying the problem, right?

And, of course, the second step is doing something about it. So, pull a chair up (and maybe pour a strong coffee or a frosty beverage), and let’s get down to business with some potential solutions.

1.“Kitchen Sink” Performance Reviews – Every issue we mentioned last week could be identified and addressed if organizations took the time to regularly evaluate employees and themselves.

Consider this: many organizations utilize annual employee reviews and self-evaluations to gauge satisfaction and address problems with staff. All of this is critically important. But when evaluating employees, why not also take the time to have employees evaluate the organization? This is why I’ve affectionately named it “kitchen sink” performance reviews – because everything is included!

Seeking comprehensive regular feedback such as this can pinpoint most of the common reasons for turnover and give leadership a chance to address them before it’s too late.

2. Keep Your Best Talent Challenged – A lack of challenge, room for growth, and autonomy were cited as common reasons for turnover. The key here is maintaining open lines of communication with employees. As aforementioned, performance reviews are a great time to discuss these items. Do you need to create opportunities for growth where there are none? Are there responsibilities or projects you can delegate? What about training/development opportunities?

3. Reward Employees – Feeling undervalued (financially and otherwise) will eventually cause an employee to exit stage right (pun intended). You must be proactive if you don’t want to lose your best employees. If you wait for them to come to you, it will likely be too late. Once again, performance reviews are a natural time to adjust salaries and award bonuses. And remember, it’s not just about the Benjamins; verbal praise, flexible work schedules, team meals, and gifts are among the myriad ways you can make staff feel appreciated.

4. Let Them Work Virtually – Eventually, one of your best employees will need to move across the country for a non-work related reason and you are going to hate to see him go. So, why not let him continue to work for you from a virtual office? Yes, remote working scenarios require the right job and the right person; assuming those stars align, why not? Don’t forget that technology and travel options are making virtual work easier with every passing day.

5. Take the Fun Out of Dysfunction (And Take the Dysfunction Out of Your Organization) – It’s no fun being in an dysfunctional organization; that’s why good employees don’t last in these settings. Engaging in regular organizational reviews will keep management and board members aware of problems and give them an opportunity to make things right. Whether it’s an unhealthy culture, problematic leadership, nepotism, or financial instability, these issues won’t correct themselves. The longer you wait, the more talent you will lose.

6. Just Be You – Misleading potential hires during the interview process usually ends like a bad Lifetime movie. Many employees start looking around after they realize a job or organization isn’t quite what they were led to believe during the courting phase. Why not just be you and be honest with interviewees about the role and the organization from the start? Doing so is the smart, long-term approach to building a solid long-lasting team.

7. Give Them A Break – Burnout is a common reason free-market nonprofit employees leave – especially those in it’s-never-enough roles such as fundraisers. If you identify an employee who is being pushed too hard (by others or by themselves), encourage her to take a break and use her vacation — and then offer additional resources and words of encouragement to avoid burnout in the future.

Hopefully, this list has given you a lot to think about, and my guess is that your beverage is getting low.

If you take away just one thing, remember the kitchen sink reviews. Open lines of communication between staff and leadership are essential to avoiding turnover problems.

Now, go get a refill on that drink.

Talent Tip #72: Employee Turnover: Why Good People Leave

October 20, 2015

Talent Tip #72: Employee Turnover: Why Good People Leave

Last month at the always-amazing State Policy Network Annual Meeting, I had the pleasure of connecting with nonprofit CEOs about some of the common reasons employees leave and strategies for preventing turnover.

It was a daunting task — to stand before a room of accomplished CEOs and tell them what they might be doing wrong. I had nightmares of being pelted with rotten fruit or heckled (remember the Seinfeld episode in which Jerry is heckled during his act? Eek!).

Thankfully, the audience was kind. And many told me later that they agreed with my assessment and valued the solutions offered. Therefore, I thought it might be valuable to share these thoughts with a wider audience in hopes that employers and employees can identify and address these issues.

This month I will cover the most common reasons for staff turnover. Next month we’ll talk about potential solutions.

Without further ado, here are the six most common reasons for staff turnover (in the order of frequency I hear about them). Keep in mind these are based on my interactions with employees, nonprofit clients, and candidates.

1. Lack of challenge/room for growth/autonomy – It’s not surprising that a bunch of free-marketeers might long for continuous challenges and autonomy. What is surprising is how many employers forget to give their best employees room to grow. Here are some quotes I’ve heard recently from employees itching to make a move:

•“…there is nothing left for me to learn [here]. I have gained some very valuable skills and experience…. there are no challenging tasks for me left here.”

•“I would like a new challenge; there is a glass ceiling here.”

Furthermore, it is striking how many free-market leaders utilize a command-and-control approach to management. Oh, the irony! Here are two comments I’ve heard of late:

•“ We have become a complete command-and-control operation. The management micromanages the staff.”

•“[There is a] centralized management structure and a very controlling management style, which is not the best set-up for me.”

2. Money/feeling inadequately rewarded – Again, it should come as no surprise that conservatives, classical liberals, and libertarians want to be adequately rewarded for their work. Some employees value money above all else, while others need words of encouragement. And for the nonprofits who think they can pay well-below market rates because working for liberty is the best thing since the advent of the Twinkie, I encourage you to reconsider! From one candidate on the market:

•“I really enjoy the work and atmosphere here; so, to be frank, I am looking for a good bump in salary.”

3. Geographic mobility – People frequently need or want to relocate for personal reasons, and that often means they have to leave their current jobs. Reasons for relocation are as plentiful as Lois Lerner’s lost emails: cost of living, quality of life, marriage, divorce, spouse’s job change or military assignment, aging parents, starting a family….the list goes on.

4. Organization dysfunction – I frequently hear from employees who seek to escape some form of organization dysfunction. Problematic leadership, unhealthy culture, nepotism, and financial instability top the list. We could address this topic alone for the next 3467 e-newsletters, but I’ll sum it up here by saying this: Talented employees don’t want to rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic. If your organization has significant dysfunction, you will eventually lose your best employees. From one candidate:

•“I am not sure if one needs an excuse to be trying to leave ***** at the moment. The tenuous budget situation should be obvious, and the management has merely doubled down on the same types of behavior that created the current crisis.”

5. (Un)Truth in Advertising/Irreconcilable Differences – Employees are sometimes blind-sided after they start a new job. They realize they are not a good fit for the role and/or the nonprofit itself – often because the organization misled the candidate during the interview process about the realities of the job/working there.

6. Burnout – The great news about working to advance liberty is that it can be easy to love your job. The bad news is that it’s easy to burn out. Everywhere you turn you see liberties evaporating; so, you work harder. If you’re not careful, you can start to feel like a hamster – and I mean a hamster on a wheel – not those cute ones cruising around in a Kia Soul.

Ok, Claire, enough bad news! How do we address these issues? Great question. And for a small fee of $1,000,000, I will tell you!

I’m kidding. Tune in next month and I’ll give it to you for free!

Talent Tip #71: Career Choices: Let Passion Follow You

September 15, 2015

Talent Tip #71: Career Choices: Let Passion Follow You

Last month’s Talent Tip about James Abernathy and choosing a job you love prompted a heap of great feedback, including some words of wisdom from Zach Janowski, Yankee Institute’s Director of External Affairs.

Here’s what Zach said:

“I am glad James found the job that is right for him. While I agree working in our movement is a great privilege, I also think we give people the wrong idea when we say it’s never work. I love my job with the Yankee Institute – first as investigative reporter and now as director of external affairs – but there are tough days. There are particular tasks that truly feel like work. That doesn’t mean I’m ready to jump ship, but it is why I still get paid to do my work – and why it is still work.

I’m not worried that well-established professionals misunderstand this nuance, but I do worry about recent grads and younger workers. There is a myth that they can find a job that isn’t a job – if they just keep looking. Not true. Cal Newport has written about this topic and I assign his New York Times op-ed to all of my interns: Follow a Career Passion? Let It Follow You. For anyone who likes his op-ed I encourage them to read his book So Good They Can’t Ignore You.”

Zach is absolutely right. So, I turned to Cal Newport’s article. Initially, I looked askance at the title. Why? Because I followed my passion for liberty right here to the free-market nonprofit sector and I’m happier than a slinky on an escalator!

But being the open-minded classical liberal that I am, I read on. And it turns out that Cal’s piece is not at all inconsistent with my experience and what I’ve witnessed in my role at Talent Market. Among Cal’s great points:

• “Follow our passion” works best for the small number of people who actually know what they want to be when they grow up. – In Cal’s words, “This advice assumes that we all have a pre-existing passion waiting to be discovered. If we have the courage to discover this calling and to match it to our livelihood, the thinking goes, we’ll end up happy. If we lack this courage, we’ll end up bored and unfulfilled — or, worse, in law school. To a small group of people, this advice makes sense, because they have a clear passion. Maybe they’ve always wanted to be doctors, writers, musicians and so on, and can’t imagine being anything else. But this philosophy puts a lot of pressure on the rest of us…”

• The traits that cause people to love their work can be found in many different jobs and they must be earned. – According to Cal, “The traits that lead people to love their work are general and have little to do with a job’s specifics. These traits include a sense of autonomy and the feeling that you’re good at what you do and are having an impact on the world. Building valuable skills is hard and takes time. For someone in a new position, the right question is not, “What is this job offering me?” but, instead, “What am I offering this job?”

• Fulfillment is directly correlated with competence and engagement. – Cal describes how he had several career options coming out of undergrad and ended up in a PhD program at M.I.T. It was anything but a walk in the park. Cal writes, “…doctoral training can be rough. You’re not yet skilled enough to make contributions to the research literature, which can be frustrating. And at a place like M.I.T., you’re surrounded by brilliance, which can make you question whether you belong. Had I subscribed to the “follow our passion” orthodoxy, I probably would have left during those first years, worried that I didn’t feel love for my work every day. But I knew that my sense of fulfillment would grow over time, as I became better at my job. So I worked hard, and, as my competence grew, so did my engagement. Today, I’m a computer science professor at Georgetown University, and love my job. The most important lesson I can draw from my experience is that this love has nothing to do with figuring out at an early age that I was meant to be a professor. There’s nothing special about my choosing this particular path. What mattered is what I did once I made my choice. Passion is not something you follow. It’s something that will follow you as you put in the hard work to become valuable to the world.”

In applying Cal’s logic to my own career and the careers of those I work with, I have to say he makes a lot of sense. Most of us could be quite happy in a wide array of fields — so long as we are engaged in work we are good at and that makes a difference.

Those of us with a passion for liberty have a world of options in terms of the actual work we do. Fundraising, communication, policy analysis, management, litigation, outreach, operations, law, research, writing, teaching – the world is our oyster!

And, of course, working for liberty makes whatever we choose to do that much more fulfilling.

Whitney Ball: A Life Well-Lived

August 18, 2015

You are reading this because of Whitney Ball. Whitney 2-01

Talent Market was her brainchild (along with Tracie Sharp, President and CEO of State Policy Network). Without Whitney, Talent Market would not exist.

Whitney, the President & CEO of DonorsTrust, was more than a brilliant leader. She was smart, sassy, witty, and – as her courageous battle with cancer proved in countless ways – tough as nails. She was a woman of faith, a lover of dogs, and a tireless warrior for liberty. I could always count on her for advice, wisdom, and, of course, the truth. Her laugh was infectious, and she had a knack for finding humor in even the darkest times. She embraced life the way we are taught to do – but the way few of us have the courage to actually do. She was my mentor; and, as I told her recently, she was my hero.

As fate would have it, Talent Market turns six this month. As we celebrate more than 250 placements in the free-market nonprofit sector, we mourn the loss of the amazing woman who made it possible.

Join me in remembering Whitney and a life well-lived.