A friend of mine who used to work for a prominent free-market nonprofit recently told me a disturbing story. After he was laid off, he worked diligently to find another job in the liberty movement. During his search, he was shocked by how he was treated by many of our own organizations. Two examples he cited:
- He often never heard back from hiring managers after engaging in lengthy interview processes. Even after his own follow-up, he rarely got responses.
- He received promises for further introductions and recommendations that were rarely fulfilled, despite periodic, polite follow-up.
So how did the story end? He took a great job in the private sector. Good for him. Bad for us. Let’s call this Free-Market Karma. We didn’t treat him well in his search, and now we’ve lost a talented mid-level manager.
In my job, I often see talent like him leave the movement, and it breaks my heart. We may have been able to keep him in the movement had we treated him a little better during his search. So next time someone reaches out to you for help in the free-market movement, take a few extra minutes to lend a hand. After all, that might be the person who hires you next time you’re looking for a new job.
