Talent Market

Talent Market is a nonprofit whose mission is to promote liberty by providing talent for critical roles within the free-market nonprofit sector

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Talent Tip #33: Lessons From My Parents’ Marriage: It Pays to Court Candidates

May 15, 2012

After 43 years of marriage, my father still opens the door for my mother and my mother still packs my father’s lunch before he heads to work. With all this time behind them, you’d think they might be tempted to knock off the niceties. After all, at 70+, is either really going to walk out? I mean, if I think dating’s bad at my age, can you imagine the dating market they would face?

Yeah, yeah, Claire. That’s nice about your parents. But what’s your point? And if those are really your parents, are you sure you aren’t the milkman’s kid?

Ok, back to the point.

With the exception of the current administration, everybody knows our economy is still in the dumps. Because of this, some hiring managers believe they don’t need to woo prospective hires as they once did. After all, candidates won’t walk away in such a weak market, right?

Wrong.

I recently had a leading candidate pull out of the interview process with a terrific nonprofit because she didn’t like the way she was being treated. She felt the organization had been unresponsive through the process, and she was frustrated with the fact it had dragged on for more than six weeks. To top it off, the nonprofit had made several requests of her, for all of which they insisted on a 24-hour turnaround. Her quick work was then met with days of radio silence on the organization’s end. The candidate finally had enough and walked away.

Even in a bad economy, the candidate valued being treated well by the nonprofit. She was willing to put herself back into the lackluster job hunt and take her chances at finding an organization that appreciates her.

So, back to my parents. After more than four decades of marriage, my parents are still together and happy as clams (clams who occasionally bicker like children and get under each other’s skin like deer ticks, but otherwise content clams). Part of the reason they stay together is that they both feel appreciated.

The lesson we can take from my parents’ marriage is this: don’t let your guard down. Treat candidates as though you might lose them and give them every reason to want to work for you. Appreciate them: be responsive, efficient, and reasonable. And it wouldn’t hurt to open the door, either. Just ask Dad.

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About Us

Claire Kittle Dixon

Claire Kittle Dixon
Executive Director
Claire has more than a decade of experience in the talent development field. She…
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Katelynn Barbosa
Director of Talent Engagement
Katelynn started her career in the Koch Associate Program and then litigated at the Institute for Justice…
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Katy Gambella
Director of Network Engagement
Katy began her career at the Institute for Humane Studies and later joined the Cato Institute…
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Stephanie Keaveney
Network Engagement Manager
Stephanie’s career started at the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal…
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Lydia Ocampo
Network Engagement Specialist
Lydia started her career with Young Americans for Liberty. During her time with YAL…
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Wait, You’re a Nonprofit?

Talent Market is a nonprofit. We’ll wait here while that sinks in. We know it’s a crazy concept, but it’s been working like a charm since 2009.

Talent Market’s mission is to promote liberty by providing talent for critical roles within the free-market nonprofit sector.

We provide free consulting and recruiting services to free-market think tanks, policy organizations, research centers, and capacity building institutions dedicated to advancing the principles of limited government and free enterprise. (We do not work in politics, nor do we work with organizations that address social issues.) Talent Market believes that the road to prosperity is paved with freedom and that the success of our movement hinges on the talent that will take us there.

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