Yesterday @cleb asked me to answer what traits I look for when I'm hiring.
When I'm hiring, it's for an entry- level or mid- level position, someone who has to do a little bit of everything. Fundraisers tend to stay in a job for 18-24 months, and it's only worse at this level. Let's get this out of the way. Job hopping isn't an issue for me, unless it's extreme. I'd like to see you stay and grow, but that's not always feasible. Things happen. Bosses can be terrible. I get it.
Real- talk time. I work for a large university. Internal candidates and alumni with experience have an advantage. I'm sorry, they just do. But, show me that you're motivated, curious, follow instructions with the application, and you can write a good cover letter that tells me what you can do for me, and you'll land an interview.
- Can this person walk into the job and not need a lot of training? If the answer is yes, then I love you. You just saved me so much time, you don't even know. But this is rare, so don't despair. We all had to get that first foot in the door.
- Are you willing to learn? Show me in your cover letter how you jumped into something and figured it out. Also important for me, is intellectual curiosity. If you are, you'll probably take a project and run with it. And that, my friend, is a beautiful thing. I will probably ask you about your reading habits. Do you travel? What do you do for fun? I'm looking for proof that you keep your mind active. If you're proactive in your off time, you'll be the same at work.
- Can you take constructive criticism well? Will you be direct with me? Work and personal relationships don't work unless there's honesty. But, like, not too much honesty. Don't tell me if I look fat in these pants. If we're going to be a team, I want everyone, especially the school and the dean, to be shown in the best light. That means we work together and help each other out. I can't worry about walking on eggshells because I may bruise your ego, just like I'm sure you don't want to do that with me. Your opinion matters. But be okay if I like my idea better, and I will give you the same courtesy.
- Sweat the details For the love of all that is holy, nag me. Stay on top of details, keep on track of everything, and sweat the details so I don't have to. And so the dean doesn't have to. But don't worry, I got your back. Ask me to double check something and I will. Remember we're a team.
- Do you do your best? We all make mistakes. Did you try your best that day? Our "best" changes daily, and that's okay. If you have references that say you do this, you're golden.
- I don't hire lazy. That was a thing at one point. Utter crap. I don't have time to micromanage. I have only let go two people and both were rude to me or people much higher than me, and either didn't bother doing much work or would wait until the end of their shift, do everything in five minutes, give me terrible work, then leave. Bye, Felicia! Your tears may have meant more if I didn't give you dozens of chances and I didn't try to talk to you multiple times.
Don't be lazy
- Do you play well with others? Being collaborative has been an underlying theme with all my points. It's incredibly important. But also, can I put you in front of the dean or donors and not have to worry?
- **Do our skills complement each other? ** I'm awesome. I know this. It's just a fact. hair swish But I am not perfect. I need someone who has the skills I lack. I don't want to hire a mini-me. And let's face it, once you become a manager, the part of your brain that was super awesome at organizing and doing all the stuff I need you to do, withers and dies. I can do super cool manager things now but I'd be useless at doing what I did a decade ago. I need your help. And in return, I will train you to lose that part of your brain too. Oh it will happen. Whether you like it or not. moo ah ah ha
- Do we get along? I will most likely spend more time with you than my family. We don't have to like the same stuff, but can you tolerate my humor? What about pictures of my animals? Can I stand hearing about your boyfriend? Did your child do something hilarious that morning and you just have to tell me about it real quick? Even though we're in a large university, our school is a staff of about a baker's dozen. You don't have to be my bestie, and you're certainly under no obligation to share your personal life, but we have to get along.
Many times people quit bosses, not jobs. I'm currently in the reference stage of hiring. I sent the candidate one of my references, because this person needs to know what they're getting into as much as I do. As a fellow hiring manager, I recommend you do the same. This person needs to work well with you.
Wow thanks for the tag and quick post.
While the details of each point don’t necessarily match for my job I’ve seen those who think it’s an easy job that doesn’t require much effort and never A) do their best B) don’t mind details or are C) on the lazy spectrum. Interestingly I find most people are willing to learn, but seem to fall sort of pooling the knowledge together with a good work ethic. Maybe it’s an incentive issue, after all the positions around me are riveting exactly.
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Thanks for the suggestion!
How can you inspire people to do their best? I like giving people a voice, asking their opinion. It makes them more vested in the outcome. "Do you think there's something we can do to improve/streamline (fill in the blank)?" "That's a good idea, thanks!" Or admit you're human. "I'm really struggling with x problem. What are your thoughts?" With some people, giving them more of a voice is enough incentive. Sometimes that'll help with problems A and C. With B, I just gently remind or have step by step instructions written down. Also, some people are just not hard wired for details. Then they get assigned different tasks. To me, jobs need to be flexible enough to accommodate different people. You have a person, try to make it work. My two examples of where it didn't, they both had a sense of entitlement and tasks were beneath them. They weren't collaborators. I tried everything I just mentioned, but either nothing changed or they complained. There's only so much you can do.
One of my favorite jobs was at PetsMart. It was my first paying job. The difference was that I made lifelong friends there, and I knew the managers had my back. Yeah, not every worker pulled their weight, but we had a built-in peer pressure system to make sure everyone did their part. We couldn't leave until everything was reset, so we all pitched in to help. If you weren't pulling your weight, even though I had no authority, I sure as hell told you! That was incentive enough for some people. :)
Well put
A a voice gives confidence which gives a sense of purpose in the area
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This is a helpful post thanks!
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Glad it could help!