I’m hosting a LinkedIn Live next Wednesday, September 21 with Beth Kitzinger. She’s a Vice President at Chaloner, a search firm. You should join us if you’re curious. It’ll be a free-flowing conversation full of useful industry insight. I guarantee it. You could even bring your resume along if you’d like a lightning ⚡️ round of quick feedback. Discretion assured. It should be a fun 30 minutes!
My experience is that Beth knows the cause-driven comms job market better than anyone. Before switching careers to manage national searches, Beth worked in communications. She’s been a practitioner, strategist, operations/HR head and agency leader. Now she works with a wide variety of mission-driven and philanthropic organizations. We plan to have a chat about why people might choose to work with a recruiter to hire comms talent. For what it’s worth, I’m a convert to recruitment consultants. Beth had no say in what I wrote here, so please don’t blame her for any of it! It is all volunteered on an independent basis.
In general, the nonprofit field tends to be…bad…at hiring people. It’s rife with opaque and drawn-out application processes. Organizations often end by ghosting lots of candidates who’ve spent months applying. Rounds of project work and interviews waste people’s time. Decision-making criteria also tend to…shift. To put it kindly. It’s rare to see salary numbers posted. Such hiring practices don’t help organizations recruit the best talent. They also undermine efforts to ensure a diverse field of employees. In fact, you might describe nonprofit recruiting as an endurance event.
Within nonprofits, when it comes to the silo of communications, it’s more complex still. I don’t always find that nonprofit leadership understand what we do. Some do, more than others. Those specific people also tend to be excellent leaders. But a nonprofit leader might think they want a certain kind of person. Often, they might need somebody a little different in their communications function. I’m wary, for example, of organizations that tell me they want “big, bold thinking.” I wish they did. But when it comes to strategic delivery on the mission approved by your Board, trust me. You do not want “Weird Al” Yankovic planning your media events. You want somebody who understands the norms of the field you’re operating in. A bridge-builder and a collaborator. A safe pair of hands. Somebody prepared to take ownership and who will do the hard graft to deliver.
Recruitment consultants help nonprofit leaders bridge the gaps. The person you think you want running your communications may not be the person you need. Recruitment consultants also know everybody in the field. They can play “guess who” when you list your criteria. You say: “I would like somebody with broadcast experience who’s worked in organizations around the world.” Then they can tell you there are a certain number of people in the field right now who’d match, and what their names are. They can tell you which of those three people might want to work for you. And they can help you be realistic about what you’ll need to pay to recruit and keep them. They might also offer some gentle feedback about other steps you could take to woo the right people if you like.
Above all, for me, recruitment consultants help everybody to be better. In a field where adopting the highest standards will set you apart, it’s an easy choice to make. Our people make our organizations. Our people set the direction of the field. Because we care about what we want to achieve we should all want to make sure we run our hiring with, and get hired by, a true expert.
Bring your questions for Beth on the 21st! See you there!
