Dylan and CharityJOB

HIV/Aids Alliance

Grim reading….

That means that this is a great time to hear your thoughts on how it could be improved.

At CharityJOB we have three full-time developers who work through a list of improvements. They are currently working on, among other things:

• Post-code search
• Screening question for ads
• Simplifying the chunky candidate CV registration
• Profile pages for employers

What would you like to see on the site?

“I like to hire people who have two traits. They’re smart, and they get things done.”

Good simple advice.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/10/marissa-mayers-simple-advice-on-who-to-hire-smart-people-who-get-things-done/

But it’s not always easy to tell in an interview who can get things done.  Asking about achievements is the classic way of doing it, but it’s all to easy to claim credit for other people’s achievements. Detecting a natural bias for achievement is a tricky proposition. Plenty of people start projects, sometimes many projects, and finish little.

Someone else has said, slightly dispiritedly, “I can hire people to do anything except two things: the first is to think, and the second is to do things in the order of their importance!” 

Any ideas on identifying achievers?

To get a job in a charity it helps to have a passion for the cause. This is important, but the importance will depend on the role you are applying for – for example it is less important if you work in IT than if you work in the frontline. Personally, I would rather have an IT Manager passionate about IT than about saving geese (or whatever!) – although it would do no harm to have both when the charity is working to save geese.

In one place I worked there was an IT Manager passionate about the cause. After a few months he became dissillusioned because his job was remote from the cause. On the other hand I have known people who could keep the bigger picture in mind and remained motivated. 

You’ve probably heard the story of the two stonemasons working on St Paul’s cathedral. When asked “What are you doing” the first one said “I’m cutting stone”. The second one, asked the same question, replied “I am helping Christopher Wren to build a cathedral to the glory of God”.

I guess there’s a bigger picture in any job!

The programme showed a 50-something father struggling to get even an acknowledgement from any recruitment consultants he registered with. In contrast his 22-year old daughter was inundated with job offers.

It made we realise that unless we are serious about equal opportunities and actively encourage older candidates to apply, they simply won’t bother to apply because they assume they won’t be considered.

So on the site, when someone posts a job ad I included the following paragraph in a list of Job-posting Tips…

Serious about Equal Opportunities?

 
Many well-qualified people (for example, those over 50, or people with disabilities) may not apply for jobs because they believe their applications will simply not be considered (and they are often correct). Making it clear in your ad that applications are welcome from all sections of the community will encourage such people to apply. Examples:

• We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are particularly anxious to ensure proper representation in terms of gender, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation and disability.
• [X organisation] is an equal opportunities employer and aims to reflect the diversity of society as a whole.