> On 3/1/2011 2:46 PM, Birgitte SB wrote: >> Ambiguity is only a bad thing when someone knows exactly what they want and >> they >> choose to be unclear about it rather than when is someone aware of a general >> need while being somewhat open-minded about how might be filled. This >> situation >> strikes me as the latter, advertising for a writer to develop public >> relations >> material for fundraising would probably bring in a much more narrow set of >> applicants and would also make it harder to get the new employee to take the >> other duties that are desired seriously. I don't know how much hiring you >> have >> done, but it is not uncommon for people to get their minds set as to what >> their >> "job" is early on and getting them to put a lot of effort into things they >> believe are "not what they were hired to do" is difficult. So if you want a >> new >> employee to have a wide range of duties, you should advertise describing a >> more >> open-ended position. People that have narrow mindsets are less likely to >> apply >> for vague jobs, and everyone wins because good hiring is all about fit. >> Narrow >> and well-settled duties = detailed description of opening. Wide-ranging and >> uncertain duties = ambiguous description of opening.
on 3/1/11 7:08 PM, Michael Snow at wikipe...@frontier.com wrote: > This explanation is quite insightful, I think. The challenge described > is a significant piece of why the Wikimedia Foundation has developed a > somewhat non-standard approach to its organizational structure and > allocation of staff responsibilities. Practically every conversation > I've had with Sue about this, while hiring for a number of different > positions, has touched on how unusual a combination of background, > skills, and personality is needed for someone to be the right fit for > us, and how adaptable both we and the candidates have to be during the > hiring process in how we think about the position. > Michael, do you, and the rest of the Foundation staff, have any idea how detached - yes, estranged - you are becoming from the Community that is at the heart of this Project? Marc Riddell _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
