On Tue, Mar 1, 2011 at 4:22 PM, Marc Riddell <michaeldavi...@comcast.net> wrote: > >> 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
Michael isn't staff; he's the former chair of the Wikimedia Foundation Board, and is speaking as a (very) long-time and respected community member. -- phoebe -- * I use this address for lists; send personal messages to phoebe.ayers <at> gmail.com * _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
