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James in the Boston Globe

January 28, 2008

Our very own James Weinberg was quoted in Maggie Jackson’s Balancing Acts column in last Sunday’s Boston Globe. Here’s a snippet:

Will portfolio work turn epidemic? Probably not, although its incidence is growing, according to recruiters, career coaches, and others who follow trends in work culture. James Weinberg, a recruiter for nonprofits, sees an uptick in those willing to work this way - and those willing to hire them.

More job candidates are asking Weinberg for part-time work, saying, “ ‘I’m trying to knit together a career’, or ‘I’d like to have multiple roles that will allow me flexibility,’ “ observes Weinberg, chief executive of Commongood Careers in Boston. Sometimes, executives work on a shared basis for several groups, splitting their time between jobs, he says.

Read the full article.

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Best Practices, Hiring Advice, In the News, Talent Issues

Good Reads: Forces of Good

January 28, 2008

Kevin “I like to read” Kovaleski here with a literature review. If I could make a diorama on this blog, I would.

There is an ongoing debate in the nonprofit sector on what makes an organization a social entrepreneur. Forces for Good, a recent voice on the subject, provides a fresh approach to this topic.

To make the distinction between social entrepreneurs and traditional nonprofits, authors Crutchfield and McLeod-Grant spent four years researching the management techniques of hundreds of nonprofits.  Their findings target the management techniques of twelve nonprofits that they conclude are examples of high-impact, socially entrepreneurial change agents.  In their analysis of these organizations, Crutchfield and McLeod-Grant posit that these groups do not measure success through revenue increases, brand recognition or organizational chart sophistication.  Instead these twelve social trailblazers measure success by the change they are affecting in the piece of the world that they are attempting to improve. 

While old-school nonprofit management looks to governance, organizational structure, fundraising and other internally facing strategies to build a strong organization, social entrepreneurs focus their energy externally through six creative techniques.  These techniques (such as one that advises nonprofit groups to cross sectors and include for-profit partners into the execution of the mission) challenge traditional nonprofits to rethink goals and strategies in the execution of their mission. By exposing limitations and even flaws in traditional thinking, Forces for Good identifies commonly held myths about nonprofit management that are indicative of an outdated system of thought.

The authors conclude that the twelve nonprofits in study focus on the end-goals of creating impact and improving society rather than focusing on building a secure, fiscally sound organization, as their traditional counterparts so often obsess.  The authors offer well researched and thought out examples of innovative approaches to management employed by these groups. The case for innovation and out-of-the-box thinking is also supported by the authors’ warning against reckless management based on wild idealism.  The success of the organizations featured in Forces for Good is instead a product of an unwavering management philosophy that postures mission above tradition.

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What We're Reading, Best Practices, Hiring Advice, Social Entrepreneurism, Talent Issues

Making “BA or Equivalent” Work

October 11, 2007

The social sector is known for valuing diversity of experience in its workforce and for working to have its staff mirror its populations served. Then why, in reading nonprofit job descriptions, is there so much emphasis on jobseekers holding college and advanced degrees when the skyrocketing price of higher education makes those options unaffordable to so many? Is a BA or other degree really required for someone to be successful in a position?

For several reasons, we believe nonprofits would actually benefit from stating “BA or Equivalent Experience Required” (instead of “BA Required, Masters Preferred”) in their job descriptions:

(1) It’s more legally compliant. Requiring a BA can be construed as discriminatory. Stating “BA or Equivalent Experience” in a job description helps an organization stay compliant with hiring laws.

(2) It nets candidates possessing a range of experiences, not just a specific educational background. This strongly supports our tried and true best practice of hiring based on core competencies—such as qualities and characteristics gained through experience of all kinds.

(3) It fosters a diverse workforce. To many, attending college is not a path taken, either by choice or by circumstance. For those not attending college right out of high school, they may be starting their professional career earlier than most, thus gaining more on-the-job training from an early age.

But what does “or equivalent experience” mean exactly and how can a hiring organization best measure this requirement, especially in comparison to an academic degree?

What’s important is that candidates being considered for an open position have the right competencies—skills, knowledge, technical abilities, and personality characteristics—to succeed at a job.

In some instances, a specific type of educational background is required. This is certainly true of practitioners in healthcare organizations, for example. We’ve also found this to be the case occasionally in the fields of finance and IT. Even in these cases, however, it is typically specific coursework or certifications that are required, not a degree.

We want to know what you think about this topic. What are the advantages and challenges of stating “BA or Equivalent Experience” in a job description? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

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Best Practices, Hiring Advice

Greening of the Screening

October 03, 2007

Recruiting can be a paper-intensive discipline. There are cover letters, resumes, phone screen notes, and other documents that are typically printed out for review. And since most search firms have a candidate management database that tracks these very same documents, printing can be a duplicate and potentially wasteful effort.

Some members of the Commongood Careers service team recently decided to take the plunge and go paperless. However, in addition to the immediate benefit of creating less waste and saving more trees, our team soon realized some genuine work efficiencies resulting from going green.

“Instead of spending my time sorting through piles of applications, I now do all of my screening electronically in our database,” says Kevin, a Commongood Careers Service Manager, “The result is less time spent shifting papers around, and more time spent getting to know candidates for our nonprofit searches.”

“Besides saving time, going paperless has created less clutter in our office,” added Allyson, another Service Manager, “We now are mindful of our paper consumption. Paper can be an unnecessary use of space.” (How Zen-like of Allyson.)

If you have other ideas for ways to green the workplace, please leave a comment below.

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Best Practices, Green Hiring

Congratulations to the 2007 Social Capitalist Award Winners

January 08, 2007

The fourth annual Fast Company Social Capitalist Awards were announced earlier this week. This year’s 43 award recipients are socially entrpreneurial ventures that are “using the disciplines of the corporate world to tackle daunting social problems.” Commongood Careers is proud to partner with seven of the award recipients:

BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life)
Citizen Schools
Hands On Network
Jumpstart
Nonprofit Finance Fund
Teach for America
Year Up

A very special congratulations to these organizations! We at Commongood Careers are honored to be helping to hire talent and build the teams of these organizations.

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Best Practices, Fast Company Social Capitalists Award, Social Entrepreneurism, Talent Issues

How Entrepeneurs Recruit Talent

January 05, 2007

A recent article in Entrepreneur magazine reported that the greatest challenge facing entrepreneurial organizations in 2007 is the ability to hire and retain the right people. The article had two particularly effective suggestions for meeting this challenge: 1) soliciting referrals and 2) hiring interns.

We know first-hand the value of employee referrals. Out of all of the searches we’ve completed in the past year, nearly 50% of placements have come either from the Commongood Careers network or the network of the hiring organization. When we begin any search, we reach out to our professional and personal contacts to explore their interest in a given position or to find out if they know anyone who might be interested. Besides drumming up buzz about a specific position, this strategy also helps us stay in touch with our networks and develop a talent pipeline.

Hiring interns is another effective way for entrepreneurial organizations to build relationships with developing talent. When hiring interns, it’s critical to make sure there is a valuable role an intern can play in your organization. Remember, interns are typically looking for meaningful work experience and exposure to the mission-critical aspects of your organizations. A summer of taking lunch orders or shredding paper is not a meaningful internship. Interns are typically bright and ambitious; employ these talented resources wisely and you may be surprised at what they can accomplish.

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Best Practices, Hiring Advice, Social Entrepreneurism, Talent Issues