Trying something different -- hiring success stories!
Last weekend, I went camping with my girls. Being outside and away from the day-to-day hustle inspired me to do something slightly different with this newsletter. I’m going to share a few stories of how NRG Consulting Group successfully found three candidates for leadership positions at three completely different organizations. I know most of you sign up for these emails to get tips on how to land a job, but my hope is that these success stories will be helpful.
Advocacy group looking for a new Co-Executive Director. Their founding Executive Director had just left and they were tight on time to find a replacement. I did my usual posting on key progressive listservs and then some; I sent the posting to a targeted set of people in my network; and ultimately, I had a call set up with someone who I met back when I was on the job hunt years ago. (Remember: It’s all about network, network, network.) We had stayed in touch via occasional virtual coffees and email exchanges. She reached out because she was thinking of transitioning from her current consulting gig to a full-time role. I pitched her on applying, walked her through the process, and then debriefed with her after each interview stage. Since I had met the leadership staff, I was able to give her good intel on them and prepared her for some prickly people so she wouldn’t be spooked. It worked! She was offered the job and is now up and running.
High-performing charter school looking for a Principal. The trick here was that we launched the search in June and school started in mid-July. As everyone knows, all the good school leaders get scooped up in January-February. This search was all about hustle. We built a huge list of New York City-based charter school leaders and directors of talent; we sent a bunch of emails to our lists advertising; and put up the $2,000 referral bonus. Someone on our list referred the candidate we hired, and it was smooth sailing from there!
Progressive funder looking for a Senior Marketing Director. This role was hard to fill. They were wicked clear on what they wanted, but because it was so specific it felt like finding a unicorn. I did my usual drill, and someone from one of the funder’s partner organizations who knew the founders well responded with a lead. (I later learned that they knew the founders really well -- same Austin-based moms group.) The candidate missed the original deadline but we stayed on her. She missed another deadline for the performance task, but we continued to stay on her and followed up aggressively. It turns out she was just busy and distracted. Once she came up for air, we were ready for panel interviews. She wowed them and got the offer. She starts next week!
So -- I kick it to you. After reading these stories, what are your takeaways? Does it change or remind you of anything about your job search?
Here are the top three jobs we’re featuring this week:
Policy Director at UTEC; $70,000-$80,000; Boston.
Senior Vice President of Strategy at M+R; $128,000-$141,000; Remote.
Chief Program Officer at EdNavigator; $125,000-$175,000; Remote.
Now, onto housekeeping!
NRG Consulting is offering coaching programs to folks on the job hunt, whether you’re an entry- or senior-level candidate. Check out the programs we’re offering on our website, and get in touch with us.
If you find this newsletter helpful, forward it to your friends and help us build our network! Also, if you have feedback or an idea for a future newsletter topic, shoot me a note.
Naomi