[Foundation-l] Wikimedia "Storyteller" job opening

[Marc Riddell]

> 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 wikipedia at 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