B. Give feedback in these two articles

Article 1

I have volunteered and worked for several non-profit organizations over the years. Synagogues, a womens volunteer organization, and AED/CPR non-profit here in Durango. I have sat on a lot of hiring committees and interview panels. With volunteers, you must be especially careful to invite the exact right person to perform a role on your board or in your organization because it is extremely difficult to fire a volunteer. Particularly if the volunteer in question is a major donor.

At one synagogue I was on the board at, we were hiring someone for a quarter-time position as Religious School Director. The religious school was twice a week, Wednesday afternoons and Sunday mornings. The primary purpose was to teach the kids Hebrew and prepare them to become Bnai Mitzvah (Bat and Bar Mitzvah.) So, naturally, in a tiny town, we had very few candidates.

Candidate 1 was a stay-at-home mom with no formal education. She had a fair bit of experience in daycares. She was applying because she wanted part-time work and enjoyed working with kids. She was warm and friendly but didnt have any knowledge of the Jewish faith.

Candidate 2 grew up in a Jewish/Catholic home, never became Bat Mitzvah, and had no interest in Judaism. She also had her masters degree in education and was a local teacher. She thought having Director of Religious School would look good on her resume. She was cold, dismissive about Judaism, and somewhat snobby.

Candidate 3 was Jewish, practicing, a stay-at-home mom, and a congregant at the synagogue. She had 3 kids in the religious school and had been teaching one of the classes at the religious school already. She had no formal education. She wanted the job because she had a vested interest in making the religious school succeed for her kids. She was warm and friendly, knew all the kids and their parents, and had taken several informal classes on Judaism with local Rabbis. (Spoiler alert! It was me!)

I applied for the job with the understanding that I would step down from the board if I was chosen. At first, I assumed no one else wanted the job. Then Candidate 2, who was my kids public school art teacher, heard about the job from me being excited about it. I had invited her to let her 5-year-old daughter start at the religious school. I recused myself from all the hiring proceedings at that point. They hired Candidate 2 and I was absolutely crushed. Because the board and interview panel were all highly educated STEM field professionals they had no experience with any other type of interviewing. It was a grueling 2-hour interview where they belittled me about not having a degree and asked if I had ever had real job in my life. Over a job that paid $6000 a year! I cried for a week, stepped down from the board, and left the synagogue, taking my 3 kids with me. We drove an hour to the next town over to go to their synagogue. So, granted, I am biased. I thought I was the best fit. In hindsight though, candidate 2 really was not right for the job. All the other kids parents took their kids out of the religious school and just didnt do anything because the kids were so miserable in her class. She also didn't know how to order the right curriculum and she couldn't find another teacher. Only one of the 5 kids left became Bat Mitzvah. Candidate 2 didnt care about Judaism, didnt know Hebrew or how to teach it, and was cold and rude to the kids and parents. None of the kids were having fun in the class, or dare I say, even enjoying being Jewish. She was also rude to my kids at public school after that. She only lasted a year and a half before she quit mid-year.

So what did my former board do wrong? Everything.

1. They didnt have a coherent job description, requirements, or outcome. They just were desperate to fill a job that had existed for 30 and changed dramatically over that time. They needed to do a job analysis.

2. They needed to keep the organizations core strategic goal in mind. Bringing Judaism to the next generation and keeping the Jewish culture alive in the small community.

3. They were more focused on irrelevant job requirements then what was actually needed to do the job.

4. The pay was that of a volunteer position, not of a professional. They needed to either pay more, or switch gears to recruiting a volunteer.

Description: Friendly, responsible person to teach Jewish religious school classes to children aged 5-13 on Wednesday afternoons and Sunday mornings. Supervise one other teacher and supply them with curriculum. Incorporate parents into religious school activities.

Specifications: The ideal candidate will have experience in positive classroom management. Will pass a background check. Works well with adults and children. Has taught religious school before. Knowledge of the Hebrew language and Jewish culture. Jewish-friendly, (please no proselytizing.)

Article 2

When it comes to selecting the right candidates to hire you cannot just look at one specific area like fit, ability or personality, you need to look at all of those things. You could have a person that has all of the abilities but if they don't have the right personality or fit for the company or the team they will be on, they likely won't last long and their job performance will go down as a consequence.

I think the best way for fit to be assessed is to ensure that managers are including a majority of their teams, or at least the key players on the team. This is what my current job did with me in my interviews. I got to meet my entire team in individual zoom meetings. One of them actually took me through their documents and processes to give me an idea of what type of work will need to be done and how they go about their processes. I think this helped me to gauge my expectations, but also helped her to see my verbal and nonverbal ques when going over the material. Talking to each person individually also helps to ensure there is a natural flow between myself of those key players on the team to ensure that I would fit with the team dynamic.