It might also be useful to hear where we advertised:

-Here
-On the local Human Services listserv
-at a local university mailing list (they have several programs for
interacting with the community)
-flyers posted all around town, including social services hubs like DSS
and Catholic Services, colleges/universities at our parent organization
which is a community center, and even random posting boards at coffee
shops

In the end the person we went with is someone who probably saw none of
these postings, and was someone my co-director had met through his
social network :/

She was also easily the most qualified among the dozen or more people we
interviewed, and we did two rounds of interviews and really took our
time. So go figure.

cyclista Nicholas


On 2019-02-08 08:50, Cyclista Nicholas wrote:
> Hi Andrew!
>
> So exciting!
>
> I'm including my giant collection of job descriptions her as an
> attachment.
>
> Aside from the sprawling detail of everything, that I could go into
> but won't, (you're all very welcome) the one thing I would like to
> talk about is the seasonal aspect.
>
> We hired our shop mechanic, Tara, as a seasonal employee, and then we
> just kind of didn't set a cutoff date, and I don't regret it. Being up
> here in NY means Winters are slow for bicycle endeavors -but- during
> the busy season the todo list builds and builds. It was our plan from
> the beginning to use Winters as shop development time, to take care of
> the monumental tasks having to help dozens of participants each week
> wouldn't allow for. Originally I and one other person with only 5hrs
> per week were going to be the only ones on staff over Winter, but
> having Tara around at no decreased hours has been incredibly valuable.
>
> We also have not decreased shop hours for the same reasons. On days
> when we are open but nobody comes in, we just do shop work. In the
> Spring we hope to sell a hundred bikes or so that we've repaired, and
> that will be a huge fundraiser for us.
>
> Also I do worry about not being able to get the employee back if we
> let them go. Part of the reason behind paying someone is to give them
> a reason to stay.
>
> Another thing - I don't think it's possible to have too much
> institutional memory in any one person, only to not have enough in
> others. The more knowledge about how to run your shop, the better. I
> think the problem comes when there is no documentation, at the very
> least in the form of an articulate job description, if not a shop
> constitution or whatever.
>
> Documentation is something that we all need, that generally offsets
> the "only I hold the  secret magic" aspect I think Alysia is concerned
> about. If anyone can review the procedures, anyone qualified can
> perform the role.
>
> Andrew, when we created our various job descriptions, I had tremendous
> trepidation. I got writer's block almost immediately, it  seems like a
> huge cliff to step off and that I had to account for every contingency
> possible when creating the document. Eventually I just read a bunch of
> other job descriptions and plagiarized the crap out of several. It
> gave me something to work from and it was a lot easier to edit other
> work than imagine a perfect document from scratch. What we came up
> with (it wasn't only me working on it) is in the RIBs folder of the
> attached archive.
>
> I know I probably said a bunch of this when I visited you guys awhile
> back, so I apologize if I've ended up repeating myself.
>
> cyclista Nicholas
>
>
> On 2019-02-07 20:56, breathingplanet wrote:
>> hi ThinkTankers,
>>
>> after 17 years of hardcore 100% volunteer powered ebbs and flows, Troy
>> Bike
>> Rescue is poised to take a risk and hire one seasonal staff person
>> (called
>> shop manager at this point, but it could change) to help us increase
>> consistency and accessibility of our workshop space.  for us board
>> members
>> and for me as founder and forever volunteer, it feels a little like
>> stepping off a cliff, but the current board is badass and motivated
>> and
>> feeling ready, and I am getting behind it.
>>
>> Because there is a lot to talk about here, I am writing with the
>> *specific
>> purpose *of soliciting feedback about writing a job description for
>> said
>> position.  and I know the think tank will provide.  i love and am
>> perpetually amazed at the dialog and community demonstrated on this
>> list.
>>
>> Things we are thinking about:
>> how can we attract someone with the perfect blend of people and bike
>> skills
>> with a bunch of words in email or facebook or indeed or wherever?
>>
>> is making a seasonal 'limit' a bad idea?  it limits our financial
>> risk, but
>> will also limit the pool of potential applicants.
>>
>> how can we make a comprehensive and accurate list of job descriptions
>> without overwhelming a potential applicant or basicall saying "your
>> job is
>> to do everything!"?
>>
>> and etc. etc.
>>
>> If you have a job description handy that has been successful, maybe
>> you
>> want to paste it into this thread.  if you have feedback that doesnt
>> stray
>> too far from some of the questions above, that will be helpful too!
>>
>> Thanks!!
>> Andrew - Troy Bike Rescue
>> Troy, NY
>>
>> ps.  we are coming to bikebike NE and two youthshop coordinators are
>> headed
>> to youthbike summit!  see yinz there.
>>
>>
>>
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