Please forgive my candor, however, I wonder how in this age of spreadsheets,
mail merges, and document templates, one cannot send responses to their
applicants, many of whom spent as much or more time on their individual
application as you will sending a response to all applicants.

I will admit my naivety - I have not yet been in the position to hire
someone and therefore cannot speak with any certainty about the complexities
of the subject. However, I know how relatively little amount of time it
takes to set up a simple "We have received your application" document
template, create a spread sheet with applicants names and addresses, press
the "Mail Merge" button on my word processor and feed a ream of paper and
envelopes into the laser printer. Why then do we fuss about the amount of
time needed to give applicants a clue about their status? As discussed on
Museum-L a few months ago (reference my post on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 and
others with the subject "A reflection on employers and job seekers") letting
your applicants hang in the balance sours them on your institution and you
as a professional. Remember, applicants are your future visitors,
contributors, volunteers, employees, employers, grant funders, and most
importantly colleagues.

To borrow the current pop culture phrase: Cost of sending thank you letters,
a few hours. An applicants' relief over knowing their status, priceless.

George Garner
National Speedskating Museum and Hall of Fame
P.O. Box 3120
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
(518) 587-26090 // [log in to unmask]


|-----Original Message-----
|From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
|Behalf Of Janice Klein
|Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2002 11:43 AM
|To: [log in to unmask]
|Subject: Re: To Those in the Profession Who Hire
|
|
|As much as I try to respond to the unsolicited resumes and
|inquiries about
|job openings I am not always able to get the "I'm sorry we
|have no openings
|at this time" letter out in a timely way.  The ones that tend
|to go to the
|bottom of the pile are those from applicants who appear not to
|have done
|much background research -- even looking at the Museum Directory or our
|website -- and ask about positions that are unlikely to exist
|in a museum
|with only two permanent staff members (no, we do not have a development
|"staff" or an exhibit design "department") and a visitation of
|11,000, or do
|not have any experience with the subject matter of the collection.
|
|I'm also more likely to respond if there is a request for an
|informational
|meeting ("I know you may not have any jobs open at this time,
|but I would
|very much appreciate having a chance to meet with you and see
|the Museum")
|and, for those with very limited experience, a suggestion that
|they might be
|willing to volunteer or work on a short term project.
|
|Membership in professional organizations helps and (sorry to
|reinforce the
|"it's who you know", but since I have been around for a while
|I may actually
|know one of your instructors or someone you worked with) a personal
|reference, even in the form of "Mary Sue suggested I contact
|you" also gets
|my attention.
|
|Hope this helps,
|
|janice
|
|Janice Klein
|Chair, SMAC-AAM
|Director, The Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, Kendall College
[log in to unmask]
|www.mitchellmuseum.org
|

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