> s it just private sector
> museums and other small non-profit organisations that feel they are not
> bound by such principles, and can therefore recruit by "word-of-mouth" or
> in response to approaches, or has equity and transparency in human
> resources management practice collapsed generally in the USA?


Most municipalities and states, as well as the federal government,
require that all vacancies be posted publicly where qualified people
would be likely to see the advertisement.  So you can and would be
expected to advertise in AVISO for state or city museum jobs, but you
may be allowed to skip the local paper (although some cities require
that all city vacancies be posted in the local paper as well).

Some states also require that a qualified person already working for the
state and applying for the position must be hired over an
equally-qualified person applying from "outside."  When I was
interviewed for a position in a state university's museum prior to its
being posted over the state's employment search service, the director
told me that if someone with my qualifications from within the system
wanted the job, I couldn't legally be hired.

Most private non-profit museums are not legally bound by such rules,
although they may follow them anyway, and if a qualified candidate comes
to them "blind" or by word of mouth, they will hire them without even
posting the vacant position. They may also only selectively post the
position:  for example, if Internet fluency is a job requirement, they
may try to guarantee it by ONLY posting the vacancy on Internet sites.

Equal opportunity often comes into play when the candidate pool is
established:  not during the recruitment process.  As mentioned before,
some PNP museums are extremely conscientious and will post the vacancy
widely, while others will play it close to the vest.  Although the USA
is very progressive in its employment laws, its employers are also more
ingenious about getting around them (don't even get me started on
"employment at will" states!).

Julia Moore
Indianapolis Art Center

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