I am thankful for the variety of experiences I have been exposed to while at Central. Probably one of the most valuable experiences thus far has been assisting with interviewing candidates for a marketing & outreach position. This is a relatively new experience for me – having only interviewed one candidate for one other position in my professional career. It is so difficult. 

Central works really hard to hire the best candidates for open positions. One of the biggest challenges is finding candidates that are interested in part-time work. For nonprofit organizations with limited resources, especially those that rely on grants to fund their programs, this is the reality in which they must operate. And even though Central has committed to paying livable wages for employees across the organization, hiring is still a challenge. 

Most impressive to me, have been the candidates that come into the interviews prepared. Many of them have taken the time to look over the website, and some have even given examples of changes they would make, or initiatives they would undertake to help grow marketing at Central. I also think it is important to be able to give specific examples of past experiences that you can draw from to answer interview questions. 

We have some promising candidates, so I hope we are able to pick a candidate soon that will be able to expand Central’s reach, tell authentic stories about the awesome work they are doing, and make connections with community members. 

PS – to all of my fellow Fellows, make sure you are documenting all of the awesome things you are doing this Summer with your host sites! These details will come in handy as you prepare for your own interviews in the future!