Seeking and Hiring - Part Deaux

Posted by Chris Freeland on Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Almost exactly a year ago, I posted something about seeking and hiring church positions, the good, bad, and ugly. I wanted to follow-up on that post because it still gets a lot of views on Google, and because it's fresh on my mind.

Recently, we've started looking for a Young Adult Intern who can help with some leadership development - specifically in the area of our Eikon (Young Singles) Ministry. We're looking for someone who can help us take our IMAGE groups to the next level, and can help me continue to think through some other ways to best help young singles in Fort Worth have great ministry.

Last week, no lie, I got a cover letter for the position that said:

"chris,

i saw ur post about a intern on the swbts website. if u are still looking for someone id like that job.

see ya,"

The same week, I got a cover letter that said:

"Scott,

"I am interested in the opening at your church for the internship at your church. God has given me a great amount of passion for Junior High ministry, and I would love to be a part of what God is doing there. Please see my resume attached to this email..."

I emailed the guy back and said, something to the affect of, "I think you accidentally sent your information to the wrong place. We're looking for an intern, but it is in the young adults area of ministry." I figured the guy had me mixed up with someone else, and wanted to make sure his resume got to the right place.

I got the following reply:

"Chris,

My bad. I sent out a bunch of resumes today and must have messed up. I would like the internship you're looking to hire. Please change everything in my cover letter that says "Junior High" to "Young Adults." I hope to hear from you soon."

I've received about 25 resumes for this position so far. Somewhere around 20 of them were unpresentable. Two or three were outstanding. If you're out there looking for a ministry job, and feel like God may have gifted you for ministry in a large-church context, pay close attention to the impression your resume gives. It will automatically catapult you into the top 5 or 10 percent of resumes those churches receive, and may earn you a phone call even if you're not the most qualified candidate.

3 comments:

Kara said...

It amazes me what some people put in an application, cover letter, resume, etc. I don't think people have common sense anymore or just plain don't care! Good luck in the search!

9:40 AM
Dan said...

One thing I really appreciate about my (public) college is that it really trained us well in the job search: how to prepare a résumé and cover letter, how to interview, basically how to present yourself. (One big thing they railed on us about is that we need to do our research and show the employer why we want to work there -- so you don't seem like someone who's just looking for any job until the next thing comes along.) Even my boss has remarked on how all the applicants from my alma mater are well-prepared.

So, from your experience here and previous two churches, do you think that at the local seminaries, even if the spiritual training is sound, the job-search lessons are neglected? Or are kids these days just lazy?

12:19 PM
Chris Freeland said...

Dan,

I think what it comes down to is that seminaries (all of them) can only teach so much in the hours they have students. I have a 120 hour Masters degree, and there are still things that we didn't touch. Lots of things.

One of those things that goes by the wayside is basic professionalism. They try to cover some of those lessons by requiring students to have an internship. Unfortunately, they don't take the time to prepare those people to get a quality internship.

It's partially the fault of the seminary, but there's not much they can do about it. It's just not their emphasis.

1:52 PM

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