Job Posting Guide
This guide walks you through the Second Day job posting experience. It shares why it is structured the way it is, with some examples to follow!
Starting info
Your email
The email you want us to contact you on. We won’t share it publicly.
Title of role
It is perfectly fine to go with a standard job description title (operations intern or communications intern). You can also use more creative language or titles, but try not to use so much jargon that someone doesn’t know what it is.
How would you describe the function of this person, to the best of your ability?
This drop-down menu makes it easy to tag the role in certain categories. If nothing feels right, you can add another term in the ‘other’ category
Job responsibilities and qualifications
What are some key tasks that this person would be charged with completing?
Be as specific as possible here. For example:
“Creating three Instagram and Facebook posts per week” is more helpful than “Update social media”
List the tasks from most substantial to least. An ideal list would be 4-7 items long.
If there is uncertainty in the role, you can make the last note something like “Other tasks may include x, y, or z.”
If it is critical that they be available at certain times or in certain places, specifying that here is quite helpful.
Add some potential opportunities for the fellow to take on more responsibility over time. Particularly if they’ve already done an internship very similar to this one, how could they grow?
Formatting note: Use shift + enter for each item in the list. Bullets will auto-format from the typeform into the ultimate posting. If you aren’t sure, we can fix it on the back end
What are some key experiences that would be helpful for someone to thrive in this role?
Focus on experience and aptitude where possible
If you have someone doing partnerships work in Houston, it is likely better to list “Experience living or working in the Houston community and having a sense of the key stakeholders in the education space here” rather than just “Familiarity with Houston” or “grew up in Houston”
Be thoughtful about which tools are essential to have prior experience with vs not. For example:
Learning Stata or R is likely too challenging for an intern on the job. If they are expected to use those tools, it is fine to list something like “Past experience using Stata to analyze data and generate output reports.”
Some tools are easier to learn on the job, such as the CRM database that your organization uses. In that case, specifically requiring past experience with Salesforce or Blackbaud might exclude a lot of great candidates. Instead something like this might work better: “Detail-oriented approach and interest in using a CRM database to record donor information effectively.”
In some cases a lot of experience is required, while in others just a bit is ok. The more clear you are here, the better!
Think about which skills are really the most critical
Honing on the key skills is important. For example, the skillset for someone creating infographics vs writing blog posts vs creating research reports can all be quite different. The first requires strong graphic design experience. The second requires creative storytelling. The third requires effective synthesis. There may be multiple interlocking skills that are relevant, but which is most essential to highlight first?
Don’t overfocus on years of experience or the exact same internship in the past. This will limit the number of potential candidates. Plus, many of the most effective candidates are always trying to learn and grow into new roles. By requiring that someone has done this exact same role in the past, you are introducing some self-selection bias that might bring candidates that don’t have better options. Finding that balance between enough experience and not too much experience is challenging, but essential!
What are the MOST important skill(s) you are looking for in this role. You can choose up to two.
As we go through candidates and consider who might be the best fit, it is helpful for us to navigate trade-offs by finding people that fit these most important skills
Working style preferences
Our applicants share their preferences as well. We’ve found this to be a helpful tie-breaker or differentiator for finding a great fit for your team without relying on implicit bias or vague ‘cultural fit’ terms. If you have no preference or aren't sure, you can leave some of these blank too. Note that these answers are used internally and not shared with candidates to enable full candor.
Does this role have lots of social interaction and meetings throughout the day OR more focus on individual work? (rated 1-6)
This gets to both introvert vs extrovert and a sense of job flexibility. Is this a role where things need to get done flexibly or will the fellow need to have a lot of time available for meetings during the 9-5 work day?
Does this role have very specific tasks, expectations, and instructions OR assignments with more space for flexibility and problem-solving? (rated 1-6)
This gets to the structure of the role. Some candidates thrive in fluid environments, while others prefer lots of structure.
Does this role have a consistent and specific scope of work to be done OR the expectation/ability to take on more responsibility over time? (rated 1-6)
This gets to the path forward over time. Some candidates just want a clear role that they can deliver on over time. Other candidates are looking for opportunities to take on more responsibilities over time. Being aligned on this is important!
This role calls for someone who is familiar with the particular cause/issue area we work in. (rated 1-6)
Some roles require lots of context with the issue area. Other times, it is less important. In isolation, it would be great for every candidate to have every relevant skill and lots of experience in this cause area. But in a world of trade-offs, how important is this to doing the job well?
Job logistics
What department or team will this person be working on?
It’s helpful for applicants, but also for the host organization to be clear on who has ultimate responsibility for the fellow.
Anticipated manager
Lack of transparency into reporting structure is often stressful for applicants; we like to give people all the tools they need to know what they are signing up for! If you aren't sure, you can write TBD here.
When is the preferred start date for this role?
This helps us understand the urgency and general timeline you are aiming for
When would you like us to send you a set of 2-5 finalists?
We will try our very best to work with your timeline. Allowing at least two or three weeks from posting the role will increase the quality of potential candidates.
Do you have a set end-date or is it open-ended depending on need/performance?
This could be at the end of a semester, season, or year. It doesn’t have to be a specific date, but listing a likely end date will help make sure you and the fellow are on the same page. A common answer is often “through x date with the potential for extension.” This allows both parties to commit to working together for a certain period of time, while leaving open space for a longer relationship if things are going well
This role is a (1) paid internship, (2) part-time job, or (3) full-time job
This is a tagging category
Anticipated # of hours per week
Please type a number or a number range. For example: "10-15" or "25." Flexibility may help get more candidates, but if you are looking for a lot of hours, it can also help to be explicit about that. For students in school, we recommend limiting hours to 15 per week, since research has shown that working more than 15 hours per week while in school full-time can harm academic performance.
Is this role paid with a stipend, hourly rate, or salary?
What is the stipend rate, hourly rate, or salary range for this role?
Please provide a median number or a range. Note that we require information on compensation to be listed in order to post a role publicly. This is for equity reasons and because more governments are mandating it.
Second Day can help with payroll processing if needed. Note that we typically require a role to pay at least $15/hour and in some places the minimum wage is $16/hour. For more in-demand skills or senior fellows, offering $18-$25 per hour might attract stronger candidates.
Where are you hiring?
Please note if it is hybrid, remote, or in person (and where)
We highly recommend offering remote options when possible, particularly for part-time or internship openings. The cost and time of transportation can be substantial, particulalry for students or for someone with a second job or family commitments.
This manager has experience with managing young people who identify as people of color, first-generation college students, and/or low-income.
If you have less experience, that's ok! We offer resources for managers who are looking for tools to better support their young talent. This is for our internal records.
We are willing to hire someone with fewer "on paper" qualifications if they have relevant lived experience.
This is internal for our matchmaking purposes. Lived experience often doesn't show up in a traditional cover letter or resume, but brings a critical perspective and skillset to an org. Understanding your priorities helps us accordingly!
What does the finalist interview process entail?
Once we send you a set of finalists, what can candidates expect? One 45 minute interview? Multiple rounds? Any work samples? This helps them to calibrate expectations and know what they are signing up for.
And that’s it!
This job posting may be longer and a bit different than ones you’ve used before, but we’ve put a lot of thought and research into what information is essential to maximize the chances of you getting a great fit for your team. We also use this template to standardize postings across the board. It helps candidates to have the same information in the same place across roles to quickly analyze everything!