Comments on: Interview Process for a Community Manager

By: Connie Bensen

Connie Bensen — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:33:49 +0000

Martin’s point about searching for your own name is important. Even though they’re called vanity searches – they’re important for personal brand building.
And most definitely one’s resume is their digital footprint. We’re living in a world where transparency is a reality!

By: Community Manager Recruitment | Connie Bensen

Community Manager Recruitment | Connie Bensen — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:26:24 +0000

[...] the last post on the Interview Process I offered tips for both the Interviewer & the candidate. That started some interesting [...]

By: Connie Bensen

Connie Bensen — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:34:33 +0000

Thanks for your ideas Martin. Yes it’s important for staff to fit into the organization’s culture. I planned to address that in the next post. (Your choice of words ‘if you couldn’t stand speaking to them’ made me chuckle! Because Comm Mgr’s talk/type a lot! It’s our nature!)

And I agree – let’s not go poaching other people’s community managers, ok?! Which brings up more questions.

This is a great discussion!

By: Martin Reed

Martin Reed — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:24:43 +0000

Richard definitely raises an interesting point. I would certainly recommend looking for a community manager inside an existing community as this allows you to see them actively demonstrating their abilities.

I think it is important to take their previous experience and achievements into account but you should still take the time to interview them or at least engage in a conversation to see if they are a right ‘fit’ – after all, would you still recruit the perfect community manager if you couldn’t stand speaking to them?

You also need to consider the fact that the community manager you want may not be willing to jump ship – meaning you need to take a more ‘open’ approach to recruitment.

- Martin

By: Martin Edic

Martin Edic — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:06:15 +0000

I’d add: Google yourself so there are no surprises because you’re going to get Googled. Consider running yourself through a social media monitoring tool (like ours) and using those results to show what you’ve accomplished out there in the community.
Have a resume site with a full range of links to sites you’ve developed, networks you are a member or admin for, Linkedin info, etc.

By: Connie Bensen

Connie Bensen — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:31:16 +0000

Hi Richard,
That is a very good question!
Would you agree that every employee needs to go thru the interview/hiring process? If so, then that was the purpose of this post.

But yes, you’re right, those questions would assume that the interviewer was almost an expert on the community manager role. So I agree with your concern.

Great can of worms that you’ve opened! I will address them. It’s an excellent conversation.

By: Richard Millington

Richard Millington — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:46:56 +0000

Interesting post. My question is does a community manager really need an interview?

If I wanted to hire one, I’d find a few online communities I really liked and recruit whoever built and managed that community. It’s like recruiting an SEO expert, you type in SEO Expert and pick one of them.

The problem I have with the questions, and they are good question, is that they’re only useful if the interviewer knows what the answer should be.