First Draft: 2023-12-22-public-interest-tech-job-advice.md (#24)

* First Draft: 2023-12-22-public-interest-tech-job-advice.md

* Update 2023-12-22-public-interest-tech-job-advice.md

* Update 2023-12-22-public-interest-tech-job-advice.md

_posts/2023-12-22-public-interest-tech-job-advice.md

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+---
+title: Public Interest Tech Job Seeking Advice
+author:
+layout: post
+permalink: /job-seeking-advice/
+---
+
+The Public Interest Tech / Civic Tech / etc space is still growing and changing, with folks working across academia, local/state/federal gov, [foreign](https://gds.blog.gov.uk/about/) [governments](https://digital.canada.ca/), [government contracting](https://digitalservicescoalition.org/story/), philanthropy, and the non-profit space.
+
+As far as I can see, we don't have easy guidance for people trying to evlauate a new opportunity in this space, especially for more junior folks without a developed network, or people trying to break in, especially those who developed skills in the private sector and now seek more mission oriented work after reading [A Civic Technologist’s Practice Guide](https://cydharrell.com/book/) or [Recoding America](https://www.recodingamerica.us/). Jacob Kaplan-Moss has [advice](https://jacobian.org/2020/sep/14/measuring-hiring-manager-effectiveness/) for [hiring](https://jacobian.org/2021/mar/11/hours-to-hire/) [managers](https://jacobian.org/2022/aug/12/interview-notes/) and Chris Kuang has a great guide on [breaking into civic tech](https://www.chriskuang.com/civictech) that lists various places to look - but how do you know if an opportunity is a good fit? What are red and green flags particular to this space?
+
+These are my best guesses, meant to supplement advice that would apply to any job-seeking situation.
+
+### Thoughts to keep in mind:
+- Being mission-oriented does not make an organization a good place to work.
+- Working alone to bring reform or new ideas is much, much more challenging than being part of an aligned team. It's possible, but know what you sign up for.
+- The manager who hires you and the team you join may have different expectations. It's good to talk with someone on the team in addition to a possible manager when you can.
+- Your best time to negotiate is before taking the job.
+- Serving and producing good outcomes for the public may not lead to rewards on the job, unless an organization measures specific public outcomes when computing job performance. Typically, good outcomes are because of good press or developing a good reputation (because you do a good job communicating about the impact of your work).
+
+### Questions I suggest asking the possible job:
+- What does it look like in six months if you make a successful hire for this role? What outcomes are you hoping for?
+- Of my skillset, where do you see me reinforcing where the team is already strong, and where do you see my skills filling a gap on the team?
+- Let's say you and I identify a possibly deeply impactful project I might do, but there's no straightforward way to fund/support it in the org today. What would the process be like to get support for that?
+  - May not apply to everyone's situation.
+
+### Questions I suggest asking yourself:
+- Will I be working with aligned colleagues who I trust?
+  - If not, what will be my professional support system?
+- Do I know how this work will be funded, and if that funding will be maintained?
+- How has it worked for others on this team who had a new idea or wanted to introduce a new practice?
+- How do I know I can trust my future manager? Have I talked to someone else who has worked for them?
+- What are the incentives of the team I'm joining and the boss I'll be working for? Will I enjoy work that serves their interests?
+  - Specficially, is there an incentive for them to be interested in my professional development and growth besides benevolence? Does the organization culture support professional development?
+- Do I share values with my manager? Can I be my fullest professional self in a way that aligns with her/him and my organization?
+- How does the organization I'm joining's stated values compared to their lived values?
+  - If you are joining a new organization, look at the track record of their parent organization. Stating interest in doing something new/better does not mean the ingridents are actually present for change.
+- (for those newer to this space) If the job is risky, am I ok with the main outcome of this job being that I will learn a lot and not be able to deliver?