Where to Post My Job Listing

November 11, 2009 7:49 AM

Is there a job listing site for quirkier sorts of (part time) jobs, attracting brighter, more artsy workers?

I need to hire someone for well-paid part time work that's a unique hybrid: helping organize a house (catalog possessions, research value of items, create craigslist/ebay listings or transport to donation drop-offs....and organize photos and send to photo scanning service after researching optional add-ons, etc etc) and also assist with writing and web ventures I'm currently developing (i.e. editing, brainstorming, opining; generally being a savvy muse).

So I need someone smart, energetic, competent, very organized and with a good eye for writing and good taste, generally. And a "driven" approach to completing projects and tasks (i.e. bring energy to the work and not rely on me to always direct and motivate). It will pay pretty well.

I was going to use Craigslist, but their help wanted ads are for a whole other universe of worker (plus, I can't imagine which of their categories this would fit into) so I'm not sure I'd find my target person that way. Here's the problem: in a recession, everyone's digging eagerly for work, so I don't want to cast my net in waters populated by the wrong sort of fish....and face a monstrous winnowing job.

There are artsy-but-smart-and-organized types out there who could use this work. How do I connect with them? Is there a job listing site attracting this sort of person ? Or a general purpose notice board? Or are there offline routes to take?

If McSweeney's accepted classified ads, that'd be perfect...

posted by Quisp Lover to work & money (18 comments total)

I'll start with the obvious.
posted by brain_drain at 7:53 AM on November 11

The city/country you're in may make a difference. In Canada, there's Work In Culture and Media Job Search Canada. Your area might have something similar.

Craigslist would be fine. Just post that you need a "strong writer with photography & computer skills" with a clear job description (you could be a bit more organized and bullet-pointy about the job description than you were in this post, I think). Put it in the arts / media / design category, and then only respond to people who actually write competent letters back to you.

Here's a tip: in your ad, include a simple request buried at the end of a paragraph (don't draw attention to it with extra stuff like bold text), like "please respond with the subject line "Photo Editor" and don't even open the ones that fail to do that- shows reading comprehension & attention to detail.

This kind of trick is the real reason bands ask for "no red M&Ms" kind of stuff on their event riders- to make sure the venue people actually read the rider. If they got the right M&Ms, they know the sound equipment will all be right, too!
posted by twistofrhyme at 7:58 AM on November 11 [1 favorite has favorites]

If I were looking for this kind of job, craigslist is the first and only place I would think to look. But then again, I've only used craigslist in major metropolitan areas so maybe your frame of reference is different. But it couldn't hurt to try. You could put it either into "Gigs" or "ETC.".
Twistofrhyme's ideas are very good ones. You're gonna get alot of responses no matter where you post, so make it easy on yourself from the beginning.
posted by amethysts at 8:02 AM on November 11

I'd think this would be a great job for a recent library school grad. Detail-oriented and with a lot of different parts to it. I don't know where you're located, but you might want to check the local library school or especially people working in art libraries [at larger academic institutions] or possibly whatever the local library associaiton is. All US States and Canadian provinces have some sort of local library association that has their own job boards and whatnot. I don't know if you'd always get artsy but you would always get organized and quirky.
posted by jessamyn at 8:07 AM on November 11

I think you have the wrong idea about who is on Craigslist. Everyone looks there for jobs, even if they look elsewhere, too.

Craigslist is actually really good for this stuff. Just put something that makes people read the ad, if you have gmail create some rules to filter it out as it comes in.

Don't put it in admin/office area though.

Or give info about the job to the career center of a local school. You'll get the more motivated students that actually, you know, use the career center.
posted by kathrineg at 8:37 AM on November 11

Yeah, I would second posting in the job section area of metafilter. And if it's something people could do and telecommute, I know several people right up your alley. Bright, focused, and artistic is the crowd I run with.
posted by Rocket26 at 8:44 AM on November 11

I was going to use Craigslist, but their help wanted ads are for a whole other universe of worker (plus, I can't imagine which of their categories this would fit into) so I'm not sure I'd find my target person that way.

I don't understand why you wouldn't use CL. People of all sorts will think of CL as one of the first places to look for job listings. I don't know what subset of people you think use CL. I'd imagine it's pretty much anyone who's web-savvy and has an internet connection (which presumably describes any qualified applicant since you want people to do web design).

I mean, if you were a landlord looking for tenants, would you post on CL, or would you avoid it because you might not find the ideal tenant there? The latter strategy would be a good idea if you wanted to significantly reduce the number of good applicants you'd get.

And how can there possibly be a concern about which category to use when CL's job categories includes "etc."? (There's also a web design category and a writing category. Is it possible to post the same listing in multiple categories?)
posted by Jaltcoh at 8:48 AM on November 11

I'm going to second Jessamyn's suggestion that a recent library school grad might be well-equipped for this job. You might also target museum employment websites or museum studies programs at local schools for creative people who are familiar with art research and may have experience researching, cataloging, and processing things like art objects.

And, I'm sorry, but I can't resist saying that I have experience in all the areas you describe (evaluating, dating and authenticating fine and decorative art objects, art research, library and museum cataloging, photo and creative work), and I've checked Craigslist for jobs many times in the past. I think the notion that you won't find smart or creative people there is confusing and vaguely elitist (a "whole other universe of worker", as you say), and it's mildly insulting to me as someone who has used the website in the past. Maybe best to target your search to sources like the ones that have been suggested, but minus the snap judgments about potential employees?
posted by sarabeth at 9:00 AM on November 11

Quisp Lover, I sent you a private message via MeMail.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 9:41 AM on November 11

Thanks, everybody, very helpful!

brain_drain: I didn't know there was a metajobs section!

amethyst: Craigslist for my particular geographical area (sort of dull and rural) lists only incredibly prosaic, 1964-ish jobs. I realize it's very different for NY & SF Craigslist. But I may try anyway.

Rocket26, alas, no telecommuting. If that were possible, I'd instantly know about 30 people to fill this slot!

Jaltcoh: FWIW, Craigslist gets $25 for each category you list under.

sarabeth: sorry to "insult" you, bizarre though it seems given that 1. I wasn't talking about you, and 2. I obviously wasn't looking to zing anyone. And I'll be thicker-skinnned than you re: your "elitest" and "snap judgement" remarks, though 1. you were talking about me, and 2. you were intending to zing. Delicate flowers spit the strongest venom...
posted by Quisp Lover at 9:51 AM on November 11

As amethysts and others have said, just use the CL "Gigs", "Part-Time", and "Etc." sections.

Bear in mind that wacky, creative, freewheeling jobs are much, much rarer than freewheeling, creative workers-- your task is to clarify, *in your headline*, that you are looking for someone interesting, to do something interesting.

Want a savvy muse?

Then put, in your headline, Creative, Savvy Muse Required (P/T, $x/hr.) .
posted by darth_tedious at 10:15 AM on November 11

On second thought, don't use the word "muse"... that might suggest something from a different CL category... Try "genie" or "whirlwind" or something similarly quirky and visually evocative.
posted by darth_tedious at 10:17 AM on November 11

darth_tedious, as a writer, I admire your deft word choices.

Agreed on scarcity. That doesn't mean it will be easy to connect. And, again, I fear a recession-caused flood of phenomenally inappropriate respondents to have to winnow through. So I'd like to try to do this right.
posted by Quisp Lover at 10:27 AM on November 11

twistofrhyme, GMTA. I've devised a bunch of intrinsic little tests of attention and diligence to slip in, nearly subliminally. I do realize, due to the scarcity and the recession issues, that I'll need a series of filters....
posted by Quisp Lover at 10:32 AM on November 11

Jaltcoh: FWIW, Craigslist gets $25 for each category you list under.

So you could get it listed under 4 categories -- writing, web, "etc.," and something else -- for a mere $100? Wow, sounds like a great bargain. Go for it!
posted by Jaltcoh at 12:13 PM on November 11

More categories = more money, more responses, and, therefore, more winnowing. And, once again, Craigs List out in the boonies is nothing like Craigs List NYC or SF, and we're in a recession and I'm offering work any yahoo would think would be fairly easy to do, so it'd be low signal-to-noise.

So I'm looking for ways to narrowcast this more toward my target. I've had some good suggestions so far. Any others?
posted by Quisp Lover at 12:37 PM on November 11

More categories = more money, more responses

If you have to pay $100 for it, while that would be a lot to spend on, say, dinner at a restaurant, it would be a very inexpensive way to find someone to do this important job. "More responses" -- wouldn't that be a good thing? I still don't understand why you're dismissing CL.
posted by Jaltcoh at 2:24 PM on November 11

Actually Craigslist discourages cross posting between job categories and your ads could get flagged and removed. I would do the one ad there, and contact your local college career centers if you have one of those.
posted by amethysts at 3:21 PM on November 11