Is the concept of community being swallowed by marketing and ruining the career path?
..a general rant about the red flags I see in community job descriptions
I love talking to people who want to hire a dedicated Community Manager. Most of the time they aren’t totally sure what that means and continually add responsibilities to their job description only to ultimately be hiring for a role that is part CM, part Growth Hacker, part Content Manager, and part Social Media Manager. And yes, community work requires us to wear a lot of hats and have a pretty robust skillset. But it also isn’t a catchall role for all the jobs that need to be done at an organization.
Look at larger companies who are hiring for community roles, even leadership roles, and it’s the same thing. And it seems to be getting more frequent? Sure, some community roles report to the marketing department. But a true Community Manager is not focused on marketing.
As community continues to become a buzzword, the actual bones of community work becomes more diluted. Part of this is likely due to the fact that the people hiring for these roles do not fully grasp what it is that a Community Manager should do. And furthermore they often don’t value that work or see the ROI. Because a well run community seems organic and effortless, despite the fact that Community Managers are often burned out from the 24/7 that is community.
So what is to be done?
Sometimes you just need a job, so you are willing to overlook some inconsistencies or red flags in a potential role.
But these are true 🚩red flags 🚩
A role that has a poorly thought out job description is indicative of a poorly thought out org structure. You may get hired, but you are immediately at risk of being undervalued, and possibly let go, because the management doesn’t understand what a real community role looks like.
Ask a lot of questions during the hiring process. Ask what success in the role looks like. Is the answer anything to do with community work, or is it more about brand growth?
And when you see a really great role, go for it. Or share it with your network if you aren’t actively looking. Help share the good roles and spread their reach.
And if you are looking, here are my favorite places to find quality openings (still read the job descriptions and do your due diligence, obvi)
The Community Roundtable job board https://communityroundtable.com/jobs/
CMX Hub job board https://cmxhub.com/jobs/
Community Club https://www.community.club/jobs
Rosieland https://jobs.rosie.land/
Rant over, for now 🚨
I have to laugh cry when I see community job descriptions that basically list like 5 jobs in one. 🤣
I have a job board on Rosieland too: https://jobs.rosie.land/
I'm also experimenting with creating a list of people who are looking for community jobs: https://twitter.com/rosiesherry/status/1584550947547623424