In September 2021, we put out calls for applications to fill three positions at Technology for Wildlife Foundation. As of January 1st 2022, we have a team of five full-time staff, as well as a number of consultants and volunteers working on specific projects. This post describes the remote process we used to select and hire our new staff members at the tail-end of 2021.

We had a clear idea of the positions ready in early 2021, which were incorporated into our requests for funding. Once our funding was secured, we prepared detailed job descriptions which were used to inform the Google Forms that were our first point of contact with our applicant pool.

Our call for applications was straightforward; we provided information about the job profile, the salary range and the requirements of the position, as well as of the required and preferred skillsets. At this stage, we asked the applicants to provide their name, their CV and to answer just one question: in their own words, why did they want to work as the <advertised role> at Technology for Wildlife Foundation. For the communicator role, we also asked for a link to an illustration/design portfolio.

We sent out the call for applications, along with the link to the website page, on our social media channels as well as through our networks. Applications were open for a two-week period, from September 6th 2021 through to 20th September 2021. We received a total of 232 applications for all three positions, which exceeded both our expectations as well as our capacity to process them within our expected schedule. We had 50 applicants for our Conservation Communicator position, 90 for our two Conservation Geographer positions and 92 for our Ghost Gear Research Consultant.

Our initial set of eliminations was based solely on their answer to our singular question. We weren’t looking for command over the language, length or even expertise. This round was simply about understanding whether the candidate had put some thought into answering the question, along with an understanding of our purpose at TfW Foundation. Candidates whose answers solely expressed an interest in drones or maps, without any interest in conservation, or conversely, those which expressed an inchoate interest in wildlife or conservation, with no reference to our approach, were eliminated at this stage.

For the second round, we looked at the CVs of the remaining candidates, and used an interview matrix, with a point-based system, to assess whether they had the required and preferred skills as advertised. Based on this, we were able to reduce our candidate pool. We also provided our Geographer candidates with a technical test, and reduced that pool of candidates further, from 18 to 7.

We then conducted semi-structured interviews with those remaining at this stage. Our goal here was to find candidates whose interests, motivations and career aspirations were aligned not just with us, but with the role they’d applied for. A primary requirement was that they would be capable of working independently and with minimal supervision; while this is my personal preference in terms of work culture, it’s also essential when operating during a pandemic.

For each of these final candidates, we re-assessed their CVs, their answer to our initial question and their professional conduct as expressed over emails and during the interviews. Clear preferences emerged, and we prepared a short-list of our candidates. Each candidate at this stage was asked to connect us with their referees, who we communicated with over email. The sole purpose of the reference check was to verify whether the candidates had portrayed themselves honestly over the course of their interactions with us.

Finally, in early November, we were able to make our first offers! Once we finalised a position and closed applications, we sent out an email to every candidate who applied, letting them know that we would not be taking their application forward. Our final employee joined us on January 1st 2022, and we were able to close this, the second phase of our hiring process.

We deliberately chose to make the salary range visible at the beginning of the application process, and to ask for references only towards the end of the process. There’s enough information out there, as well as substantial anecdotal experience (shout-out to www.reddit.com/r/antiwork), to indicate that this works to the benefit of both applicants and to the hiring organisation.

P.S.: The Sankey Diagrams were made by our Conservation Communicator, Nancy Alice, using SankeyMATIC.