During the pandemic, internal candidates have a new advantage.

In the past few days, I’ve seen three job postings from terrific, mission-driven nonprofits asking applicants to submit not only a resume, but also their salary requirements.

It’s time to bring this frequent practice to an end. Here’s why.

Dear Applicant — Thanks for your resume and very informative cover letter. But …..

We’ve read in recent days about the astounding amounts of money that some wealthy parents paid in bribes and other fraudulent activity so that their children could attend schools that would make these parents proud. 

But when the brazenness of such scheming is set aside, we are left wondering:  What are the career prospects of students who don’t attend schools like Yale and Georgetown and Stanford, three of the schools that these parents targeted.

Have you seen more than a few job announcements saying that applicants must have “at least five (or ten or some other number) years of experience?”

That’s never made sense to me.

Have you ever seen a job interview as riveting as the one the Senate Judiciary Committee held last week for Brent Kavanaugh?  Regardless of whether you think Judge Kavanaugh should get the promotion to the Supreme Court, the televised interview raises a few questions relevant for nonprofits (and other organizations) when they’re interviewing candidates for senior leadership jobs, including when search committees are hiring a CEO.

If you’re with an organization that that has a key job to fill, or you’re looking for a new job, you might be thinking: “It’s August. I should wait until September.” That kind of thinking reflects the modern myth about August: “Everyone’s on vacation, so nothing will happen.”

When CEOS think about how to get the best work from their employees, they often and understandably focus on under-performers, and regrettably overlook their stars. It’s time to focus more on the stars.

Nonprofit CEOs who value having exceptionally talented people working at their organizations will appreciate the insights and recommendations in the recently published book Talent Wins.  Written by the global managing partner of McKinsey, the vice chairman of Korn Ferry, and a prominent consultant to major companies, the book offers relevant advice for nonprofits.