{"id":1483,"date":"2025-09-09T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/?p=1483"},"modified":"2025-08-20T04:15:50","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T04:15:50","slug":"nonprofit-arts-companies-beware-the-allure-of-the-headhunter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2025\/09\/09\/nonprofit-arts-companies-beware-the-allure-of-the-headhunter\/","title":{"rendered":"Nonprofit Arts Companies: Beware the Allure of the Headhunter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s expensive, lazy, and a process rife with community red flags. But at least there are no money-back guarantees.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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No national search can give your company a local insight.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Let me start by saying that I was headhunted several times for jobs and thought it was a dandy idea. I was egotistical, dumb, and thought that nonprofit arts jobs \u2014 even leadership positions \u2014 had a shelf life of about three years. I was also experienced, knew all the right people, and could be charming when need be, so I was a delightful candidate. I even received interviews and jobs before I had a college degree (something I did much later, in 2016).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was wrong. I just didn\u2019t know it. Nor would I have much cared. But now, I care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When your company decides to use a \u201cnational\u201d search firm, of which there only a few prominent ones, it is tacitly choosing to tap into their pipeline of candidates, some of whom they\u2019ve previously placed with other arts organizations. That\u2019s why your company spends ends up spending thousands of dollars (and cutting programs) to execute the search. And that\u2019s why, when the search fails, you have to do the whole thing over again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boards often don\u2019t have a handle on what the empty (or soon-to-be-empty) chair actually does. Plus, they want to avoid situations like this one, from one of your biggest donors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Your biggest donor always has good suggestions, right? \/s (Image by ijm2000 from Pixabay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s not that search firms are inherently bad; they\u2019re not. They just don\u2019t serve your community (at all). They\u2019re profit-making companies that serve themselves by justifying their costs to your board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re not supposed to serve your community, incidentally, because that\u2019s your company\u2019s <\/em>job as a charity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a moment to skim through the job opportunities in the arts, especially those on the highest rungs. What you\u2019ll discover is this (translations of the quotes in the parentheses):<\/p>\n\n\n\n