13 City Council (05-24-04) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Special City Council Meeting May 24, 2004 Page 6 Mr. Hartung said their overview of a search is to a develop a profile and implement advertising strategy. They believe that this is one of the most critical steps in this whole process, particularly in the case of a city that has not gone through a search for a City Manager in a number of years. He felt it is a very important part of the process. He said that the profile is the job description plus, plus. It is a way to think through and really talk about with Council Members and others in the community as appropriate. What is it that they need at this point in the city's history in terms of background qualifications and even personal characteristics for that next City Manager; what are the things that will make someone most likely to be a successful City Manager in this community at this time. Mr. Hartung said the profile becomes the benchmark that is used in every step of the process as you move forward and receive resumes. It becomes the source of questions that you would ask candidates. It becomes a source of questions that you would ask references about those candidates, so, it is critical. He said that one other thing that the profile is used for is an advertising piece to be able to have a document to send to potential candidates to interest them in the position, because the profile will include not only the information about the candidate but also information about the community. What are some of the issues that are facing the community that would be addressed by the new City Manager? Mr. Hartung said they spend a considerable amount of time with individual Council Members, members of the staff and individuals from the community to gather information about the position of City Manager. Mr. Hartung advised that once they have completed the profile they will prepare advertising, placing it in various professional publications. In the past they published in Journals, which would take months. Now they have the internet and most advertising is done on the internet. He advised that they do not depend on advertising. They believe that it is an important part of the process because it is a way for the city to insure that there is open communication with the world at large about this particular vacancy. Mr. Hartung said they would contact people around the country, regionally or nationally, at the direction of the client to identify potential candidates. He said his experience is that often times the best candidates are not in an active job