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Shabbat Message: “Got to Love the New HR Lingo…”

By Margie Miller, WLCJ President

I guess it doesn’t take a lot to amuse me. One of my favorite things to do, of late, is to read the postings on Jewish Jobs.com. There’s a whole new HR world out there. The diversity of jobs is quite interesting, as is the new lingo in job titles.

Yes, a teacher is still a teacher and a CEO is still a CEO.

However, “Membership” is now “Engagement,” “Fundraising” is now “Development and/or Major Gifts,” and “HR” is now “Relationship Management” (unless that’s membership, too?).

My favorite two postings this month are “Chief Impact Officer.” One of you will have to tell me what that is. The other was obviously for a high-level position. The job posting stated “Confidential” and the location was “Confidential.” I don’t even know who would submit their resume for that.

There is much to learn reading through all the positions. A few months ago, a San Francisco-based foundation was looking for a Project Manager. Whenever I see a foundation, I immediately Google it. Their mission was to give small grants to faith-based Jewish organizations that are creating inter-generational programming. I copied and pasted the grant requirements and forwarded them to all of our Sisterhood Presidents in the Bay Area. For sure, they probably didn’t know this particular foundation even existed.

The Jewish community has a plethora of job opportunities throughout North America and Israel. Every Day School and Hebrew School, college campus, non-profit organization, social agency, and social cause posts nearly every week. Seeing the diversity reassures me that working in the Jewish community encompasses many skills and a dedication to serve our people.

There is good work to be done. My hope this Shabbat is for you to take a moment and look around. Take note of all the support staff who work in our synagogues. Think about the staff and clergy at your local Hillel programs. How many employees does it take to run programs and institutions such as our seminaries, ADL, Ramah camps, Jewish Community Centers, and our beloved Women’s League? Whatever their titles, whatever their tasks, we need them all to insure a bright, healthy, and productive future.

Shabbat Shalom,
Margie Miller