The last job I had (besides my current one that I did not apply for) was a temporary position at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in Portland. I had an internship with them last summer, and they asked if I could fill a part time positions between the time my internship ended and when I moved back to Corvallis for school. I was already familiar with the office environment, so my decision to accept the offer was not weighted heavily on the job description. I loved the office environment and enjoyed working with the full time staff over the summer during my internship.
The job description for the position is no longer posted on their website. From my memory, the description included that that the job title was “Associate, Leadership of Events.” The job was described as a temporary position offered to help prepare for Gala MS 2019. Next, the description provided details as to what the job would entail. It included communicating with potential donors over the phone and in person, working with Excel spreadsheets, and putting together packages for the Gala MS auction.
The actual job was similar to the description. The one thing I was not expecting was the amount of “cold-calling” I would have to do. I spent hours every week calling local businesses asking for donations for the Gala MS auction. One task, specifically, was to obtain enough wine donations to provide wine for all of the guest tables. When calling the wineries, I had to frame the donation as a way for them to advertise their wines at our event. The job description did not specify how many calls I would be making and the level of persuasion I would have to carry out.
4 replies on “Job Descriptions”
Hey Esther,
It sounds like the job description itself did not have a huge influence on your decision to work for this company. It’s fortunate you had already had some experience working there beforehand, so you had a good idea about what the job would entail. I wasn’t influenced heavily by the job description for the last job I had either, I was just looking for a good part-time job. I’m happy that the job description matched the work you actually did for the most part, although the excess “cold-calling” sounds like it was a lot of extra work. I enjoyed reading your post, thank you for sharing!
That sounds like a really nice way to gain a position! I don’t like cold calling, so it is unfortunate that wasn’t included in the description because that is something that I would need to prepare for. I’m glad the rest of the duties matched the description and your idea of the position! Thank you for sharing!
Hi!
It sounds like you already had some experience within the organization, which can help a lot especially when looking to continue working there! I don’t believe the job description had a heavy influence as it sounds like you already had an understanding of what the job entailed! A job I had previously said “media marketing” and it ended up “cold-calling” for donations for 2-3 hours a day and it wasn’t exactly what I signed up for so i can imagine that. Nice post! I
Hey Esther,
Especially since the position was temporary I’m sure it helped being comfortable in that environment! I’m glad they gave you a good overview of most parts of the job, but it’s unfortunate that it didn’t clarify how much of it would be spent cold calling. It sounds like for the most part it was a good fit, but hopefully they will be able to update some of those details for future employees! Thanks for sharing!