I’m a youth pastor at a local church. I’m favored and blessed to the degree that I’m able to increase my staff. As a result, I have the privilege of hunting for someone to hire, rather than looking for a job myself. As I’ve been fielding résumés and applications, I’ve been reminded of a few things. So if you don’t want to get a job in youth ministry, please, follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Don’t read and follow the instructions.
If you don’t want the job, please…don’t read the details of the job description. If the church requests you send a resumé first, by all means, call and leave a jovial voicemail! If the job listing asks that you send over a picture or profile first, by all means, just send an email saying you’re interested. If your goal is to not get the job, the best way to ensure this result is to disregard the instructions.
Step 2: Don’t care about fitting the bill.
If you don’t want the job, please… don’t give any thought to whether or not you would be an appropriate fit for the position. If the position is for a “Youth Worship Leader,” give no thought to the fact that you can neither sing in tune nor read music-after all, God is leading you! If the position is for “Missions Outreach Pastor”, give no thought to the fact you’ve never traveled more than 5 miles from home. Just send the application and “seek God’s will.”
Step 3: Don’t research the job you’re seeking.
If you don’t want the job, please…don’t do any research about the church or ministry from which you’re seeking employment. Just send off shotgun blasts of résumés and emails without any consideration about who you’re talking to, or their perspective, or context. If their job description asks for Spanish-speaking ability, scoff and press send anyway! If their job description asks for experience in volunteer coordinating, laugh it off and schedule an interview!
Bottom line, if you don’t want to land a youth ministry job, simply launch a “hail Mary” pass over to the ministry of your choice, then cross your fingers for the results. If, however, you do want to land a job, do the opposite of every step you read above.
Yours truly,
Hiring