Become an Organizer!
VIA is seeking to hire an Associate Organizer
Qualities of a Successful Organizer:
There are few formal qualifications for this position. The organizer’s success will depend heavily on the ability to develop public relationships with local leaders. People from all backgrounds, with different sets of experiences, can accomplish this. The following qualities are shared by many successful organizers:
Native Intelligence – not necessarily degrees, but the ability to think, reflect, communicate, challenge the conventional wisdom, make judgments in complicated situations, and show flexibility.
Anger and Edge – not temper, not ideological fervor, not an abstract commitment to “the people,” but a clear sense of what’s wrong, impatience in the face of that wrong, and a drive to address it.
Self-Awareness, Self-Reflection, and Curiosity
Relationality, Especially Across Race and Culture – the ability to build deep trust with people, especially people unlike oneself, people of other races, classes, orientations, faiths, etc.
A Track Record – some evidence, in any context in the candidate’s life of attempting to relate to people and to respond to situations that demanded change; and some success in whatever field, career, or endeavor has occupied the individual’s time.