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Who will want to govern later?

On 15 October (2024), de Wethoudersvereniging and Vanderkruijs/Boer & Croon Executive Search organised a diner pensant in Utrecht on the careers of (former) council members. How do we retain political-administrative talent and monetise the experiences of former council members in the public(-private) domain?
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Stagnant careers, fragile governance

The Employment of Former Aldermen Report (EMMA,2020), shows that many council members leave early and cannot finish their term. It also shows that it is not always easy for former council members to find new jobs quickly, whether they were successful or not. With the current shortage in the labour market in mind, the Aldermen's Association and Vanderkruijs/Boer & Croon want to do something about leaving the labour potential that (former) council members undisputedly have unused. After all, if council members's career prospects are not rosy, who will want to govern in the future?


Passionate aldermanship

Opting for the public good is what administrators in municipalities, provinces and the state have in common. With grand ideals often in the social or physical domain, administrators throw themselves into their political careers. During their years in office, everything seems to have made way for this public cause. Be it spatial planning, climate change, energy transition, diversity & inclusion or equal opportunities. Anything for the community. These are often controversial topics that councillors have under their control. And it is these topics that split society. The media sometimes strike mercilessly when councillors falter. However, many councillors have achieved beautiful public results with the necessary dossier knowledge, diplomacy, enthusiasm, sense of purpose, and resilience. And a bit of luck helps, too, because by no means is everything in the councillors' hands in the political arena.


‘Councillors cut ribbons’

We sometimes encounter persistent prejudices when transitioning to a new administrative role after becoming an alderman. For instance, councillors are said to do nothing themselves, mainly cut ribbons and have big egos. In short, councillors are not simply future-proof administrators in, for instance, healthcare, education or housing associations, according to the unjustified perception. Several good examples of career moves after being an alderman have turned out to be successful. A councillor, like other applicants who have not had a political career, can indicate what they have contributed to the success of policies and programmes. Invoking a former position alone is not necessarily helpful.

The guests at the table on 15 October showed great examples of competencies that can be developed during the aldermanship. Being able to bring parties together in a complex, controversial dossier, building up thorough dossier knowledge, chairing meetings effectively and pleasantly where everyone feels heard, developing and propagating vision, showing decisiveness and decisiveness. These are indispensable competencies for councillors and when managing a complex developing healthcare or education organisation. Moving to another domain requires naming these competencies, whether you are an alderman or not. Naming a previous position alone, with the status assumed attached, is risky because it gives prejudice an opportunity.


break the circle

The enthusiastic and passionate group of administrators agreed at the dinner pensant on 15 October that there is work to be done for councillors, organisations in the public domain with their Supervisory Boards, the Aldermen's Association and recruiters. Reducing unconscious exclusion in recruitment and selection procedures calls for putting candidates' experiences at the centre and discussing further developed competencies. A match between required competencies in an administrative role and developed competencies in a previous job starts with curiosity about the other person and diligence in the process. What does the candidate bring? What does the organisation require at a particular stage of development? This demands openness from supervisors in the public domain to engage ex-politicians in conversation, from recruiters to focus on a profile (administrative tasks and required competencies) and tightly guide recruitment and selection, and from former councillors to discuss their role and competencies in concrete dossiers. 


Concrete actions

Specifically, (former) councillors -who often participate in Supervisory Boards- can be explicitly open to ex-politicians in vacancies and discuss premature rejection based on assumptions. Former councillors can prepare for the position by speaking to or walking with administrators in fields they want to work in. What does this organisation require of an administrator? Reading in and empathising with the organisations and the tasks they face helps you as a candidate to get a realistic picture of what is asked of you, what you have to bring and what you might have to develop. Bringing this insight into an application process using concrete examples shows realism and makes the career move credible and promising.