Nonprofit Hiring Tips: 4 Ways to Create a Better Experience for Your Candidates
“I would never work at ABC Recovery. They just don’t treat people right,” my friend Krista said over dinner last week. “I applied for a program coordinator role a few years ago. I had a phone interview and an in-person interview a month or two later and then they just ghosted me. The person who interviewed me told me she would follow up and then... nothing. It just rubbed me the wrong way.”
Krista is actively looking for a new job in the nonprofit field and said this when someone mentioned a role at ABC Recovery to her. Not only will Krista not consider any future roles at ABC Recovery after her poor candidate experience, but I would guess the other people at our dinner table will think less of ABC Recovery as an employment possibility, strictly based on how Krista was treated.
As a talent acquisition professional with 20+ years of experience, I hear about employers like ABC Recovery all the time. In my work as the Vice President of Talent Management at Talbott Talent, I have noticed, sadly, that this lack of quality candidate experience is especially present with nonprofits.
I know as a nonprofit leader you are very busy.
Chances are you’re under-resourced. You are navigating a fixed budget. You’re most likely understaffed and often wearing so many hats with too many priorities.
But, if you want to hire the right employees to move your mission forward, you will need time dedicated to hiring and you will most likely need to improve your candidate experience! This is often why our clients come to us for Hiring Services! They are spinning their wheels when it comes to hiring. Our clients, like you, have key positions at their organizations that need to be filled, and, for so many reasons, haven’t had the time or resources to fill them.
We designed Talbott Talent’s Hiring Services to help nonprofits who are struggling with hiring. Our nonprofit clients often come to us for help because they are feeling the hiring pain of...
✓ overworked and understaffed supervisors, program managers, or directors who are juggling filling positions while still running programs
✓struggling to find the time to fill vacant roles and hire the best candidates to move your organization’s mission forward
✓not having internal HR expertise to streamline hiring and create processes so you can hire the best people for your nonprofit
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR HIRING SERVICES AND FILL OUT AN APPLICATION.
For nonprofits who want to find the best employees, improving the candidate experience is essential! We work with a large variety of nonprofits and associations across the United States - from neighborhood community centers to animal shelters to educational institutions to professional associations. And, even with the diversity of nonprofits we work with to help them find, attract and keep the best people, we see common mistakes nonprofits are making in their hiring processes, especially when it comes to the way they interact with applicants - the candidate experience.
We’ve decided to share these common hiring mistakes and give you a few quick tips to improve your nonprofit hiring.
4 Ways to Create a Better Candidate Hiring Experience at Your Nonprofit
1 - Be proactive in communication with all candidates.
Communication with all candidates, not just the one person you end up hiring, is key throughout the hiring process. Just because you don’t select a candidate for one position, this doesn’t mean you won’t consider them (or someone they talk to) in the future. During your hiring process for all positions, make sure you are acknowledging applications as they come in, following up after interviews, and letting all candidates know their status (in a kind, respectful way). Do your best to keep all communication professional and streamlined.
2 - Conduct behavioral-based interviews.
The interview is the best opportunity to truly get to know your candidate and see if he or she is a good fit. Remember that it’s not only about whether the candidate is a good fit for the position but also about if the candidate would fit and thrive in the culture of your organization. I encourage our nonprofit clients not to waste precious interview time just by having candidates re-summarize their resumes. After you’ve taken the time to do an initial screening of candidates, make sure you are conducting 45-minute behavioral interviews with qualified, potential candidates.
What is a behavioral interview question? Behavioral interview questions are open-ended, typically situational questions that are designed to get people to talk about their experience in a real-life situation, their response, and the outcome. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWS
3 - Tighten up your hiring timelines.
First, we know you are busy! But, losing candidates because of slow timelines is one of the biggest consistent problems with nonprofits when it comes to hiring. We have seen applications of qualified candidates sit with no communication or action for weeks or even months.
Often at nonprofits, hiring managers will get to hiring or taking the next steps in the hiring process “when they have time”. And, if you or your hiring managers are like many nonprofit leaders, one of the biggest internal issues is “there’s never enough time!”.
At Talbott Talent we review candidates on a rolling basis (as soon as they come in), so we are able to screen and interview candidates when they are actively seeking employment. After all, chances are if someone is submitting a job application to your organization, they are most likely applying to other places as well.
We encourage nonprofits to be realistic about how much time goes into screening, interviewing, and communicating with candidates to fill a role. And, if you don’t have the time internally, our hiring services can help!
4 - Remember, the candidates are interviewing you, too!
Not only are you trying to find the best person for a role, but you are also trying to present the best, yet realistic, face of your organization so the candidate can get a good idea of what a day in the life of that role at your nonprofit would look like. If you are truly trying to find the best candidate for the role, especially a leadership role, candidates most likely have other options and employment opportunities as well. They are interviewing you just as much as you are interviewing them!
