Hey Rick: It’s good of you to go the extra mile to give our new colleague advice as to the questions she should/could ask during her first development job interview. No doubt we all agree that, while this first interview is indeed something special, there surely will be others in time. Therefore, it’s not a time to be uptight, but an occasion to mostly let good temperament and winning personality take over, which most often wins the day---and to ask some of the “right” questions.Would you and others---especially Audrey---agree that we should step back and review Joe Turner’s questions suggested to be posed by a job seeker to an interviewer, as “Must-Ask” questions, in two very distinct ways? I would ask the interviewer most of those questions in somewhat the same way were I being aggressively sought for the job---when I was invited to interview. When it was their idea. Were I simply another one of other candidates applying for the job, there are at least two of Mr. Turner’s questions I definitely would not ask. It seems to me that his questions are far more suited for the former situation, and perhaps for a commercial business position. In the latter instance, the way I see it, a job candidate asking such questions could be opening a can of worms.
Asking the right questions at the right time in the right way, can often be more of a challenge---even a problem---than we might think, given what we take for granted to be good and practical questions from our point of view as a job seeker to be on the development staff of a non-profit organization. It’s clear to me that many elements, such as assurance, finesse and uncertainty are interwoven in the asking of probing interview questions, as well as knowing which questions should not be asked.
Some non-profit job interviewers feel challenged, even somewhat threatened, when development job candidates ask certain practical questions. I’ve know this to occur when the interviewers lacked fundamental knowledge of certain of the organizations' key operations, and/or had something to hide, thus reacted in a defensive, almost resentful, way to the series of good and insightful questions bright-eyed and alert job candidates would ask. You simply will not know from the lips of the HR Manager that the Executive Director is on the verge of losing her or his job, or learn from the Executive Director that the Board President is impossible to work for. You’ll not be told that the most recent strategic plan was not being followed, that there is a discrimination lawsuit pending which could negatively affect fund-raising, etc.
As to one of Mr. Turner’s questions, I would not ask what happened to the person who previously did the job for which I was interviewing. Chances are high that the person was fired or quit in a burn out, but that’s not what I would be told. Were that to be the case, both of us would be uncomfortable for the balance of the interview.
In seeking that development staff job, ask away about the meaning and positive effect of the mission statement, the strength of the case for support, if fund-raising is an organization-wide effort or not, whether new or increasing deficits are forecast, that the programs and services are well received by the users of them, that the board is fully engaged, etc.,---but don’t expect straight answers for every question asked. Watch the body language, where the eyes are directed, the tone of voice---more than heeding what comes from the lips.
Regarding another of Mr. Turner’s suggested questions, let’s say I, as the interviewer, would be asked the burning question by a job candidate: “What is the first problem the person you hire must attend to?” I think it to be one of the best possible questions to have answered then and there in order to avoid getting into a potential disaster later. But it is indeed a loaded question, one a job seeker would most likely be hesitant to ask. What is meant to show one’s self as being a problem solver, could be taken as forcing the interviewer to admit that there is a problem. And chances are high that you would not get a straight and specific answer anyway. You’ll most likely get the usual and general, “You’ll have a real challenge ahead of you.”
Is there cynicism at work here from me? No, not according to what I have observed far too many times. It’s not good, of course, to get a slanted, even untrue, good-health-and-happiness-only picture from the interviewer. But what else can they say regarding real problems, often undercurrent in nature, thus to possibly lose the candidate for the open job, poison the well for other candidates as the word gets around, and worse, to have their truth-telling come back to bedevil them from their boss and their colleagues?
To me anyway, the key question I would ask when being interviewed for a development job on staff of a non-profit organization, would be couched in a query such as, “Who raises the money for the organization?” If, came the reply, “The Board of Trustees and the Executive Director expect that the development staff will raise all, or most, of the money,” then I would run, not walk, for the exit. Why would I beat such a hasty retreat?
--- Who Should Raise The Money From Within Your Organization?
http://www.raise-funds.com/092004forum.html
Tony
Tony Poderis
http://www.raise-funds.com
- Fund Raising Forum Library: 50 feature articles
- Exhibit & Document Library: Nearly 100 items
- Potpourri Library: Incidental Essentials
• Permission to reproduce any material is not required
