I sat in the lobby of an organization, waiting to be called in for an interview. While I waited, I overheard a group of staff across the hall discussing the challenges the organization faced in recruiting and filling open positions—including the one I was there to interview for. They mentioned low pay, inflexible return-to-office policy and poor cultural reputation as specific challenges to recruitment.

During the interview, I asked about the organization’s biggest fundraising challenge. The response: a weak talent pool and difficulty finding skilled fundraisers.

Unfortunately, this duality is just one example of the disheartening and disillusioning recruitment and hiring practices in our sector.

While it might be cathartic to share other examples of poor—or even unethical—behaviour, doing so won’t help us move forward. Instead, I challenge our sector to be curious and critical about how we recruit and hire.

Look in the mirror

Successful recruitment doesn’t rely on the talent pool alone. Critically evaluate both the role and your organization. Identify the key skills and attitudes necessary for success, as well as gaps in your current team. Focus on hiring for potential, a diversity of skills, mindsets, and lived experiences rather than relying solely on direct job experience.

Remember that candidates are also evaluating you, and the recruitment process offers a window into how you treat your employees. Be transparent, keep candidates updated, and do what you say you will do.

Train leaders as hiring managers

Being a strong fundraiser does not equate to being a good leader. Similarly, being a strong fundraiser does not equate to being a strong recruiter or interviewer. We must train and support hiring managers to effectively carry out the recruitment process.

And as leaders, we have a duty to train ourselves to be strong hiring managers. With tight budgets, this training doesn’t need to involve costly conferences or programs. Start by dedicating just 30 minutes to reading articles on current hiring practices (or ask ChatGPT or other AI to summarize it for you).

Avoid reusing outdated interview questions from the last time the position was vacant. We can’t perpetuate broken systems and then be surprised that we don’t find good talent.

Set candidates up… for success

Interviews are opportunities for both candidates and organizations to show how awesome they are. Approach interviews with a mindset of empowering candidates to authentically demonstrate their potential and capacity, instead of weeding people out.

• Think critically about the information you are trying to gain from the candidate. Do your questions serve you in discovering that information
• Share questions in advance. Not everyone is quick on their feet, so give candidates time to process, reflect, and prepare their best responses.
• Make it a conversation. Interviews shouldn’t be an interrogation. Talk to the candidates to seek clarity. Preface each question by explaining what you are trying to understand. Ask follow-up questions to expand their answers, and be specific in what you are asking for.
• Not all fundraisers are extroverts or self-promoters. Similarly, being a strong fundraiser doesn’t necessarily translate to being a strong interviewee. They are different skillsets. Provide candidates with the opportunity to demonstrate their fundraising skills and potential, not their interviewing skills.

Conclusion

I share this perspective as a white, cisgender, straight man with over a decade of experience in the sector. I can only imagine the experiences that folks with less privileged and powerful identities are having.

Our sector already suffers from low pay and burnout-inducing cultures, we can’t afford to have poor recruitment and hiring practices too. What is the cumulative cost of poor recruitment practices on our sector, organizations, and—most importantly—the people and causes we are trying to serve?

Eli Clarke (he/him) is the Director of Development, Major Gifts at the University of Waterloo and the founder of Essential Consulting. Eli works to encourage curiosity and leadership to understand and identify equitable and sustainable solutions for the health of our planet, society and each other. Eli can be contacted at eli@essentialconsulting.ca or www.linkedin.com/in/eliclarke/.