5 Tips to Prepare for a Development Director Interview

Fundraising, Intermediate

By Jeremy Reis

Congratulations! Your interview is set for a development director position at a nonprofit you’re interested in. What now?

There’s a lot of prep work you can do for the interview to improve your chances to stand out from the crowd. It’s rare to see people come to an interview fully prepared and if you follow these 5 tips, you’ll set yourself apart from the other job candidates. Finding an excellent fundraiser is rare in the nonprofit space. By demonstrating both your fundraising knowledge and your desire to work for this particular organization raising funds for this particular cause, you’ll show the hiring manager that you are the type of candidate they’re looking for.

1. Learn About the Organization

Before going into any interview, it’s important to do your research on both the company and the role you’re interviewing for. In this case, you should read up on the organization’s history, their mission and values, as well as their development department (if they have one). If they don’t have a development department, research other fundraising efforts they’ve done in the past. The goal is to have a good understanding of what kind of work the organization does and how you would fit into their already established culture.

Learn as much as you possibly can about the organization before your interview. Who was the organization’s founder? Did he write a book? (read it). Who is the current President or Executive Director? Did she write a book? (read it). Does she blog? (read her blog posts). Keynote a conference? Watch the replay. Who is the Chief Development Officer?

Look on LinkedIn and study who is in key positions you’ll be working with. Did you go to the same college? Major in the same area? Have connections in common? Do stealth research to discover the people and the history of the organization.

Study the organization’s “theory of change.” How does their programmatic work seek to change the outcome for the beneficiaries? What makes them unique? Is the organization or their people referenced in academic research (use Google Scholar or your local library databases to search)?

Be thoroughly prepared to answer questions about the organization if they arise.

Know Your Audience

In addition to knowing about the organization, it’s important to be aware of who will be interviewing you. Will it just be the Executive Director or will members of the Board be present? Regardless, try to find out as much as you can about each person beforehand so that you can tailor your responses accordingly.

2. Enter the Organization’s Fundraising Funnel

You learn a lot about an organization based on their fundraising. Are they aggressive? Do they have more hope-based messaging? What is their frequency of appeal? Do they have a continuity program? A match?

Sign up for the organization’s email list. Make a small donation and see how they welcome donors. Read their direct mail. Discover how they’re currently doing their fundraising, marketing organization, talking in social media, and communicating with donors. Having a firm understanding of their fundraising efforts to date will set you apart from most of the candidates.

Be cautious about how you answer questions about the organization’s current fundraising. You don’t yet know the position of the interviewer about the current fundraising and if you’re too harsh, you might be stepping on her toes. Instead, if asked, talk about the highlights of what you see that’s working with some key insight into positive changes that could be made.

3. Search Your Network for Connections

Rarely have I been hired at an organization when I didn’t have a connection. Search your network (use LinkedIn or Facebook) to find someone you know there or someone with a second or third connection. Having an internal champion, even if it’s someone not in development, can only help your cause as you’re going through the hiring process.

If you aren’t directly connected to the organization, but have a second or third level connection, feel free to connect with someone at the organization and ask them out for coffee or an informal lunch to get a feel about working at the organization. You may find insights that you wouldn’t have gleaned elsewhere.

4. Prepare for Common Interview Questions

Even if you’re normally an “off the cuff” kind of interviewee, I recommend reviewing common interview questions and why the interviewer is asking. Questions like:

a. What do you love about this organization?

Excellent fundraisers are hard to find. Often an excellent fundraiser has a combination of the required skills and a love for the organization. The interviewer is seeking out whether or not you’re someone who will have a passion for the organization or cause even when the going gets tough. Describe what you love about the organization and the cause you’re supporting.

b. Do you love fundraising? What draws you into this career? Why fundraising?

Fundraising is a difficult profession. Many of us are drawn into support a particular cause and use fundraising as the mechanism to do it. The interviewer wants to understand your motivations for being in fundraising and whether this is a long-term career decision for you. Talk about the elements of fundraising you love and why you’re drawn to it as a profession.

c. How do you ask for a major donation?

At many organizations, you’re going to be called upon to work with a major funder and ask for a donation. The interviewer wants to see the process you go through to build a relationship and make an ask. This is the perfect opportunity to use a fundraising story from your past about a prospect and how you asked for and received a large donation.

d. How would you describe the organization to a prospect to motivate a donation?

The interviewer wants to see how much research you’ve done about the nonprofit and whether or not you understand what sets the organization apart. Describe the organizations unique selling proposition and how it sets the organization apart from the competitors. Discuss impact and how far the donor’s dollar goes at this organization.

e. In a previous position, describe a situation where you overcame resistance to fundraising from a board member or member of the program staff.

Not everyone is going to love our fundraising all the time. In fact, the interviewer might be struggling with this situation right now! Tell a story about someone who didn’t agree with your fundraising and how you addressed the situation but still ran a successful fundraising campaign. Describe how you would deal with different types of people from the board to the executive director to program staff.

Review my list of 25 interview questions for development directors to see how you would answer those questions.

You know what they say – practice makes perfect! While you can never predict exactly what sort of questions you’ll be asked during an interview, there are some general ones that tend to come up time and time again. These might include questions about your experience working with volunteers or handling difficult donors. Take some time before your interview to brainstorm potential answers to these types of questions so that you feel more confident and prepared when it comes time to answer them for real.

One way to stand out during an interview is to come prepared with questions of your own. This shows that you’re truly interested in both the position and the organization itself. Try asking questions about their greatest challenges when it comes to fundraising or what kinds of donor relationships they focus on most. Not only will this give you insight into whether or not this is the right organization for you, but it also demonstrates that you take initiative and are truly invested in making a difference.

5. Have a Case Study in Your Back Pocket

Much of our job as fundraisers is to be a great storyteller. You’re almost guaranteed to have a time during the interview process where you’ll be asked about a fundraising campaign: have a case study or two in your back pocket to pull out when asked. A great case study is like a great story and should include:

  • A challenge to overcome
  • A hero (someone other than you)
  • A guide to help the hero (this is you)
  • Struggles where things don’t go right
  • An explanation of what you did to help overcome the struggle
  • A resolution to the challenges
  • A success story

Tell your case study like you would a story. Don’t reveal details too soon, instead, let the story build up and through the failures until you found success.

Interviews can be nerve-wracking experiences, but if you take some time to prepare in advance, they can also be very exciting opportunities to learn more about a potential employer as well as showcase your own unique skills and qualifications. By following these simple tips, you can go into your next development director interview feeling confident and ready take on anything that comes your way! Interviewing for a development director role can feel stressful, but if you follow these 5 tips, you’ll set yourself apart from the other candidates.