The job interview. A chance to impress a potential donor?

Did you see the recent story from the US about an entry level candidate to an unnamed not-for-profit that had to prepare a meal for 40 senior executives as part of a 12 hour interview process? Only in America?

As someone who has recently experienced the recruitment process I'm pleased to say its not as bad in the UK. It is demanding, and rightly so. Candidates are expected to jump through a bewildering array of hoops to secure that dream job - obligatory presentations, role play exercises, copywriting challenges, staged team lunches. The list goes on. Employers seem to want more and more from the candidate. One role I interviewed for expected the applicant to match 33 Essential skills, but no Desirable skills. Essential skills they defined as the attributes without which a candidate would not be able to undertake the full remit of the role; and applicants that did not clearly demonstrate in their application that they possessed the essential skills would normally be eliminated at the short listing stage. Really? 33 Essential skills.

I experienced first hand a great disparity in the manner charities treated candidates. Several organisations failed to inform me of the interview panel's decision. Others gave cursory feedback. A token gesture to appease the Human Resources Manager.

However, one charity stood out from the crowd. CLIC Sargent. A wonderful charity helping children and young people with cancer. In preparation for an interview I lived on their website, absorbing as much information as I could.

But it was CLIC Sargent's post-interview processes that impressed me. I was interviewed for a fundraising position by two senior fundraising staff. Following the interview I was informed of the panel's decision promptly by email. The member of staff offered a telephone meeting to discuss the interview in-depth. When we spoke, the member of staff went through each interview question one by one, often referencing exact phrases from the interview, in order to provide me with detailed feedback. Valuable, constructive feedback. This did not feel like a box-ticking exercise devised by the Human Resources Manager. Rather, an organisation that appreciated, respected, even valued the candidates that made the effort to present at interview. It struck me that if this is how CLIC Sargent treat an interview candidate, how on earth do they treat their staff?

CLIC Sargent are helping children and young people with cancer through out the UK.

So impressed was I with CLIC Sargent that I'm fundraising for them. This April, myself and group of friends are undertaking the 23 miles from Glasgow to Loch Lomond as part of The Kiltwalk. I'm proud to be taking on this fundraising challenge for CLIC Sargent. You can sponsor us here.

As fundraisers, we're only too aware that every meeting is an opportunity to impress a potential donor; whether its a scheduled face-to-face meeting with a well-researched prospect or a chance encounter at a dinner party. We accept the ambassadorial role for our charities. From these encounters, extraordinary relationships are established and transformational gifts received. But how many of us would treat the job interview as an opportunity to impress a potential donor?

The candidate in front of you may have the propensity to give? The candidate in front of you will most certainly have networks. Those members of staff that undertake interviews on behalf of a charity, remember you're not only interviewing the candidate in front of you. You're being interviewed by them.