for some folks looking to make a
difference in the world a career in the
nonprofit or social enterprise sector is
a great fit so if this is you how can
you increase your odds of landing a job
with the nonprofit or social enterprise
organization of your dreams in this
video we're gonna talk about some of
those top questions that you might get
in a job interview with an organization
that you're interested in making an
impact with welcome back my name is
Amber Melanie Smith and I am a
non-profit executive director and
speaker on social impact leadership
service nonprofits and more don't forget
to subscribe to my youtube channel
because I make weekly videos on topics
like this topics on how aspiring
changemakers can get those tips and
strategies to help you make a difference
in the world while living a life of
impact and purpose several years ago I
started a nonprofit organization of my
own and after awhile was able to turn it
into full-time work for myself and I've
had the pleasure of hiring many amazing
team members now I know some of my
favorite interview questions when I am
looking for someone new for our team but
I wanted to hear some other perspectives
so I also asked other executive
directors in nonprofits and social
enterprise organizations what are some
of the top questions that they'd like to
ask people in job interviews so this
video is a compilation of not just my
own ideas but also their ideas on top
questions that they'd like to ask in
these job interviews for great
candidates as I was thinking about some
of the top traits that I look for in a
job candidate and also looking at some
of the answers that other executive
directors had offered up in terms of
what they look for in candidates I
noticed that it's very different from
applying for a job in a private sector
or you know corporation across the board
it really seemed like hiring managers at
nonprofits and also myself we're looking
for three main things in candidates the
first is passion so passion for the
cause the second is understanding of the
cause and the issue that it tackles and
the third
fit with the organization so all of the
job interview questions that I'm going
to describe kind of ended up falling
within line of these three things okay
so let's get into it there are seven top
job interview questions that I'm going
to share today the first one is so so
important and that is what is your
understanding of this position and our
organization and another follow-up to
this could be what questions do you have
about this job position or organization
this question can be really really
revealing for hiring managers at
nonprofits because it shows how much
homework that you have done before
coming to the job interview and it
really helps us understand what
knowledge you have about what we're
trying to do here and what would be
expected of you should we choose to hire
you for the team I always say in all
things in life and especially nonprofits
whether you're talking about a volunteer
opportunity or a job opportunity
expectations are everything so you need
to know what your expectations of a job
are coming in so that hopefully they're
met and everyone both sides are happy
with what happens next that sounded a
little ominous but what I mean is that
you've got to know what you're applying
for or else you're not going to be able
to perform the job duties to the
expectation of your employer in the
nonprofit world the second question that
I actually heard from another executive
director and I kind of really like this
one is who was the best boss and the
worst boss that you've ever had and why
everyone's got a different management
and leadership style and it's really
interesting to hear answers to this
question because it reveals what your
expectations of a manager or leader
would be and enables someone who might
be hiring you to understand what you
would need from them in a work situation
the third question and this is one that
is definitely different I would say from
what you might be asked in a job
interview with a typical for-profit
company is what is your experience or
comfort level working with an
organization of our size so there's not
a one-size-fits-all nonprofit
every single nonprofit organization is
different some are very very teeny tiny
and you might even be the very first
staff person they've ever had ever
some are huge and might have hundreds of
employees and both of these types of
organizations the small organizations
the start of organizations or the very
very large organizations they're all
gonna operate differently and have
different levels of employee policies in
place different levels of benefits in
place different work styles different
pace so in a startup environment you
might expect to be a very very
fast-paced have to work in a very agile
way be able to go with the flow if
something unexpected happens some people
are just not comfortable with that as
some people need to have structure and
stability and things to be more stable
day to day so it's really important to
know which side of the spectrum you fall
on and whether you're going to be a good
fit for an organization of that size 1/4
great job interview question is how do
you handle it when you disagree with
someone like any job environments
nonprofits are not different in this way
you're gonna be working with a lot of
different types of personalities and
being able to get along and work as a
team is critical so thinking through
this question what is your strategy when
you disagree with someone do you stay
quiet do you confront them thinking of
what you currently do and maybe some
ways that you could improve upon the
strategy when you answer this question
would be really a key the fifth question
this is a little bit of a tough one and
I've heard similar things to this in
other types of job interviews also and
that is what would your most severe
critic say about you of course nobody
likes to say bad things about themselves
in life or in the job interview so I
think the main point of this type of job
interview question is just to challenge
you and see how you deal with a certain
level of discomfort the sixth one I
really love so this one's one of mine
and
is what do you think that our
organization could be doing better or
differently to tackle the social problem
that we're trying to tackle now
answering this job interview question
tells me a lot of things about you first
it tells me your level of understanding
of the social problem that our cause is
trying to address it also shows me how
willing you are to be honest with me and
I know for me honesty is really really
important in all of the team members
that I work with I have this philosophy
that I can't fix the problem if I don't
know about it so one of the first things
I always tell new hires is we have a
policy of open and honest communication
on the team so on that note your ability
to be honest with me also tells me if
you're going to be a good fit and the
seventh job interview question that I
got from other executive directors and
that I also agree with is why do you
think that you are the best candidate
for this job I'm a firm believer that
everybody has something unique and
special to bring to the table to make
the world a better place so I would love
to hear what you are confident in and
how you think that you will be able to
make a difference for not just our
organization but for the cause that
we're trying to address once again three
things are super key in any job
interview for a non-profit or social
enterprise organization that you want to
work with and that is passion you've got
to love what they do second is
understanding of the cause and the
organization and the third is fit I hope
this video has helped you out if you are
a hiring manager at an organization I'd
love to hear what are some other job
interview questions that you like to ask
candidates and if you are someone out
there who is looking for a job with one
of these awesome organizations drop a
comment below let us know what you're
thinking about what makes you nervous
what makes you
sited and share your challenges about
seeking a job and maybe we can all help
each other out once again don't forget
to subscribe because I make weekly
videos here on YouTube about social
impact leadership nonprofit service and
so much more and if you're on Facebook
come check me out in my Facebook group
change the world or bust I'm having
conversations with other changemakers
around the world on how we can all work
together to make a difference and we'd
love to have you thank you so much for
watching and see you next time
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