Tools for Nonprofit Recruiting
This section of the Recruiting Nonprofit Leaders learning center contains helpful tools, templates, and best practices for recruiting and hiring in the nonprofit sector.
Conducting Successful Interviews
The interview is the first opportunity for an organization and a candidate to get to know one another, so it is important to prepare well. This piece provides both tips on conducting successful interviews and a set of sample interview questions you can use in your next search.
Considering and Evaluating Internal Candidates for Senior-Level Nonprofit Positions
Internal candidates surface in nearly one-third of searches for senior nonprofit roles. We offer some practical advice on how to evaluate internal candidates—and what to do if the internal candidate is not the best person for the job.
Extending an Offer
Reaching the point of extending an offer to your first-choice candidate is exciting. This piece provides some guidance on extending offers as well as a template for writing the offer letter.
A Guide to Engaging an Executive Search Firm
Organizations have the option, when attracting senior leaders, to conduct their searches for senior management internally (i.e., through personal networks, board and staff) or to engage professional assistance. This guide focuses on the latter option, with the goal of providing guidance to boards and executive directors seeking to best utilize professional assistance during a senior management search.
Helping Internal Hires Succeed in Their New Roles
The transition from staff member to senior leader at the same nonprofit can be a bit tricky. But there are steps organizations can take to make the process go more smoothly.
Hiring Toolkit: Navigating the Hiring Process
Making great hiring decisions is both challenging and critical. Bridgestar has created this Hiring Toolkit to help you navigate the hiring process and create the right match between your organization’s talent needs and potential candidates.
Making the Right Hire: Assessing a Candidate’s Fit with Your Nonprofit
Finding the candidate who is the best cultural fit for your organization can be very challenging. But there are practices that can help you make a successful hire.
A New Seat at the Table: When Is It Time to Add to Your Senior Management Team?
Most organizations reach a point in their growth when adding to their senior management team makes sense. But convincing stakeholders to spend significant money and perhaps to insert a new layer of management can be a challenge.
Processing Applications and Screening Resumes
Creating a system for reviewing applications and resumes will help you improve your chances of including the most relevant candidates in your interview pool, including uncovering some hidden gems. This piece discusses key steps and shares an assessment tool Bridgespan recruiters use when evaluating candidate resumes.
The Reference Check: More than a Formality
Conducting reference checks will help you ensure that the candidate you ultimately choose will be well-positioned to succeed within the organization. This piece provides guidance on the process and a set of useful reference checking questions for you to use in your next search.
Nonprofit Job Description Samples
This page offers several sample job descriptions for senior management roles, including both generic job description templates and specific examples of well-written job descriptions shared with permission of the organizations.
Writing the Job Description
Writing great nonprofit job descriptions is critical to finding great nonprofit senior managers and leaders. This piece offers tips on how to write a job description along with several samples to get you started.