Written by Jo McGuinness MInstF(Dip), Head of Philanthropy & Partnerships at Children 1st

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A year ago, I was 2 months into my current role after almost a full year of redundancy, job hunting, interim work and a general feeling of being unsettled and unsafe. I had finally been fortunate to find a role that provided me with familiarity – working with people I had worked with previously so I could feel safe, whilst doing what I loved.

My experience of intensive and stressful job hunting has stuck with me, and in my current role I feel a responsibility and desire to improve the recruitment process as much as is within my power – because, why not?

At Children 1st, we hadn’t been able to successfully recruit for a few roles before I started, so took time to review the existing process and consider what improvements could be made. We then went out in April 2022 with seven roles and filled them all.

Six of the post holders are still in post, with one who left retraining as a teacher. Before Christmas we refilled that post, using much of the same improvements to the process which have become standard within the Fundraising team.

Deciding what to change

When reviewing the current process, I spent time reflecting on what had been the main points of frustration for me as a job seeker.

• Not knowing the people behind the process.
  Of 31 applications I had applied for, only 4 offered informal calls with recruiting managers. Whilst 13 did offer calls with recruiters, those conversations are never as insightful as they weren’t with the person you’d work with/under.
  
  
• Unclear expectations and grading.
  I was never sure how I would be graded against other candidates. Criteria was never shared (before or after interview), and some feedback received could be viewed as somewhat problematic.
  
  
• Lack of communication and feedback.
  Of the applications submitted that didn’t take me to interview, half didn’t let me know I was unsuccessful, I just got radio silence. One role took 12 weeks to let me know I was unsuccessful. As a job seeker this was both disheartening and felt like my time and effort wasn’t valued.
  What was especially frustrating was that each of these issues can be improved with a little bit of thought and effort.

Feeling safe

Being honest about the current external climate and how that might be affecting candidates was a huge consideration. When I was job hunting it was against the background of easing out of the pandemic and whilst we aren’t back there, the cost-of-living crisis and general bin-fire state of things around us does cause feelings of insecurity for job hunters.

There are simple things recruiting managers can do to help entice job seekers to take the leap, and mainly its by being a bit more human…

• Showcase the fact your organisation is made up of individuals with personalities by filming informal videos, offering friendly conversations to connect with candidates and provide as much info about the organisation and the role as possible via different methods.
  
  
• Detail six month expectations and how success is measured in the candidate pack – be upfront with expectations so candidates can make an informed decision.
  
  
• Be transparent and share relevant policies, for example your maternity, menopause, sickness, and annual leave policies. This way candidates can check if your organisation aligns with what matters to them.
  
  
• Be honest about what’s working and where challenges are. Candidates aren’t stupid, and no organisation is without challenge. Being open about what needs improving will convey authenticity to candidates and help them to understand what the risks are in making the move.
  
  
• Be clear about what the induction period looks like and include the induction plan if you can. (This is on our list for next time!) Candidates want to know they will be supported when starting something new.
  
  
• Explain your salary banding. If you have a £10k salary band, provide clear explanation as to someone be hired at the bottom vs the top so candidates know where they stand.

Embracing flexibility

One key factor when overhauling our recruitment process was really looking critically at what we could be flexible on. We have to appreciate that societies expectations have shifted since the pandemic, we aren’t returning to the old way of working, ever.

We must embrace flexibility such as remote-based working (and FYI, that isn’t new) and ensure we aren’t viewing pre-pandemic times with rose-tinted glasses. I feel concerned when I hear leaders make comments like ‘we were much more connected before 2020’ or ‘our culture has suffered because of remote working’.

Creating connection and culture are things you can do regardless of location – you just need to be intentional about it. Make time. Expend effort. We can’t rely on water cooler chats or shouting across desks to form culture – because that wasn’t good enough back then, and now a lot of fundraisers have woken up to the fact there’s another way. Organisations need to wake up too.

If you must have an office presence, be clear with candidates on:

• The why – how does being in an office together add value that isn’t delivered remotely?
  
  
• How you will make office working more enticing e.g. support with travel costs, allow travel time within work hours, allowing dogs in the office.
  

Understand that if hybrid working or being office based is essential, it will limit your pool of candidates and affect existing workers in terms of personal preference, accessibility, cost and more.

Influencing upwards

Suggesting change can be tricky, especially if the powers that be above you aren’t convinced things need changing in the first instance. We are hearing from across the sector that recruiting fundraisers is tough. Many organisations are having to go out to recruit more than once for the same role, so we may find leaders with even the firmest of views start to be open to tweaks if it might help secure candidates.

• Try offering trial periods. We seem to feel quite concerned about changing recruitment practise, possibly because it feels formal and as legally there are elements that need to happen in the correct and proper way. But there is so much that can be flexed too. I spoke to our HR team who were willing to trial some changes on the understanding that I gathered feedback from candidates. That’s how we managed to do away with the incredibly annoying and candidate-unfriendly application form!
  
  
• Ask why – politely! Ask from a place of curiosity and willingness to collaborate rather than challenge. Frame questions to understand their perspective and be clear that you want to achieve change that you are both comfortable with. Sometimes it can help to find great examples out there in sector and come armed with evidence. Childrens Society and SOFii are two recent ones that are really framing flexibility and kindness to candidates well in their ads.
  
  
• Figure out what’s important and comprise on what’s not so. Have your own ‘must achieve, love to achieve and like to achieve’ list of changes. Go in firm with your musts, and flex on the rest. Its ok for change to take time – every step in the right direction is an improvement.
  

Remember, sometimes you might need to undertake small acts of quiet rebellion and seek forgiveness not permission!

From our experience, if you only do three things to make your recruitment practise more candidate friendly, please make it these:

• Run a critical eye over your JDs before going to recruit – remove as many person spec criteria as you can, remove red-flag phrases such as ‘hit the ground running’ and ensure it says exactly what you mean.
  
  
• Send the interview questions out in advance – you will get better quality interviews, AND you will be making the process much more accessible.
  
  
• Provide and seek feedback – candidates invest time and effort, and emotions, in partaking in our recruitment process. The least we can do is provide clear and useful feedback. And lets be humble, they know exactly how our process made them feel – so lets ask them. Once we know better, we can do better.

As recruiting managers let's not forget that we are being interviewed, too, and candidates are clearer than ever on what they want and need. We have to change, or we will be left behind.

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This blog was part of an exclusive Members Clinic that Jo ran for Fundraising Everywhere Members. We hold Members Clinics every month with sector experts.

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Written by Jo McGuinness MInstF(Dip), Head of Philanthropy & Partnerships at Children 1st

Dear recruiting managers,

I write this to you as something needs to change with the traditional way of recruiting.

This sector is great, but whilst we champion wellbeing, diversity and fairness externally in our charitable work, we are failing those who seek to support these efforts as potential employees.

Back in April 2021 the role I’d held for almost 4 years was highlighted for redundancy. I launched into job hunting immediately – as the sole earner in my family, I had to have an income.

A countdown clock started ticking to find a suitable role; a role I could stay in for a couple of years, remote working and a minimum salary so I could provide for my family.

Between April - September, I applied for 31 jobs, averaging 5 per month.

In total, including looking at job boards, researching roles and organisations, time spent writing covering letters, copying and pasting info from my CV into applications forms, preparing interview answers, fulfilling task briefs and the interviews themselves, I spent in excess of 70 hours job hunting.

70 hours roughly equates to 11 hours of work each month over and above my day job.

Job hunting currently is taking place against a background of a UK in crisis. We’ve got so used to the constant hum of tension, fear and anger that it’s easy to think we can all push on as usual and expect what we expected in 2019.

We can’t. People are struggling.

Job seekers feel fear even more acutely than before Covid-19, everything is more precarious and different things, such as an employer’s home working or maternity policies, are more important than before.

Appreciate the power dynamic. Do what you can to rebalance it.

The minute a job seeker looks at your advert they are on the back foot. Everything is done to your standard; your schedule and they are at your mercy. Anything you can put in place to make the process fairer, more transparent and kinder – the more applicants you will get.

Of the 31 roles I applied for, only 17 offered a conversation for interested candidates. As a job seeker, I cannot tell you just how useful those conversations are for candidates. They shed light on what’s important to you and your organisation and you get a feel for the humans behind the ad.

Of the 17 conversations offered (I took them all up), only 4 were with the actual recruiting manager – all others were with recruiters. Still of value but less insightful.

Please don't forget your manners.

Of the 31 applications made, 5 didn’t notify me at all of whether I was successful or not (I assume not!). Given the average time I spent on an application was over 2 hours, letting applicants know if they’ve been successful or not – a two-minute email, seems a polite thing to do.

Candidates in this sector are often partly drawn to roles due to an affinity or appreciation of your cause, so ask yourself – would you simply not reply to a potential donor if they contacted you?

Not having time isn’t a valid excuse. Make time.

While we are on making time and doing the work, please provide useful, constructive feedback.

It’s disheartening to invest time only to receive no useful feedback on why your application wasn’t progressed. It also asks questions about the transparency of the process.

Some of the no-so-helpful feedback I received when unsuccessful included;

“It was a really competitive process and I don’t have exact feedback on what was lacking in your application I’m afraid.”

“Having had such a good response to the advert, I have selected another candidate for the role with more relevant experience.”

Ugh.

Equally as frustrating is vague feedback given post-interview where you leave the candidate unsure as to what exactly you wanted to see. An example of this was when I was told by the recruiting manager that they “hadn’t really seen my personality” in the interview.

What does that mean?

What am I to do with that feedback?

Please, check your feedback is specific and something that the candidate can improve upon for similar roles in future. You may not see this as your responsibility, but it is. The candidate has given their time, if you have offered feedback you have the responsibility to ensure it is constructive.

Don't think we don't see the red flags.

Employee expectations have changed since 2019. We know that work can be done on the whole, equally as effectively at home.

We can build incredible relationships in the virtual space.

We know it’s better for our health and well-being to spend time doing things we want to do rather than sitting in traffic or on a train.

Roles requiring hybrid working without clear rationale are popping up more on job boards, and it’s not clear why.

If this includes your role, really question yourself – why have I put a requirement for the post holder to come into the office 2 days a week? Is it because there are specific tasks that can only be completed in person? If so, make those tasks clear in the advert.

If you don’t have tasks that can’t be done remotely but you still ‘need’ someone in the office then challenge yourself.

Are you coming from a place of privilege where cost of travel isn’t a big factor for you so paying that to ‘enjoy’ time in the office feels reasonable?

Are you someone who likes the hubbub in an office? Great, but that doesn’t mean others feel the same.

Do you want to see your direct reports busy working, or have them near you in case you need to performance manage?

Yes? Then send yourself on a management training course immediately for the benefit of yourself and your employees.

I pushed back on numbers of days mandatory office working with so many of the roles I applied for and if it wasn’t so frustrating the responses would be funny;

“Well, we have an office and the trustees want us to use it.”

“We need someone from fundraising to be around in case a supporter wants to drop cash in or collect a bucket.”

“We need you to be available for any last-minute meetings.”

Stop it, you're embarrassing yourselves.

Other red flags include;

• Not being willing to offer flexible working
• Requesting in-person interviews, (typically in London) for remote based roles advertised as UK wide
• Not having time to speak to a candidate either prior to or following the interviews
• Not being clear on the salary band,
• Requiring irrelevant educational qualifications
• Or stating ‘equivalent experience’ but not defining what you mean by that.

My absolute favourite red flag is the phrase that needs to be banned with immediate effect;

‘the candidate will need to hit the ground running’.

Usually accompanied by other delightful descriptors such as;

‘fast-paced environment’ and;

‘wants to live and breathe the success of the team and the charity.’

Let’s be frank. Most of us need a job because we have bills to pay. We work in the sector because we choose to, and mostly because it’s a great place to be.

We don’t work here because we want to join a role without suitable induction plans in place, where expectations will be heaped upon you from the get-go, which is what ‘hitting the ground running’ is code for.

Or where we are expected to live and breathe our job. We can care, of course we care – and we should. But please, your candidates are only human. They have other interests and a fair expectation of support and a positive work/life balance.

By including statements like these you are giving an insight into the potentially negative culture, and unachievable expectations the candidate can expect.

Go back, work on that, and recruit once that’s in a better place, or – be honest. You need a candidate to hit the ground running because the workload is 50% more than it should be. In which case, pay more too.

This isn't to say all practise out there is bad, its not. There are shining stars. I just wish I'd seen more of them.

And they aren’t hard things to do. Every recruiting manager could take up at least 1 or 2 of these examples;

1. Show the salary and remove all unnecessary educational qualifications.
2. Run your adverts and candidate packs through gender bias software, available free here.
3. Reduce your essential/desirable criteria down to the bare minimum. You shouldn’t need more than a few points.
4. Don’t ask candidates to complete your own application forms. CVs and covering letters are ok, but even better (and more supportive of diversity, inclusion and accessibility as it prevents unconscious bias), is to ask candidates to answer anonymous screening questions relevant to the role.
5. Share the interview questions in advance. Lots of folk are trying this now (like Fundraising Everywhere, see Matt Smith’s twitter post). The results are overwhelmingly positive. Doing this supports accessibility, different kinds of thinkers, or those who struggle with nerves.
6. Share the grading criteria you have used and make time for specific and constructive feedback.

I see the sector’s recruitment practice improving almost every day as more recruiting managers challenge themselves to do better, but we can do better and faster.

So, my challenge to you is, are you going to get on board or get left behind?

Yours,

All frustrated job seekers out there

Want more content like this?

Check out the *free* webinar Jo spoke at on this topic: How to recruit talented people in 2022.

Please note: this is for a yet-to-be-scheduled virtual training session that will be broadcast on FundraisingEverywhere.com at a later date. However, your purchase and donation of €5 will be processed immediately and put straight to good use.

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Follow the journey as Rory Green starts a small charity's donor survey from scratch. From purpose and demand, to delivery and results, you'll see everything.

Later this year we'll broadcast a behind the scenes look at the project from start to finish, followed by a Q&A session with the stars.

Don't worry if you miss the live stream…recording will be made available afterwards to watch at your convenience.

All Ticket Sales Will Be Donated and split equally between Tiny Tickers and The Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund

The Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund is a secure way for individuals, philanthropies and businesses to contribute to the WHO-led effort to respond to the pandemic. The United Nations Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation have created the solidarity fund to support WHO and partners in a massive effort to help countries prevent, detect, and manage the novel coronavirus – particularly those where the needs are the greatest.

Tiny Tickers (tinytickers.org) is a small national charity that works to improve the chances of babies born with a serious heart condition.

Rory Green has been fundraising since the age of 10, when she volunteered to help run her school’s annual Bike-A-Thon for juvenile cancer research. Fundraising became her vocation at 14, when she lost a friend to Leukemia. Rory Green has been in the philanthropic sector for over eight years and is currently an Associate Director. In her spare time Rory is the founder and editor of Fundraiser Grrl, the fundraising community’s go-to source for comic relief.

Please note: this is for a yet-to-be-scheduled virtual training session that will be broadcast on FundraisingEverywhere.com at a later date. However, your purchase and donation of €5 will be processed immediately and put straight to good use.