Top tips for first-time interviewers

Interview anxiety is a real thing. Research by employment screening company JDP found that 93% of the people surveyed feel the fear before an interview.

However, interviews can be just as nerve-racking for the people sitting on the other side of the table – especially if they’re new to interviewing.

There’s a wealth of interview advice out there for interviewees, but very little for interviewers.

To put that right, we’ve compiled some top tips to help first-time interviewers navigate the process and find the right person for the job.

Let’s dive in.

Pre-interview

Choose your approach

Some hiring managers take an unstructured approach to interviews. Rather than asking a pre-determined set of questions, they’ll have an informal, free-flowing conversation with candidates, and questions will arise spontaneously.

As a newbie, we recommend you take a more structured approach, by:

• Preparing the questions in advance, based on the criteria in the job ad and the person specification.

• Ask the same basic questions of all the candidates, in the same order. (But be sure to ask additional questions that arise from the individual application forms if clarification is needed, i.e. gaps in employment).

• Ask open-ended behavioural and situational questions.

• Avoid cliche questions, or you run the risk of getting canned responses.

• Don’t ask anything relating to “protected characteristics” as it’s illegal. In other words, questions about age, race, gender, religion, disability, and/or marital status are a no-go.

Define your rating system

Before the interviews kick-off, you need to come up with a fair, consistent rating system. There are no hard and fast rules for this, but as a minimum, we suggest you do the following:

1.   Identify the key criteria you’ll use to evaluate candidates i.e., job-related skills, experience, qualifications, personal attributes, and cultural fit. Your interview questions should address each skill /attribute.

2.   Decide on a scoring system. This will typically be a numerical score, such as 1-5 or 1-10. (Add a key to explain the scoring system).

3.   Add the questions and attributes you’re assessing to the sheet, with space next to each for notes.

Want some inspiration? There are loads of templates online.

Review the CV’s

This may sound obvious, but you wouldn’t believe how many interviewers go into an interview without giving the CV’s even a cursory glance.
Spend 30 minutes before each interview reviewing the candidate’s CV. Compare it to the job spec and jot down any questions/concerns that arise. While you’re at it, make a note of something you can use as an icebreaker. Does the candidate have an interesting hobby? Have they worked somewhere unusual?

During the interview

Put the candidate at ease

Regardless of how nervous you are, it’s your job to put candidates at ease so you can get the best out of them.

As they arrive, greet them warmly, and thank them for coming.

Once you’re both seated, it’s time for kick-off.

Remember that ice-breaker we told you to jot down earlier? Start with that. It’ll help the candidate relax and get the conversation flowing.

Take notes

The interview process may stretch over days or weeks. Notes will ensure you're basing your hiring decision on solid information, rather than half-remembered impressions.

Want to improve your note-taking skills? Here are five effective methods to try out. 

If note-taking isn’t your forte, ask a colleague to sit in on the interviews and do it for you.

Listen

The aim of the interview is to learn about the candidate, so don’t hog the conversation. As a guide, aim to speak 20% of the time and listen for 80%.

Give candidates as much time as they need to think about how to answer your questions. However, if they start sweating profusely, glaze over, or stutter over an answer, rephrase the question or give them a gentle prompt.

Invite questions

When you’re done with your questions, give candidates an opportunity to ask theirs.

It’s your turn to sell the charity and role to them. So make sure you’re clued up on the responsibilities, benefits, training and progression opportunities, and the organisational culture.

The close

Thank the candidate for their time and let them know when they’re likely to hear back. If you’re thinking of progressing them, give them the heads up as to the next steps i.e., will there be a second interview? Do they need to prepare a presentation?

After the interview

Provide feedback

The candidates gave up their time to apply and meet you – the least they deserve is feedback, whether it’s positive or negative.

When rejecting candidates, refer back to your interview notes and pick out a few points, (both good and bad) to relay back to them. Balanced feedback will soften the blow.

Act quickly

If someone stands out, don’t hang around. There’s nothing worse than losing your ideal candidate to another charity because you didn’t move fast enough.

Final Word

This is a whistle-stop tour of the interview process. If you’ve got any questions or would like to discuss an aspect of the process in more detail, feel free to give us a call on 0203 750 3111.

Government urged to act over threat to small charities

In the 2023 spring budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that the government will provide £101.5m to small charities and community organisations in England over the next two years.

He said that around three-quarters of the funding will be used to deliver grants to the frontline charities and community organisations that have been most impacted by increased delivery costs and demand for their services, while the remaining quarter will be used to increase the energy efficiency and sustainability of voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations.

However, the money is yet to be distributed.

In a letter to Rishi Sunak, representatives from more than 900 small charities and voluntary sector supporters urged the PM to recognise the vital role they play in communities across the country.

The letter called for more support and highlighted the pressures they are under. It said, “every day, small charities are closing or reducing services. We are exhausted, burnt out, and the mental health of our staff and volunteers is suffering.” It went on to say “the tide of demand threatens to overwhelm” them.

The letter, which was delivered to Downing Street during Small Charities Week, invited Sunak to visit some small charities “so you can fully understand the critical role these organisations play”, and meet the Small Charities Advisory Panel “to find sustainable solutions.”

Co-chair of the Small Charities Advisory Boardboard, Ray Coyle, said of the letter: “we have called on the Prime Minister to meet with us, better understand our challenges, and work with us to find sustainable solutions. Small charities need to be seen as integral for building strong communities.

We cannot be taken for granted and the current situation is not sustainable. For every charity that closes, that’s a lifeline for a community taken away.”

At the same time, The Lloyds Bank Foundation (a long-time supporter of the small charity sector) called on the government to clarify “when, how and to whom” the £100m would be distributed.

The Foundation went on to say that, while the money is welcome, it needs to be backed up by longer term support, including: 

• Ensuring local authorities have the resources they need for local services.  

• Supporting and challenging local authorities to ensure funding and commissioning arrangements are easy for small charities to access, and that contract and funding arrangements are updated to reflect inflation and rising costs.  

• Continuing support for small charities to meet their energy bills and costs. 

• Engaging with small charities to hear their concerns and understand the issues they face.  

Government response

In response, a spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: “The £100m package announced as part of the spring budget will ensure frontline charities and community organisations can continue their vital work to support some of the most vulnerable people in society.

“We are working at pace to finalise the delivery time frames, delivery partner and eligibility criteria, with the aim of opening the application process for the critical support funding this summer.”

Final Word

Keep an eye on the Bamboo blog for further updates on the Government’s response to the letter. We’ll also let you know when the £100m funding becomes available.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for a talented fundraiser to help you navigate your way through these difficult times, we can help. Call us on 0203 750 1111 for an informal chat.

Blogging 101: Part two

Your manager has asked you to start a blog. You agree to do it, but you haven’t written one before. What you should you write about? Where do you start?

Fear not. Help is at hand.

In this post, we’re going to give you the lowdown on how to get started.

Let’s dive in.

1.     Know your audience

Is your blog aimed at a specific market i.e., millennials? The 60+ demographic? Businesses? Whoever it is, the content needs to be appropriate for your target market.

For example, content about digital fundraising isn’t going to resonate with retirees any more than legacy content will to millennials.

Before doing anything else, be clear on who you’re writing for.

2.     Brainstorm content

You know the saying, ‘variety is the spice of life?’ It’s as true for blogging as anything else.

If you post the same old content week in, week out, your blog will get stale.

To prevent this, come up with several broad content categories and post blog content from each in rotation.

Here are some suggestions:

• Personal stories

Personal stories can be incredibly emotive. And as we said in a previous post, emotive stories prompt donations.

You could write stories about your:

Service users: What hardships have they faced? How has your charity improved their lives?
Example: The Brain Charity

Community fundraisers: What events/personal challenges have they taken on? How much did they raise? What’s their motivation for raising money for you?
Example: Starlight Children’s Foundation

Staff: Encourage front-line staff to share their observations, feeling, and experiences via guest posts.
Example: Charity Works

Tip: If you can get people to tell their stories on camera, you’re winning, as videos get 1200% more shares than text and images combined.

• Charity news

This is the place to share news about your organisation and promote your vacancies and upcoming fundraising events/initiatives.

It’s also a prime opportunity to introduce your team – the people behind the brand. Why is this important?

As motivational speaker, Bob Burg once said, “people buy from people that they know, like, and trust".

• Topical posts

Seen something in the news/on a TV programme that relates to your cause? This is a great opportunity to wade in on it. You could write an ‘explainer’ post to cover the topic in more depth. Alternatively, if the programme got some information wrong or sensationalised the topic, you could pen a ‘myth buster’ article to set the record straight.

Example: Life Charity

• Educational posts

The primary purpose of a blog (after boosting website traffic) is to educate your audience.

There are several ways to do this:

o   How-to posts

How-to posts consist of a list of steps or actions designed to be followed in sequence.

St Johns Ambulance uses this approach to teach people how to perform CPR.

o   Q&A posts

These are generally used in two ways:

1.     To answer questions posed by the public (on your social media channels or website enquiry forms).

2.     To guide readers through research. The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity used this Q&A with Clinical Scientist, Dr Anna Minchom to talk about developments in lung cancer treatments.

• Thought leadership content

When done correctly, thought leadership content can help you become an authority in your niche. When a brand is considered a thought leader, donors (and others in the industry) look to them for insights.

Thought leadership content can take the form of research, expert opinions, personal anecdotes, or future predictions. It may also evaluate industry trends.

This post about the future of cancer research and treatment is a prime example.

Tip: Get your CEO/a senior member of the team to draft the copy for these posts. Once written, you can edit the copy to match the tone and style of the rest of your blog content. If time is an issue, they can always record the piece on camera.

Tip: Going back to our earlier point about keeping your blog fresh, it’s a good idea to mix up the content format as much as possible. As well as text, incorporate video, audio files, and/or infographics.

• Create an editorial content calendar

The best way to manage your blog content is to create an editorial calendar.

In a nutshell, this is a list of the content you will publish, and when.

Some people use content marketing software to manage their editorial calendars, but it can be as simple as creating a calendar in Excel.

Your calendar should include topics, deadlines, publishing dates, and notes about each post.

You can download a free template here.

Final Word

In the next, (and final) ‘blogging 101’ post, we’ll talk about how to format your blog posts to set you up for success.

In the meantime, if you’re on the market for a new fundraising role, give us a call on 0203 750 3111 or email info@bamboofundraising.co.uk for an informal chat.

New donor loyalty measurement service launched for small charities

Over a period of 10 years, ‘About Loyalty’, a specialist research-based consultancy for the non-profit sector, conducted the largest-ever research study into donor loyalty.

The study measured the loyalty and behaviour of donors across 30+ charities and 50,000 supporters.

The key findings:

A one-point increase in supporter loyalty over 3 years can lead to:

• ​20% more income

• 15% more donors continuing to give, and

• 9% more legacy pledges

The results go to show that proactively growing supporter loyalty (by improving the supporter experience), increases retention, legacy giving, and overall income.

You can download the full report here.

Chase Lite

During Small Charities Week, About Loyalty launched Chase Lite, a service designed for small charities, to help them measure, understand, and grow their supporter loyalty.

A reduced version of their Chase Index programme (aimed at large charities), Chase Lite enables small charities to measure key loyalty metrics such as:

• commitment to their cause

• satisfaction with their communications

• trust in them to deliver against their promises

Once signed up, charities can benchmark their performance against 40+ other small organisations to identify their strengths and highlight areas where their communications are not growing supporter loyalty.

On the back of it, About Loyalty (which specialises in helping charities grow supporter loyalty and income) can provide you with practical and targeted action to grow donor loyalty.

Chase Lite pilot

To prove the efficacy of the service, About Loyalty ran a pilot with five small charities, including International Nepal Fellowship (INF). 

Olly Du Croz, Marketing and Communications Manager at INF highlighted the charity’s struggles with supporter loyalty:

“Supporter loyalty is important for all charities, but it is even more essential for smaller charities where donor recruitment can feel like an even bigger uphill struggle. We strive to ensure supporter relationships are nurtured so that people feel cherished and valued, developing deeper and longer-lasting links with INF and the work our partners do in Nepal.”

Roger Lawson, director, and founder of About Loyalty, deemed the pilot a success, claiming that it’s proven that the science behind measuring loyalty is as effective for small charities as it is for big brand household names. 

“We’re passionate at About Loyalty in helping charities to grow their supporter experience. Our recent Chase Lite pilot demonstrated that there was a need for a simpler product aimed at the small but vital organisations to enable them to measure their supporter loyalty, grow that loyalty through practical help, and in turn increase income and the organisation’s stability for the long-term.”

Want to know more?

If you want to find out more about Chase Lite, check out About Loyalty’s free webinar, ‘small charities, BIG loyalty’. If you want to find out how Chase Lite can benefit your charity, register your interest on their website.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for a fundraiser to focus on supporter loyalty and retention, give us a call on 0203 750 3111 or email us at info@bamboofundraising.co.uk

The rise of the charity shop

The retail sector is fighting for its life. Last year, almost 50 shops closed every day across the UK and it’s a similar story this year.

But one shop is bucking the trend – the charity shop. Not only are bricks-and-mortar stores growing in number, but sales are through the roof.

For example, Oxfam’s retail income increased from £39.4m in 2020/21 to £90.3m in 2021/22, while Barnardo’s saw growth of 158% year-on-year to £78m in 2022.

And the trend is being seen across the sector. Data published by the Charity Retail Association shows that, between October-December 2022, there was a 9.1% increase in the average number of transactions per day in charity shops compared to the same period in 2021.

According to the latest figures, charity shops are now estimated to raise around £360m a year for charities, which exceeds pre-pandemic contributions.

What’s caused the surge in popularity?

There are three key factors at play:

Sustainability

The focus on sustainability has slowly been increasing for at least a decade now. And charity shops in particular have become a big part of people’s efforts to shop more sustainably. Back at the start of the pandemic, a study found that 60% of people were making more environmentally friendly or ethical purchases.

What better place to do that than at a charity shop? Especially as fast fashion is, well, falling out of fashion. People want sustainable options - such as second-hand clothes - and a good deal. Charities tick both boxes.

Cost-of-living

Charity shops are central to their local communities and one of the first places people turn to when money is tight, so it’s not surprising footfall has increased during the cost-of-living crisis, as people look to get the best value for their money.

Social Media

Social media has also played a part in the charity shop boon.

The hashtag #CharityShopHaul has amassed 217 million views on TikTok, thanks to the rise of charity shop influencers - yes, they exist - like Jen Graham. She’s built a loyal fan base of more than 70,000 followers over the last year, who love seeing her show off her charity shop hauls.

Next level

The nation’s obsession with thrift shopping has led to the emergence of initiatives that take charity shopping to the next level:

Charity superstores

Cancer Research UK and The Salvation Army have taken charity shopping to the next level by launching multi-department charity superstores. Housed in retail units left vacant by failed brands such as Debenhams, they offer everything from furniture and homeware to electricals and fashion.

Charity Supermarket

Charity Super.Mkt, - the UK’s first multi-charity fashion pop-up store, was the brainchild of Wayne Hemingway, founder of British fashion brand Red or Dead, and Maria Chenoweth, CEO of sustainable clothing charity TRAID.

The supermarket opened in Brent Cross shopping Centre in January 2022, and offered a curated selection of stylish second-hand garments, bringing together the best donated clothing sourced from 10 UK charities under one roof.

The first time that national and local charities have collaborated on a store, the proceeds were split between Age UK, Blue Cross, Cats Protection, DEBRA, Havens Hospices, Helen and Douglas House, Marie Curie, Shaw Trust, Shelter, Smart Works, Sue Ryder, Thames Hospice and TRAID.

In four weeks, the initiative raised over £300,000 and saved 11 tonnes of clothing from landfill.

Charity Shop Gift Card

In another ‘first’ for the charity sector, The Charity Retail Association (CRA) rolled out the UK’s first  Charity Shop Gift Card.

Accepted in shops run by regional and national charities in most areas of the UK, the card is made from recycled materials, and can be purchased on the CRA’s website and at participating shops, including Sainsbury's, Tesco, Boots, Asda and WHSmith.

As a social enterprise, 65% of annual profits from sales of The Charity Shop Gift Card will go to UK-based charities.

Brand/charity collaborations

There are also a growing number of collaborations between mainstream high street brands and charity shops, as corporate responsibility moves higher up the agenda for companies. 

For example, in 2017, high street clothing retailer TK Maxx staff launched a campaign called ‘Give Up Clothes for Good’.

Championed by celebrities and families living with cancer, the initiative rallies people across the UK to drop off their quality, pre-loved clothes, accessories, and homeware at collection points in all TK Maxx stores. The items are then sold in Cancer Research UK shops to raise funds to support research into children’s and young people’s cancers. 

TK Maxx customers have collected over 1.7 million bags of donated goods, amounting to more than 8800 tonnes of pre-loved items diverted from landfill.

The future is digital

Digital fundraising through online retailing is nothing new: the first online charity shop was launched by Oxfam back in 2007. But people are spending more time online than ever before. This, combined with the UK’s new-found enthusiasm for second-hand bargains, means the opportunity for charities to establish online charity shops as major digital fundraising sources has never been greater.

Looking to build up a digital fundraising team? We can help. Call us on 0203 750 3111 to find out how.