Do you work for a small to medium sized nonprofit where you have responsibility for hiring staff? Do you find yourself struggling at the end of the day to complete the best hiring process while simultaneously trying to juggle all your other responsibilities?

The average Canadian job for small to medium nonprofits gets between 50-200 applications per posting. These applicants can either be potential volunteers, supporters, donors and allies on social networks — your greatest allies for promoting your credibility and reputation — or your greatest threat.

Whether fair or not, people seem to have higher expectations for interactions within the nonprofit sector. Every person who has a negative interaction with your organization could be potentially actively damaging your brand. Your hiring process could be putting your organization’s reputation at stake.

But we can help.

Watch the recording of our free webinar to find out how you can protect your organizational brand.

Here are the top five complaints we hear from job seekers that are leaving a bad taste in their mouths:

1. No acknowledgement of the application.

“I feel sometimes like I send out applications into a black hole. Not sure if they arrive or not — and no phone calls are permitted to follow up. It would be reassuring just to know that my application had been received and not lost in some technical malfunction.”

2. Long delays in communication.

“I was told after an interview that I would be contacted either way within a week. They never did contact me nor did they reply to my follow up email.”

3. Poorly researched and articulated job postings.

“I had been interviewed for a job and then the organization decided to think about whether the position really needed to really be filled or not, so I wasn’t told I got the position until a month later. Looking back, the lack of organization and forethought should have been a red flag for bigger issues in the organization.”

4. Application processes that are not commensurate with the level and skills required for the job.

“After submitting my application, which I worked very hard on, I was offered a phone interview. A few days later I was asked to submit a report which outlined how I planned to improve their food security strategy. And again, I worked very hard on this too. A week later I was asked to come for an in-person interview. A week after this, I was told I did not get the position. This all would have been fine, but this was for a summer position paying minimum wage. It was not fair for the employer to have me jump through so many hurdles for such a low paying, temporary job. The selection process should have been tailored to the position itself. I was very unimpressed by the organization.”

5. Unprepared and condescending interviewers.

“The worst interview I ever had was when the interviewer didn’t know what job she was interviewing me for, spoke continuously about herself and had little information at hand about the job and benefits. What was more shocking was that she was the ‘big wheel’ of the organization.”

“I was at an interview where they dismissed me after 20 minutes of a supposedly hour-long interview. If the person is not a good match, at least treat them with courtesy and respect. If someone is struggling in an interview, be supportive and treat them humanely. It reflects on you as an organization.”

Watch the recorded webinar and learn how to rectify these issues in a jiffy!

Nancy Ingram and Christa McMillin are co-founders and partners at Foot in the Door Consulting which specializes in helping nonprofit professionals build sustainable, satisfying and values-driven careers. Together, they have over 30 years of experience on both sides of the hiring and management process in the nonprofit sector. They can be reached through www.footinthedoorconsulting.com.