Please describe your management experience.

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
How to Answer
1st Answer Example
2nd Answer Example

If you are applying for an officer, manager, or director position, you will likely have a number of direct reports to manage. Good fundraising managers will guide the team's strategic planning, support fundraising efforts, and provide constructive feedback to individual team members. The interviewer wants to know that you have proper management experience and can quickly adapt to a new environment.

Describe your management experience to the interviewer. Detail where you worked, the number of direct reports you had, and your strategies for supporting the team in reaching its annual fundraising goal. If you do not have fundraising experience, then focus solely on your management experience.

"In my current role as donor relations director, I supervise and facilitate a team that includes three donor operations specialists, all of whom report to me. Our department provides vital support to fundraising efforts. I oversee donor acknowledgment methods, database management, and the departmental budget. As department head, I believe it is my responsibility to ensure procedures operate smoothly and team members feel listened to and supported. Since we participate in the overall strategic plan for fundraising, we also have to work together creatively to develop ideas that will lead us to our annual goal. As a manager, I seek to foster an environment where each team member feels comfortable contributing their ideas to that process."

"Although I have never worked in fundraising, I have worked as a successful sales manager for five years. During that time, I managed a team of ten outbound sales representatives. I spent most of my days reviewing leads, observing reps' interactions with customers, and working with team members to develop strategies that allowed us to meet and surpass quotas. As a manager, I am deeply invested in my team's professional development, so I always support these opportunities whenever they become available. I believe that many of these same principles apply to a management position in fundraising."