Nonprofit – Director of Operations

Position Name: Director of Operations

Interviewer

Candidate Name

Interview Date

Introductory Questions

– Interviewer(s) share name, role, tenure, and hand business cards for thank you messages
– Share a brief overview of the company
– Give Candidate the Job Description, highlight Job Purpose, Schedule/Travel, Major Challenges & Key Decisions, and Physical Requirements

Tell us about yourself.

What do you know about our organization?

Transitional & Verification Questions

– Clarify any unclear information from resume or application
– Verify availability for work hours and schedule, start date, and other important details

What interests you about this role?

Will you now or at any point in the future require visa sponsorship to work for us?

Technical Questions

– Ask job related questions, based on skills and competencies needed for the role
– Ask open ended questions that allow candidates to tell a story about a specific example
– Ask 5-10 questions based on the role and how much time you have (~3-4 minutes per question)
– Listen for recent examples, details, consistency, the candidate’s role in the story, and teamwork
– Take notes and ask clarifying questions as follow-ups

What specific areas (related to the position) do you consider yourself the most knowledgeable? What areas have you had less experience or do not feel as comfortable with?

Behavioral / Situational Questions

– Ask job related questions, based on skills and competencies needed for the role
– Ask open ended questions that allow candidates to tell a story about a specific example
– Ask 5-10 questions based on the role and how much time you have (~3-4 minutes per question)
– Listen for recent examples, details, consistency, the candidate’s role in the story, and teamwork
– Take notes and ask clarifying questions as follow-ups. Follow up questions may include:
- Tell us more about the action you took and the outcome.
- What did you say at that point?
- How did you react to that situation?
- Explain your role in more detail.
- Tell me in detail what steps you took.
- And what was the result?
- Describe the obstacles you faced in getting it done.
- What other options did you consider?
- Why do you think you reacted as you did?
- How do you think others felt about your actions at the time?
- Were you satisfied with the outcome of your actions?
- If the same or a similar situation presented itself, what would you do differently?

Analytical/Detail Orientation

Give me an example of a time when you used tools such as survey, research or statistics to define and resolve a problem.

Situation:

Action:

Result:

Business Acumen

Describe a situation where you successfully articulated the value proposition of a specific aspect of the business (or a product, idea, etc.)

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Describe your experience with both short and long range financial planning.

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How do you ensure that your work and goals are aligned with corporate or strategic goals? Tell me about a time when you had to pay particular attention to this.

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Communication

Tell me about a recent time when an e-mail or verbal conversation was misinterpreted by your team or employees. What was the situation and the outcome?

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To get our points across, we sometimes need to use differing approaches when talking with different types of people. Talk to me about a time when you have done that successfully.

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Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity

How would you contribute to fostering a healthy diversity, equity, and inclusion culture within our company? What initiatives would you implement?

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Managing Others

What is your approach in addressing performance issues of a staff member?

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Describe when a coaching for improvement situation was successful.

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If you could change one managerial decision you made during the past two years, what would that be?

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As you have grown in your career, how has your management style changed?

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Project Management

What is the scope of the projects you have managed? Pick one and briefly describe the process and end result? What was something unanticipated that occurred?

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Strategic Thinking

Describe a decision you had to make that had a significant financial impact on the organization.

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How have you influenced the need for change among the organization’s business systems?

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Teamwork/Team Building

You’re leading a team on a highly time-sensitive project when suddenly, a colleague challenges the direction of the strategy you’re proposing. How do you address this challenge while keeping up with the timeline?

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What do you think are the top fundamental values to building a strong team and why? How do you build these values into a team?

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Relationship Building

Tell us about a customer relationship that was challenging to establish and maintain. How did you resolve the situation?

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Describe a time when you removed a business obstacle for yourself or your team through deliberate relationship building efforts.

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Candidate’s Questions

– Be sure to leave time for their questions, generally 1-3
– Paint a positive but honest view of the pros and cons of the work and culture

Notes

Closing Questions

– Describe where you are in the process, next steps, and when they can expect to hear back
– Ask if they have any final remarks

What is one thing I should know about you that I haven’t asked?

What could you bring to this position that other candidates could not?

Interviewer Assessment

Enter your overall assessment about the candidate’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and fit for this position.

Would you recommend this candidate advance in the process?