Encore applicants have relevant skills, but may have limited nonprofit or government experience. Remember that only 10 percent of the U.S. workforce is employed in the nonprofit sector, so candidates will apply from other sectors, bringing transferable skills and experience. As you screen resumes and conduct interviews, search out relevant competencies, culture fit, job fit and mission alignment.

Competencies. Two categories of competencies are particularly relevant for nonprofit work, according to Common Good Careers:

• Knowledge, skills and technical qualifications. How do these assets relate to your organization’s work? Explore ways to leverage transferable skills in existing areas and in new projects and roles.
• Personal characteristics (behavioral, personality, aptitudes). Qualities like a positive attitude, collaborative style, can-do approach, a strong work ethic and passion all contribute to work productivity and employee satisfaction.

Culture fit. Explore values, beliefs and style. A track record of volunteering and/or board service is one positive indication. Ask about experience working in environments that required collaboration or had constrained resources. Don’t limit the applicant pool: Successful candidates do not always need nonprofit work experience to thrive in your culture.

Job fit. Consider the candidate’s skills, abilities, experience, personal and attitudinal characteristics. By assessing job fit realistically, you increase the likelihood of engaging and retaining high-performing staff.

Mission alignment. Many who seek encore careers are passionate about mission and impact – a huge factor in employee engagement. As you screen applicants, be sure to elicit the “why” behind their applications.

Behavioral Interviewing

Craft behavioral interview questions that reflect important aspects of the job, and prepare sample answers beforehand (see these samples by Canada’s HR Council for the Voluntary and Nonprofit Sector). As you develop interview questions, consider behavioral interviewing to assess transferable skills. Because encore-stage applicants often bring years of experience outside the nonprofit sector, behavioral interviewing lets you know how an applicant’s work, volunteer and life experience mesh with your organization’s needs and culture. Here are a few examples of behavioral interview questions:

• Tell me about a time when you needed to build support for an idea or initiative. How did you get people on-board?
• What have you learned in your previous career that will help you be effective in this job? Give an example.
• Share an example of when you disagreed with someone. How did you resolve it?
• Tell me about a time when you worked with scarce resources and achieved results.
• Share an example of something that you are proud of and why.
• Tell me about a difficult decision you had to make. How did you come to your decision?
• What most frustrates you at work? How do you handle your frustration? Give an example.