CCS Fundraising Consultant Interview Questions
& Process

This whole application and interview process was genuinely the worst I've ever been through. I seriously wouldn't recommend this company. I went through 5 interviews and had one assignment, taking almost a year. I met 5 people from CCS, talked about my career and life, learned about them, and they kept saying how caring and people-centered they were, but they made me feel less than. If you want honesty and transparency, this isn't it. First, there was an initial phone screen with HR where they basically said I might not get an offer even if I was a good fit because a job might not be open by the time the process ended. Even though I said I'd be available after graduation, they wasted 20 minutes asking about my availability and then said it was too soon, rescheduling for a month before graduation. It was unprofessional and I don't get why they didn't just wait or email. Then, out of nowhere, two months later, the same HR person reached out saying they wanted to interview people ready to start by my date and scheduled a phone interview which was standard. They said the next step was a writing assignment due next week, and if I did well, they'd schedule another interview. After sending in my writing assignment (a practice case for a client director), I had a Zoom interview with a VP a week or two later. It was a standard live practice case study, and I was told I'd hear back soon. After that, I had another Zoom interview with a Managing Director. They were kind, shared personal stuff, asked standard questions, and then basically told me that on the parish side, I might be misgendered or assumed straight, and I'd have to be okay with that, or work on the non-parish side. I should have seen that as a red flag, but I continued, just not with the parish side. I was told I'd hear soon. After a month of silence, I emailed about the timeline and was told they were making decisions that week and I'd hear back. More silence, then I was told I wasn't selected for the June round and there weren't cases for my experience, but I should reapply in the summer because they'd hire again and keep my application active. Months later, I reached out, and they said they still weren't hiring but the person I'd been corresponding with would let me know. More months passed, and a different HR person contacted me asking if I was still interested since they were hiring. After almost 11 months, I said yes and got scheduled for another interview with another Managing Director. This MD was also kind, asked about my personal life, related, gave recommendations, and pretended to care. It was a standard interview with another scenario question. They said there might be one more interview or they might just hire, and I'd hear back in 1-4 weeks. After nearly a month, I got a generic HR email saying they moved on with other candidates, including someone I know who is openly misogynistic and homophobic. I emailed the last person for feedback and a thank you but never heard back. From the first call to the rejection, it was over a year of being strung along and discarded without any care, even after meeting 5 staff members. I wasted over 9 hours on interviews, emails, and the assignment. This company should be ashamed.

This job has been posted at least 3 times. I applied in December and spoke with Rachel Anders, who was very flattering. After 3 interview stages over 12 weeks, which included a writing exercise, I was ghosted. This seems to be a common experience for US candidates. The company seems unoriginal and desperate for ideas and presentations. I am a Fundraising Consultant with many years of experience and have never heard of this company or their clients. This is a disgrace; they are advertising fake jobs for ideation. Avoid them.

I just had my first interview with CCS. It was a phone interview with a current staff member. She was prompt, polite, informative, positive, and candid about the role. She spent the first part of the call (about 15-20 minutes) outlining the job and its expectations. She would stop periodically pause to see if there was anything I would like clarity on before she moved on. The second part of the interview touched on my strengths, weaknesses and experience. I don't feel any of the questions were too hard or soft. She was VERY transparent about the hiring process. In fact, I had read a lot of negative reviews about the interview process from other candidates on this and other pages. However, she emphasized that they are always interviewing for this role as their needs constantly change due to onboarding of new clients. I do think I would fit in well here and I hope to be asked to the next round. However, I am so happy I didn't let negative reviews of others' experiences lead me to turning down the interview. Let's see where this goes!!