Hispanic Scholarship Fund Interview Questions
& Process

I had two phone interviews where the people were super nice and the staff was friendly. Then I got to do an in-person interview with the President Fidel, which was exciting! It started 45 minutes late without any apology. Fidel asked the first question and then basically zoned out because he was clearly at the end of a long day. I know my answers might not have been the most thrilling, but he was literally trying to stay awake. It felt pretty rude, but I tried to brush it off since I know people get busy. I wasn't really feeling it enough to accept an offer anyway. The worst part though is after all that, nobody let me know I didn't get the job, and when I emailed them, I never heard back. So rude.

Applied and got contacted after 2 weeks to set up a phone screen. The in-person interview was 2 weeks after that and then I was ghosted. Was told I'd be contacted by X date and never got a rejection. They stacked interviews and I met another candidate interviewing for the same role at the same time. The interview was rushed because they had to get to the other candidate and the interviewers were ill prepared. Spoke to 3 people total. Started with 2 people (Hiring manager & his assistant) and then a more senior leader. Swapped interviewers after ~30 mins with the other candidate. Very unprofessional.

I went through 3 rounds of interviews for a Donor Relations position, and I expected there to be 4. From the start, the whole process and vibe at HSF felt off. There wasn't a job description provided for the role, and when I asked for one during my first two interviews, I got conflicting answers: one person said legal was finalizing it, and another said there wasn't one because they prefer to tailor the job to the employee's skills. Because there was no job description, there was also no salary range. Based on how they were hiring, it seemed like they were prepared to hire at Manager, Director, or VP level, so there should have been a wide salary range. I gave my initial salary requirements in the first interview and was told they were 'in the ballpark.' This lack of transparency was consistent throughout the process and seems to align with reviews from current and former staff. The way staff talked about the CEO was also strange and alarming; he clearly has a significant influence on everything. You could tell there would be micromanagement, with multiple mentions of 'You have to build trust' and 'There isn't a lot of autonomy.' These are big red flags for me. Also, for an organization focused on serving people of color, they don't seem to have a clear DEI statement or commitment. When I asked a senior staff member about it, she just said 'We hire diverse staff.' I didn't get an offer, but I don't think I would have accepted it anyway. My gut feeling from the beginning was that something was off about the whole experience.

Had a first initial interview that was informational and quick. They told me about the company and its mission. Then they asked me about my experience and to say why I like working in the event space. From there, we went through housekeeping questions to make sure I was okay with certain things. They told me to review the company more and then let them know if I'm interested.