Sierra Club Interview Questions
& Process

I applied online and got a call about a week later for a first-round virtual interview. It was with the hiring manager, lasted about 45 minutes, and focused on my background, why I wanted the job, and if I was a good fit with Sierra Club’s mission. It felt friendly and values-focused. I didn't move on, but they said the next step would be talking with more team members. It was a respectful and organized process, and the interviewer was clearly prepared and asked good questions.

The whole process took about 2 months from application to final decision. They were good about communicating the process from the start. It began with a phone/video screening (you pick). A few weeks later, I had a virtual 5 person panel interview. They sent a written exercise three days before the second interview. It had to be submitted a day before and presented during the interview. They made their decision in about a week. Some questions felt a bit off and not really related to the job description.

It took about a month to hear back after applying. First, I had to answer five questions in writing, about 500 words each, based on the role and my experience. Then, about three weeks later, I had a 45-minute phone interview with three people from the team. A month after that, I had another Zoom interview with three different team members. Two weeks after that, I went in for a final in-person interview at the office with the same group of interviewers plus two more people. I had to create an outreach and communications plan, which took a few hours. It took two more weeks to find out I didn't get the job. It was over three months and three interviews and two written tasks later, and I was still in the same spot. I don't know why it took so long or why there were so many separate tasks and interviews - it felt like a waste of my time and put me off applying to this organization again.

I applied via the website in Dec 2021. In Jan 2022, the Hiring Manager sent me a questionnaire that I completed and returned. In Feb 2022, I had a 30-minute screening call with the Hiring Manager and the person currently in the role. They asked questions similar to the questionnaire I'd already answered. Most of my answers were cut short because the hiring manager wanted to stick to the 30-minute limit. I managed to ask a question at the end, and the current staff member's answer suggested they lacked modern nonprofit development experience. I never heard back after the call. The position seemed to be heavily promoted again in April 2022.