Blackbaud Interview Questions & Reviews

Interview Details – Had a phone interview.

Interview Details – Asked questions like what http was, html stood for, what port was SSL transmitted, both phone interviews lasted about 30 to 40 minutes. There were several questions that dealt with past experiences, how you deal with structure. Felt the interview was solid and had a positive experience from it.

Interview Details – Applied online almost 2 months ago and had HR phone interview yesterday. She asked me to go through my resume from top to bottom, including why I left each job then describe why I was applying for Blackbaud. It was for a technical position so I was also asked to describe my technical experience with internet solutions in detail. I was also asked to describe a scenario where I helped a customer solve a challenging technical problem. She wanted me to have a phone intereview with the hiring manager the next week however I declined due to salary requirements. HR interviewer was on time and courteous - took 30 minutes exactly.

Interview Details – Phone interview, very casual, just feeling me out to see if I am confident while discussing skills my resume contained. Invited down for a face-to-face interview the next week. They paid my gas and put me in a hotel for the night before and the recruiters (HR department) actually took me out to a fancy dinner in downtown. The next morning started at 8 with all the potential hires at a table, donuts and coffee, very casual. Then we all split up and had individual interviews with management, 2 different skill tests (one testing database skills, one testing your ability to think on the spot to solve a problem presented to you with hooks thrown in when you are close to finishing), then a group critical thinking activity with the other potential hires.

Thinking out loud during the interviews is HIGHLY encouraged. Do not BS things, admit you are unsure about what is being asked or how to do it, and show that you want to understand the problem fully while tackling it.

Lunch with 22-25 year olds that are your university alumni, then more management interviews, then sit down and discuss benefits and desired pay with HR, then 'goodbye, we'll call you in a week or so'

Overall very casual process, but very intense. I was exhausted before lunch, but it was an exciting process.

Negotiation Details – I was able to negotiate for a 60k starting salary rather than the 58k they suggested. Looking back, they accepted it so quickly that I should have tried for even more.

Interview Details – The HR department first contacted me for an initial position screening. Then, I spoke with the hiring Director. After that interview, they determined I was a good fit for the position and brought me to Charleston.

The interview lasted all day. It started at 8:30am with an IQ test. Then, I had a round-robin of 3 interviews with 2 managers & 1 VP. I met some of the sales people on the team and ended the day with the hiring Director.

The decision was made within a week to put an offer on the table.

Negotiation Details – Yes. Always negotiate.

Interview Details – I managed to get one phone interview for a Customer Support Analyst position. The interview was conducted over the phone (I am out of State), with a Senior Recruiter, and it lasted 30 minutes as planned. The recruiter was almost 20 minutes late calling me and she had not even reviewed my resume yet. She was very nice, but was more focused on meeting her own criteria than listening to me or giving me a chance to talk. She read from a script, and I could tell she was looking down at a piece of paper by the sound of her voice on the phone, and I could hear her typing the whole time. We wasted 10 minutes while she literally had me read my resume to her. I assumed she wanted me to elaborate, but no, she really just wanted me to read my resume to her while she typed. Then she asked me some questions that I did not feel appropriate for a first "time limited" interview, such as why I chose the University that I attended and what made me want to live in the City that I now reside. We never touched on anything relevant to the position I applied for. We then went on to some roll playing, which I thought would be exciting, more relevant, and "to the point". Even though I did very well I found it rather irritating, as the situation was not only extremely irrelevant, but impossible. It was awfully bizarre. I'm sure there is a strategic reason for this, but again I did not feel it was appropriate or that it accomplished "the right thing". The bulk of the interview consisted of the recruiter reading from a script and me doing very little talking or elaborating. I was rushed and cut off several times, and I could tell she wasn't listening or cared what I had to say. I felt it was a complete waste of time and was actually relieved when I was not invited for a second interview. If that interview says anything about the company, I would not want to work there. I should also mention the job description was a bit misleading. The skills and experience stated as "desired" in the job description were much much less than what I gathered they actually wanted, so again, this was a giant waste of time for both parties. I conclude this company misses out on a lot of great candidates and opportunities because their recruiting strategy is WAY OFF. This was the only interview (out of 6 prior) that left me with a bad taste in my mouth and I did not wish for a call back. Luckily I had several more great interviews with other companies and eventually found a much better opportunity, so I'm glad it did not work out with this one.

Interview Details – This was one of my longest interview processes I'm been part of. It was phone interview after phone interview normally an hour and a half long. After months of phone interviews I flew out for an on sight interview. It was interviews from 9am to 5pm where each hour was with a different manager. All of the interviews were the managers firing questions at me and maybe the last 5 minutes where I got to ask question to them.

One of the most interesting things about the on sight interview was that I had a job currently and was just looking for a change and they never tried to sell me on the company. They didn't give me a tour of the building or their labs. So I left still thinking why Blackbaud? I have other opportunities why choose Blackbaud? Not being from the area they also never showed me around Charleston. Normally a company brings me on sight for an interview and takes me to lunch at a nice restaurant and shows me the area. Blackbaud did not show me the area and we ate in the cafeteria.

The culture was very startup and no two employees were using the same computer equipment.

After my on sight interview they asked what I thought and I told them I had questions. They told me to send my questions to them and they would get them answered for me. I never received the answers to my questions and I sent other emails about what is left in the interview process. I never received another response.

I wouldn't have recommend Blackbaud before my on sight interview and I definitely would not recommend them after my on sight interview. How unprofessional that I took two days off work to fly out and interview 9am to 5pm and could not get a response that they had gone with a different candidate.

Interview Details – The phone interviewer was very nice. He asked a lot of background questions regarding where I worked, what I'd learned from these jobs in regards to sales, what I knew about the company and why I wanted to work there, and general behavioral questions (not too many as this was the first interview.) If I made it through this interview, there would be a second phone interview, then an on-site interview, then an offer. It was a pleasant experience, but hiring with this company is EXTREMELY difficult.

Interview Details – Overall, a very good and thorough interview process for a senior level hire. Met with several executives and senior managers. Everyone was very positive and pleasant to deal with and truly seem to enjoy working at Blackbaud.

Negotiation Details – Straightforward and flexible with respect to timing and relocation needs.