Practical Work Samples for Hiring Top Grants Consultants

Grants Consultants serve as critical financial strategists for organizations, bridging the gap between programmatic goals and potential funding sources. The success of your organization's grant acquisition efforts depends heavily on selecting a consultant who possesses not only technical grant writing skills but also strategic thinking, research capabilities, and collaborative instincts.

Traditional interviews often fail to reveal a candidate's true capabilities in the complex world of grant development. While a candidate may articulate their process beautifully in conversation, their actual ability to research opportunities, craft compelling narratives, develop realistic budgets, and collaborate with stakeholders can only be assessed through practical demonstration.

Work samples provide a window into how candidates approach real-world grant challenges. By observing candidates as they navigate realistic scenarios, you gain insight into their thought processes, attention to detail, and ability to translate organizational missions into fundable proposals. These exercises also demonstrate how candidates handle feedback—a critical skill for grants professionals who must regularly incorporate input from program staff and funders.

The following work samples are designed to evaluate the essential competencies required for grants consultant success: strategic thinking, communication, adaptability, and collaboration. By incorporating these exercises into your hiring process, you'll be able to identify candidates who can truly drive your organization's funding strategy forward rather than those who simply interview well.

Activity #1: Grant Opportunity Research and Alignment Analysis

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to identify appropriate funding opportunities and strategically align them with organizational priorities. Strong grants consultants must be able to quickly assess funding sources for fit, eligibility, and potential return on investment—skills that are difficult to evaluate through conversation alone.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide the candidate with a brief (1-2 page) description of your organization, including mission, programs, target populations, and strategic priorities.
• Include 3-5 actual grant opportunities from various sources (foundations, government, corporate) with different requirements and focus areas. These can be open opportunities or past ones with full guidelines available.
• Allow candidates 60-90 minutes to complete the exercise.
• Prepare a rubric that evaluates the candidate's ability to identify alignment, recognize misalignment, and provide strategic rationale for their recommendations.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the organizational profile and grant opportunity descriptions provided.
• Create a prioritized list of the grant opportunities, ranking them from most to least promising for the organization.
• For each opportunity, provide:

1. A brief (2-3 sentence) explanation of why the opportunity does or doesn't align with the organization's mission and programs
2. Key organizational strengths that could be highlighted in an application
3. Potential challenges or gaps that would need to be addressed
4. A recommendation on whether to pursue the opportunity with justification

Feedback Mechanism:

• After reviewing the candidate's analysis, provide feedback on one aspect they did particularly well (e.g., "Your identification of our program's unique approach as a strength for the XYZ Foundation opportunity was insightful").
• Offer one area for improvement (e.g., "I noticed you ranked the federal grant opportunity highly, but didn't address the data collection requirements that might be challenging for our organization").
• Ask the candidate to take 10-15 minutes to revise their recommendation for the opportunity discussed in the improvement feedback, incorporating the new perspective.

Activity #2: Grant Proposal Narrative Development

This exercise assesses a candidate's ability to craft compelling, persuasive grant narratives that effectively communicate an organization's impact and potential. The quality of writing and strategic messaging in proposals directly impacts funding success rates.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a simplified grant application template with sections for program description, need statement, goals/objectives, and evaluation plan (limit to 2-3 questions total).
• Provide background materials about a real program at your organization, including basic statistics, outcomes, and challenges.
• Include the funder's priorities and evaluation criteria as would appear in a real grant announcement.
• Allow candidates 90 minutes to complete the exercise.
• Prepare to evaluate clarity, persuasiveness, alignment with funder priorities, and strategic framing of organizational strengths.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the program information and funder priorities provided.
• Complete the simplified grant application, focusing on creating compelling narratives that align the program with the funder's interests.
• Pay particular attention to:

1. Clearly articulating the need/problem being addressed
2. Demonstrating the unique value of the organization's approach
3. Creating measurable objectives that align with both program goals and funder priorities
4. Using concrete language and specific examples rather than generalities

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide positive feedback on a strong section of the candidate's narrative (e.g., "Your needs statement effectively used both data and storytelling to create urgency").
• Offer constructive feedback on an area that could be strengthened (e.g., "The evaluation section could more explicitly connect measurement methods to the stated objectives").
• Ask the candidate to spend 15 minutes revising the section mentioned in the improvement feedback, applying the suggestions provided.

Activity #3: Grant Budget Development and Justification

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to develop realistic, compliant grant budgets and craft persuasive budget narratives. Financial acumen and the ability to translate programmatic needs into fundable line items are essential skills for successful grants consultants.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a program description with staffing structure, key activities, and desired outcomes.
• Create a budget template with standard categories (personnel, fringe, equipment, travel, etc.).
• Include funder guidelines with specific budget restrictions or requirements (e.g., match requirements, indirect cost limitations).
• Provide actual organizational cost information for relevant line items (e.g., salary ranges, fringe rate, standard equipment costs).
• Allow 60 minutes for completion.
• Prepare to evaluate accuracy, compliance with guidelines, strategic allocation of resources, and quality of justification.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the program description, organizational cost information, and funder guidelines.
• Develop a comprehensive project budget that realistically reflects program needs while complying with funder requirements.
• Write a brief budget narrative (1-2 paragraphs per major category) that explains and justifies key expenses.
• Ensure the budget:

1. Aligns with program activities and objectives
2. Complies with all funder restrictions
3. Includes appropriate levels of detail
4. Demonstrates cost-effectiveness while being realistic

Feedback Mechanism:

• Highlight one strength in the candidate's budget approach (e.g., "Your allocation of staff time across different activities shows a strong understanding of program implementation").
• Provide one piece of constructive feedback (e.g., "The equipment costs seem high relative to industry standards, and the justification could be more detailed").
• Ask the candidate to take 15 minutes to revise the budget category mentioned in the feedback, explaining their revised approach.

Activity #4: Collaborative Program Development Simulation

This role-play exercise assesses a candidate's ability to collaborate with program staff to develop grant-ready project concepts. Successful grants consultants must be able to ask insightful questions, translate programmatic ideas into fundable proposals, and navigate different stakeholder perspectives.

Directions for the Company:

• Select an employee to play the role of a program director with a new project idea.
• Provide this employee with a character brief describing their project concept, including some clear strengths and some underdeveloped areas.
• Brief the employee to be somewhat protective of their idea but open to constructive suggestions.
• Prepare evaluation criteria focused on the candidate's questioning techniques, listening skills, ability to identify strengths and weaknesses, and collaborative problem-solving approach.
• Allow 30 minutes for the role play.

Directions for the Candidate:

• You will meet with a program director who has a new project idea they want to develop into a grant proposal.
• Your goal is to gather enough information to assess the project's fundability and identify what additional development is needed.
• During the conversation:

1. Ask questions to understand the project's goals, activities, target population, and intended outcomes
2. Identify the project's strengths from a funder's perspective
3. Tactfully explore areas that need further development
4. Collaboratively brainstorm ways to strengthen the concept
5. End with clear next steps for moving forward

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide positive feedback on an effective collaboration technique the candidate demonstrated (e.g., "You did an excellent job of affirming the program director's expertise while gently guiding them toward more measurable outcomes").
• Offer one suggestion for improvement (e.g., "You might have explored the sustainability question earlier in the conversation to address a potential red flag for funders").
• Give the candidate 10 minutes to role-play a follow-up conversation implementing the feedback provided.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much time should we allocate for these work samples in our interview process?

Each exercise requires 60-90 minutes plus feedback time. We recommend selecting 1-2 exercises most relevant to your organization's needs rather than attempting all four. These can be conducted during a half-day assessment or spread across separate interview stages.

Should we provide these exercises to candidates in advance?

For the research and writing exercises (Activities 1 and 2), providing the organizational background materials 24 hours in advance allows candidates to familiarize themselves with your organization, resulting in more thoughtful responses. The budget exercise and role play are best conducted live to assess real-time problem-solving abilities.

How can we make these exercises fair for candidates with different backgrounds?

Ensure all candidates receive identical materials and time constraints. Be mindful that candidates from different sectors (nonprofit, government, corporate) may use different terminology or approaches. Focus your evaluation on the underlying skills rather than sector-specific conventions.

What if our organization doesn't have actual grant opportunities to share?

You can use anonymized versions of past opportunities or create simplified mock opportunities based on real funders' typical requirements. The key is providing enough detail about priorities and guidelines to make the exercise realistic.

How should we weigh these work samples against other interview components?

Work samples should account for approximately 50% of your evaluation, with behavioral interviews and reference checks making up the remainder. These practical demonstrations provide the most direct evidence of a candidate's ability to perform the core functions of the role.

Can these exercises be adapted for remote hiring processes?

Yes, all four activities can be conducted virtually. For the collaborative simulation, use video conferencing. For written exercises, provide materials via email and use shared documents or timed submission portals to manage the process.

Finding the right Grants Consultant can dramatically impact your organization's funding success and sustainability. By incorporating these practical work samples into your hiring process, you'll gain valuable insights into candidates' actual capabilities that traditional interviews simply cannot reveal. The investment in a thorough assessment process pays dividends through stronger proposals, higher success rates, and more strategic funding approaches.

Ready to take your grants hiring process to the next level? Explore Yardstick's comprehensive suite of hiring tools, including our AI Job Description Generator, AI Interview Question Generator, and AI Interview Guide Generator. For more insights on hiring grants professionals, check out our detailed Grants Consultant job description.

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