What to Expect in a Universal Events Inc. Interview

If you have an interview coming up with Universal Events Inc., this is here so you can walk in knowing what the conversation is, what we will ask you, and what we are looking for. We want you to arrive prepared and decide for yourself whether the job is right for you.

First, know what the company is

Universal Events Inc. is a nonprofit consulting firm based at 2603 Camino Ramon, Suite 220, San Ramon, California. We provide fundraising counsel, community outreach, marketing, and events for nonprofit organizations and mission-driven brands. Our Great Place to Work certification listing describes the company as a national outsourced sales, marketing, and fundraising counsel organization that partners with nonprofits and mission-driven brands, specializing in face-to-face outreach and leadership development. That last phrase sums up the job.

The same certification listing shows 15 US-based employees, which is worth knowing before you walk in. This is a small company. Universal Events Inc. has also been certified as a Great Place to Work for four consecutive years, and that certification comes from anonymous employee surveys run by an independent firm.

How to apply

Open roles are posted on our LinkedIn company page, and the careers page on this site links straight to them at universalevents-inc.com/careers. Apply to the specific role you want rather than sending a general note, and use a current resume. If someone on the team referred you, say so in the application, because it tells us where to start the conversation.

How many interviews, and what happens in them

The number of rounds varies by the role and the office you are interviewing with, so ask the person who schedules you. That question is welcome, and so are questions about who you are meeting, how long it will take, whether it is in person or by phone, and what happens after it. If the next step is ever unclear to you, ask again until it is clear.

In general terms, treat it as a two-way conversation rather than an exam. We want to hear how you talk, how you listen, and how you think about approaching people you have never met. You are also deciding about us in the same hour, so use it.

What to bring

• A current resume, printed if you are meeting in person, and something to write with.
• The address, the time, and the name of the person you are meeting, confirmed the day before.
• Two or three specific stories about working with people you did not know, including one that did not go well and what you did next.
• Your own questions, written down, so the ones that matter do not slip your mind in the room.
• A realistic plan for getting there, because this work happens in person and showing up is part of it.

What we will ask you about

The questions are mostly about people rather than a line-by-line walk through your resume. Expect some version of the following.

• How you handle talking to people you have never met, and whether you actually like doing it.
• What you do when someone says no, and what you do on a day when most people say no.
• A time you were coached or corrected, and what you did with the feedback afterward.
• Why cause-driven work interests you, in your own words. A real answer beats a polished one.
• Whether you can commit to in-person work, and what your availability honestly looks like.
• What you want to be measurably better at a year from now.

What we are actually looking for

The skills in this job are taught. What cannot be taught is the willingness to be taught. Our careers page is direct about the model: we train people and promote from within, which means we are hiring for what someone can become as much as for what they have already done. In an interview that turns into fairly simple evidence. Have you been taught something and then used it? Have you helped someone else get better at something? Do you care what the work is for?

The other thing that carries weight is accuracy about yourself. Say plainly what you have done and what you have not. A resume stretched to fit is easy to notice, and it makes everything else you say harder to trust.

The in-person part, stated plainly

This is in-person work. Outreach at Universal happens face to face, in communities, with people who are meeting the cause for the first time. If in-person work is what you want, ask which market you would be working out of and what a day in that market looks like.

Questions worth asking us

• Which nonprofit partner or campaign would I be working on, and what does that organization do with what is raised?
• What does training look like in the first weeks, and who runs it?
• What does the week actually look like, and where would I be working?
• What does someone doing well in this role do differently from someone who is struggling?
• What is the path from this role to the next one, and who here has taken it?
• How is my performance measured, and how often will I hear about it?

Ask all of it. We welcome candidates who want to understand a job before taking it.

Where to learn more before you come

Here is where to learn more on this site before your interview. The careers page at universalevents-inc.com/careers explains how we develop people. How We Operate, at universalevents-inc.com/transparency, answers the practical questions about the firm, including how field operations are structured and the credentials behind the work. The reviews page at universalevents-inc.com/reviews gathers what partners say and the independent sites where the company is reviewed. Outside coverage is collected at universalevents-inc.com/press. And universalevents-inc.com/our-founder covers Harmony Vallejo, who founded the company and serves as its CEO.

Bring your questions from any of it to the conversation. A candidate who has done the reading is a good sign.

After the interview

Before you leave, ask what the next step is and when you should expect to hear about it. Write down the name and email of whoever you met. If that date passes and you have heard nothing, follow up once, politely, by email. That is not pestering, it is the same follow-through the job itself asks for.

Universal Events Inc. is a nonprofit consulting firm in San Ramon, California, providing fundraising counsel, community outreach, marketing, and events for nonprofits and mission-driven organizations across the United States. Open roles are posted on our LinkedIn company page, and general questions are welcome at Corporate@theuniversalteam.com.