When you land an executive job interview, you've already put in the time, experience and leadership necessary to make it past mid-level management. You've already reached a vice president position at a small company or perhaps a department head at a larger firm. If you're ready to elevate to the C-suite, take a look at these tips for an interview at this level.
It's All About Preparation, Preparation, Preparation
Much like an ordinary interview, executive job interview skills must include preparation. Know the company in front of you backwards and forwards by investigating the firm's website, social media feeds and press releases. Conduct basic market research to see how the competition operates. The more you know and commit to memory about the firm, the better.
Peruse LinkedIn profiles of people in the prospective employer and get to know them. Find points of connection, such as previous employers, mutual acquaintances and educational backgrounds that help you create talking points with future co-workers. When you make these connections, you help build your personal brand.
Shift Your Brand Accordingly
Look at your own LinkedIn profile, curriculum vitae, website, blog posts and social media accounts to sharpen your personal brand ahead of an executive job interview. Consider incorporating verbiage from the company's mission statement or culture to show how your ideals sync with that of your prospective employer. As an executive, your tenure could last several years.
During the Interview
Your executive job interview persona exhibits a blend of confidence and humility at the same time. The way to do this is back up your cover letter and curriculum vitae by showing a comfort level with the job ahead of you. Let your employer see that your new position fits like a glove. Act like you negotiate with your interviewers in a back-and-forth conversation so that you come across as confident without seeming brash.
Tell stories during your executive job interview. Translate your raw data and past experiences into success stories that led to where you are today. Talk about challenges you had to overcome to reach the level of experience you have currently, and then show what you learned from those challenges. Sometimes, a good story can even cover for the fact that you've been without a position for a while. Storytelling lets interviewers know you excel at problem solving while showing your personality.
Know what questions to expect ahead of time and practice your responses. This includes tough questions about hiring/firing, legal issues a company may face and why you spent a number of months or years unemployed. When you show a comfort level to a prospective boss, the person often feels comfortable hiring you.
Even if you don't get the job, preparing for an executive job interview has its own rewards. At least you learn for next time because chances are you could have more than one opportunity to crack the glass ceiling. Keep improving and moving forward, and you may get there some day soon.
Photo courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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