Introduction
If you want to be taken seriously as an executive and not just another candidate, there are a few things you can do to ensure that happens. In this article we'll help give you the confidence and skill necessary for successful interviews with executives.
Prepare for a traditional interview.
Before your interview, you should be prepared to answer any question the interviewer may ask. You should also be prepared to ask questions of your own, so that you can gather more information about the position and company.
In addition to preparing for the standard questions, it's important to prepare for anything else that could come up during the interview process. For example:
If something unexpected happens during the interview (e.g., if there's a technical glitch with equipment), don't panic! Remain calm and composed.
Ask yourself what might make you stand out from other candidates. This will help you stay focused on this particular job opportunity instead of whatever other opportunities are open at other companies at this time (which is good because it shows initiative).
Take the time to organize your thoughts on the questions you will most likely be asked.
Preparation is the key to success when it comes to interviews. Before meeting with a recruiter or hiring manager, take some time to organize your thoughts on the questions you will most likely be asked. This can help you provide thoughtful answers instead of stumbling over your words and possibly coming across as unprepared.
The following are examples of common interview questions, along with suggestions for how to approach each one:
How do you stay motivated? (Be specific about what motivates you.)
What are your greatest strengths? (Describe two or three skills that make up these strengths.)
What makes an ideal candidate for this position? (Give an example of someone who has those qualities.)
Tell me about a time when things didn't go well at work and how did you handle it? (Talk about overcoming challenges in your professional life.)
Prepare your own questions to ask in an interview.
Prepare your own questions to ask in an interview.
When it comes to asking questions, people tend to get nervous and forget all the ones they had prepared in advance, or worse yet, ask something that doesn’t relate at all to what the position entails. This is never good for you as a candidate, because it makes you look unprepared or uninterested. It also takes away from the interviewer’s time and attention when they are trying to evaluate how well you would do in their company.
There are some general rules of thumb for preparing questions:
The best questions are open ended—meaning they can lead into more than one direction of discussion—but still concise and succinct enough that they don't go on too long or waste anyone's time (including yours). While there is no right answer, there is certainly a wrong one: “I love Mondays! What do you think about them?” If this was an interview for a job teaching kindergarteners about weather patterns, then yes you might want someone who loves Mondays; however if it were for an executive administrative assistant position where there are many tasks involved such as scheduling meetings with clients or handling confidential information then maybe not so much.
Practicing with someone who knows you well will help you feel more confident.
Practicing answering questions in a variety of ways helps refine your answers and makes them more natural sounding. For example, if there are two different types of interviews at the same company (e.g., technical interviews vs management interviews), then they may ask similar questions but in different ways — so practicing answering those questions will help give them a deeper understanding of how you think even though technically speaking they're asking the same thing.
Be prepared to answer behavioral interview questions.
Behavioral interview questions are intended to gauge how you've behaved in the past. In most cases, they're trying to assess your ability to handle certain situations and make decisions. For example:
How have you handled working on a team?
What steps did you take when a project deadline was missed?
What did you do when an employee made an error that affected the company's bottom line?
Know what is important to the interviewer and use it to your advantage.
When you are aware of what the interviewer is looking for, it’s easier to prepare. You can demonstrate that you are a good fit by showing that your skills and experience will support the company’s goals. This is why “Tell me about yourself” questions are so important: they give you an opportunity to show what makes you unique and how those qualities align with the company's needs.
You should also focus on selling yourself rather than worrying about whether or not there might be other qualified candidates who would be better fits for this position than yourself. You have nothing to lose by trying!
Finally, pay attention during the interview itself—even though some of our tips may seem obvious or common sense, many people still ignore them because they're too busy thinking about themselves instead of paying attention to others around them (especially their interviewer).
Dress appropriately for an executive interview.
If you're going to a professional interview, it's in your best interest to dress appropriately. It is important not to overdo it and wear something too casual or too formal, as this will show that you are incapable of dressing for the occasion. You must also avoid wearing anything that is distracting or inappropriate for an executive interview.
Show up knowing your speech, timing, and body language in an interview situation.
The most important thing you can do to prepare is to practice your speech, timing, and body language. This doesn't mean memorize every word or detail of what you're going to say; it just means knowing how you want to convey the substance of what needs saying in the interview.
When you're practicing, think about some common questions that will be asked in an interview (e.g., Tell me about yourself). Then write down as many different ways as possible that these questions could be answered so that if one approach doesn't work well with a particular questioner's style or temperament then there are other approaches ready at hand.
Know what employers are looking for and make sure they see it in you!
It's important to know the company's mission and vision. You need to understand what they want to achieve and how they are going to get there. If you don't know the company's goals, you won't know if your skills match those goals.
You also need to know what their values are and how they will affect your work life at this organization. The more closely aligned you are with their values, the better off you'll be in terms of getting along with coworkers, getting along with bosses and supervisors, etc., which all contribute towards being successful on the job!
You should also have some understanding of their history as well as current projects that may be happening within or outside of this organization (e.g., merger/acquisition). This gives greater context for why certain things happen within an organization like this one--such as layoffs or promotions--and will help clarify why certain decisions might occur at any given point in time throughout an employee’s tenure
Conclusion
Interviews are just one part of your job search process. It may seem like a lot of work, but it’s important to get the most out of each interview and make sure that you are prepared for any question or situation that arises.
