The interview process can be stressful and uncomfortable for any career level. Yet the strategies and processes involved in interviewing and hiring senior-level employees can be vastly different from any entry or mid-level interview process. Companies want to hire competent, successful, articulate seniors. To be successful in a senior-level interview, you must prepare yourself for a leadership position.
Here are WUZZUF’s key pieces of advice to help ensure senior-level interview success.
Know your field inside out
As a senior, you are not expected to know it all, but you should have in-depth knowledge about your field. Know the common terms or phrases, the trends, platforms, and tools commonly utilized in your field.
At the executive level, not only does the company need to know that you have the skills and knowledge needed to do the job, but you’re also expected to demonstrate success. The best predictor of future performance is past performance. Therefore, you can expect the interviewers to ask for very specific examples of past behaviors and actions so they can draw conclusions on how deep your knowledge is and predict how well you will perform within the organization.
[irp posts=”6589″ name=”Don’t do this at your new job!”]Tie in your role to the overall company’s goals
If you are being interviewed by C-Level Executives, you should get acquainted with their mindsets. C-Level Executives have targets they want to achieve yearly and, as a top-level executive, they want to see that you have the ability to help them reach these goals. Moreover, you need to be strongly strategy and KPI oriented.
Are you goal-oriented?
Do you possess leadership qualities?
These are likely questions that are running in the back of the interviewer’s mind when meeting with you. Whether you are applying to a senior position in the IT department or a leading position in the accounting team, you should mention common goals and KPIs regarding your specific department to demonstrate you have a leadership mindset.
Research
Become familiar with as much information as you can regarding the company. You will likely be asked ‘What do you know about our company?’ The more details you can provide, the more likely they are to be impressed that you came prepared. Knowing a lot about the company and its mission shows, not only that you are a candidate who prepares, but also that you are genuinely interested in the organization and can become passionate about your work. Try to gather as much information about financial figures, recent news/events, board members, company mission, and more.
Finally, you should be confident. Remember that if you are already sitting in front of a team manager, VP or CEO, they already have seen qualities in you or on your CV that they like. C-level executives are busy. If they carved out time to speak with you, it means they already see you as an investment. Walk into your next interview with that in mind and let it fuel your confidence.
Still looking? Check out WUZZUF here for senior-level career opportunities!
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