How to Prepare to Interview Executives
Prepping for an interview can be nerve-wracking, even when you're the one sitting on the other side of the desk. And if you're preparing to interview a candidate for an executive leadership role, the nerves can be even worse. After all, these are important positions that have a significant effect on an organization's day-to-day business, as well as the overall philosophy and culture of the company.
You have to keep in mind that, just like you, executive candidates are as busy as an air traffic controller during Thanksgiving weekend, so they're usually passive candidates—meaning they're not actively looking for a new job. At this point, I will have done my job in the hiring process by persuading them to come in for an interview. Now, it's up to me and their hiring manager to find out if the executive is the right fit for our organization.
Here are some useful tips that will enable you to get the information you need to make an informed decision for an executive hire—while also giving them a valuable candidate experience.
Gather Your Questions
After a recruiter has collected intel for a top prospect, and you've received a brief that includes their LinkedIn, a resume and some notes from an initial fact-finding conversation, you'll want to start gathering your questions. You already know what kind of leader you're looking for and what your organization's goals are, but preparation is still vital here.
Most critical of all, you want to know how an executive has delivered results in the past, so you'll want to really hone in on that. Ask them questions about how they've turned a struggling team or product around or maybe a time where they led a highly visible strategic initiative, one that had enormous consequences on a company's business.
Also, you’ll want to talk to some of the folks who will ultimately work alongside this executive. What are the ideal qualities of a leader that they're looking for, and what kind of challenges will they face within that department? Think of ways that you can work their concerns into your conversation.
What Kind of Manager Are They?
When it comes to executive recruiting, you need to leave the interview with a very clear sense of what kind of leader that candidate will be. Ask what their style of management is. Are they a leader that gets real, quantifiable results?
Also, how do they sell ideas to management, and what are the ways they approach getting buy-in from various stakeholders? Once they can move forward with those ideas, how do they implement them and get other teams on board? You need to ensure that their values and leadership methodology gel with your company's culture.
Seek Solutions
While the best candidates can identify what your company’s blind spots might be, they're obviously not going to have firsthand experience with your organization's challenges. But they are likely to have insight into the problems that are unique to your particular industry, so dig into how they would go about solving them and if they tackled those problems in the past. What did they ultimately learn from the experience? What sort of trends do they foresee for the business, and are there any issues the company should watch out for?
You want to know that they have a firm grasp on what your operational needs are and that they can seek out viable results.
Final Thoughts and Takeaways
There’s no one right way to do this, but so long as you know what your company is looking for, and how that executive can help you innovate and drive their particular department, then you’ll be able to hire the perfect leader. At the end of the day, you’re looking for someone who will help write your business’s next chapter, and as one of your company’s gatekeepers, you’ll need to know how to determine who the right nominee is.