Questions to Anticipate in Your Executive Job Interview

As you prepare for an executive job interview, there are many things to consider such as your attire, your body language, and mastering your handshake. Making a great first impression is a critical part of the interview process; however, anticipating and preparing your responses to interview questions can prove to be a game changer that helps you stand out throughout the process.

When you know the message you want to convey about your skills and expertise, it boosts your confidence and that will shine through in your executive job interview. In your executive job interview, be prepared to reflect on the past, focus on the present, and speculate about the future as well as behavioural interview questions that illustrate how you would respond in specific situations.

With that in mind, you can anticipate some form of the following questions:

Reflecting on the Past

Hiring managers want candidates to reflect on the past and tell stories demonstrating their ability to resolve business barriers and create better processes going forward. Your responses to these questions paint a picture of how you use your value, skills, and expertise to think outside the box to find successful solutions.

Tell us about yourself.
To what do you attribute your success?
Describe your leadership style. How has your style worked for you in the past?
Consider your limitations. Describe a time you’ve had to overcome a limitation.
Tell us about a situation where you didn’t get along with a colleague or board member. How did you resolve it?
Describe a time where you were part of a project that failed. How did you react? What was your takeaway?
What legacy did you leave at your last employer?

Focusing on the Present

These questions give hiring managers a picture of your current job search strategy and added value and ultimately provides insight into whether or not you’d be a valuable hire and fit for the organization.

Why do you want to work in this industry?
What makes you want this position?
Why do you want to work for this organization?
What makes you an asset to this organization?
What is your unique promise of value?

Speculating About the Future

These types of questions provide insight into how your specific set of skills and work ethic will strengthen and serve the company.

Which of your strengths would prove most valuable if this company were to hire you?
Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?
How would you use your skills to create a strong team?
How would you use your past success/failures to help you in this position?

Your answers to these questions help you stand out. They create an image of your value as an executive on the team, and they help you show the hiring managers how you’d be an asset to that team and the company as a whole.