Executive Interview Preparation

The problem:

My client ran his own successful business for more than 20 years.  He was now finished with that career and wanted to find another one more in line with his current interests.  He was interested in giving back and values higher education.  He found an open position at a prestigious University that he described to me as his dream job.  He knew he had the qualifications, however, he also knew that his past experience did not directly align with the job description.  He was facing a career transition.  The challenge was to position himself for this role based on his background.

We had done his resume a few months earlier with this position in mind.  Because of how we positioned his resume...to highlight his transferable and relevant skills, and with the help of his network...he now had the interview! 

Action:

The main actions we took together were:

Positioning

• Aligned his skill set with those needed for the job

• Determined his competitive advantage.

• Develop examples that would illustrate that skill set.  These examples had three components...the problem, the action and the result.  He not only needed to develop these stories on paper, but he needed to think in the PAR format when answering interview questions.

• We discussed these accomplishment examples to determine the relevant points he should articulate.  We then practiced how to articulate concisely.

People

• Know the stakeholders and decision makers.

• We studied the interviewer list to understand the background and perspective of every person.  We put ourselves in their shoes and thought, "What's in it for me?"

Practice, Practice, Practice

• We practiced the most common, yet most often flubbed interview questions and answers.

• My client continued to practice out loud on his own.

Result:

My client’s confidence had grown exponentially from when we began working together.  He knew he had what it takes to do the job, and now he knew how to articulate that to the interview panel.  When they added an extra round because they could not choose between him and another highly qualified candidate, he knew how to articulate his value proposition and competitive advantages.   He was thrilled to inform met that he landed this dream job!   If his commitment to preparing for the interview was any indication, I knew he had an excellent shot at landing this job.  And it's this type of story that reinforces the fact that I have my dream job too.