Interview Techniques for Senior Directors

Interview Techniques for Senior DirectorsPractise Makes Perfect

Constant fiddling with mobiles, wearing headphones during the interview, difficulty in making eye contact or saying “Good Morning”, defensive slouching etc. – I have observed much of this when interviewing generation Y, as have other HR directors, company recruiters and head hunters. Many employers complain that graduates lack basic manners and are ill prepared for interview.

However, in a less obvious way interviews can be very tricky situations for senior directors who are just as often ill-prepared for the interview process, having perhaps not had a formal interview for many years. Business leaders may have moved effortlessly from one role to another, over a period of say 10 years, and have had no practice in being interviewed themselves. When it comes to their time to search for a new role, they need to rehearse their interview techniques and in a broader sense the “messaging” they are portraying.

Questions that are routinely asked such as “Tell me about yourself” do not require 15 minutes of rambling, and should be practised in front of a mirror or relative to last just 2 minutes. “Why did you leave your last role?” is another question that is difficult for most people, and can elicit an emotional response rather than a straightforward and confident approach to the question.

At Christina Campbell Career Consultants we actively help and encourage all our clients to practise interview questions on the basis that EVERYONE needs interview practise. With careful planning and confident delivery, the important interview can be a better conversation for both interviewer and interviewee. If the basic questions are easy for our clients, it gives them more thinking space in the interview to impress and perform at the top of their game.

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