There are certain questions that are almost guaranteed to come up in an executive interview.
“Tell me about yourself” is one of them.
The other key question you’re likely to encounter is: “Why are you interested in this role?”
Being able to answer what it is about the role that sparked your interest and how you could make a difference to the organisation, based on your skills and previous experience, is crucial.
So, how do you do that effectively and leave a lasting impact? Executive Interview Coaching founder Richard Elstone explains.
Why preparation matters
Richard says head-hunters will usually ask the, “Tell me about yourself” question, whereas the hiring manager or HR manager is more likely to want to know why you are interested in the role?
“It’s really your opportunity to pitch for the role and it needs to be prepared well,” says Richard. “Your answer needs to be crisp, polished and well thought out.”
Richard suggests starting with an opening statement about who you are. Something along these lines could work:
“I’m really interested in this role for a number of reasons, but why don’t I tell you a bit about myself.”
Share your professional background concisely
Before diving into why you’re interested in the role, first provide a snapshot of your career.
Don’t fall into the trap of talking about every single job, but make sure that the overview of your career feels like it’s led you to the role you’re applying for. Keep your answer to between three to five minutes.
Often, executives’ careers have three distinct chapters, as follows:
The technical phase – This is when you’re fresh out of university and you’re in “doing” roles. You’re building your expertise and your ability to be technical at what you’ve learned at university.
The managerial phase – Next is when somebody notices you and you become a manager or team leader of technical people.
The leadership phase – By this point, you’ve honed your managerial skills and you’re leading people who you don’t necessarily have the technical expertise over.
Make sure you touch on these career phases briefly before explaining why you are interested in the role. So, how does this look in action? Here’s an idea:
“Early in my career I did this (discuss technical job), then XYZ gave me a management role and my last role was in leadership. I’ve achieved a lot there, including XYZ and ABC, which brings me to today. Given my background and career, I feel that this would be a great next step for me and provide the additional challenges I’m looking for.”
Richard says approaching the question in this way will help the hiring team see the logic in why you’re interested in the role.
Don’t forget to address the job criteria
Richard suggests checking the job description for clues as to how to answer question and which examples of your professional career to provide.
Your pitch needs to include an overview of some of those experiences. If the job requires you to create a new strategic plan for your division or the company, for example, mention how you’ve done that in your previous roles.
“If you’ve answered the question well, then sometimes the interview can turn on its head,” says Richard. “They might say you’re the exact person we’ve been looking for, then explain some of the problems they’re looking to solve. Suddenly, it will start to feel less like a structured interview and more like a conversation.”
Need expert advice?
The way you answer the question of “why are you interested in this role” needs to be tailored and polished. That’s why it’s so important to seek advice from a seasoned search consultant and executive interview coach like Richard.
Richard understands what hiring teams are looking for, and can help you finetune your answers to make a lasting impact in the interview room.
Get in touch today!