I am interviewing for a high profile leadership position with my company Monday afternoon. The job posting was written as if they were looking at my resume. My current boss told me the position was opening before the job was ever posted. She has highly recommended me to the hiring manager with whom she has a very good working relationship...

I kind of feel like the stars are aligned. But if you remember Cheers I kind of feel like Norm applying for the beer tasting job.

So to the brain trust I go to get help preparing. What are the best or most difficult interview questions you either ask or have been asked and how did you answer them?

Thanks all.

Good luck!

My last interview ask two good questions that I remember.

1) What do you feel are your strongest qualities.
2) What do you feel are your weakest qualities.

Awesome for you!

What decision making process or metric do you apply to simultaneous/multiple problems to establish priority of resolution?

ETA: The response I want to hear gives consideration in this hierarchy: Safety, environmental, and economic impacts.

In my experience the best questions to ask a prospective job applicant are open ended in nature. I basically interview people on a daily basis. As an interviewer you try and get people relaxed and get them to open up about themselves. Most people are asking themselves do I like this guy and would I like working with him. It is about how you come across to others and whether the person interviewing you thinks you will be a good fit. Since you are interviewing for a company that knows you, I would think the interview is about whether your new boss will like working with you, not your technical skills. Good luck.

Relax, be yourself and be honest.

If that doesn't work, do you really want the job?

before my last interview, I watched about 5 hours of interview related stuff and mock interviews on YouTube. It really helped.

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With this "high profile leadership position" being at the same company you currently work for, the typical questions may not apply because of the inside information you would be expected to already have knowledge about.

Review all of the strategic plans shared by the company, what has been their focus? What is important to the CEO? What is important to the new manager you will be working for?

Spend Sunday thinking like you already have the position. Break down your ideas into short/mid/long term action plans.

If this is a new position for the company, what was the reason that it was created? What can you do in the first 90 days to improve that reason? If this is not a new position for the company, what happened to the last person? If they were fired, what can you do in the first 90 days to fix their mess? If they retired, the first 90 days should be focused on ensuring the operation doesn't self-implode.

What changes can you implement in the next 12 months that will have a positive impact on the operation?

What new approach can you champion that will better position the company for the future?

Not knowing what industry your company offers services or products for, it's difficult for me to be more specific. Think in terms of return on investment (capital and HR), improving efficiency in the operation to reduce costs, locating new sales channels to increase revenue.

You already have a reputation, just be yourself. Don't forget what you have already accomplished is the reason they are interviewing you. You are a known variable, they need to see more than you being the very capable and productive employee you have been thus far ~ they need to see you are forward thinking as a leader should be.

Congratulations on being encouraged to apply!

sleepla8er has the best answer. Consider everything he has said.

You already have a reputation inside the company.

You might as well relax. Like it or not, this interview is more than likely a formality and it's not going to change whatever decision they already made regarding the position and you.

If you're it, then it's just to make a final confirmation. If you're not it, then it's just a check mark they have to follow. What you have going is your manager has highly recommended you. The only thing I don't know is how is your relationship with the manager of the position? That would be another plus for you if the other person already knows you herself from working with you or seeing you in action.

Planning for and reacting to change

I'd incorporate the company's overall objectives / mission into your responses where applicable.

I came across this article some time ago about interview questions some business leaders like to ask and found it interesting.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/mone...n/ss-BBgfquy#image=1

Don't assume that they know your successes. Be prepared to talk about them.

Be prepared to articulate your style of leadership. Know and show that you "get' where the company is headed in one year, three years and longer. Tell them how you will help the company reach its goals.

Relax

And don't tell them you enjoy drunken revelry on every celestial event (e.g., summer solstice).

My attitude is: you're there to interview them as much as they're there to interview you.

And I ask my questions accordingly.

quote:

What decision making process or metric do you apply to simultaneous/multiple problems to establish priority of resolution

___________________________________

I probably would respond with something like "Do what?"

Simply, just be yourself. Sounds like that has served you well with your current boss and position. Best of luck

The last interview I did, I got asked one that has a bit of a minefield if you aren't careful.

I was asked, "What sets you above all the rest of the candidates that we are interviewing today?"

It's a bit tricky because it forces you to dig a bit deeper than being a "hands on leader" or a "people person". You have to articulate specific benefits that YOU will bring to the position without putting down the other applicants, which is very telling in how deal with people in general.

One of the most jarring out of the blue ones I've had was "what is a job you would absolutely not want?"
I'd still like to have that one back.

A tough question to be prepared for particularly when competing in house. It will usually come near the end of the interview when many people start to relax. If the question comes up before you could state your qualifications now is the time to get them out.

Why are you a better qualified candidate than the others you are competing against or why should we select you over the others?

Different people have various thoughts on how to answer it. I always preferred the direct honest answer without embellishment. Something along the lines of "I don't know what the others bring beyond the posted requirements, but I have already explained my qualifications. The others may be equal to me in qualifications but I believe my preparation for the position through education, work history, ethics and demonstrated abilities make me the best choice."

Finally don't forget to have a prepared summary if they ask you if you have anything else you want them to know.

Good Luck

How will you get a cross-functional team on board to successfully implement your new 'plan' that they may have some reservations over?

Tell me about a time that a project's success was in doubt, but you were able to turn it into a successful one?

Does this job come with privileges and access to the corporate jet?

Ah, finally found a list of questions that I jotted down for future reference that I was asked at job interview (internal) about two years ago -

tell us about a time that you had to try to get a consensus across different work groups / cross-functional team for an idea that you had that everyone did not agree with, and would up being successful.



tell us about a time when your customer’s were critical of your work / ideas, and you had to try to convince them that your idea was worthy of trying.



tell us about a time that you successfully coordinated an end-to-end operational change in the entire supply-chain, from end-user through supplier or visa-versa.



tell us about a time that you were not successful and how you overcame it.



tell us about a time where you were able to apply your professional development to a real-life work experience.



what is a workplace characteristic of yours that needs improvement, and what have you done to address that and improve yourself.



what is the best way to resolve / handle disagreements?



tell us about a time that you had to implement an idea that you did not think was good or would be successful.



what do you think is the most challenging part of this job would be?



tell us why you are the most qualified candidate for this position and why we should hire you?

Good luck!!