Preparing for Senior-Level Interviews: Key Areas to Focus On

To my surprise, a job search strategy client picked up our Zoom call from across the country - she had been flown out for a series of interviews for a senior level role. We celebrated and then quickly got down to business pivoting our session to interview prep. We reviewed, analyzed, and pinpointed her strengths, experience and expertise in relation to:

- the job description

- the company's market position

- industry metrics and challenges

- stakeholders, and

- current leadership

It sounds like a lot, but we got through most of this in an hour, together, and she felt confident and prepared for her interviews and dinner.

As you move up in your career, it's increasingly important to understand the bigger picture - where the company sits compared to its competitors, the industry at large, the market/market position, and the current leadership (and even historical leadership - how did they get here?)

This may sound intuitive to people who've been in leadership roles for a long time - but believe me - for mid-career people who want to move up, it isn't!

What are other areas that candidates should brush up on for interviews at the VP and C-suite levels?