Job interviews: The inside track…

You may not be a mind-reader. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a shrewd idea about the questions you'll face in job interviews, says Cathy Holley of headhunters Boyden Global Executive Search.

If I had to choose one single gripe about senior level IT candidates it would be they often approach interviews as if we were having a general chat. We are not.

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Is your wardrobe business-ready?

You won't get promoted looking like that

If you are dealing with an employer, they will be looking for outstanding candidates. For these top roles ticking the boxes simply isn't enough. This interview should be seen as an opportunity to sell yourself, your achievements and your capabilities.

All roles differ and each requires a particular combination of experience, skills and personal attributes.

While you are probably not a mind-reader, you can be fairly sure that at this level an interviewer will want to explore a number of specific areas.

Having consulted my two fellow CIO headhunter colleagues, we agreed that the main areas for discussion are likely to be:

• Strategic vision
• Leadership
• Commercial acuity
• Change
• Influencing skills
• Innovative thinking
• Relationship and stakeholder management
• Building partnerships with third parties
• Sourcing
• International experience
• Judgement
• Intellect
• Delivery

To go into an interview not having considered your own expertise in each of these areas would be short-sighted. What's more, we are looking for concrete evidence, not for your theoretical opinions on any of those areas.

Interviewers will usually start the discussion by explaining the opportunity and the role, bringing it to life and adding more detail to the candidate briefing document that you have already read.

Usually at this point you will be offered an opportunity to ask questions. I cannot emphasise strongly enough how bad it looks for a candidate to have none.

If you are serious about giving up your current role and taking this life-changing opportunity to move, it is impossible to believe there is no area you would like to explore further. But questions designed to show off are easily spotted and never well received.

Be honest and tell us what matters to you. But please only two or three. Remember our primary purpose is to understand more about you and your capabilities. If you satisfy us on that, you can ask as many questions as you like later.

Headhunter's top tips

Need help securing the dream job? Get prepared with this valuable advice…

♦ How to write a killer CV

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♦ Job interviews: So you think you've got them sussed?

One of my colleagues always starts the interview by discussing where a candidate is in his or her life and career and what they want to achieve, the opportunities and impediments and what might attract them to this role. These are all important points to consider before you look at a move.

At this point it is the other interviewer's turn to ask questions. Since we have already established you are not a mind-reader you must be prepared for anything.

Listen to the question, put yourself in the interviewer's shoes and work out quickly what they're getting at. Take a couple of seconds to think about the best example from your CV - not necessarily the first one that pops into your head.

If necessary ask for clarification and offer a couple of alternative examples. Give the interviewer the opportunity to select the most appropriate. As you answer, check you are offering the right level of detail.

Most answers need a beginning, a middle and an end. The beginning will be to set the context and briefly describe the situation, the business problem and how you came to be involved. The middle part covers what you and your team delivered and the challenges you faced. The end is the metrics by which you have measured success.

If you follow this format, where possible, giving a business context and positioning your achievements in that context, you will come across as a commercially astute, results-orientated individual.

Every interviewer will tailor the discussion to the role but probably will have a few standard questions. My own favourite relates to influencing skills but other questions include mistakes you've made and what you've learnt from them, strengths and weaknesses and almost inevitably an exploration of your leadership skills.

It is vital you can answer the question "What in your opinion makes a great leader?" and how you fit that model. Please bear in mind that people management is one simple strand of leadership that also includes:

• Vision
• Communication skills
• Boldness
• Real self-awareness
• Real self-confidence
• Innovation
• Ability to build an outstanding team
• Willingness to empower them

There are undoubtedly many other things that countless authors have written about in their books on leadership. It would be a good idea to have read at least one of them.