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Need help! 1st interview in 9 yrs, excited and nervous...

G

gordita

Golden Member
long story short, I have an interview next Monday and I'm a little nervous.

background: I've been working as an IT engineer in a fortune 100 firm for the past 9 yrs after my Masters. for the past 3 yrs, I've also been going for my MBA(part time) and am almost done with it. The school is pretty decent (top 25).

Got a call from a tech recruiter who liked my IT background and my newly acquired business knowledge.
The position offered is at a C-suite level and I'm supposed to interview with the CEO, the COO and the CFO.
The new firm is a privately held financial services company with a workforce of about 100.

here's the nervous part, I've not interviewed for a position in the last 9 yrs and I'm definitely rusty. I may have strong technical/business knowledge, but the simple fact is, if you don't use it, you lose it.

This is an interview/opportunity that I wish to take seriously, and am asking for inputs from ppl who were in a similar position.
how did you tackle the interview? the research?

how did you tackle meeting the big C's and most importantly, what sets of questions would make them think?
it's obvious that this interview will focus more on my management skills (newbie) and not that much on the technical side.
I will be in charge of their IT dept (CIO) and they are currently staffed at 4 ppl.

I'm also suppose to take the caliper personality test and the wonderlic test (according to my recruiter, they usually administer these in the second round but not so with me. They had a bad experience with salary negotiations with the 1st candidate they made an offer to and maybe they're strapped for time??)
any inputs on how they are structured. I've been reading up on them but just wanted to see if anyone here has actually taken one.

All in all, I'm very excited at this opportunity and at the same time, a little nervous.

I realize I can be a complete moron in the interview and still have my old job to go back to the next morning, but we all know that the winning feeling of a successful interview is a great 'high' and something to feel proud of, even if I don't get the job.

so I'm looking for any suggestions to calm my veins and to structure my answers to what the upper management is looking for.
in short, how do I sell myself at that level.

thanks for reading...


 
i've learned that interviewers are more impressed with the aura you give off. Just be relaxed, comfortable, engaging, persuasive, and intelligent. It's rarely about always giving the right answers, but more about responding the right way when you don't know the answer. Good luck, and hope it turns out well 🙂

remember... confidence, sharpness, fraternity, direction, leadership. humility is more reserved for lower-level jobs.
 
Also, make sure that if you don't know something - make sure they know you're not afraid to ask for help, and that you don't bullshit your way through an answer to get yourself in over your head.
 
Congrats on getting the interview!

Here are some things I have learned about my communications with C and Board level people:

* Risks & Mitigations:
Risk to us junior people are things that impact our daily, weekly, and even monthly project timelines. To the big guys, risks are things that derail whole projects (stop dead) or throw them off at least 50% off schedule.
Mitigating risk is of the utmost important item on projects. It is not enough to spot a problem but you must have a way of fixing it either before or just as it will occur. Problem resolution after the fact is a luxury a CIO does not have when reporting to the Board.

*Trust But Verify
You must be able to let you minions do the work. You cannot at that level be sunk into any project details. You command. Period. Although your IT shop will just be four employees, you may find that you have to outsource and the real command structure will be much bigger. But you must have them report to you in a timely fashion. Once a week is not asking too much.

Most important: You need to have all your time dealing with IT requirements from Operations and the Board and steer the IT department in meeting those goals. If you do not delegate then it'll be a world of hurt.

Some help:
http://www.cioinsight.com/
 
this is very true and thank you for your valuable insight.
I cannot wait for Monday to come...

Originally posted by: MaxDepth
Congrats on getting the interview!

Here are some things I have learned about my communications with C and Board level people:

* Risks & Mitigations:
Risk to us junior people are things that impact our daily, weekly, and even monthly project timelines. To the big guys, risks are things that derail whole projects (stop dead) or throw them off at least 50% off schedule.
Mitigating risk is of the utmost important item on projects. It is not enough to spot a problem but you must have a way of fixing it either before or just as it will occur. Problem resolution after the fact is a luxury a CIO does not have when reporting to the Board.

*Trust But Verify
You must be able to let you minions do the work. You cannot at that level be sunk into any project details. You command. Period. Although your IT shop will just be four employees, you may find that you have to outsource and the real command structure will be much bigger. But you must have them report to you in a timely fashion. Once a week is not asking too much.

Most important: You need to have all your time dealing with IT requirements from Operations and the Board and steer the IT department in meeting those goals. If you do not delegate then it'll be a world of hurt.

Some help:
http://www.cioinsight.com/
Click to expand...

 
You could ask what their plans are for you and what strategic goals you will have in 1, 3, 5, 10 year time frames. Ask the same about the company.
 
HR will ask you the stupid typical questions. Just know your shit, and have A LOT OF REAL LIFE EXAMPLES and stories to tell. "Tell me a time when" will come up a lot. Just have a handful of canned memorized stories where you were a problem solver that you can fit as answers to the generic questions.
 
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