Wednesday, November 09, 2011

A WINNING INTERVIEW MINDSET – MANAGERIAL LEVEL


Imagine having been put through a sequence of interviews towards getting into a leadership role in an organization. Sometimes one fails even to project what the next meeting with the Director is all about. All questions have been asked and there is nothing left to your imagination.

Sometimes some interviews are not intended to gauge what you can do but rather the mindset that you adopt in doing whatever you choose to do. Higher level positions are for thinkers, facilitators and analysts who doe not shy from giving way to opportunities and ideas that have not been envisaged. It is not easy to define the mindset of a departmental head or a CEO, but in terms of interviews one should project a personality that;

  • Demonstrates focus on the strategic goals of an organization
  • Cherishes delivering results through people as a leader, a facilitator or coordinator
  • Who is consultative and empowers their supervisees and does not feel shy to have an alternative idea winning the day
  • Cherishes a structured though process and does not feel embarrassed exposing their thought process in addressing an issue. Straight answers given in interview questions where there are variables to consider may go against this mindset. This is why answering questions by stating assumptions may sell at this level
  • Demonstrates a balance between their areas of specialization and alternative wholesome management perspective
  • Sees controversies, conflicts and disputes as realistic and reasonable challenges in any pursuit of an objective
  • Does not become vulnerable to emotions, biases and opinions
  • Questions issues from first principles and objectively puts trust on market best practice
  • Demonstrates awareness of the current state of events and can project possible future developments.

These are aspects that may be picked out from the tone of speech or even answers related to case studies. They are aspects that once polished, a candidate does not need to overly prepare for the interview – instead, an interview becomes just an enjoyable sesson or perhaps even a chat.

Can your mindset, as evident from your presentation, win you a job – especially at a stage when all technical interview questions have been exhausted?

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