Ten Interview Questions To consider when Seeking Your Next Leadership Opportunity.
What should I ask when it’s my turn?
That is perhaps one of the top questions I am asked by clients who are near the end of their career transition as they prepare for the interview. You understand the routine. You go to the interview, you meet several talking heads in a long day, and after an exhausting interrogation that magical question finally hits your ears.
“Do you have any question for me?”
In my Career and Transition Coaching, clients are anxious for change. They come to me because they are either in transition and unemployed, or so very unhappy with their current job. They know I can help, because my approach is different. I am not a job finder. I am not a head hunter. I am not a resume writer. But…I can help them discover their personal values. I do help them prepare a search focused on the right match to their personal values and the company culture.
My Career and Transition Clients are sometimes seeming to lack patience. Understandably, there are bills to pay, and a new job will help to answer the door bell. For others, it’s the agonizing sleepless nights, disturbed about going to work the next day when that job so wrong, and it will never be a healthy part of their life. In our Coaching work together, there needs to be an agenda, a process, or a recipe for the lack of patience to be overcome with results.
Are Fear and Greed your Demons?
In this transition process, we always seem to meet the obstacle of fear and greed. In my earlier discussion of Fear and Greed, there is an important discovery of channeling inner strength to carry you beyond the demons created by fear and greed. Your next job must be more than just a job. It must be a career. It must be your calling. It must be about your passion. And, why not? Work occupies the majority of the waking hours in our life. It’s your identity. Why not make it more than worthwhile, and satisfy the deep values we are so passionate about?
Part of matching your values, and the future company’s culture include Leadership. After all, that’s what you are all about! If you’ve been reading the 12 competencies of the Rare Leader™, you might also know your own Rare Leader™ assessment score. Where are your strengths as a Leader? Where are your gaps? It seems quite important to know this about yourself prior to any interview. How do you know if this opportunity is a good match for you as a Leader?
Here’s some important thoughts to consider as you work through these questions;
- Never ask a question unless you are prepared for the answer.
- Notice the Rare Leader™ Tags under each question. Are these among your strengths?
- Don’t merely read the question out loud, look in their eyes and ask it as if you are sincerely interested in the answer.
- Just like their questions for you, remember this is an assessment. They want to know if you are a match for them. You owe it to yourself to make an assessment. “Are they a match for you?”
- Don’t be overcome by fear and greed and lose patience in determining if this is the “place to go”.
- Don’t miss the bonus questions on page 12.
Ten Interview Questions