Interviewing for Director? Stop trying to prove you belong

I (and the interviewer) can tell if you will become a Director just by the way you talk.

We had just landed a Head of Engineering interview for a client (who was Senior Manager at the time), and he said to me, "I’m a people person. I figure I'll just talk to them and get through to the next round." He didn't. And it wasn’t as if he wasn’t qualified, he was just trying too hard to prove that he was.

What Director interviewers are actually testing

As we continued preparing for interviews, he internalized being comfortable and even in control of the interview, by not trying to sell himself to the panel. That's exactly where a lot of people get caught out. They spend years becoming better managers, then walk into Director interviews expecting the same style of conversation with tougher questions. Thing is, the interviewer already knows you can manage people. They're trying to figure out how you think with incomplete information, whether you can defend an unpopular decision without becoming defensive, and whether other executives would trust your judgment when things get messy.

Looking for approval shows

If you walk in believing your job is to convince someone that you're worthy of the role, you'll naturally start over-explaining, filling every silence, and qualifying every opinion because you're looking for approval. Most candidates don't even notice they're doing it. They answer the question, then keep talking because they're trying to prove they belong.

The people who interview well don't sound like they're trying to earn a seat at the table. They already believe they're qualified enough to be in the room, so the conversation becomes about something else entirely. They're trying to understand whether this is a problem they want to spend the next few years solving, just as much as the company is trying to understand whether they're the right person to solve it. That changes your body language, the questions you ask, how comfortable you are saying "I don't know," and even how long you're willing to sit in silence before answering.

From Senior Manager to Engineering Director

After a dozen or so interviews, our client ended up accepting an Engineering Director role at an e-commerce company that may or may not deliver packages to your house ;)

Near the end of our testimonial call, that same client said something that tied the whole experience together.

“The last few interviews I did, I walked out feeling great. I feel like I can sit in any interview and answer those kinds of questions now without tripping over myself.”

I don't think he became more confident because he landed a Director role. I think he landed a Director role because, somewhere along the way, he stopped interviewing like someone asking for permission and started interviewing like a leader deciding whether the opportunity deserved his time.

We make it a point to help all our clients train this very skill for all the interviews we land for them, and could be doing the same for you. If you’re looking for a completely done-for-you job-search service, you know where to find us =)