A key step to landing a position on a corporate board is to nail your interviews with recruiters. Board Guru™ Tracy Houston of Board Resource Services, LLC has provided some great information to Women on Business today that will help professionals excel in interviews with recruiters for corporate board seats.
Following is the advice a corporate board candidate shared with Tracy about a recent interview she had with a recruiter.
Becoming a Director: Interviews with Recruiters by Board Guru Tracy Houston
Meeting a recruiter conducting a director search is one of the most important conversations in your career and certainly in your progress toward your goal of becoming a director. The best recruiters probe deeply and will continue digging until they get the details and a good sense of who you are. I asked a public company board candidate to share her recent interview experience with a recruiter. Below are a few tips she has for others on the journey to the public company boardroom.
What can a director candidate do to get ready for this type of interview?
Do extensive research on both the recruiting firm and the company. The company research should be a deep dive into financials, media reports, products/services, target customers, board members, and the leadership team. Conduct online research and check in with your network for information about the search firm, the interviewer, and the organization for which you are interviewing. Identify any potential conflicts of interest. Don’t skip taking notes on your research and during the interview. Prepare by rehearsing, practicing, and developing responses to the usual questions like, “Tell me about yourself.”
To what degree did you have control of the interview?
There was a good, positive flow to the conversation. It did feel like the conversation was under control, and I was able to positively guide the conversation.
What are some of the details of the process?
The initial interview was by phone. It lasted about 30 minutes. It was about five weeks before I received a follow-up call asking me to fly in for the in-person interview with the recruiter. The time between the follow-up call and the second interview was just a few days. In other words, the request was to come in right away. We then met in the recruiter’s office. The meeting lasted approximately two hours and was just the recruiter and myself.
How did you calm your nerves?
PREPARATION!! And, confidence!
Read more from Tracy Houston on Women on Business: How to Have Board-Level Conversations on LinkedIn.
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 30-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored a dozen books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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Thank you for the useful advice!