Tips for Interviewing with Executives

Interviews can be nerve wracking, but are a necessary part of professional life. Interviewing skills aren't taught in school, so it's necessary that you learn and practice such attributes to land your job. Executives can be intimidating, but below are some easy exercises that will help give you the confidence needed to impress.

Prepare Materials

Along with dressing professionally, there are certain materials you should always bring with you to an interview. It's been my experience that most executives expect an uneducated and poorly dressed individual to walk through the door for an interview. It's always nice to surprise them with a well coifed persona, a well mannered attitude and prepared to boot.

Always carry a copy of your resume and cover letter with you. Executives constantly lose things including your resume, which is why they need you. It's also better to have a copy for yourself to refer to when questions are asked. Do not become complacent with your resume though, know it inside and out, you will be asked questions regarding specific parts of your resume.

Bring any letters of recommendation you have with you as well as any other materials of importance. It's important to show your future employer that you've done a great job for your past employer. Most employers are happy to write a letter of recommendation for you given that you've left under good circumstances, so don't be afraid to ask.

Practice

Along with knowing your resume from front to back, it's a good idea to think of answers to questions the executive might ask ahead of time. This will allow your confidence to flow throughout the conversation and make the executive feel more comfortable. Some of the more difficult questions to ponder are:

* What are some of your strongest attributes?
* What are some of your weaknesses?
* Why are you leaving your current position?
* What were some of the things you liked/didn't like about your last job?

Remember to always be positive. You don't want the executive or interviewer to think you're full of doom and gloom and difficult to get along with. When citing weaknesses and things you didn't like about your last job, try to make them positive things. For instance, your weaknesses could be: You work too hard. Reasons you didn't like your last job: Not challenging enough or not enough work to keep you busy. The idea being that you are a hard worker who really enjoys a challenge.

One of the trickier questions is the reason you might be leaving your current position. Most of the time, it's in pursuit of making more money. But, how do you say that without seeming ungrateful and undeserving? It's all in the words you choose. Explain that the company is going in a different direction than you had anticipated and feel that you would like to grow with a company who shares your values. Of course, you should always do your homework on the company to make sure you're not glaringly out of line.

Some people actually appreciate an up front and honest personality and can handle your quest for higher compensation. Be aware that if your salary requirements are far more than you were getting paid at your last job, you may have to explain why you believe you're worth it.

The art of reading people is essential to any interview and is often an acquired skill, learned after many interviews, but it never hurts to be prepared. Anticipate questions and answers to avoid awkward moments. With the advent of the internet, there really is no excuse to not learn about the company you are interviewing with, and the knowledge is priceless when trying to portray how important the interview is to you. With all of these suggestions combined with a little confidence, you will impress the interviewer