Ace Your VP-Level Interview: Show Business Impact, Not Just Skills
I've been helping clients who are in late-stage interviews with a few companies.
It's got me thinking a lot about how to ace late-stage interviews with high-level executives.
When you get far into an interview process, it's common to have an interview with one or more VPs, whether they are skip-level bosses or cross-functional leaders.
At startups, you may have interviews with these folks earlier in the process and the CEO could be involved.
Today, I want to share how to succeed in interviews with the big dawgs, aka VPs, C-Suite, etc.
Let's get into it.
Let's Set the Scene
Here are a few things to know about interviewing with executives.
1. Execs are hella busy and they are often in back-to-back meetings
This means they may not have a lot of context on you as they walk into the room. Most likely they are pulling up your LinkedIn or resume in the meeting.
Don't be alarmed, but do show excitement and take control of the conversation a bit in the beginning.
2. Execs could be casual or a hard-ass
This is true for all interviewers tbh, they come in all styles and vibes.
They could run the interview in a formulaic structured way, or casual and easeful way, or a disorganized and frenzied way.
You don't know what's gonna happen, but you should be prepared to adapt to any style of meeting.
3. Execs are not the hiring manager but they have influence
Often they are the last decision maker to weigh in on your candidacy and their decision could override the rest of the interview panel.
They will likely care less about your hard skills (since it's the HMs job to assess that) and will want to know more about your business acumen, executive presence, and strategic thinking skills.
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Pro Tip: Practice your STAR stories and insert them into your conversations no matter the style of the interviewer.
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How to Prepare for an Interview with a VP: Bring Your A-Game
If you’re about to be in a room with a VP, you gotta step up your interview game and show them you can play at their level.
When you prepare it's helpful to put yourself in their shoes and think about what they think about.
Executives think a lot about macro-level company or team goals, business strategy, and business growth in long-term time horizons (12-24 months).
Because they are in charge of strategic company goals the best thing you can demonstrate to them is that you know how you be a strategic thinker and executor.
Thinking strategically in this context means you know how to think about the business overall, not just your role.
Here are a few questions Executives may be asking themselves about you:
Can you see the bigger picture and know how your work impacts the business?
Can you tease out relevant insights from your work and articulate what drives decisions?
Can you evaluate the company as whole and not just the role you are interviewing for?
Can you communicate cross-functionally with stakeholders at different levels?
Can you prioritize your work with little oversight when there is ambiguity or competing priorities?
Most likely the answer is yes, you can do these things.
But the better question isdo you know how to articulate your value?
When you’re prepping, practice your answers with these tips in mind:
Connect the dots for them - Share how a particular project impacted the business on a high level, and how it moved the needle for the product, the business, or the customer.
Flex your prioritization skills - Share stories of being able to deliver value with limited resources, under pressure, or on a short timeline.
Share an opinion about your role and how it should be executed and measured for success.
Talk about how you balance trade-offs, align with business goals, and manage stakeholder expectations.
Ask questions about product market fit, long-term goals, and challenges they are facing.
TL;DR
When you’re prepping for an interview with VP-level stakeholders, remember—you’re not there to just prove your technical chops.
You’re there to show you can think beyond your role, prioritize smart, and deliver like a leader.
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Side note: If you want a one-off coaching session to sharpen your interview skills, you can book a time with me here.
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Come ready to show them you can think strategically and communicate on their level.
Keep your answers sharp, speak their language, and always connect your work to the bigger picture.
Whenever you're ready, here are more ways to connect:
Learn all the job search strategies I teach clients in this workbook.
Apply for 1:1 coaching to see if there's a fit for us to work together.
