How Thinking Like the Company’s CEO Can Help You Ace Your Next Interview

You may not be interviewing for the position of CEO but you CAN go into your next interview thinking like them, right?  When you think of a company CEO what comes to mind?  For me things like confidence, leader, motivator, experience and vision come to mind.  Everyone can be a leader whether you are in an entry, mid or upper-level position. 

When you go into your next interview, put a CEO hat on and portray confidence to show them you are the best candidate.  You have the experience going into the interview or you would not have made it this far.  Thinking like a CEO will help you to answer interview questions because you will answer them with the mindset of how you would want your team to act to if you were the big boss. 

If you were the CEO, what things would you expect from your teams that run the company?  Frame your responses to what your expectations would be. 

#1:  How would you want your customers to be treated? 

You want your employees to treat customers great so they don’t have any thoughts of going to another company to buy their products and services.  You know that a negative experience can spread fast.  You want customers to feel they had an experience tailored specifically to them that made them leave feeling like they were the most important customer to your business. 

Keep this in mind when you are answering questions like: 
 
Tell us about a time you went above and beyond for a customer.

Tell us about a customer who was not happy with your services. 

#2:  What would you do to ensure your business is profitable and successful? 

I don’t imagine anyone goes into business thinking they don’t need to be profitable or successful.  Your mindset for this area should be that you want your team to be doing things every day that contribute to the success of the company.  That includes making decisions that are a win/win for your customers and the business.  It includes thinking about how your short-term actions affect the business in the long term.  It includes keeping the company vision in mind in every decision you make.   

Keep this in mind when you are answering questions like: 

How do you measure success on the job? 

Tell us about a time your risk taking made a positive impact on the business. 

#3:  Why is a strong team be important to the company’s success? 

It should be shouted from the rooftops that a happy team is a productive team!  Let me try that again: 

A HAPPY TEAM IS A PRODUCTIVE TEAM!! 

If we keep our CEO mindset going, the most important factor in the success of your business should be the people.  If you have happy employees, they are going to be more engaged and happier on the job.  That results in productivity and profits because they want to do well for a company where they feel valued. 

That being said, you want to think about how teamwork is important in every position and prepare examples based around that.  What examples will you prepare to show that you can work effectively in a team?  How will you demonstrate you know how to resolve conflict in a way that will make the team stronger?  How were you able to show leadership even if you did not have a manager title? 

Keep these things in mind when you are asked questions like: 

Describe a time when someone was not pulling their weight on the job. 

Tell us about a time you had a disagreement with a c-worker.

Why is teamwork important? 

#4:  What is more important – skill or attitude? 

Of course, CEO’s want their team to have strong skills to do the job.   In addition to that, they realize that employees who have the right attitude, and fit in with the company culture, are going to be the most successful.  You can discuss your education and experience in the beginning of the interview when you are asked “Tell me about yourself” and in examples throughout that highlight your accomplishments.  

The part that takes your interview over the top is when you mix in examples that match the company culture.  Make sure that you have done your company research beforehand so you can include examples of how you match the company culture as much as you can. 

When you find an opportunity, include phrases like: 

The example I am going to use matches your values of trust and integrity … 

I read that your company encourages independent decision making.  When I was dealing with an unhappy customer, it was my goal to ensure a win-win solution without having to involve my manager… 

Like your company’s innovative culture, I was able to continuously show innovation in my position by…

When you go into the interview, keep these things in mind and phrase your responses around how a CEO would want their team to excel.  And remember, a CEO would show confidence in the interview because they believe they can do a great job and make a difference for the company.  You can do that too!  Remember, you got this far and now it is up to you to show the interviewers why you are the BEST candidate for the job. 

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