Four tips for a successful board interview

If you have been following the advice I have been sharing, you should not only be finding more board opportunities that are better suited to you and your skill set, but your applications should also be stronger. As such, you will be separating yourself from your competitors, de-risking your potential appointment through the research you are conducting, and you should start to be invited to attend board interviews. 

This is where all your work really pays off, over and over again. However, I see even the most qualified candidates stumble at the board interview stage. They fail because they: don’t understand the purpose of an interview; don’t differentiate themselves from other equally qualified candidates, or focus on the wrong things. 

Regardless of how confident you feel about the board interview, you must always prepare. This is the make-or-break stage of the appointment process, and you don’t want to leave anything to chance. How do you do that? Here are my four tips for a successful board interview.

TIP 1 – Consider the five selection criteria

Well, to begin with, you need to understand that there are five criteria that any Chair, or any decision-maker, looks for in a successful board candidate. They are:

1. Prior governance experience – having sat on or worked with boards/committees.
2. Executive skills – your value at board level.
3. Industry experience and associated relationships – that the board can leverage.
4. Demonstrable passion – for the organisation, the cause or for what you do.
5. Cultural fit – are you going to be a headache or put at risk the reputation of the organisation or board members if appointed.

Your focus should be on articulating or evidencing your ability to meet each of these criteria. But there is a catch: in a board interview scenario, they are not all equal. In this article, I focus on preparing for a board interview. In subsequent articles, I will discuss the specifics. 

TIP 2 – Focus on what matters

The first two criteria should be clearly addressed in your application materials, essentially your Board CV and Board Cover Letter. Since you have made it to the Board Interview stage, it is safe to assume that the organisation believes that you are well qualified for the role. After all, they simply would not be wasting their time interviewing you if they didn’t think you had something to offer. That is not to say they won’t address some aspects of your skills and experience during your board interview. You need to be prepared to respond with examples of success. In fact, by and large, I think you can risk being rather cavalier or glib in your responses to such questions. It is an opportunity to separate yourself from the others being interviewed.

This may seem obvious, but it is worth stating because I have seen too many candidates waste too much time convincing the interview panel of things they already know – that they are both qualified for and have enough experience to contribute. Your qualifications and experience alone are not enough to guarantee an appointment. 

The initial purpose of most interviews is for the panel to confirm what they already know about you. But the focus quickly shifts to the more important task of gauging your fit and value-add. This is where you should focus your attention. The good news is that the last three criteria you are being measured against can be easily met (or fabricated if necessary) via sound research.

TIP 3 – Conduct the sort of research that works

I can’t stress this enough. If you want to have a successful board interview, you must separate yourself from your competitors, meaning research is non-negotiable. 

By way of example, I recently advised one of my NED members to do this. He was applying for a paid position on the Aged Care Board. He was well qualified and presented well. It was a competitive process, and he was scheduled to attend a final panel interview with two other candidates. He needed to stand out. So, he committed to research, not just Google searches. Instead, he took my advice, booked a flight, and visited the organisation’s sites. He spoke with clients, their families, and the staff; he ‘kicked the bricks’ of the buildings, conducted mystery shopping, and spoke with former NEDs. He did everything he needed to do to separate himself from his competitors. And it worked. How do we know? Because he is now on the board and reviewed all of the reports from the final panel interviews. He discovered that his competitors were as experienced as he was, but his research impressed them enough for him to be the obvious choice.

You see, he knew that he was up against other strong candidates, and that his qualifications and experience alone were not going to get him appointed. He recognised that it would be his connections, his understanding of the industry, his ability to contribute, and his eagerness to de-risk his appointment for the chair and to the organisation. He was able to evidence all of this with what he learnt during his in-person research.

TIP 4 – Never ignore the interviewer

While conducting your research, you should also see what you can find out about the individuals on the interview panel. It is a clever way to increase your chances of being appointed. Start by looking into their professional background, interests, and, importantly, commonalities (including shared contacts). If you have this information, developing rapport with the interviewer(s) is easier and more natural. You should do this because studies have found that the more an interviewer likes or can relate to you, the more likely they are to hire or recommend you.

So, you hate interviews?

Few of us actually enjoy any form of interviews, and even fewer excel at them. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Like many things in life, solid preparation prevents poor performance. If you need help preparing for an interview, I offer 1:1 board interview preparation sessions. They are transformational! Here’s what a member wrote to me recently following a Mock Board Interview Session… ‘The interview went well, and the approach made a real difference – made it much more strategic and conversational, and relevant.’ If you would prefer to complete this work independently, my Board Search Training Series will guide you through the process in detail as part of our Executive Service.

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