So, you got a call or an email that your job application is selected, and you are going to have an interview. You are excited and weary as you have got the information that the CEO will be present or who will interview you. First, don’t panic; you did the right thing to come here, as this article will help you impress a CEO in an interview.
Preparation! – How to impress a CEO in interview?
For an interview, preparation is the key to success, and the following steps will guide you.
- Step 1- Research!
Going on an interview without knowing the company and the CEO can lead you to a huge embarrassment. So, to avoid grabbing your smartphone, tablet or laptop, open your google search and start researching. It is essential to know that the CEO will want to learn to what extent you are committed to the company’s job position. So, you can go on the company’s website, browse through it and see their recent post or read their recent press release. You will see the more information you will get about the company, the easier it will be for you to connect with the CEO during the interview, and for sure, you will impress them.
Besides, having an idea about the personality of the CEO before the interview, you can search on them on social media or on articles they were featured. This will help you familiarize yourself with the person before you meet them. You will automatically see you won’t feel that nervosity during the interview as you will feel that you already know that person. Nevertheless, the fact that you have searched on that person does not mean that you become too familiar as they will find your behavior weird. In that case, you still need to have professional conduct despite that you have to browse them online.
- Step 2 – Questions you will ask?
It might sound bizarre that you will have to ask questions to the CEO during the interview. Well, no need to worry; this is not new because as an interviewee and a future employee, you have the right to ask the interviewer question to learn more about the company. Now you cannot just go there and ask any questions. It would be best to prepare your questions; you can use the internet to help you formulate your questions. Another option is that while researching the company, gathering all the information can develop a list of questions. Seeing your effort, the CEO will appreciate that you have come prepared and cannot answer questions.
- Step 3 – Small talk before the interview.
Before the interview started, the CEO will not like right away start talking about the interview. They might offer you a coffee, which might be a way for the CEO to get to know you as someone outside the formal interview to grasp your personality. When hiring someone, a CEO needs to ensure that the person is motivated and enthusiastic about joining the company’s collaborative culture. One piece of advice for you is to start to practice small talk with your friends, or you can also search for a topic that might interest the CEO.
- Step 4 – Relax and get some rest!
Normally, you will get nervous and maybe overthinking about the interview, and by keeping doing that, you might even forget that your body and brain need some rest to relax. If you don’t sleep at night and keep on thinking about the interview, the worst-case scenario that might happen is that you get up late and miss the interview. Another situation is that you will look tired and will not be able to focus during the interview. With certainty, you won’t leave a good impression of yourself at all to the CEO. These scary scenarios need to address as to make you aware of the importance of sleeping early. As with a good night’s sleep, you will wake up active and with plenty of energy, and for sure, you will ace the interview.
Besides, one important thing to note down is that before you go to sleep, make sure that your clothes, bags, and document that you need to bring are ready. So that in the morning you don’t have to worry about getting late. Also, you will be ready early. You might take that free time to practice in front of a mirror. This will help you to gain confidence in yourself and take away your anxieties.
- Step 5 – Ask yourself why you want to join this company?
Before the interview, you need to make it clear to yourself why do you want to work in this company and why do you want this position. Do you think that the value in the company is compatible with your values? Would you enjoy working there and the task given to you? Is it something that you are passionate about doing? Do you think that you will adapt to the company culture?
These questions will allow you to know where you stand on this job position that you have applied for. In addition, it will help you to see the motivation and the reason for wanting this position. Automatically during the interview, you will know that you will communicate your passion and motivation to the CEO. Honestly, seeing your devotion to joining the company and passion for your job role, the CEO will definitely be impressed by you.
Now to help you prepare for the interview, below are some questions that the CEO might ask you.
- Tell me about yourself?
- What is your goal?
- Can you tell me in your own word what our company does?
- Tell me about a professional achievement that has shaped your career.
- How do you spend your free time?
- Could you tell me about the most recent project on which you worked? Have you encountered any difficulties or obstacles? Describe how you dealt with them.
- How do you envision your future in our organization? Which position do you wish to hold in five years?
- Tell me about a moment when you were under pressure to complete a project in a short amount of time.
- When you had to work on numerous projects simultaneously, how did you decide which ones to prioritize?
- Describe a period when you were feeling overburdened by work. What did you do to regain your composure?
- Tell me about a project that needed you to be original and creative.
- What has been the biggest disappointment in your professional life so far?
- Why should we hire you?
- What should you do if you are in a position where things aren’t going the way you want them to?
- What is the biggest dream of your life?
The CEO might ask you as well if you have a question for them. In that case, as mentioned earlier, you need to be diligent with your questions. To help you out, below, there are some sample questions to ask the CEO.
- Are efforts being made to improve collaboration between employees and corporate culture?
- What future developments do you foresee for the company?
- How are the vision and mission statements of the organization applied during the company’s daily work?
- How would you describe your leadership style?
- What do you think my role contributes to the company’s broader goals?
- What have previous employees done in this role to be successful?
- How do you assist your employees in their professional development?
- What does a typical day in this position entail?
- After 6 or 12 months in this position, what do you anticipate me to have accomplished?
- Is this a new job? If not, why did the prior occupant vacate the premises?
- Before you can make an offer, what are the next steps in your recruitment process?
Another tip for you when replying to the interview question is to demonstrate your skills in it.
You need to prove to the CEO that the skills you have in your CV are not in written only. Apply your communication skill while speaking and elaborate; give an example of your previous work experience, a situation or task you have undertaken to show your other Skills.
If you are well prepared and know that you want and are motivated about the job position, you will ace the interview. The most important thing that you need to keep in mind that this interview does not determine anything. That is, even though it happened that you don’t get the job. Don’t get discouraged because you got an interview with a CEO already is an achievement, and you get an experience of how an interview like that goes. As who knows, the second time you go for another interview, you might get it.
