Be prepared: application and interview tips for aspiring CEOs

Before you apply

1. Get to know the organisation beyond its financial statements.

Make sure you understand their area of specialism, their communities, and their service users.

2. Speak to the chair and the outgoing chief executive.

This first-hand knowledge of the challenges and opportunities of the organisation is incredibly rich.

3. Ask about their culture.

Consider who else you can connect with inside the organisation to gain a non-bias view and check websites like Glassdoor and LinkedIn to make sure that it feels like an organisation you can – and want – to lead.

When you’re ready to apply

1. Make the recruiter or hiring manager work for their money!

Recruiters spend a long time getting to know the organisation and often the hiring panel. Both recruiters and hiring managers can provide specific insights into the role specification and how to best show how your skills and experience match.

Find out from the recruiter about what to expect at the interview stage, such as:

• Assessment centres
• Psychometric assessment
• Stakeholder engagement
• A presentation
• Panel interview
• Or a mixture of the above.

2. Make sure you become familiar with the dates of the process.

Consider:

• When do you need to get the first draft of your application in?
• When are the interviews scheduled?

3. Block out time in your calendar to work on your application.

Start early, draft, proofread, review and edit. By blocking out time, you are less likely to be distracted by other tasks that pop up in your day-to-day life.

4. Focus on motivation, impact, and evidence and apply these to the criteria outlined in the job description.

5. Personalise your application by addressing it to the chair of the board.