Preparing for Recruiter Meetings

The CHIME Fall Forum is a great opportunity to meet with executive recruiters and interview for a new CIO or IT leadership opportunity. There are many venues at CHIME18 to meet with recruiters, such as breakfast, lunch, between sessions and around other activities.

However, it’s important to remember that successful interviews should feel more like conversations, so relax and don’t give in to formal interview questioning. You are speaking with a real person, who is interested in your background and how you might fit into a company culture.

To prepare for your recruiter interview, research the organization and the key leaders the recruiter represents, and be prepared to discuss your skills and goals. It’s a good idea to practice your responses to hypothetical questions.

Plan on spending 60 to 90 minutes with the recruiter. Take your time to formulate answers, and use tangible examples to bring your accomplishments to life. This is your opportunity to communicate your value to the organization, as well as your interest. It’s also important to come armed with questions you plan to ask, and to project the right image by listening intently, giving positive nonverbal clues, and exuding confidence.

Finally, be prepare to answer the following questions.

Sample questions for CIO candidates

1. Tell me the highlights of your professional career, current responsibilities, and unique qualities and abilities for this position.
2. Describe your leadership style, and management experience.
3. What sort of business or strategic planning process have you led? Describe your strategic planning experience and ability to work with an organization’s business plan.
4. What has been your greatest accomplishment?
5. In what ways have you played an active role in leading IT transformation changes at your organization? What was your role? Tell me a story about a project that illustrates this skill.
6. Give me an example of how you dealt with a difficult client, customer, or staff member and how you handled the situation.
7. Describe how you successfully mentored an employee who became successful because of your coaching.
8. Tell me about your experience in building partnerships and bringing disparate groups together.
9. What is your vision of a successful information technology department?
10. How do you handle pressure and/or stress?

It may seem like a lot, but remember, these meetings are a tremendous opportunity to land your next great position.

Bonnie Siegel is an independent career consultant, with more than 30 years’ experience in healthcare information technology as an executive recruiter and HIT market research professional.