2nd Interview with VP of IT and CTO

Danielh22185

So as the title states... I have a second interview tomorrow for a company I have been talking to. I basically have gotten through the hard parts at this point in the interview process but I want to mentally plan as much as I possibly can for this next interview. The recruiter tells me the hiring manager has been asking when I can start but they want to still get me to meet the upper mgmt of the company / IT org.

I asked the company recruiter what to expect and she mentioned they will be talking about things like how I feel I can fit in with the company culture, looking for my sense of drive / how I will add value, etc.

So really I haven't been through an interview of this level yet in my career. My present job I just met with the hiring manager and got the job, no formal extended interview process involved. So what I am just looking for are some tips before entering this type of next interview. I expect they will ask me run-of-the-mill style questions like "Where do you see your self in 5 years?", "What motivates / drives you?", "What is your greatest weakness / strengths, etc"

So I am currently brainstorming good answers for those style of questions but am looking for other tips / possible scenarios you guys might suggest I be prepared for / could potentially run into.


Thanks!

hurricane1091

I wouldn't really worry about preparing, you'll probably freak yourself out. If there are no technical questions to be asked, then just be prepared to answer the questions they ask in a genuine way. Rehearsed answers get you no where and if you're genuinely a good person, speaking the truth is all you'll need to do. You already know where you see yourself in 5 years, what motivates you, what your greatest weakness/strength is, what you think you'll bring to the team, what you hope to get out of the job, etc. Just tell them in a genuine way. I literally just met with the same personnel and went through the same process.

xxxkaliboyxxx

If you made it to any CISO, CIO, CTO or CEO your job is in the bag, they are there to filter out the bullshit artist that get by everyone else. The good C-Suites take pride on filtering out bullshit, but are also there for any red flags that their years of experience could pick up, that maybe the Networking or Systems team couldn't. Also, these guys just want to see if you're a good fit, usually nothing more. Relax, be honest and have fun if you could get a word in. Good Luck!

UncleB

Pretty much what has already been said in the last few posts.
Be as relaxed as you can be and be honest - think about the questions you just asked and don't rehearse the answers - let them flow.
If they don't like the real you then you just dodged a bullet - you probably wouldn't like working for them.
If they do like you - everyone's a winner!
Good luck.

lloris_20

I gave one of these interviews last week. from where I come, they ask me about how much research I did on the job description, what I know of the technologies I have to use?

who is direct competition? what are they doing? what technologies they use?

and then generale questions on career aspiration and salary.

From where I come, every round except last is rejection round, so nothing is in the bag till you hit the last round and get offer letter.

Hope it helps!

Good luck!

UncleB

One thing popped into my mind about this situation - since you are meeting a director then they are going to be very much focussed on the business itself and how the company works / makes money.

Don't be surprised if they ask something like "tell me what you know about my company".

This is to see if you have done your research into your prospective employer and have an eye on the Big Picture for them. It shows a degree of buy-in and that you are not going to be a jobsworth (eg "I only do Cisco switches me - Netgear are not my responsibility") and are going to be mindful that what you do is in line with the companies values.

Admittedly I have only seen this sort of question since I've been in senior management positions but some companies insist I ask this of all prospective hires and feed back on it through the interview eval process.

5 mins on the company website should be enough - look at the "about us" section to build up a mental checklist of facts on sector, strategy, competitors and published plans. Also look on LinkedIn for the interviewers and don't be afraid to ask them why they joined the company from their previous employer (name drop the prev employer to show you looked). This is one time cyber stalking them is taken positively.

Anyway, take what you want from this.

volfkhat

Yah,
agree with lloris and UncleB.

However, i usually have a different mindset:
When i go in for the sit-down.... i interview them.

Seriously.
Ask all the questions that You want to ask.
You need "a" job... but who says it has to be "this" job?

You want to walk out of that interview with a warm & fuzzy feeling about the company.
So figure out the things that matter to You the most; and make a list.
(hell, Take the List with you!)

Interviews go Both ways; so take advantage of the opportunity.


EDIT:
or maybe... ignore my insight.
lol
if you've made it this far... maybe just "go along to get along".

DatabaseHead

I should be asking you for advice not vice versa. This is really exciting, bring home a winner!

Know the business inside and out and have a 30, 60 and 90 day road map layed out if they ask.....

Danielh22185

Well I got the job! I start April 24th. Everything went very well (obviously)!

I am super excited to move on to a new role where I won't be doing such silo'd network operations tasks and really get a chance to make strategic decisions and label stuff my own! I think this is a great move (the right move) for me. I have been doing NOC style network operations for 5 years now. I have progressed through the ranks to the top tier team for my company however that job style will always be that, network operations. Now I will have an opportunity to design, build, budget, upgrade, and more! I am glad I am leaving an operations role to get the opportunity to be a key figure in making major network decisions instead of just being fed work to do from network alarms, etc.

Exciting times ahead! Thanks everybody for the advice!

MitM

Big congratulations!

Dakinggamer87

Congrats!!

kalimuscle

Omg !

Congrats !!!!!!!!!!!

shimasensei

Congratulations! If you don't mind me asking, what did they discuss with you in that interview? Just curious about executive interviews, and (hopefully!) for future reference.

Danielh22185

shimasensei wrote: »

Congratulations! If you don't mind me asking, what did they discuss with you in that interview? Just curious about executive interviews, and (hopefully!) for future reference.

It was actually quite refreshing. We just talked about me really. They were trying to gauge my personality / see how I would fit inside the company culture, etc. Also talked about items I am proud from my past / past projects, how I felt I could add value to the organization, etc. The CTO was particularly interested in just hearing my story from start to present. He also asked in detail about my previous help desk job which would have little relevance to this new job.

Not to gloat about myself but I guess you could say I am a bit of a poster child for progression in the IT world. I do not have a bachelors degree but went to work hard and with a furious pace in IT. I started out as a help desk analyst making $15/hr, moved into a tier 2 / lead role there and got my CCNA. I then went off to a different company (my current) to really learn enterprise level networking. Started as a network monitor clicking on red alarms and not knowing much aside from how to run 'show ip route'. I went into a formal level 1 troubleshooting role from there, then into level 2 and finally level 3, obtaining my CCNP in the stent of those role progressions.

I guess that paints a good picture for me as someone who is dedicated to learning and growing which I feel is pretty easily identifiable just by looking at my resume.

I also mentioned my desire to challenge myself. I have always been involved with network mgmt / operations roles. So I am stepping WAY outside my comfort zone to take on a role that will have all flavors of network engineering packaged into one role. I believe they liked what they saw in that too. I am not a complaisant person and am always seeking to learn / grow. I saw this new job as the opportunity to do that so I spoke heavily to that.

lloris_20

Congrats, I got the job as well!

TheFORCE

Just curious, what state/city is this job?

Danielh22185

lloris_20 wrote: »

Congrats, I got the job as well!

Thanks! Congrats to you as well!

TheFORCE wrote: »

Just curious, what state/city is this job?

Dallas / Fort Worth area.

100k

Good stuff man! If I may ask, as I am looking to make a move similar to yours...When you found the job ad, looked at the requirements and duties, how much of that aligned with your experience? 50%, 70%, 80%? Sometimes I look at job descriptions and I am sure I can fill at least 60% of the requirements...but I don't apply (because well you know scared but confident but mostly scared )

blatini

^ this question is asked at least 4 times a day on this forum. Just apply.

Danielh22185

100k wrote: »

Good stuff man! If I may ask, as I am looking to make a move similar to yours...When you found the job ad, looked at the requirements and duties, how much of that aligned with your experience? 50%, 70%, 80%? Sometimes I look at job descriptions and I am sure I can fill at least 60% of the requirements...but I don't apply (because well you know scared but confident but mostly scared )

I maybe directly fit into 50-60% of the job requirements. I have never done design, budgeting, building, implementing, etc, as well as other technology elements that will be involved with networking (voice, video, security). I mainly have strictly done operations roles that would cover a portion of the job requirements (tshoot / management / upgrade).

However I sold myself in a way that I was looking for the challenge and understood that I was coming from a silo'd environment and would have a big learning curve. I believe they saw my drive and eagerness to learn which they nor I felt scared that I couldn't be an up-to-speed operational employee in no time. I distinctively told them "There comes a time in one's career (or multiple times) you have to really step outside of your comfort zone to challenge yourself if you really wish to make a successful impact."

100k

Thanks for that relpy...I needed that. Good luck on your new job!

Danielh22185

100k wrote: »

Thanks for that relpy...I needed that. Good luck on your new job!

Thanks! Don't be afraid to challenge your self and don't let a job description limit you. Good luck to you on your future endeavors as well!