How to Prepare for a Corporate Board Seat Interview

The company’s board has to be convinced that the new employee is a suitable fit for the company before they are able to approve the hiring. The interview is an important element of the hiring process.

Board members are interested in hearing from candidates about their relevant skills and experiences that make them appropriate for the job with a focus on the value they bring. Interviewers frequently ask questions to assess the candidate’s knowledge of the difficult and complex issues that board members might face.

As a result improve board performance they’ll be looking to learn how the candidate handles conflicts and how they can engage with other board members in a respectful way. It’s also normal for boards to ask the candidate how they would handle specific topics such as shareholder engagement and potential conflicts of interest and the necessity of ensuring that the business is operating in a ethical and responsible way.

In most cases, companies provide an assortment of pre-read materials for applicants to go through in advance of the interview. It’s more than a glance to gain a better understanding of the company as well as its current board of directors and C-suite executives, industry dynamics, as well as key risks. Deb DeHaas is a two-term board member of a publicly traded company and is the chief executive officer of Corporate Leadership Center. She says that listening to CEOs’ discussions with analysts and investors is the best method to prepare. She adds that it is crucial for a candidate to be able to explain why the company or its product, or the challenges it faces is intriguing and how their experience could help address those issues.