Succeeding in a Security Job Interview

Winning a Global Director of Security, Policies, Procedures and Compliance requires a well-executed interview strategy from start-to-finish.

A Chief Compliance officer whom the job reports to explained what separated the chosen candidate from the rest of the candidate pool.  Here were the keys that enabled the chosen security job candidate to win the job.  

Nailing an Interview…. what the winning security job candidate did well:  

Asked great questions!     Interviewers judge the interviewee by the quality of their questions during the interview    I’ve been suggesting this to candidates for years as I prepare them for interviews. My Chief Compliance Officer client pointed out that the candidate who stood out from the rest of the interview group asked the most compelling, business focused questions.     

Approached the interview discussion as if he were a member of the team.   The interview process was that of a group interview.   One candidate speaking to a group of six interviewers made for an uncomfortable situation for all candidates. The chosen candidate did a great job of engaging everyone in the group   and asking questions of the team so they felt as if he were already collaborating with them just like he would be if he were on the job. In other words, he projected himself into the job and immediately started trying to work with his new teammates .  

Knew when to say….”I don’t know but I’m willing to learn”.   The chosen candidate knew his weaknesses and strengths    and wasn’t afraid to admit when a topic wasn’t his area of expertise. Other candidates attempted to tackle issues that were not in their areas of expertise. More often than not, you’ll gain more respect from the interview team when you can articulate your strengths, admit your weaknesses and when you don’t stretch to make up answers where you don’t have expertise.

Answered questions directly.    The candidate who won the job asked great questions and gave direct answers to questions that came his way  . According to the Chief Compliance Officer, the hiring authority, candidates who came up short were vague when answering questions.      Interviews will seldom resemble one another.    The best you can do to prepare for an interview is to know yourself, know how to articulate your acomplishments, know what isn’t your expertise, ask great questions and be honest.   The chosen candidate did all of these things well.     So well in fact that he was the only candidate of interst when all interviews had completed.    Hopefully this direct feedback coming directly   from a hiring official can be helpful to you the next time you have the opportunity to interview for a new security job.