125 CEO Interview Questions: Executive Coaching, Career Coaching, Training & Consulting
125 CEO Interview Questions: Executive Coaching, Career Coaching, Training & Consulting
125 CEO Interview Questions: Executive Coaching, Career Coaching, Training & Consulting
Use these 125 CEO Interview Questions (Chief Executive Officer Interview Questions), grouped by subject, to prepare
you for your next CEO-level interview.
These CEO Interview Questions are specific to the CEO role, but you may also be asked general interview questions and
Behavioral Interview questions, so we recommend preparing for those as well.
We suggest you practice using these CEO Interview Questions with a colleague, an Executive Coach, an Interview Coach,
or a Job Search Coach. And that you practice on your own verbally. Just reading questions silently or thinking through
the answers to questions may not fully prepare you for giving your answers aloud.
If possible, you may want to put together a panel to simulate the panel interviewing structure (which is a higher
pressure format than a one-on-one interview). And, you may want to practice answering your CEO Interview Questions
via teleconference and phone as these are also common modes of interviews.
It is also important that you prepare a list of questions to ask during your interview to demonstrate your knowledge,
show your interest, and learn what you need to know in order to determine if the position meets your job criteria and
will be a win-win business arrangement for everyone. And, here's a book to help you prepare.
Vision
10. What are the most important strategic priorities for our company over the next three years?
11. As CEO, how would you ensure success regarding these priorities?
12. Describe how you’ve responded to competitive threats in the past.
13. What were the goals you put in place to respond to these threats?
14. Were you successful in addressing these threats?
15. Describe how you’ve guided the creation of new business models, products, or strategic initiatives?
16. How did your vision for the company evolve based on the new business approach?
1 ©2017 GlacierPointSolutions.com
[email protected]
(562)434-7822
www.DonnaSchilder.com
Executive Coaching, Career Coaching, Training & Consulting
(562)434-7822 ~ [email protected] ~ www.GlacierPointSolutions.com
LinkedIn Company Page: LinkedIn.com/company/glacier-point-solutions-inc-
17. How did you gain buy-in from key constituents as the organization evolved?
18. In your view, what risks do we face as an organization?
19. How would you mitigate those risks?
Goals
The Competition
28. If you were hired, what would be your priorities in your first 90 days?
29. How would you build trust, generate buy-in, and develop a plan during your first 90 days?
30. How would you learn our business?
Business Growth
Leadership Style
2 ©2017 GlacierPointSolutions.com
[email protected]
(562)434-7822
www.DonnaSchilder.com
Executive Coaching, Career Coaching, Training & Consulting
(562)434-7822 ~ [email protected] ~ www.GlacierPointSolutions.com
LinkedIn Company Page: LinkedIn.com/company/glacier-point-solutions-inc-
Leadership Development
47. Give an example of when you had a gap in skill and/or experience that made you less effective than desired?
48. What have you done to grow in this area?
49. What would your past Executive Leadership Team say is your biggest flaw?
50. What have you done to mitigate that flaw?
51. What would your staff say are your strengths as a leader?
52. What areas are you currently working for leadership growth?
53. What steps did you take to develop yourself as a CEO?
54. How do you seek constructive feedback?
55. How do you make sure people are being honest with you in giving you feedback?
56. How have you acted on the constructive feedback you received from the Board, your team, and your customers
in the past?
57. Describe how you would manage budgets and the P&L.
58. How did you and your team prioritize your organizational investments in the past?
59. How do you handle departments that have budget variances?
60. Describe how you’ve used cost benefit analysis to decide on a course of action that was costly.
61. How do you use the various accounting and financial reports?
62. How did you reduce costs in your last position?
63. How have you navigated tough decisions regarding budget cuts, restructuring, or reallocating resources in the
past?
Metrics
64. What kind of metrics would you require each department to establish?
65. How would you hold your leaders accountable for achieving their metrics?
66. How would you have your direct reports present their KPIs?
3 ©2017 GlacierPointSolutions.com
[email protected]
(562)434-7822
www.DonnaSchilder.com
Executive Coaching, Career Coaching, Training & Consulting
(562)434-7822 ~ [email protected] ~ www.GlacierPointSolutions.com
LinkedIn Company Page: LinkedIn.com/company/glacier-point-solutions-inc-
Process Improvement
67. Describe a method you have used to increase efficiency and enhance shareholder return. What was the
outcome?
68. How will you identify the problems in the organization?
69. Tell us about a time in which your team successfully implemented a large-scale process change.
70. How did you guide them to implement this change?
71. How did you guide them to gain support for the change?
72. How did they measure the success of the change?
73. How did you hold them accountable for the success of the improvement?
74. How do you approach problem solving with your Executive team?
75. How would you suggest we reward process improvement efforts?
76. Tell me about some of the process improvement projects you’ve initiated that your organization has had success
with.
Change Management
77. Give some examples of how you have gotten the stakeholders and front-line staff to support process and/or
policy changes.
78. How did you involve your team in designing and implementing these changes?
Performance Management
79. How do you hold your leaders accountable to develop their leadership skills?
80. How would you measure the performance of your direct reports?
81. Describe a time when one of your direct reports did not meet your expectations and what you did about it.
82. What are your thoughts on formal Performance Appraisals?
Hiring
83. What would you do to attract top talent?
84. Describe your professional network and how you’re able to leverage it to recruit top talent and hard to find
experts?
85. Describe some top talent you’ve helped recruit.
86. How did you successfully recruit them?
87. How do you make sure you have the right people in the right jobs?
88. What traits, skills, and experience do you look for in a leader?
89. How do you determine if a leader has these characteristics?
90. When hiring, how do you make sure a leader is a good fit for the company culture?
91. Do you believe in using Assessments in the hiring process?
92. What are your thoughts on using AI in the hiring process?
4 ©2017 GlacierPointSolutions.com
[email protected]
(562)434-7822
www.DonnaSchilder.com
Executive Coaching, Career Coaching, Training & Consulting
(562)434-7822 ~ [email protected] ~ www.GlacierPointSolutions.com
LinkedIn Company Page: LinkedIn.com/company/glacier-point-solutions-inc-
Team Building
93. Describe a time when you took over a team from someone who had led it for a long time.
94. How did you build rapport, trust, and commitment quickly?
95. How do you create the right mix of personalities for your executive team?
96. What constitutes a good mix?
Failure
Managing Conflict
People Management
Technology
106. How have you selected and implemented technology improvements (e.g., platform integrations, new
enterprise management systems, AI).
107. How would you ensure that the organization is investing in and leveraging the correct technology while
being careful to balance cost with ROI?
Encouraging Innovation
Culture Fit
5 ©2017 GlacierPointSolutions.com
[email protected]
(562)434-7822
www.DonnaSchilder.com
Executive Coaching, Career Coaching, Training & Consulting
(562)434-7822 ~ [email protected] ~ www.GlacierPointSolutions.com
LinkedIn Company Page: LinkedIn.com/company/glacier-point-solutions-inc-
Miscellaneous
114. What skills. traits, and experience make you a good fit for this position?
115. What challenges do CEOs face in our industry?
116. Why do you want to work for our company?
117. Why do you want to leave your current position?
118. Describe your proudest achievement?
119. How would your direct reports in your previous position describe you?
120. How would the front-line staff describe you?
121. What aspects of this role would be the biggest challenge for you?
122. What is the most difficult thing about being a CEO?
123. What skills and traits have made you successful?
124. In what ways do you align with our company culture?
125. Describe how you’ve handled investor relations in the past.
6 ©2017 GlacierPointSolutions.com
[email protected]
(562)434-7822
www.DonnaSchilder.com