Athena Pioneer Ellen Richstone led Athena members in a lively discussion about preparing for your board interviews—what questions to ask the board during the interview process and how to best present yourself to land your dream board opportunity.

1. Know your role and know your brand. You should be prepared to showcase the value you bring to the board clearly through your interview. What differentiates you from other candidates and what value do you uniquely bring to the board? (Note: this won’t be something like “strategy” or “governance expertise,” as everyone interviewing at this level brings those skills.) Provide context for any claims based on your executive and board experience.
2. Read Ellen’s recent article in NACD Magazine for a deep-dive into questions to ask during the board interview process. These questions may occur at any stage, from the initial call with a  recruiter all the way to an interview with the full board. You may even ask the same question at several different stages to observe differences in responses in different settings and group compositions.
3. When preparing for a board interview, put yourself in the interviewer’s shoes. What are they looking for? Build your interview strategy from there.
4. Showcase your knowledge of the company based on your research through thoughtful answers to their questions.
5. Be transparent and consistent.
6. Be engaging. Be yourself, but also be comfortable. Through this interview, they are judging fit and you are looking to understand their culture. 

Athena members can view the full salon recording in the member resource library. Athena offers our members a full calendar of curated virtual and in-person events designed to cover board best practices, executive leadership, work/life balance for executives, investing, and more. Athena membership cultivates your leadership strength and enables you to reach a new realm of possibility in your career.