Mid to Senior Level Interview Guide

Preparation at this stage isn’t about rehearsing answers. It’s about walking in with the mindset of a trusted partner - someone who already sees the business from the inside.

The Five Signals That Define Top Candidates

1. Depth of insight: Go beyond the website. Understand their market, their strategic direction, their structure, and what’s really driving change.
   
   

2. Commercial edge Senior leaders want HR partners who can link people decisions to business outcomes. Be ready with examples that connect your work to cost, growth, risk, or transformation.
   
   

3. Strategic thinking: At this level, it’s not what you’ve done — it’s how you think. Show that you can diagnose, prioritise, and make sound decisions under pressure.
   
   

4. Executive presence and influence: At this level, how you communicate matters as much as what you say. Interviewers are looking for calm, confident delivery, the ability to distil complex ideas simply, and the credibility to influence senior stakeholders or the exec team.
   
   

5. The questions you ask: The strongest candidates sound like future peers, not applicants. Ask questions that show strategic curiosity, commercial awareness, and a genuine understanding of the organisation’s opportunities and challenges.
   
   

At senior levels, interviews are conversations between equals. Treat them that way. Your goal isn’t to impress - it’s to connect, challenge, and show the value you’ll bring from day one.

The Checklist:

1. Research the business
   ☐ Understand structure and ownership (listed, PE-backed, family-owned, NFP, government).
   ☐ Read their annual report, strategy pages, press releases.
   ☐ Look for any M&A activity, transformation programs, or leadership announcements.
   ☐ Note their key commercial levers: revenue model, headcount size, growth stage, known challenges.
   ☐ Form a view on how HR connects to their current business priorities.
   
   

2. Know your audience
   ☐ Review interviewer profiles in depth - CEO, CHRO, CFO, or peers.
   ☐ Understand their leadership style, background, and how they communicate.
   ☐ Consider how your role would intersect with their objectives.
   
   

3. Know your why
   ☐ Be clear on what specifically draws you to the organisation (e.g. business model, transformation agenda, leadership, purpose, sector).
   ☐ Consider how their current priorities intersect with your strengths and track record.
   ☐ Be ready to articulate the kind of impact you can make in their environment.
   
   

4. Think beyond the PD
   ☐ Define what success will likely look like 6–12 months in. Not just day one deliverables.
   ☐ Consider the trade-offs, complexities or tensions the role may face (e.g. centralisation vs. autonomy, speed vs. rigour, legacy vs. future state).
   ☐ Prepare strong STAR or storytelling examples that show impact at the right scale and complexity.
   ☐ Be ready to speak to how you’d approach your first 90 days, demonstrating your thinking.
   ☐ Anticipate how this role fits into the broader business and where your influence would matter most.
   
   

5. Prepare for common questions
   ☐ Shaping and leading transformation
   ☐ Balancing people strategy with commercial realities.
   ☐ Managing executive and board relationships.
   ☐ Leading through ambiguity and cultural change.
   ☐ Owning ER/IR strategy in complex or high-risk environments.
   ☐ Navigating workforce planning, talent shortages, or redesign.☐ When your strategic judgement was tested — and what you learned.☐ Link your examples to tangible business outcomes (e.g., performance, risk, growth, retention, cost)
   ☐ Use Google Interview Warmup to rehearse answers and get feedback
   ☐ Ask a friend/family member to play interviewer (trust us, it feels different saying it out loud)
   
   

6. Know your CV but tell it like a narrative.
   ☐ Lead with A strong narrative: who you are, what problems you solve, and your leadership DNA.
   ☐ Highlight 3-4 major career moments that show measurable impact.
   ☐ Be ready to explain short stints, pivots or gaps with clarity and confidence.
   ☐ Focus less on “what you did” and more on “what changed because of you.”
   
   

7. Ask thoughtful well researched questions.
   ☐ What are the critical shifts the business is trying to make in the next 12-24 months?
   ☐ What would success look like for this role in the first year?
   ☐ How does HR currently interact with the executive and the board?
   ☐ How aligned is the business on its people strategy and where are the friction points?
   ☐ How would this role have influence across the organisation?
   
   

   
   

Extra Reading: Claudia’s article on what to ask (and avoid)