Possible Interview Types

1. Phone screening

2. Hiring manager interview

3. Team / Peer Interviews (1–3 conversations: can be a panel or back to back)

These may include: Future teammates, Cross-functional partners, Senior leaders in the department

4. Role-Specific Assessment (if applicable). This varies widely by industry. Examples:

• Case study (consulting, product, strategy): Candidate analyzes a business problem and explains their reasoning and solution approach.
• Technical assessment (engineering, data, IT): Evaluates job-specific technical skills through coding, analysis, or problem-solving tasks.
• Presentation (marketing, ops, management): Candidate presents a topic or solution to demonstrate communication, structure, and strategic thinking
• Writing assignment (communications, policy): Measures written communication, clarity, and ability to synthesize information for a specific audience.
• Portfolio review (design): Candidate walks through past work to demonstrate skills, process, and design thinking.

5. Final Interview / Executive Interview with your boss’s boss (one level above the HM)

Interview Process Based on Company Size and Role Type

Variations by Company Type:

Small businesses (under 100 employees):

• Usually just 2–3 interviews total
• Hiring manager first → team → owner/exec

Startups:

• Can be fast and intense
• Heavy on culture fit
• May have presentation or take-home projects

Large corporations:

• Always start with recruiter
• Often 4–7 interviews + assessments
• Slowest timeline

Variations by Role Level:

Here’s what you’re going to notice change about interviews the higher up your position is within the organization. The higher the level:

• The more people need to approve you
• The more cross-functional the interviews become
• The more strategic the questions
• The more assessments you may complete
• The longer the total timeline

Here’s the level-by-level breakdown:

JUNIOR ENTRY-LEVEL ROLES

Typical # of interviews: 1–2 (sometimes 3)

Timeline: Fast (1–2 weeks)

Assessments: Sometimes

What the process looks like:

1. Recruiter / HR screen 
2. Hiring Manager interview
3. Optional:

• Small skills test (Excel, writing, customer service scenario)
• Quick team panel (15–30 min)

What they’re assessing:

• Trainability
• Reliability
• Coachability
• Basic skills
• Work ethic and attitude

Bottom line: Interviews are shorter and simpler.

MID-LEVEL ROLES (Most 3–10 years of experience)

Typical # of interviews: 3–5

Timeline: 2–4 weeks

Assessments: Common but short

What the process looks like:

1. Recruiter screen
2. Hiring Manager interview
3. Team interviews (1–3 people)
4. Skills assessment (1–2 hours max)
5. Final interview with a director or senior leader

What they’re assessing:

• Can you independently own your function?
• Can you collaborate effectively?
• Do you have the hard skills and depth they need?
• Can you solve the hiring manager’s actual problems?

Bottom line: This is the “classic” multi-step process most people experience.

SENIOR ROLES (Manager, Senior Manager, Lead, Principal)

Typical # of interviews: 5–7

Timeline: 3–6 weeks

Assessments: Presentations, case studies, or strategic exercises

What the process looks like

1. Recruiter screen
2. Hiring Manager deep-dive
3. Peer senior-level interviews
4. Cross-functional partner interviews (e.g., finance, sales, engineering, operations)
5. Leadership or cultural interview
6. Strategic assessment or presentation
7. Executive sign-off interview (Director/VP)

What they’re assessing:

• Leadership approach
• Decision-making
• Strategy
• Communication style
• Ability to influence without authority
• How you will shape culture

Bottom line: At this level, risk is higher for the company—so more people must agree on you.

EXECUTIVE ROLES (Director, VP, C-suite)

Typical # of interviews: 6–12

Timeline: 1–3 months

Assessments: Large presentations, strategy decks, 90-day plans, or full business reviews

What the process looks like:

1. Executive recruiter or external search firm screening
2. Hiring executive interview
3. Panel with peers & cross-functional leaders
4. C-suite or Board interviews (e.g., CEO, CFO, COO, CHRO depending on role
5. Stakeholder interviews

• Investors
• Founders
• Key department heads

6. Case study or strategy presentation (often 30–90 minutes with Q&A)
7. Cultural fit & leadership philosophy interviews
8. Reference checks (almost always required)
9. Final “calibration” conversation

What they’re assessing:

• Vision
• Strategic clarity
• Long-term leadership ability
• Fit with founder, board, and culture
• Ability to drive revenue, manage risk, or lead large teams

Bottom line: Executives go through the longest and most political processes.

How To Prepare For Each Interview

Based on what size of company and what level of role you’re applying for, the information we just shared should give you a better idea of what types of interviews to prepare for after the traditional recruiter screen and hiring manager interviews, which as we mentioned last week, typically come first.

Also, the recruiter will likely tell you which interview type to prepare for. If not, ask them. 

BONUS TIP: reach out to peer-level people at the company who just got hired to ask for tips and what to expect.

Here’s a few tips on how to prepare for each interview type, based on what you think is coming:

1. Recruiter Screen (20–30 minutes)

Purpose:

• Confirm basic qualifications
• Check compensation alignment
• Gauge interest and communication style
• Explain role + process

You get yes/no answers within 1–5 business days (usually).

2. Hiring Manager Interview (45–60 minutes)

Purpose:

• Deep evaluation of experience
• Behavioral and situational questions
• Assess alignment with the role’s responsibilities
• Determine if your background can solve their team’s problems

This is often the most important interview of the entire process.

3. Team / Peer Interviews (1–3 conversations)

These may include:

• Future teammates
• Cross-functional partners
• Senior leaders in the department

They assess:

• Collaboration style
• How you contribute
• Culture/chemistry
• Technical or functional depth

These are usually panel-style or back-to-back.

How to prepare:

STEP 1 – Understand the Goal of a Peer Interview. 

1. Team members want to know:

• Will you make their job easier or harder?
• Are you humble and collaborative?
• Are you good at communication?
• Are you a team fit without being a clone?
• Can you handle conflict or pressure maturely?

2. This is a chemistry interview more than a skills interview.

STEP 2 – Research Each Person You’ll Meet

1. Look up:

• Their job title
• Their tenure
• Their background (LinkedIn)
• What part of the job they overlap with
• This helps you tailor examples and ask more thoughtful questions.

STEP 3 – Prepare 6–8 Team-Relevant Stories Using STAR

1. Choose stories that demonstrate:

• Collaboration
• Influence without authority
• Conflict resolution
• Cross-functional teamwork
• Taking ownership
• Helping a teammate succeed
• Navigating ambiguity

2. These are the stories peers listen for most.

STEP 4 – Master These 8 Common Peer Interview Questions

1. At least 70% of team interviews include variations of these:

• “What’s your working style?”
• “Tell us about a conflict with a coworker and how you handled it.”
• “How do you prefer to give and receive feedback?”
• “What frustrates you at work?”
• “Describe a time you worked cross-functionally.”
• “How do you handle competing priorities?”
• “What would your current teammates say it’s like to work with you?”
• “How do you like to communicate?”

2. Your goal: sound like someone who is self-aware, confident and competent but low-ego, adaptable, and easy to partner with.

STEP 5 – Prepare a “Collaboration Philosophy”

1. This is a tight 30-second statement that makes you sound polished and well-aligned. Example:

• “I work best with teams that communicate clearly and operate with transparency. I’m proactive about giving context, asking clarifying questions, and surfacing issues early so nothing becomes a fire drill. My goal is always to make collaboration easy so everyone can do their best work.”

2. This becomes a through-line in many answers.

STEP 6 – Do a Team-Specific Skills Review (Light, Not Deep)

1. Peers may ask:

• “How would you approach X?” (related to your tasks)
• “What would you do if Y happened?” (again, related to your tasks)
• “Have you used Tool Z?”

2. You don’t need deep technical mastery — just show that you actually know what the role needs you to know.

STEP 7 – Prepare Questions That Make You Look Like an A-Player

1. Team/peer interviews are a two-way evaluation — and your questions matter a lot.
2. Avoid generic questions like: “What’s the culture like?”
3. Instead ask:

• “What does a great teammate look like on this team?”
• “Can you tell me about the communication rhythms here?”
• “How does the team handle disagreements or competing deadlines?”
• “What would make someone successful — or not — in their first 90 days?”

STEP 8 – Plan to Build Small but Genuine Rapport

1. You don’t need to be charming — just human.
2. Ways to build rapport:

• Notice something on their LinkedIn (“I saw you transitioned from X to Y — how was that shift?”)
• Compliment their insights, not their personality
• Smile lightly and use warm tone
• Mirror their energy level

3. You’re aiming for: “They felt easy to talk to.”

4. Role-Specific Assessment (if applicable)

This varies widely by industry. Examples:

• Case study (consulting, product, strategy)
• Technical assessment (engineering, data, IT)
• Presentation (marketing, ops, management)
• Writing assignment (communications, policy)
• Portfolio review (design)

Not all companies require this, but mid-career roles increasingly do.

How to prepare:

STEP 1 – Clarify the Instructions

1. Ask for exact guidelines, time limits, tools allowed, and evaluation criteria.
2. Confirm whether you should present in person, live on Zoom, or submit asynchronously.

STEP 2 – Understand the Business Problem

1. Identify:

• What problem they’re testing
• What business outcome they care about
• What skills they want to see
• Reframe the prompt in your own words to ensure clarity.

STEP 3 – Research the Company’s Context

1. This shapes your angle and recommendations:

• Products/services
• Audience or users
• Industry news
• Competitor examples
• Tone/style of existing materials (for writing or presentations)

STEP 4 – Draft a Simple, Logical Structure

1. Every assessment should follow a clean structure:

• Case study: Situation → Analysis → Options → Recommendation
• Technical test: Requirements → Approach → Code/solution → Testing/edge cases
• Presentation: Problem → Insights/data → Proposal → Impact
• Writing assignment: Purpose → Key message → Supporting points → Clear conclusion
• Portfolio review: Project → Role → Process → Results → Lessons learned

2. Clarity beats complexity every time.

STEP 5 – Focus on Showing Your Thinking

1. They’re evaluating:

• How you approach problems
• How you make decisions
• How you communicate
• How you handle tradeoffs
• Say your thought process out loud or annotate your work.

STEP 6 – Remember to Prioritize What Matters Most

1. You don’t need a perfect, complete solution. You need a practical, well-reasoned one.
2. Focus on:

• Logic
• Impact
• Feasibility
• Concise communication

STEP 7 – Build in Data or Evidence (Even Lightly)

1. Use:

• Simple calculations
• Research (even if lightweight)
• Observable patterns
• Examples from experience

2. It makes your solution stronger and more credible.

STEP 8 – Prepare to Present Your Work Confidently

1. If there’s a live discussion:

• Practice a 3–5 minute overview
• Prepare to walk through slides or code
• Anticipate 5–7 likely questions
• Prepare rationale for your choices and tradeoffs

2. They often care more about how you explain the work than the work itself.

STEP 9 – Do a Final Polish

1. Check grammar, clarity, and formatting
2. Make your visuals or layout clean
3. Remove jargon
4. Ensure the narrative flows logically
5. Professionalism matters.

STEP 10 – If Allowed, Send a Brief Optional Appendix

1. For ambitious candidates:

• One extra slide with optional ideas
• A short note describing alternative approaches
• Additional data or thoughts

2. This shows drive without overwhelming them.

5. Final Interview / Executive Interview

Purpose:

• Culture fit
• “Would I trust this person with big decisions?”
• Final gut check
• Sometimes salary or role expectations are clarified

Often with:

• Director
• VP
• C-suite (in smaller orgs)

How to prepare:

STEP 1 – Know the Big Picture

1. Executives care about:

• Business impact
• Judgment
• Leadership maturity
• Long-term fit
• Your ability to think strategically

2. They are not re-checking your resume; they’re assessing whether you’re someone they can trust.

STEP 2 – Prepare a 60–90 Second “Executive Summary” of Yourself

1. This should hit:

• Who you are
• What you’re great at
• The key business problems you solve
• Why you’re excited about their mission
• Short, confident, and outcome-oriented.

STEP 3 – Come With 3–5 Strategic Stories

1. Choose stories that demonstrate:

• Leadership under pressure
• Cross-functional influence
• Decision-making and prioritization
• Handling conflict with maturity
• Delivering meaningful business results

2. Executives look for pattern recognition.

STEP 4 – Understand the Company’s Top Priorities

1. Research:

• Recent news
• Competitors
• Product direction
• Revenue model
• The leadership team’s goals
• Then connect your strengths to their agenda.

STEP 5 – Prepare to Show Your Thinking, Not Just Your Results

1. Executives often ask:

• “How would you approach X?”
• “What would you do in your first 90 days?”
• “How do you make decisions when things are unclear?”

2. Keep answers:

• High-level
• Logical
• Calm
• Focused on impact

STEP 6 – Demonstrate Leadership Presence

1. Focus on:

• Calm tone
• Clear, concise answers
• Confident posture
• Balanced humility + ownership
• No rambling
• Executive interviews reward clarity and poise.

STEP 7 – Ask Smart, Strategic Questions

1. Avoid tactical questions.
2. Instead ask:

• “What are the top 2–3 priorities for this role in the first 6 months?”
• “How do you measure success for this function?”
• “How does this role contribute to the company’s upcoming strategic goals?”

3. These show you think like a leader.

After this, you may be done, but many orgs will take a few final steps behind the scenes to do reference checks.

Reference checks are common for:

• HR + People Ops heavy organizations
• Higher responsibility roles
• Candidates with gaps or complex background

Reference checks are sometimes are not common for:

• Tech startups (though I don’t really agree)
• Fast-moving companies

Then, if you’re extended the offer, things might just be handled via email from here, but you might also receive a call to tell you the happy news and/or work out details of the offer before they draft it, including:

• Base salary
• Bonus/commission
• Equity (if applicable)
• Benefits
• PTO
• Start date

We encourage you to engage in a back and forth to negotiate!