From changing tenses to asking questions with your ears, experts offer guidance on final stage interviews and negotiations

So you've been interviewing for a great association executive position, and you're on the short list. Congratulations on getting this far. But how do you maximize your chances of getting the job?

"Usually, the most prepared person wins," says Ryan Namata, senior recruiter at the Society for Human Resource Management. It's a belief most experts seem to share, to the extent that it seems to be the golden rule of short-list competition. But "most prepared" is an umbrella term covering many different types of preparation, and candidates can benefit from knowing specifics.

Generally, all candidates on the short list have stellar qualifications, so a large part of the selection process is "trying to figure out if you're a culture fit," Namata said. He advised executive candidates to learn about the association's culture, and "regurgitate" some of what they learned during final interviews. "It makes us feel comfortable that you can fit in," he said.

Namata has also noticed that successful short-list candidates sometimes "change the tenses in their sentences" when talking about the position during a final interview and speak more declaratively, with phrases like "I will do X and Y," along with specifics. "It makes us feel a lot more comfortable if you have a game plan," he said.

Curious, not condescending
Clearly, researching the organization is a requirement. But experts also caution that a well-researched candidate should be careful not to come across as a smug know-it-all. A knowledgeable candidate interviewing for a CFO position, for example, will not want to offer something like, ‘Given what I know about your organization, I'm afraid you may be headed for serious financial problems.'

"You don't need to make anyone in that room look stupid," says Christine Mackey-Ross, senior vice president at Witt/Kieffer executive search firm.

One way to strike the right tone, Mackey-Ross said, is to include information gleaned during research in questions about the organization, such as: ‘I've read X and Y about the association, but of course my information is limited. Has the group considered such-and-such approach?' In this way, the candidate avoids sounding condescending or accusatory. "Curiosity can go a long way," Mackey-Ross said.

Indeed, the ‘curiosity' approach is often effective for short-listers, and furthermore, "the best questions come from your ears," says Carole Martin, a consultant with nonprofit sector experience who goes by the moniker "The Interview Coach." Martin advises candidates to listen closely to what interviewers say about the organization, then ask questions that reflect back the information (e.g., ‘I'm hearing that your group has had past challenges with hiring …')

This listening-based approach, Martin said, is akin to "the consultant's mindset," and it is a good way to avoid turning off interviewers with a know-it-all attitude. (As it happens, the Swiss define a consultant as "Someone who comes in and tells you what time it is with your own watch," said Martin, who worked abroad for many years.)

Run toward, not away
Final stage interviews often consist of extended conversations with various association leaders, sometimes over lunch or dinner. This can present a hazard: "You are actually at your most vulnerable when you are feeling the most comfortable," Mackey-Ross said.

She painted the following scene: A short-list COO candidate, during a nice dinner (and wine perhaps) with a few interviewers, is casually asked: ‘So, I heard your association has a new CEO—what's the scoop?' The candidate, feeling comfortable, may offer an unguarded answer: ‘Frankly, I can't stand the guy.' That would be a mistake, Mackey-Ross said: "The interviewer is never, ever, ever your friend."

Instead, a candidate should communicate the message of: "I'm running toward you. I'm not running away from someone else," Mackey-Ross said. Don't talk about the "tyrannical micromanager" now making your life miserable; instead, sketch out the positive working environment you are looking for, and how the organization you are interviewing with seems to have it, she said.

So you've prepared well. You've made it off the short list, and the association has made you an offer. Congratulations, but don't relax yet—hazards lie ahead. Final-stage negotiations, experts say, have the power to derail a deal, if the candidate makes a crucial mistake.

Money, for example, can be a very sensitive issue, so candidates should take care not to let their emotions get the best of them in salary talks. "If you come in and say, ‘I'm insulted by your offer,' and inject emotion—that's your death knell," Namata said.

A more advisable approach, Namata said, it to present market-value salary data and ask, "Is there any way we can meet in the middle?"

"Over-negotiating" can also put a deal in jeopardy. It is generally acceptable to negotiate salary and vacation, but riskier for a candidate to try and negotiate, point-by-point, all aspects of the employment agreement, Namata said.

Sometimes, the candidate's own family derails a deal. More than once, Mackey-Ross has had a candidate for a CEO job that required relocation withdraw at the very last minute, after the spouse refused to move. In another instance, the dissenter was not a spouse: "Their eldest daughter shaved her head in protest of the move," Mackey-Ross said.

Luckily, that last candidate still went forward with the move—bald daughter and all—to the relief of the organization and the admiration of the recruiter. "A lot of parents would cave," Mackey-Ross said, laughing.