It is possible that we find an opportunity appealing - it is a great fit from the outside, we like the people, and we feel we can add tremendous value quickly. However, it is important to listen to the interviewers as they outline their expectations of the person once they get the role. While some stretch is reasonable (and somewhat good to have), if an area unknown to us is meant to be the focus of the candidate, then the role may not be right for us. This emphasis can be understood while speaking with the interviewers about their expectations, and getting a 360 view of the role.
The other thing to consider is the alignment between management and board/investors. For a CFO, while it is great to hear diverse perspectives of diverse investors, broadly the expectations of the management and CEO should be aligned. If the CEO and investors have differing expectations from the CFO, that is a red flag to be evaluated with caution.
Interviewing is another skill/art to sharpen. It is hard for any one leader to have deep understanding and experience in all areas of finance. Butofcourse, familiarity with all of them is required. After that, the CFO should hire people who are experts. During interviews, it becomes important to land this point. It is **important to understand what the company is looking for, and then connect those requirements to your experience**. For eg. you haven't been a public company CFO. But taking the company public doesn't bother me as much as getting a company ready for public listing. There is a lot of help available in the market today to take a company public - bankers, consultants, talent. The difficulty is navigating the internal environment to get ready. Besides, making a pitch and delivering it something I have done during my fundraising. And taking a company public is, in a way, raising capital from the public.
Sidebar: you might not be great at selling yourself. That's ok. Eventually you also have to be yourself.
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