Had a second-round interview with a director and the whole experience was very different from typical interviews.
Instead of structured or technical questions, it was mostly:
“How would you handle X situation?”
“What if a stakeholder doesn’t cooperate?”
“How do you balance trade-offs (cost vs something else)?”
“Would you walk away from a supplier/partner if needed?”
Follow-ups based on whatever I said
There was only one real pushback on a specific point, otherwise it felt more like a conversation than an interview.
What surprised me:
No fixed structure
No “right answer” type questions
More about how you think and make decisions
Question:
For people who’ve interviewed at this level or conducted interviews:
👉 What are they actually evaluating with these kinds of open-ended, scenario-based questions?
Is it:
Decision-making?
Commercial thinking?
How you handle pushback?
Something else?
