Board Candidate Interview Questions and Evaluation Scorecard

Oversight and governance

1. Tell us about a time a board you served on had to oversee a decision management was strongly committed to. What was your role? Evidence to seek: how they balanced support and scrutiny.
2. How have you helped a board decide what it should and should not be involved in? Follow up: what changed afterwards?
3. Describe a governance practice you introduced or improved. Follow up: how did you know it worked?

Industry and scale

1. Which parts of your experience are most relevant to a company at our stage and size? Evidence to seek: specifics, not general familiarity.
2. What mistakes do companies like ours commonly make in the next phase of growth? Follow up: have you seen one firsthand?
3. Where would your experience not translate to our situation?

Financial fluency

1. Walk us through how you review a set of management accounts before a board meeting. Evidence to seek: the questions they ask, not just the metrics they watch.
2. Tell us about a time the numbers told a different story from the narrative. What did you do?
3. What has your involvement been with audit, financing or a transaction? Follow up: what was your specific responsibility?

Constructive challenge

1. Describe a time you disagreed with a chair or CEO. How did you raise it, and what happened?
2. When did you change your mind after board discussion? Evidence to seek: openness alongside conviction.

Availability and conflicts

1. What other boards, roles or commitments would sit alongside this one, and how much time can you give in a busy quarter?
2. Are there any relationships with competitors, customers, suppliers or investors we should review with our counsel? Note: the company and its advisers make any independence or conflict assessment.

Judgment and values

1. Tell us about a difficult judgment call where there was no clearly right answer.
2. What would you want to know about our company before accepting a seat? Evidence to seek: the quality of their questions.

Ask every candidate for a seat the same core questions, focus on job-related experience, and avoid questions about protected personal characteristics. Seek legal advice on your local requirements.

Evidence and open-questions scorecard

BOARD CANDIDATE SCORECARD — [Candidate] — [Interviewer] — [Date]
Seat: [Fiduciary director / Advisory]  Brief reference: ____________

For each area, record what you heard, not an impression.
Use: Evidence seen | Partial | Open question (not discussed / unverified)

Area                         | What we heard (specific example) | Evidence seen / Partial / Open question | Follow-up needed
-----------------------------|----------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|----------------
Oversight & governance       |                                  |                                         |
Industry & scale             |                                  |                                         |
Financial fluency            |                                  |                                         |
Constructive challenge       |                                  |                                         |
Availability & conflicts     |                                  |                                         |
Judgment & values            |                                  |                                         |

Must-haves from the brief confirmed?  [ ] Yes  [ ] Partly  [ ] Not yet
Open questions to resolve before any decision:
- ____________________
References or checks to arrange (with the candidate's agreement):
- ____________________

Why open questions matter

An interview rarely covers everything. Marking an area as an open question — rather than giving a low score — tells the board what still needs to be confirmed through a follow-up conversation or references, arranged with the candidate’s agreement. It keeps the decision grounded in evidence and makes it easier to compare candidates fairly.