A skip level interview is an interview with your future manager's manager, the person one level above the role you would report to. It usually comes late in the process, often after you have met the hiring manager, and it tends to test judgement, ambition and fit with the wider organization rather than your day-to-day skills.
The term has a second meaning inside companies: a "skip-level meeting" is a regular check-in between an employee and their manager's manager. This guide is about the hiring version. For the round with your direct manager, start with our guide to what a hiring manager interview is.
When does a skip level interview happen?
Practice varies widely, but skip level conversations are common in a few situations:
- Senior and leadership roles. The more a role affects other teams, the more likely a director or VP wants to meet the candidate.
- Manager roles. If you would manage a team, your future manager's manager is effectively choosing one of their own leaders.
- Smaller and mid-size companies. A department head, or even a founder, may meet every finalist.
- Final rounds. The skip level conversation is often the last step before an offer, sometimes as a "closing" chat to sell you on the company.
- New or changed roles. When a role is new, the person who approved the headcount may want to confirm the hire matches what they had in mind.
Length also varies. Some are 20 to 30 minute conversations; others are a full 45 to 60 minute interview with structured questions. Ask the recruiter two things before it: how long it is, and whether it is mainly an assessment or mainly a chance for you to learn about the organization. The answer changes how you prepare. Our guide to the final round interview covers the late stage of the process more broadly.
What does a skip level interviewer assess?
A senior leader has less time and less detail about the role than your future manager, so they focus on the things that matter at their level.
| What they assess | Why it matters to a senior leader | How to show it |
|---|---|---|
| Judgement | They can't supervise your decisions, so they need to trust them | Explain a hard decision: the options, the trade-off and why you chose as you did |
| Ambition and trajectory | They are building an organization over several years, not filling a seat | Describe where you want to grow and how this role fits that path |
| Organizational fit | Your work will touch other teams they also run | Stories about working across teams, influencing without authority and handling competing priorities |
| Business understanding | They think in outcomes: revenue, customers, cost, risk | Connect your results to business effects, not just tasks completed |
| Level calibration | They see many people at your level and know what it looks like | Scope your stories to the level you're interviewing for |
| Consistency | They may compare notes with the hiring manager | Tell the same core story about your experience and motivation in both rounds |
In some processes the skip level manager also has to approve the hire, or carries real weight if the hiring manager's view is mixed. Treat it as a full interview even if it is described as an informal chat. Our guide to what hiring managers look for in an interview covers the five core signals, which still apply here at a higher altitude.
Skip level interview vs hiring manager interview
| Hiring manager interview | Skip level interview | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | The person you would report to | Your future manager's manager |
| Focus | Can you do this job, and will you fit this team? | Do you have the judgement and trajectory we want in the wider organization? |
| Detail level | Deep follow-ups on your projects and skills | Broader questions; fewer technical details, more reasoning and impact |
| Time horizon | Your first 6 to 12 months | Your next 2 to 3 years |
| Your questions | The team's work, priorities and ways of working | Strategy, direction of the organization and how the team fits into it |
Skip level interview questions to expect
These are common question types, not questions from any specific company. Each is paired with what it usually checks.
- "Tell me about your career so far and why you're looking at this role." Your story and motivation in two minutes.
- "What's the most important decision you made in your current role?" Judgement and scope.
- "Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager." Whether you push back constructively. Our guide to disagreeing with your manager has example answers.
- "How do you decide what not to do?" Prioritization under pressure.
- "Tell me about a project that required other teams to change their plans." Influence across the organization.
- "How did your work affect the business?" Whether you connect tasks to outcomes.
- "Where do you want to be in three years?" Ambition and whether the role fits it. See what are your career goals.
- "What did you hear from [the hiring manager] about the role, and what would you focus on first?" Listening and early priorities.
- "What's a trend in our industry you think we should pay attention to?" Business curiosity.
- "Tell me about a failure and what you changed afterward." Self-awareness. See tell me about a time you failed.
- "What kind of leaders do you work best with?" Working style at a broader level.
- "Why should I approve this hire?" Rare and blunt, but some leaders ask it. Give a short summary of fit, impact and motivation.
How should you prepare for a skip level interview differently?
- Zoom out on every story. For each of your main stories, add one sentence on the business effect: customers kept, cost saved, risk reduced, a launch that happened on time.
- Research the leader and their organization. Read their LinkedIn profile, any talks or posts they have published, and the company's recent announcements. Know what their organization owns.
- Use what the hiring manager told you. Note the team's top problems from earlier rounds and refer to them: "From my conversation with Dana, it sounds like the priority is reducing onboarding time."
- Prepare a short view of your first months. You don't need a full plan, but a simple outline of how you would learn, contribute and then lead shows judgement. Our guide to the 30-60-90 day plan for an interview has a one-page template.
- Prepare a crisp career story. Two minutes, ending with why this role is the right next step.
- Plan your close. Senior leaders often leave time for your questions at the end, and how you finish matters. See how to end an interview strong.
Questions to ask a skip level interviewer
- "What does your organization need to get right in the next year?"
- "How does this team's work connect to the wider strategy?"
- "What would make you say, a year from now, that this hire was a success?"
- "What do the strongest people in your organization have in common?"
- "How do you see this team changing over the next two years?"
- "What is something about working here that people find surprising?"
Avoid questions the hiring manager already answered, and save benefits and process questions for the recruiter. For more options, see our questions to ask the interviewer.
Practice it
The hardest part of a skip level interview is shifting altitude: the same story has to sound more about judgement and impact than about tasks. Practice that shift out loud with an AI interviewer from CoPilot Interview. Its Mock Interview builds questions from your résumé and the job description, lets you set the level, and scores each spoken answer out of 10 with what to fix and a model answer. Try each main story twice, once at hiring manager depth and once in the business-first version. It is free for 15 minutes a day with no account. Follow each employer's rules on AI tools, and use AI to prepare beforehand.
Practice for the senior conversation
Rehearse judgement, career and impact questions out loud. Get a score out of 10 for each answer with what to fix and a model answer. Free for 15 minutes every day, no account or credit card.
Try a free AI mock interviewFAQ
What does skip level mean in an interview?
It means you are meeting someone one level above the manager you would report to, skipping a level in the reporting chain. It is usually your future manager's manager, such as a director or VP.
Is a skip level interview a good sign?
It usually means you have progressed well, since many companies hold it near the end of the process. It is not a guarantee of an offer, because the skip level manager may still have concerns or other finalists to meet.
How long is a skip level interview?
It varies. Some are 20 to 30 minute conversations, others are full 45 to 60 minute interviews. Ask the recruiter how long it is and what it is meant to cover.
Can a skip level manager reject a candidate?
Often, yes. In many organizations the senior leader has to approve the hire or carries significant weight in the decision, so treat the conversation as a real interview.
How is a skip level interview different from a hiring manager interview?
The hiring manager focuses on whether you can do this job and fit the team. The skip level manager focuses on judgement, business impact and your trajectory over the next few years.
Should I mention what the hiring manager told me?
Yes, briefly. Referring to the priorities the hiring manager described shows you listened and helps the senior leader see you already understand the role.