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First-time directors need networks, governance knowledge and the ability to demonstrate they can work collectively.
Whether you’re a seasoned CEO eyeing your first directorship or an NFP board member seeking your first paid role, the path to the boardroom demands deliberate strategy.
Ensure you have a director CV
René Johnson MAICD, founder and managing director of Pacific Search Partners, emphasises that a director CV is not the same as an executive CV, and it’s important to present it appropriately from the outset. “It’s shorter, sharper and structured around governance experience rather than operational achievement,” he says.
For experienced candidates, this means leading with current and previous board or committee roles. If you have no formal board experience yet, think carefully about committees you’ve been on across your career (IT steering committees, school boards, industry working groups).
“All these things demonstrate your experience of some of the core boardroom skills required, such as working collectively, forming a considered view, expressing it clearly and then walking out of the room unified behind the group decision,” says Johnson. “That cabinet solidarity principle is non-negotiable in the boardroom and recruiters are looking for evidence that you understand it.”
Continuous learning
Many chairs will put great significance on completion of the AICD’s Company Directors Course, using it as an initial filter for candidates, says Johnson. The course delivers a grounding in governance principles, exposure to corporations law, financial literacy (reading a balance sheet, profit and loss statements) and practice in collective decision making.
“For a chair assessing an unknown candidate, it signals a baseline of readiness,” he says.
In-demand skills
Beyond governance fundamentals, boards need people who can ask the right questions of management. Technology literacy is in demand. Digital strategy, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence are reshaping every sector.
“Boards don’t necessarily need a hands-on technologist, but they need a director who can listen to a CIO’s report, recognise a familiar risk pattern and probe with the right questions,” says Johnson.
What chairs want
An interview with a chair is not so much a technical assessment, it’s a values and fit conversation. Candidates who walk in expecting the former can be caught off guard. Johnson suggests three essentials to prepare:
Do your research. This is the single most-cited piece of advice from search professionals. Research the company, the industry, the pressures shaping the sector. Then do more. A chair may pick any topic and ask your view. Your preparation must be broad enough to handle that.
Be confident, not overconfident. Chairs want directors who can express themselves appropriately, ask insightful questions and engage in genuine dialogue. Nobody wants a table thumper, but nor do they want someone with nothing to say.
Demonstrate values alignment. Expect questions framed around how you would respond in situations, not what you have technically done. The chair is assessing whether your values fit the organisation’s and whether you know how to conduct yourself as part of a collective.
Be proactive
The most important mindset shift for aspiring directors is to go looking for opportunities. Activating your network by attending events where other directors will gather is a way to engage with people who are already on boards and find out what’s available. Identify sectors or companies where you think you would add value, then research annual reports. If a board member’s term is expiring, it might be an opportunity for you to find an opening.
Online channels – including the AICD’s Directorship Opportunities portal and SEEK – advertise board roles. All state governments maintain pages of board and statutory authority vacancies. Consider NFP boards seriously. They are demanding, often unpaid and require genuine commitment to purpose. “But they are also a respected training ground for governance, and chairs of commercial boards recognise that,” says Johnson.
However, if an NFP board or a smaller company board is your first board, remember that they carry as much legal accountability and risk as a larger company or a listed company board. “Ask about D&O insurance and solvency as you do your due diligence,” says Johnson.
The bottom line
“A first board role will likely be [given] to the candidate who has done the governance preparation, understands their job is to ask questions rather than run operations, and has made themselves known in the right circles,” says Johnson.
Seek support from executive search firms to help you craft an appropriate CV that highlights what you have to offer. Be proactive in your research, your further education and your networking. Be confident, curious and take an open mind into the interview. These basic steps should help to get you considered for your first board position.
This article first appeared as 'How to land your first board' in the Aug/Sep 2026 Issue of Company Director Magazine.
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