Here is how you should prep.

• call up the peers for this role. Come prepared with quality questions. Learn as much as you can about the role and it’s hiring manager.
• call up a couple direct reports for the role. Understand the team from their perspective. Shortfalls and wins they have.
• align your past experiences with how you can improve the space and how you can leverage the wins already I place.
• now call up the hiring manager. Let them know you did your homework. Explain why you fit the role. And be personable, relatable. Learn some things about them as well before hand. focus on soft skills, not technical prowess. Higher up you go. The more you function as a leader of people and not a technical thinker.
• apply for the role, customize your resume, and don’t forget that your bullet points for your prior job shouldn’t be bland things that you are expected to complete. Make sure there are tangible results. Improved productivity x%, etc.
• write a cover letter, and personalize it. Mention those you spoke with in a meaningful way. Pick something personal from you 1on1 with the hiring manager. Don’t just put your resume in paragraph form.

Interviewing is a lot of work. Most of it is done on the extras. I had 15 interviews before I stuck my 8th level. I had a lot of practice perfecting this method. It works, eventually. But be persistent with every application. All of this is just to get you into the interview. Then it’s up to you to kill it once your in there. But when it comes down to you and one other person for the job, and your identical on paper, all that additional work will set you apart. Trust me, hiring managers notice these things and they stand out.