Executive Presence in the Interview

Why doesn't the most qualified person on the shortlist automatically get the senior role? Because senior roles are rarely decided on knowledge alone, but on something that becomes visible in the first few minutes of an interview: executive presence.In this episode, Jan Nordh, founder of Nordh Executive Search, takes the topic to where it really counts for you: the interview room for a senior sales role. Drawing on 19 years in executive search and countless interview debriefs, he explains why the verdict is often set after just a few minutes, and why technically excellent candidates fail exactly here. Using the example of Kai, who loses the same role and then wins it on the second attempt, he shows what can actually change in the first three minutes.What you'll learn:Why hiring managers file you as a peer or an applicant in the first few minutes, and filter everything afterward through that lens.Where technically strong candidates really lose in the executive interview, and what the line "I couldn't see a CISO taking him seriously" means.What presence looks like in concrete terms: pace, pauses, clear positions, naming a weakness without your voice cracking.Three concrete levers to deliberately shape how you come across in an interview.For IT sales professionals, enterprise account executives, cybersecurity and sales leaders across the DACH region and the Nordics who don't want to lose their next senior role on first impression.Topics: executive presence, cybersecurity, enterprise software, IT sales, career strategy, executive search, DACH, Nordics.