The Art of Being Memorable: Presence, Authenticity and Energy That Stands Out

When you’re being considered for a senior role, having the right experience is only part of the picture. By the time you reach senior leadership level, there are likely to be several people in a process who can demonstrate a strong track record, relevant sector experience and a clear understanding of the challenges an organisation is facing. So, what makes one candidate stay in someone’s mind when the interviews are over?

Often, it comes down to how they show up.

Being memorable isn’t about being the loudest person in the room or trying to manufacture a particularly impressive version of yourself. In fact, the candidates who make the strongest impression are often those who are comfortable enough in their own experience to talk about it naturally. They know what they bring, they can articulate the impact they have had, and they give people a genuine sense of how they lead.

That matters throughout a recruitment process, but particularly at senior level. An organisation isn’t simply looking for someone who can deliver a set of responsibilities. Clients are also thinking about whether that person can understand the situation quickly, build relationships and make a meaningful impact.

That is particularly important when someone is stepping into a new organisation and is expected to hit the ground running. Your previous experience can give you a strong foundation, but being able to explain how you would use that experience in a new environment, while taking the time to understand the organisation and its challenges, can be just as important.

Your CV can demonstrate where you have done those things before, but the recruitment process is where people start to understand how you actually approach them.

Presence is about more than confidence

Presence can be difficult to define because it looks different from person to person. It isn’t necessarily about being charismatic or naturally extroverted. Some of the most compelling candidates I’ve met are relatively understated, but they have a real clarity about them. They listen carefully, take their time when answering difficult questions and are comfortable explaining their thinking.

That sense of confidence often comes from knowing your own career story. Rather than simply working through a CV, they can explain the decisions they have made, the challenges they have faced and what they have learned along the way. They can talk about a difficult situation without needing to present themselves as having had all the answers, and they can recognise where an experience has changed the way they lead.

That kind of self-awareness tends to come across in conversation. It also gives an interviewer something more meaningful to remember than a list of achievements. Being able to explain not just what you did, but why you approached a situation in a particular way, and what you learnt from it, can reveal a great deal about your leadership style.

Authenticity gives people something to connect with

There is always a temptation during a recruitment process to give the answer you think an organisation wants to hear. Preparation is important, but there is a difference between preparing properly and rehearsing yourself into sounding like everyone else.

The strongest candidates tend to have a clear understanding of what the organisation needs while still being willing to bring their own perspective to the conversation. They might challenge an assumption, offer a different way of looking at a problem or talk honestly about something they have learned from getting it wrong. Those moments can tell an organisation much more about how someone thinks and leads than a perfectly polished answer ever could.

That doesn’t mean abandoning professionalism or trying to make every answer personal. It simply means allowing some of your own judgement, experience and personality to come through. If you have spent years building a career and developing as a leader, there should be something distinctive in the way you talk about it.

Energy tells people what matters to you

The other thing that can make a candidate memorable is energy. Again, that doesn’t mean being relentlessly enthusiastic or having a particular personality type. It is much more about showing that you care about the opportunity and are motivated by the work itself.

When someone talks about a challenge they are genuinely interested in, you can usually tell. It comes through in the examples they choose the questions they ask and the way they talk about the people and organisations they have worked with. Someone might have an impressive CV, but if they can also explain why a particular challenge matters to them and what they would want to achieve, you start to get a much clearer picture of the person behind the application.

In my conversations with candidates, I often find that two people may have very similar CVs, but the conversations can be very different. One person can tell you what they have done, whereas another can explain why they did it, what they learned from the experience and what they would do differently next time.

That distinction can be really valuable. When a candidate can reflect on both their achievements and the things that perhaps didn’t go as planned, it shows that they see every experience as an opportunity to learn and grow. It also gives a client a better understanding of how that person is likely to approach new challenges, rather than simply what they have achieved in the past.

How do you stand out in a recruitment process?

A useful starting point is to think beyond the job description. Before an interview or conversation, consider what you want someone to understand about you that they won’t get from reading your CV. What have you learned throughout your career? What kinds of challenges bring out your best work? What do you think good leadership looks like? What would you want people to say about your contribution after you had been in the role for six months?

The questions you ask can be just as important. Good questions show that you have thought seriously about the opportunity and are interested in understanding the organisation, its challenges and what success would look like. An interview should be a two-way conversation, and it is also an opportunity for you to understand the role and organisation properly.

Being curious and asking thoughtful questions can demonstrate genuine interest in the opportunity, while also helping you work out whether it is the right fit for you. It can be a small thing, but it is often another way of making yourself memorable. Remember that interviews go both ways: they are an opportunity for you to understand the role and organisation, just as they are an opportunity for the client to understand your experience.

This is one of the areas where an experienced recruitment partner can be particularly useful. A good recruiter shouldn’t just help someone perform well at interview. They should give candidates an honest understanding of the organisation, the role and what the client is really looking for.

Equally, a good recruitment partner should help clients build a more rounded picture of a candidate than a CV or interview alone can provide. This means understanding their motivations, leadership style and approach, while also being able to explore their achievements, the impact they have had and the evidence behind that where relevant. For candidates, having an open and honest relationship with their recruiter can help them prepare more effectively, communicate their experience clearly and gain a better understanding of the opportunity in front of them.

Ultimately, being memorable isn’t about trying to stand out for the sake of standing out. It comes from being clear about what you bring, having the confidence to talk about it and allowing people to see the person behind the CV.

When several candidates have the experience and capability to do the job, the way they communicate their impact, reflect on their experiences and connect with others can make a lasting impression.