What happens after the interview.

• Author: Voros, Sharon
• Position: Financial executives in interviews

No matter how good your credentials, the intangible qualities will land you the job. Here are some things executive recruiters look for - but talk about only after you've left the interview.

Be prepared. These days, executives change companies every three years, and employers recruit 40 percent of managers from the outside. That means someone may be contacting you in the near future. (Research shows the average executive gets six calls a year from recruiters.) But moving past the interview to a job offer takes more than a first-class resume. Top recruiters also assess your "chemistry" and describe you to clients using a special shorthand. Here are the elements they look for and what they're saying behind your back.

Executive presence, like art, is hard to define, but recruiters "know it when they see it." And they won't recommend you without it. Leaders who have executive presence speak without a significant regional accent and use strategic silences to appear thoughtful.

Grooming is important, too - a dark, expensive suit, a white shirt with French cuffs, a Hermes-type tie, manicured fingernails and good posture. So are your looks. Although there are exceptions, most corporate leaders are tall (six feet plus for men, five feet six inches for women) and lean. For men in any industry except entertainment, retailing and computers, facial hair and jewelry (a watch, a wedding ring and cuff links excepted) are definite no-nos.

A top manager must have stature, or social poise. Executives who have it arrive on time, enter rooms expecting to "take focus" and move crisply, but gracefully. They make the first move to shake hands (strong, two shakes) and lean forward slightly when they sit. They're able to lead 30 to 45 seconds of initial small talk (about the weather, football, their travel schedule) with ease, and they use the recruiter's first name periodically when making points, but not so much that they sound like a salesperson.

What they don't do is appear flustered or out of control. They don't butt in to ask questions. They don't dig around for writing implements, business cards or plane tickets. Nor do they call their offices constantly. If they drop something, they pick it up gracefully, without scrambling. They give the impression that someone else - a secretary or assistant - is handling the details of their life.

HOW TO APPEAR INTERESTED

An executive's charisma refers mainly to his or her ability to appear interested, caring and...