Crush the Presentation Round — I've Built Them
READ TIME: 5 MINUTES
Every Tuesday, I meet with a group of career coaches. Last week they put me on a panel to talk about one thing: the interview presentation round.
I was asked to speak because I've been on both sides — designing these exercises as a hiring manager and now coaching candidates through them every week.
What I shared on that panel and learned is what I want to share with you today. Because the presentation round is where strong candidates either prove their value or quietly take themselves out of the running.
First, understand why it exists.
The presentation round exists for one reason: the hiring manager needs to see you in action, not just hear you talk about yourself.
Interviews are easy to rehearse. The presentation is harder to fake.
Sales rep roles typically include a mock discovery call or product pitch, an account plan for an enterprise role, a cold call role play for SDR or SMB positions, or a deal review.
Sales management roles tend to include a team performance analysis, a 90-day plan, coaching role play or people management scenarios. The bar shifts because they are testing for a different set of skills.
What every hiring manager is watching for regardless of the format:
Sales fundamentals: Do you ask questions or just pitch? Do you tailor or feature dump? Do you close?
Business acumen: Can you speak the language of the buyer and the business?
Communication: Are you clear and confident? Can you engage the room and ask thoughtful questions?
Critical thinking: Can you analyze a problem and build a solution? (management roles especially)
Coachability: When feedback is given mid-exercise, do you adjust in real time?
That last one surprises most candidates. Your coachability is being tested in real time. When a hiring manager interrupts and offers a redirect, how you respond tells them everything about what it will be like to manage you.
The presentation I still think about.
When I was at Schoology, we asked sales rep candidates to pitch our product. Most candidates showed up with a slide deck. Fine. Expected.
Then Jeff walked in.
Instead of slides, he built his entire pitch inside the Schoology platform — the actual product — using the free version he'd gone and figured out on his own. It was creative, resourceful, and immediately told me: this person figures things out.
I still remember it years later. Most presentations I can't recall a week later.
The lesson isn't "do something wild." The lesson is: be intentional about making yourself memorable for the right reasons.
Ask yourself before you build anything: what's the unexpected move that also demonstrates exactly what this role requires?
The presentation that hurt to watch.
On the flip side, some of my least favorite presentation rounds involved candidates I was already rooting for.
Strong interviews. I'd advocated for them internally. I was excited.
Then the presentation started and they lost the room in the first two minutes.
No agenda.
No questions.
Just pitched. And pitched. And pitched.
Crutch words everywhere. Nerves visible. No command.
Just a wall of information delivered at full speed.
By minute five, the decision was made.
It's painful for the candidate. It's painful for the room.
What went wrong? They spent all their time building slides and almost none on how they were going to show up and deliver.
The framework: how to prepare
Here's the process I walk every client through:
Step 1: Sketch your structure before you build anything. Opening (upfront contract — set the agenda), middle (your content), close (drive next steps). Know where you're going before you start building.
Step 2: Request 10–15 minutes with the recruiter or hiring manager before the presentation. Ask what great looks like. Ask about pitfalls. Come with 2–3 specific questions tied to the prompt. Most candidates don't do this. It's a significant edge for those who do.
Step 3: Build clean content. Visuals over text. Less is more. Align to the company's brand. Hit every element of the prompt.
Step 4: Practice — more than you think you need to. I see this consistently: clients are still adjusting slides the night before. What matters more is what you say and how you say it. Record yourself. Review the tape. Fix the crutch words, the rambling, the rushed sections.
Step 5: Show up like it's a real sales call. Set an upfront contract at the start. Ask questions throughout — don't show up and throw up. Tailor your content as you get reactions from the room. Manage your time. Close at the end.
The bottom line
The presentation round is the moment where you get to prove what you've been telling them.
It's your demo. Your product is you.
The candidates who consistently land offers aren't the ones with the most polished slides. They're the ones who prepared with intention, commanded the room, and made it easy for the hiring manager to say yes.
Hit reply and tell me what's the most memorable presentation you've either given or witnessed in an interview? I'd love to hear it.
To clarity and confidence in your career path,
Amanda
See you next Sunday
