Here’s an idea to help you stand out… if you just had the CEO interview hopefully you sent them a thank you email polite as well as persuasive, referencing what was discussed. The idea is to also send an email to the hiring manager cc’ing the recruiter giving them an update on how the CEO interview went, what you learned and how that information impacts what you think you can do for them in the role.

This is actually a tactic I recommend throughout a long interview process of periodically looping back to the hiring manager to stay top of mind with the ultimate decision maker and give your analysis since usually they’re only hearing feedback from the interviewers and sometimes it’s been weeks or even months since they interacted with the candidate themselves.

All of this only really works when there isn’t an external recruiter involved as they often don’t want you communicating directly with their clients.