Job Interview With Presentation

nick49

Hi,

Apologies if this is the wrong place to post this

I have a job interview next week, I have been told that I need to do a 10 minute power-point presentation

’Describe how your personal contribution will benefit the role both in the current climate and moving forward'

Does anyone have any ideas as to what I should include or how this should be set out? I've wrote down a few bullet points but I don't know if this is the best way to do the presentation

Thanks for any help

[Deleted User]

It's difficult to know what you need to include not knowing your sector, the business, or the role you are going for.

- make sure that any necessary skills/attributes etc from the person specification and job description are included

- don't have more than one slide per minute of presentation, and don't over crowd the slides.

Nina20

Hi,

Sorry I can't really help with the content as I don't have time (do as the previous post says though, refer to the person spec about what skills, experience etc the company are looking for if they provided this, sounds like you need to research about the sector and changes in this arena too to link your skill set to this) but slide guidelines I suggest are,

Introduction slide - Presentation title, your name, date and you could include the companies logo on there or as your slide templates (all your slides). You say 'hi, my name is xxx and I have been asked to deliver a presentation on xxxxx)

You could do an outline slide to describe what your presentation is going to include, but you only have ten minutes so I dont know if you'll have time. This slide would have 'Outline' as the heading, then it would bullet point list the headings of your other slides underneath, and you would say 'My presentation is going to explain my xxxx, then I shall summarise and ask for questions at the end'.

The middle bit of your presentation is the main content. Dont have loads of slides or bullet points as you will explain what you mean when you talk

Summary slide. You say, 'so to summarise, my key xxxxxxx are xxxxx')

End with slide which says 'Any questions' (you say, thanks for listening, do you have any questions)

If you can print off a copy of your slides to give to the interview panel. This means if anything goes wrong IT wise you have a back up plan. Also they can look at the slides and write notes if required. Shows you are professional too.

Also, if you are nervous, hold a copy of the printed slides in your hand or take some small note cards with key points for each slide with you. Don't rely on these as you should know the content of your presentation, but they are there should your mind go blank and it's always good to hold something to calm nerves!

So good luck, hope it goes well! Main thing is that you do the presentation in a way you feel comfortable with, just use the points above to help you.

Coraline

Let me guess--is this an interview for a sales position?

pandora205

As someone who uses Powerpoint and has also attended countless presentations my advice would be don't put too much on each slide. Use a clear large font and a few bullet points - not complete sentences.

Using pictures can also lighten the feel but don't go for whizzy effects and sounds.

I'd say maximum of 6 - 10 slides for such a short presentation.

Finally, check your spelling and punctuation. There is nothing more distracting that incorrect use of apostrophes, etc.

When presenting, it's a good idea not to be too deadpan and bland. The use of a short anecdote and examples of the points you are making will make for much more interesting listening.

Finally, make sure you don't read the presentation or notes verbatim as that gives a very wooden effect. Just be natural and talk to the panel. I use a print out (handout format - 3 per page which allows notes) to jot down main points I'll cover to prompt me. And do look at the listeners at least some of the time and not of the screen.

Make sure you can use Powerpoint, change slides, etc. so you are not worried about the technology. Finally, if you are taking the presentation on a memory stick make a back up copy. Oh, and I'd give a copy of the slides to the panel too at the end. (handouts, 6 per page).

Coraline

pandora205 wrote: »

As someone who uses Powerpoint and has also attended countless presentations my advice would be don't put too much on each slide. Use a clear large font and a few bullet points - not complete sentences.

Using pictures can also lighten the feel but don't go for whizzy effects and sounds.

I'd say maximum of 6 - 10 slides for such a short presentation.

Finally, check your spelling and punctuation. There is nothing more distracting that incorrect use of apostrophes, etc.

When presenting, it's a good idea not to be too deadpan and bland. The use of a short anecdote and examples of the points you are making will make for much more interesting listening.

Finally, make sure you don't read the presentation or notes verbatim as that gives a very wooden effect. Just be natural and talk to the panel. I use a print out (handout format - 3 per page which allows notes) to jot down main points I'll cover to prompt me. And do look at the listeners at least some of the time and not of the screen.

Make sure you can use Powerpoint, change slides, etc. so you are not worried about the technology. Finally, if you are taking the presentation on a memory stick make a back up copy. Oh, and I'd give a copy of the slides to the panel too at the end. (handouts, 6 per page).

This is like, the best advice ever. OP I suggest you print this out and work from it!

Errata

If you do a straight read of each slide interviewers will be saying to themselves 'I can read - dolt' and if you read your notes you merely demonstrate that you can't, or don't want to, engage with your audience.
Each slide should cover a discrete area, each point on it needs to be verbally fleshed out. Do this and you'll demonstrate you can think on your feet, have a good memory, understand what you're talking about and don't flap under pressure.
Hand out hard copies of the presentation and practice, practice, practice until your timing is correct.

Kathy535

I'm not sure what sector you work in, but if I were given a task like this I would start by outlining the current and future challenges the organisation might face and then show how my skills and experience would help them meet those challenges. I'd have some examples of things I'd done that were relevant from previous roles to back up what I was saying and I'd end by summing up what I'd said and saying that you are very happy to answer any questions or expand further on what you've said.

As others have said, if using powerpoint - not too many slides, not too much on each slide, don't do too much formatting / effects but do check for spelling etc. speak slowly, it's very easy to be gabbling away when you are nervous, make eye contact with the interviewers, smile (even if you don't feel like it) - it helps put some variation in your voice.

Make sure you know the job description / person specification and where possible use some of the words that they use to help them tick the boxes.

Good luck

sniggings

unless the job pays around 75k a year tell them to grow up! interview you the normal way, who do they think they are Lord Sugar!

ERICS_MUM

you first need to understand exactly what attributes are required for this job and how the company envisage the role developing.

Presumably a lot of this info is given in the job advert/description but it's worth checking out the company's website to see if they mention future developments - could this impact the job you are going for ?

marlot

I did a similar presentation for the job I'm now doing. Essentially they are asking you to demonstrate you know what the job entails, and how you'd propose to approach it. ie. 'Why should I give you this job?'.

I'd suggest thinking in terms of a 30/60/90 day plan.
Make sure your 'speech' has a beginning, a few key points, and an end.

Practise it, with a timer.

Use slides to support your 'speech' - but be polished so you don't have to look at it.

I'd suggest 3 or 4 slides maximum. Perhaps one with a summary of the 30/60/90 day plan, and another showing your attibutes and how you'll use them to meet the objectives