job interview

[ludwig]

I have an interview coming up for an IT job where I will have to give a 'short presentation' that I can't prepare for in advance.
Don't know what about - it might not even be anything related to the job. Has anyone done this and can give me any clue as to the type of thing to expect. Thanks in advance.

[acw]

Hi there.  I can only offer general advice, but I hope it may help.  If you're a presentation giving expert only worried about the content, please ignore my post and accept my apologies!

Ah, but you CAN prepare in advance! :-)

You can brush up your general presentation skills.  Try to consider the following sorts of things and practice on a friend!:

• How will you stand?
• Where will you place your hands?
• Do you always project your voice well without shouting?
• Where will you look?  (Remember to try not to be a lighthouse if presenting to a group - very hard, but apparently we could aim to avoid the sweeping looks!!)
• When you speak to groups do you always remember to vary the tone of your voice to avoid monotony?
• Do you have any habits, such as saying "you know", or "like"?  If so, get your friends/family to pick you up on this constantly from now til the time of the interview. 
• Remember the time limit.  If you are given time to prepare - make sure you have at least ONE run through so you don't overrun when it's your turn to present. 

Sorry to only offer general tips.  Good luck!  I hope you ace it! :-)

[ludwig]

Thanks acw, much appreciated. I'm hopeless at this kind of thing and need all the advice I can get.

[acw]

Right - well I obviously missed instruction number one:

1. Stop being daft.  Keep reminding yourself that you CAN do this!! You are perfectly capable of getting this job and you WILL get through the presentation and impress them and get the job!!!  You are NOT rubbish at this.  It is a mere annoyance on the path to greater things!

PMA ludwig, PMA! :-D

[Lillabet]

I've had a couple of interviews recently where this sort of thing has been part of the assessment. Obviously without knowing more about the job it's hard to second guess what precisely you'll be asked to do.

General practice at public speaking as acw said is good.

From my experiences the aim is not only to check you can present but to see how quickly you assimilate and understand material. In one case I was put in a room and given a recent company report. Given an hour to read it and prepare a presentation summarising the main points. I also had a flipchart pad and some pens to use in the presentation.

In another it was an hour and a half to prepare. I was given a pile of documents relating to a hypothetical problem. I had to 1 summarise the legal issues involved. 2 set out what other information etc I would want to help me make the decisions on the issue and 3 advise them as to what course of action they should take. In this case we got OHP sheets and coloured pens.

My (hopefully) helpful hints from these:
Check your writing is clear and legible.
If you are meant to use props that they give you then use them - Check you prepare your materials before the deadline. It is easier to use shorthand type notes for yourself than for the audience.
Try to write your notes in bullet point style. Holding paper in front of your face or looking down at the table and reading is bad. Reading from a script will make you do this
Ask if they want your notes handed in at the end - adjust the level of tidyness accordingly

[Lillabet]

Do basic maths. How quickly do you read? How much do you have to read? How long will you take to draw flipcharts etc. Plan your time and stick to that plan.
If you are not going to get through everything in the time allowed then reset your perameters. Feel free if asked to talk about the main issues to identify 5 main issues but then say that you have picked the most interesting to focus on and only do one in depth Don't say you have done this to make it easier for yourself.

Try to relax and expect the unexpected. In the one where I had to give a presentation using a flipchart the person who went in before me was really tall - 6ft5ish. I am 5ft2. He had raised the flipchart board really high and fastened it so tightly that no one on the panel could lower it so I could use it comfortably. In the end I stood in front of them and began my presentation by saying something like 'given the height of the board this presentation will involve more jumping than is usual in interviews' I then had to jump to turn the pages.... It could have been really awkward but it made them laugh and actually made the whole thing more relaxed. I thinkl got brownie points for dealing with the situation.

I got offered both jobs by the way...

[Bangkok]

Plan - the presentation should have a beginning (what you will tell them) a middle (tell them) and an end (what you told them).  Keep the number of key point to a minimum if it is a 10 minute presentation.  Use visuals where possible, but if your writing is messy and artwork poor, keep it to short bullet points to re-inforce points. 

Rememer, pauses are natural, let the message sink in.

  At the start, lay out your preferences - questions during or after or both?   Move things around (eg flipchart) so you feel comfortable.  It will come across as relaxed and in control.

If you think you are going off at a tangent, stop and refocus, don't carry on in increased panic.  Wrap up the point and move on.

Perhaps practice?  Think of a couple of topics, with 10 minutes to plan and 10 minutes to deliver.  They may even ask you to chose the topic in the interview, in which case you will be off to a flyer.

[ludwig]

Thankyou all - this is exactly what I needed.

[ludwig]

Just in case any of you see this again - thanks! - I got the job! :-D

[Bangkok]

Splendid, very happy for you (and thanks for sharing)