Interview Presentation - What would you expect to do?

[itmar1234]

I've got an interview on Wednesday and have been asked to do a 15 minute presentation and I need the great Mumsnet wisdom!

The topic is 'Explain how you would ensure/contribute to the XX department meeting its objectives'.

I'm a bit stuck because I can't decide what they are actually looking for in the presentation. I understand a large part of the presentation will showing that I understand the role (I'll be coming in from a completely different sector) but I can't decide how to personalise this to me though. e.g. do I say - due to my exceptional planning skills I will ensure that all departmental deadlines are met?

I thought of going through the JD and dividing it up into the various tasks (e.g. communication to the team, analysis etc.) and then doing a small bit on how I would specifically contribute to that.

If you set that presentation topic what would you be expecting to hear?

That is a very tough one - is it the sort of job where it is clear what the objectives are for starters?

I think the approach you are proposing is the most sensible one -
Ultimately they want to know that you can do the job and grasping the principles is more important than the specific details, if that makes sense!

Good luck!

Thanks Mixtape. I don't think the JD was well written - its was all muddled and it took me while to actually work out what the job was about....

I'll go ahead with this approach - at least I'll have something to prepare although I do think that 15 mins is a bit too long for a presentation.

Lordy what a totally mean thing to ask an interviewee to do.

Is it really mean? I ask candidates to do 2 x 15 minute presentations. Is presenting part of the job?

First things first - do you have the department objectives?

Yes I have the dept objectives so I'll use those as the basis of my presentation. But no - presenting wont be part of the job. Its mainly going to be office based.

Two 15 minute ones seems like overkill to me, but I am interested - why two? And what topics?

I imagine people are more relaxed on the second one - provided the first wasn't disastrous!

Well I think it's mean - what's wrong with a good old fashioned interview? As if it's not nerve wracking enough as it is...

(I've been to a lot of job interviews recently )

Interviews are not a particularly good predictor of job performance, so combining them with some other sort of assessment isn't a bad idea, especially if the role will involve similar tasks.

This particular topic is also a really good opportunity for candidates to sell themselves and highlight what they think they can bring to the role, rather than relying on the interviewers asking the right questions.

Ring them up an ask them?

I've done this on 2 occasions and both times I have been given the job-
On merit
Also they liked the fact I called up and asked lots of questions before the interview.

I employ people who have to give presentations - often to senior people, in big venues and under pressure so I need to know they can handle it.

Also presentations show your knowledge and expertise, demonstrate clear thinking and also show you can put together a professional document.

I don't think 15 minutes is a lot - sometimes I've had to present for 3 hours! (Poor audience)

Anyway, back to the advice - I wouldn't be too explicit in linking the presentation to the job description. Show rather than tell ie the items you present should demo your planning skills rather than explicitly refer to them.

Oh and the topics - one is usually a very specific project related one eg how would you calibrate a widget - show three different methods with diagrams. And one is broader - discuss one or two current challenges in the widget market.

Interesting, thank you!

I suppose it depends OP on how well you can gauge what the objectives would be from the role. For example, I work in fundraising, so i know that objectives would be related to income generation / relationship building / etc. but if the JD is a bit vague does that mean the job is not that well defined?

I've given presentations longer than 15 minutes but not in an interview (yet!) - never three hours though!

Thank you so much everyone. You've given me new ways to think about tackling this and I'm a lot more confident with what I'm going to present.

Its a new job - so I think there is a bit of vagueness in exactly what they want. I phoned them up a few days ago to ask more about the job and the feeling I got was that they were very nice - but not exactly knowledgeable about the tasks. e.g. The job has several different tasks assigned to it and I asked which one would take up most of my time/was the main part of the job. She hadn't really thought about it and said she didn't know.... I can work out the objectives though as even the job title is a fairly good give away (risk management!) even if the JD itself wasn't the clearest.

I'll get up early tomorrow and start bashing something out which I can refine over the next couple of days. 15 minutes does seem daunting but I'm used to doing 10 minutes on a subject I know so I should be able to extend it another 5.