How to succeed at job interview presentations

Have you ever thought you had found your perfect job? You put hours into your application, are really excited to get an interview, then your heart sinks as you read you are required to do a presentation?

Unfortunately, many people are unsuccessful at interview, not because of their ability to do the job but because they give a career limiting presentation. Having seen many presentations at interviews there are some consistency issues.  The following 7 tips will help you avoid some of the common pitfalls.

• Consider your personal impact. You will create this the second you enter the room, not just in the formal presentation. To have a positive impact you will need to understand body language and how to appear calm and confident. That’s why we work with people to tame their public speaking monkeys so they can be calm and confident, and don’t just give the appearance of being so.
• Be yourself! Whilst you may want to be offered the job you also want to be sure it is right for you. It’s vital you have a good rapport with the interviewers.  Sometimes this can be developed with effective rapport building skills, with other people there is an immediate and apparently natural rapport.
• Remember every presentation is about the audience! In an interview, what will the panel be looking for and assessing?  Use the information you are given to plan.  The job description will help but if you have a person specification, which should list the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours; this will tell you a lot more.  It will say what attributes they are seeking in the ideal candidate.  Use this to help you plan your presentation.
• Generally, keep the content high level. A presentation brief will rarely seek to evidence detailed knowledge of a subject – your experience and qualifications will evidence this; they will be looking at how you approach the brief.
• Do your research. Find out what you can about the company.  They don’t want you to tell them the history of the company they work for but some indication that you understand the business and the environment it operates in.
• If you are using a PowerPoint presentation always make sure you have a backup plan in case the technology doesn’t cooperate!
• Ask for help. Whose opinion do you value and would give you constructive feedback as you plan and practice your presentation? Allow time to plan properly (we also help people with this through our Simply Amazing Structure) and then further practice, practice and practice.

Simply Amazing Training offers 1-2-1 presentation skills training courses. 

Contact us today on 0330 223 4392 for an informal chat to discuss how we can help you.