How to impress during a job interview presentation
So, you’ve been offered a job interview and you’re up to speed with the common questions not a bad start. However, in a cruel twist of fate, you’ve been told you’ll need to conduct a presentation during your interview, too.
Don’t ghost the interview just yet you can still impress despite this curve ball.
Job interview presentations are common across a range of industries, particularly for senior level roles or jobs involving strong communication skills. Although you could be speaking in front of multiple people rather than just one in your interview, with smart planning and a cool, calm and collected mentality, you can still pull off a great presentation.
Read on for our guide on how to impress during a job interview presentation.
Ensure you understand the aim and purpose of your presentation
For starters, you should make sure you understand the aim and purpose of your presentation. That way, you’ll show the company how you can work to instructions. You’ll also make a better impression if you understand the task.
Once you’ve been asked to give a presentation, clarify what you need to cover. The employer will let you know the details beforehand, but if there’s anything you’re unsure of, ring them in advance to ensure you respond to the brief correctly.
By putting all of this into practice, you’ll show knowledge of the job description and what you need to include in your presentation.
Make sure your presentation fits the criteria
When you know what the company is looking for in your presentation, make sure your slides address this. This means your presentation will stay fit for purpose, while your audience will be able to extract the information they need.
Keep the presentation brief fresh in your mind throughout the planning process. If it helps, have it out in front of you when writing your points, and tick off each criterion as you go through.
Nailing the criteria hands you a better chance of interview success. You also won’t waste everyone’s time with an irrelevant presentation—not a great look!
Create an eye-catching presentation
Presentations are a visual experience, so you can impress your audience further if your presentation looks the part.
You should use a suitable programme to complete your presentation—PowerPoint and Prezi are commonly used platforms. Depending on your level of expertise with presentations, we also recommend brushing up on the basics of building a presentation. You’ll need to understand how to put slides together and how to integrate text and pictures with these.
Once you’ve nailed how to create slides, make sure the colours you use in your presentation reflect those on the company’s website. This means your presentation will be brand-friendly and relevant to the audience. Plus, you’ll reinforce that you consider small details in the workplace.
Mix up the content within your slides, too—if you’re going to include five or six bullet points in one slide, ensure you break up your presentation with less text in the next slide. This way, your audience will stay more engaged.
Write strong speaker notes
Preparing speaker notes which enhance what you’re referring to on your presentation is another way to stand out in this form of job interview. Speaker notes act as your prompt for what to speak about during each slide.
To create strong speaker notes, you should write a set of bullet points to expand on each slide. That way, you’ll clarify your links and show how hard you’ve worked when formulating your presentation.
In addition, your notes will add a more natural flow to what you’re saying. You’ll appear confident and won’t run out of things to say.
However, notes are only a guide—they’re not to be treated like a script. It’s fine to hold your notes and glance down at them when you switch slides, but don’t fall into the trap of writing pages and pages and reading them like a robot.
Practice your presentation aloud
Like preparing for any other job interview, the key to a successful interview presentation is to practice what you’re going to say.
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