Preparing for an Interview Presentation

The higher the role you are applying for, the more likely you will be asked to give a presentation as part of the interview process. We have been noticing that due to interviews being held virtually, more companies are asking for presentations even if the position isn’t as high-level.

This can be very intimidating but also gives you a chance to show the recruiters what you can do in a certain time frame and what they can expect from you in the future. Below are our tips on how you can ace your interview presentation.

Confirm the brief

You might find yourself in a situation where the brief presented to you is incredibly vague. Being able to dissect the brief handed to you shows that you can analyse situations and not take everything at face value. Here are some questions to ask yourself when looking at the brief…

- What tools can I use to present?

- Are there any time constraints for the presentation?

- What are the topics I need to present?

- Will the interviewers ask me questions during this time?

- Who will be at the presentation?

The last question is one of the more important ones. The safe bet is to make sure your presentation is high-level. This means cutting out any technical jargon you may want to use. If you know that you are presenting to an industry specialist, feel free to use more complicated terminology and flaunt what you’ve got!

Have a plan

Once you understand the brief thoroughly, you can start creating key points and developing a story for the story. Try to limit yourself to three key points for the presentation so you can explore them fully. Every slide should be referring to one of the key points you’ve created.

When breaking it down, follow the guidelines of an eye-catching introduction, followed by a data-driven middle and a firm conclusion. This is a very basic layout, make sure to add examples and show off your relevant skillset.

Practice, practice, practice!

They don’t say preparation is key for the fun of it. We have seen so many great public speakers have their nerves get the best of them. Even though this is highly understandable, there are steps you can take in order to lower this happening to you.

You want to make sure you know your presentation back to front and front to back. Knowing your timing is critical as you will find most interviewers have a time constant for the presentations and will not let you go over.

If you are noticing that you keep getting stuck at a certain point, write down notes to help you overcome the mental barrier.

Try to practice with a live audience before the big day. A good tip if you can’t find anyone is to record yourself and play it back to see where your stumbling points are. It might be cringe, but it’s also really helpful.

Final touches and reviews

You could make the most stand out presentation the interviewers have seen, but if you have a typo, a misplaced apostrophe or even an extra space, the interviewer will notice it immediately and be drawn to it. Take breaks between proofreading and if possible, have another person read it through as well.

Data doesn’t lie…or does it? Make sure everything you bring to the table it rock-solid. This is not the time to miss a decimal point or do an incorrect conversion. Include where your data has come from and if you have a large number of sources, include them in an appendix.  

Lasting thoughts…

At Blakeney Point, we take pride in how we work with each and everyone one of our candidates to make sure they are prepared for the interview process. If you are interested in an exciting career in the Food & Drink industry, you can view our job postings here.

Looking for further assistance?  Ask us for our ‘Presentation Handout’ here.

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