Submitted by Calpurnia on
in
Forums
Long-time listener / infrequent poster here. I appreciate all the advice I've picked up from listening and reading.
I recently received an invitation to interview for a position that very much excited me. I would be working in a central office management role in a large urban school district; the job would involve supporting school turnaround efforts.
As one of several tasks, I have been asked to prepare and deliver a 10-15 min (10 slide max) PowerPoint presentation about myself, my interest in the job, my relevant skills, and the challenges I anticipate in the role.
I have never encountered a task like this before and would very much appreciate any ideas regarding how to approach the task.
RE: Preparing Powerpoint Presentation about myself
If it is required go ahead and put the presentation together and refer to the following podcast:http://www.manager-tools.com/2005/09/presenting-with-powerpoint. This will give you guidance on putting a good presentation together. When focusing on your interest in the role, relate it to your accomplishments. Same with your relevant skills. Do your research and find out about the challenges of the role, and guess what? Play your accomplishments up to the challenges of the role. You will be golden. Wishing you the best and keep us posted.
an idea - word cloud
One idea that might be eye catching is to create a Word Cloud (Google for free word cloud apps).
Dump your resume into one of these apps, add some specific repetitions of words you want to highlight and bam, a visual representation of the qualities you want them to remember about you.
This may help you stand out a little bit form the crowd. Of course, only use if you think it will go down well with your audience.
Kev
Beyond bullet points and prezi
Take a look at Beyond bullet points.
http://beyondbulletpoints.com/about/
It has some nice tips on preparing presentation focusing on the story you want to pass, the message you want to leave people with. I like the outline to prepare the content before actually putting it to slides. Main point is that the presentation is all about the audience. It is not really about you but what you can tell that will make them relate to you.
I would actually start with the challenges for the role (the problems to be solved) and then present how your skills, interests and passed experience would lead you to accomplish solving them (the solution).
You could also search on prezi.com
http://prezi.com/prezume/
For an unlimited amount of presentations samples. Regardless if you want to use prezi or not, it may give you some ideas.
"never underestimate the power of hearing what ones already knows." I heard that once, and I have been using ever since. People like to feel good about themselves, they like when they can feel smart, and they feel that way when you state something they can all agree upon.
I guess it would be great if you could show through your accomplishments that the challenge you see for this position you have already solved somewhere else. Mor draw similarities between what you have already accomplished and what this role requires.
Good luck!
Really?
It is amazing what you encounter in job interviews. This is a terrible idea on the part of the hiring manager and I would encourage you to seriously think about whether or not you really want to work there. AND...
Do what you need to to get the job. Do listen to the podcast listed above. Assume they are testing your technical skills or your presentation abilities while answering the question "Tell me about yourself." There are a number of hints in podcasts on how to answer that question as well.5 minutes max and be prepared to be interrupted a dozen times while answering.
Good luck!