Interviews have come a long way in the past ten years. While many facets of an interview are the same, some things have fundamentally changed (here’s looking at you Zoom), over the course of this article we’ll give you everything you need to ensure you’re totally prepared to knock your interview presentation out of the park!
While a great CV or resume can do the heavy lifting of landing you the interview, you need to know what to expect when it comes to actually delivering that interview. While there are consistencies with the past (like going in confidently, and being on time), the days of just sitting and answering an hour’s worth of questions are changing - employers want more these days!
Interview Presentation Ideas That Will Impress Interviewers The Most
To stand-out you need some ideas to carry forward into your interview, after all employers, stakeholders, and other business members in the interview want to be impressed! So let’s start with the basics…
// HAVE A PLAN PREPARED
You can’t expect to just turn up and wing it, employers are expecting to see a level of preparation and organisation, by definition an interview presentation is a method of assessing these attributes. So before doing anything, research the employer and reread the job specification thoroughly. Be prepared!
// BE INVENTIVE
Don’t just tell employers what they already know, be creative, inventive and insightful, showcase what your skills can bring to the party.
What would you do differently if you got the job?
How would you make a splash in the company?
What software, technology and resources help you achieve excellent results?
Draw on past achievements to provide case studies.
The following slide from the Beauvoir Job Interview Presentation Template showcases how you can match up your existing skills against what an employer has asked for.
Many job seekers are afraid to give away “trade secrets”, however this closed shop mentality can hold you back, you’re far better laying everything on the table, go all out and share everything! It will reaffirm what a great asset you are and help you stand-out further.
Your interview should highlight how you can make a difference for the better!
// SET EXPECTATIONS
Employers will know if you are exaggerating, be realistic around your capabilities and what you can achieve and by when. Your interviewer will know their business, and they will know if what you say is realistic or not, so be honest here.
Outline timescales around what you can deliver, make it attractive but realistic, you need to feel confident pitching your experience and abilities and also confident in following through on what you say.
This approach is an excellent way to get employers to visualise you in post, the first step towards getting an offer!
The following slide from the Aurelius Job Interview Presentation Template showcases how you can visulaise to an employer how you would perform in post…
// BRING YOUR OWN PRESENTATION
An interview presentation slide deck will allow your interviewers to visualise your ideas, experience and cababilities, providing interview presentation visuals creates…
A clear narrative for your presentation
Demonstrable organisation and preparation skills
A more memorable interview
Clear answers and helps your points to stick
An engaging demonstration of your skills
An in-depth explanation of what you can offer (way beyond the CV / Resume).
// USE PROPS TO ACCENTUATE YOUR INTERVIEW
Job interviews are all about creating an impression, props and items of interest can help create a memorable experience and a lasting connection.
Zoom interviews make this easy, by deliberately creating a point of interest in your background you can spike interest, create a memorable experience and even create talking points.
For example if you know your interviewer is a huge Star Wars fan (some social stalking might be required here), then have some memorabilia in the background of your interview. Likewise, if you’re interviewing for a fashion magazine, have a few of your designer pieces on display in front of your camera. Subtle props can help you stand out in a positive way and make you memorable.
Remote interviewing really does create a new angle of opportunity to stand-out, however if your interview is face to face, it’s still possible to demonstrate a lasting impression, leaving a business card or a print out version of your presentation are just two ways.
Top 5 Tips for Interview Presentations
As overwhelming as an Interview Presentation sounds, it is actually not as scary as you may think. With the right attitude, a confident approach and a top notch interview presentation slide deck you can wow employers and turn interviews into job offers. And, if you don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place!
Here are our Top 5 Tips for Interview Presentations...
1. ENGAGE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
Soft skills like the ability to converse confidently with others and leading a conversation are important traits that many companies desire in their candidates, but are difficult to teach or demonstrate on a two page CV. Engaging with the audience in your interview is a great way to demonstrate soft skills.
You should know well ahead of time who will be present in your interview. Take time to do a little research on the individuals included, such as on LinkedIn and the company site to understand their position and why they have a stake in hiring you.
Read through the job advert / job description and pick out the soft skills that most interest your interviewers, these will form your focus and you should make an active attempt to demonstrate these the most.
When it comes time for the interview, make sure you engage them throughout by pointing out why your past experience may be relevant to what they, in particular, may be looking for, and make as much eye contact as possible.
Pro Tip: If your interview is online, look straight at your camera when answering questions. You will come across as looking directly at them, instead of having your eyes cast down.
2. PROVIDE USEFUL EXAMPLES
When conducting your interview, make sure you have useful examples laid out in your interview presentation. For example, if you are interviewing at an e-commerce company, have a past example that relates somehow to the e-commerce business.
If you are applying for a technical position, make sure you have code, or samples of technical work that you can display to show both how you have solved a problem, and how well you can communicate that solution to others.
Your job interview presentation example can be displayed as a slide with a screenshot of your work, or an embedded link that can be used to navigate to an external site where you can log in and give a more thorough walk-through.
It doesn’t need to be a lot, just enough to provide your interviewer with a taster of what you are capable of.
3. USE A PROFESSIONAL INTERVIEW PRESENTATION TEMPLATE
When it comes to interviews, there is no need to reinvent the wheel, using an interview presentation template is a smart move, here’s why…
An interview presentation template can help you save time, allowing you to focus on rehearsing and research
An interview presentation template will provide you with a ready made itinerary and structure, a layout that will impress an interviewer
An interview presentation template will help you highlight what is most important
An interview presentation template will help you stand-out, look sharp, be professional and make a great first impression
An interview presentation template will come pre-loaded with animations and effects
An interview presentation template will provide exciting, engaging and valuable visuals, helping you to bring your skills and experience to life (interviewers will really appreciate the effort on this one)
An interview presentation PowerPoint / Slide Deck will provide you with the necessary framework for delivering a top performance, the more engaging and slick you can make your presentation then the more memorable you will be.
If you CV / Resume is there to get you the interview, your Interview Presentation is there to get you the job - don’t leave things to chance (your competitors won’t).
4. PREPARE FOR A ZOOM INTERVIEW
Even if you’re scheduled to meet in-person, we all know that things can change rather quickly these days. You will want to make sure you have everything you need for a Zoom interview! Get that background chosen early so you can hide the clutter behind your office chair, or strategically place conversation starters.
Practice your interview presentation as a Zoom slide deck. Get your ducks in a row, organise your slides and practice presenting online. A well practised Zoom pitch deck prepared well in advance can show you’re ready for anything and can conduct business just as well from afar.
Pro Tip: Record yourself presenting your slide deck, this will help you feel comfortable with the content and will help you gauge how long it will take. You can also watch this back and make improvements where necessary.
5. SHOW WHY YOU ARE THE BEST FIT FOR THE JOB
Your interview presentation should highlight why you are the best fit for the job - after all, isn’t that why you’re doing this?! Make sure you don’t neglect to call out your soft skills, as well as past awards and recognised accomplishments, as well.
With the right template, you can bring your interview to life, pull your strengths off the page and into the conversation with ease.
Providing plenty of examples of how you can meet their needs and grow with the company can help place you at the top of the list amongst other candidates. Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box when answering questions and provide your own approach to handling their issues.
Remember, they saw something on your resume that caught their attention - go in with your head high and a confidence they can’t help but love!
Interview Presentation Title Ideas
Your interview presentation should be written to sell your abilities, showcase your creativity, showcase your presentation skills and address any pre-defined questions the employer may have asked for.
When navigating through your presentations don't try and be overly creative with your titles. Keep sections sensibly labelled and focus on what you have achieved and what you can deliver.
These Interview Presentation Templates use distinct section headers and titles to cover key points that guide you through the presentation journey...
Interview Presentation (the main title)
A Quick Intro (say hello)
Agenda (what you intend to cover)
About (a little bit about you)
Learning & Development (your educational background)
Timeline (What you've achieved and when)
Strengths & Weaknesses (A graphical way to answer this difficult interview question)
Experience (where you’ve worked)
Freelance / Side Projects (any other relevant experience)
Soft Skills (you the person)
Hard Skills (what you know)
Key Achievements (big yourself up)
About The Employer (show you’ve done your research)
Company Overview (provide stats on them)
Core Values (what values do you share)
Partners (who are their partners)
Market Analysis (who are their competitors)
Organisational Chart (how do you fit in)
The Vacancy (list the opening)
Matching Things Up (show why you are relevant)
SWOT Analysis (back up why you are relevant)
Testimonials (what others say about you)
Summary (sign off and ask if they have any questions)
Your interview presentation shouldn't last longer than 10 minutes, although if you open things out for questions it may well do.
Conclusion
Interview presentation ideas such as preparing a plan, using an interview presentation template, and the right props can help you go above and beyond in your job interview.
With the right tools, you can absolutely ace it! While this is my list of Top 5 Tips for Interview Presentations and Interview Presentation Ideas, if you still have questions on your resume or interview presentation, reach out! I’d love to help you land the job of your dreams.
Article Updated: 07/09/2021