Presentation skills are increasingly used as part of the interview process. Your potential employers want to see how you cope in this high pressure environment. It can be annoying to have to create a presentation to get a job, as this increases the amount of time spent on the already lengthy process of finding a position, but there is generally no way around it. To get a job these days, one must show that your skills in things such as giving presentations are head and shoulders above your peers.
As you continue to look for a job in this way, you will constantly evaluate your presentation style. The creation of the presentation with software is important, and there are certainly things that you can do to make your presentations more polished. Even if your potential employers ask you to present on a particular topic, you can essentially reuse the template you used for a previous presentation. Also, employers typically ask you to present on a topic you know something about, so you may be able to use the same presentation a number of times.
You will hear two types of advice when it comes to building presentations using software. One is to keep everything simple, and the other is to add in as many bells and whistles as possible. We know that both of these approaches have their downsides. Your presentation should be stylish and elegant, rather than bare bones and boring. If you use a standard PowerPoint 97 template and splash 5 pages with generic clip art, then it is unlikely you will be employed as an amazing salesman. Your employers will have seen this type of presentation a hundred times before.
On the other hand, if you throw everything into the presentation but the kitchen sink, then it can detract from the message you are trying to convey. If possible stick with the idea that your presentation needs to be simple but also well designed.
Unless you are showing off a video portfolio in your interview, you should stay away from videos. Typically these do well in presentations; but in an interview situation the company wants to hear from you. A trick can be to have a few extra slides hidden away after the end of the presentation, so if you need to show the employer something else, then you can quickly jump to that slide and hopefully seal the deal.
By: Daniel Blinman
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