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Technician Interview Presentation - Help?


thom.cornall

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I've just been told I've got an interview for a technicians post at a University. Great news as this is a job I really would like to get.

 

At the interview I have been informed I will have to do a ten minute presentation on "your most difficult and ambitious performance of the past 12 months". And I'm slightly worried.

 

It's been nigh on ten years since I've had to do any kind of presentation and I'm not sure how to approach this.

 

Do I go all corporate and do a Powerpoint slideshow or should I be a bit more creative? Has anybody got any experience of doing one of these - it seems a bit much for a technical post.

 

Any and all help greatly appreciated.

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Personally I'd avoid powerpoint like the plague unless you are really comfy with it AND can do something truly new and exciting - as the panel will have suffered death by powerpoint many times.

 

What I suspect I would do, is prepare a small pack, perhaps showing photographs or drawings of particular things you want them to be able to see.

 

However, if you can do something a bit special it will be better, because almost certainly it's a test of technical ability - as in can you work machinery - so it depends what you're into. Do you do video editing or sound stuff? If so take a laptop and demonstrate a piece of kit you used. So show them how computer literate you are. You won't get much set-up time for truly complicated things, so think up something uni students would think acceptable. Powerpoint is just so, .. dull. Do something a bit more interesting. I doubt very much if they're expecting anything very interesting, just competence with the kind of things uni staff and students do every day - so a nice surprise could be a good move.

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Thanks Paul, that pretty much confirms my suspicions about how dull Powerpoint is.

 

I've quite a lot of work on iMovie before so maybe I'll have a think about my options there. I just don't want them to think "who's this crazy guy not doing what we asked him to do" you know? Think I need to find a balance somewhere.

 

Oh, and also think of a show to use. That's proving a toughie.

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I'd disagree with Paulears - don't necassarily avoid PowerPoint but avoid death by powerpoint - 8-10 slides and about 40-50 words max. Avoid wizzy things and noises, photos and videos would be good if relevant. They'll probably want to see that you can use it but it's also to see how you are at training sessions - showing lecturers how to press the on button etc. You may need to set the laptop and projector up yourself.
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Do the kind of presentation that a) you would want to watch b) suits your communication skill set and c) doesn't depend on anything flashy that might let you down.

 

KISS!!!!

 

I too hate Powerpoint - but I speak as a freelance journo who has to suffer it ALL the bl**dy time!

 

BTW have you done a performance in the last twelve months - only asking as I'd fail at this hurdle alone!

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Hello there,

 

Why not have a combination of the two. I myself also hate powerpoint due to the amount of death by powerpoint in the past. Having said that though I think every now and again someone with a bit of thought and passion comes along with a presentation that is just quite inspiring.

 

I think if this was me, I might put together a "powerpoint" style presentaion but then inside it maybe have a time lapse video of a job build you were on, maybe a few pictures.

 

As everyone else has said tho keep the slides to a minimum and for the love of life dont fill the screen with words, the amount of times I bet we have all seen that and screwed our faces up in discust.

 

Let us know how you get on though and what you decide to do in the end

 

Best of look

 

Steve

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I'm also going to disagree with Paul and say that Powerpoint is a very useful tool at getting the message across - IF you use it well.

If all you're doing is displaying corporate info that needs to be disseminated then ppt as standard is fine, but to impress a panel - as has already been said - use it as the base tool for what you want to get over.

 

+1 for keeping it short - not too many slides.

Use it to link to embedded photographs and maybe vieo.

 

If you HAVE to use titling or bullet points, then avoid the majority of the transitions, both as slides and text - I despise things whizzing in and rotating as they do, for example. When I use it, I tend to go for a simple font - usually Arial or Verdana (almost never Times Roman) - in a subtle colour - steer clear of bright colours.

 

Most transitions I use are fades - but never fade of letter/words - always full titles or bullets.

 

At the end of the day, it's a tool - an means to an end. Use it well and it will help enormously. Use it in a lackluster way and you'll probably nose-dive!

But as it's just a short presentation, you won't have much opportunity for anything physical/practical, so showing it in pictorial mode is a definite bonus.

 

 

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In his inimitable way the Hippy has obliquely touched on something in your OP which means the most. Don't worry.

 

The panel will look for confidence and not cockiness so maybe he doth go a tad too far but the principle holds good!

 

PowerPoint is OK, if it does what you want and gets across the points you wish. I use far too much because I have to but personally like using hand-outs, photographs and trying to ask as many questions of "them" as they do of me.

 

Good luck and do try to enjoy it, they can tell you know!

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As someone who uses Powerpoint quite a bit (and has suffered death by Powerpoint a fair few times, too), I'd still say that it's a valuable tool, but you shouldn't let it take over.

 

Don't read the slides out, they're there to support what you're saying.

 

If you have bullet points, fine - keep them short and pithy, and use them as a headline for what you're talking about; if you're smart about it, they can also act as a prompt to remind you what to say next, without you burying yourself in notes.

 

Don't put too much on the slide, otherwise your audience are going to be reading the slide, rather than listening to you talk. This also applies to just how you reveal the slide - if you reveal all your bullet points (or whatever) at once, your audience will have got to the final point while you're still talking about the first one.

 

If you want to use blank slides, then fine. One of the best trainers I've ever had the pleasure of doing a course with used to do this all the time - he used Powerpoint for the course material, but if something warranted more explanation, then the screen went blank and he had our full attention.

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Thankyou for the advice everybody, and sorry I haven't replied sooner (have been away all weekend).

 

With regards to style of presentation I think I'll go for simple. I'll take the advice and use Powerpoint displaying any photo's I can find and general headers etc. No fancy swipes - promise!

 

My problem now is deciding what to do the talk on. I've only ever worked as a venue technician. Basically facilitating other peoples shows, so don't really have any photo's of shows I've worked on and certainly not a time-lapse video (although that would be great).

 

I think a little 'bending of the truth' may have to be done.

 

I have worked on many student shows before in a supervisory role so am thinking it will probably be sensible to use one of those seeing as it's a university role I'm applying for.

 

Once again, thanks for the advice.

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I think a little 'bending of the truth' may have to be done.

 

 

Let's hope the interviewer isn't a member of the BR then!

Other than the fact that it's not a great idea surely you don't want to be presenting to a potential employer the image that you are capable of things you are clearly not. What happens when they ask you to sort x,y,z - things you said you could do in your interview but have no idea how to do safely/competently?

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Considering this is a presentation for a Job at a University, has anyone even considedered the hardware / software said University uses?

 

As a Technician, how much better would it be to say " I know you use XYZ to control UVW, and I am well versed in this software / Tool / Desk / Prodcedure.

 

You can discuss as much as you like with PowerPoint vs the rest of the World, It's a tool for some, and a pain in the ar3e to others. Powerpoint skills will not get you this job. Your industry knowledge, related to the job you're applying for, may. Powerpoint, possibly, try it, and see if you're happy with the results.

 

Never forget though, a potential employer has no knowledge of you, who you are or what you've ever done. To them, you are nothing more than a blank piece of paper, which in your 10 minutes have to fill in ALL the details required.

 

Never forget other useful topics, such as H&S, Pyro etc, which may also be relevant.

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Other than the fact that it's not a great idea surely you don't want to be presenting to a potential employer the image that you are capable of things you are clearly not. What happens when they ask you to sort x,y,z - things you said you could do in your interview but have no idea how to do safely/competently?

 

 

I meant more along the lines of taking ideas from a couple of different shows I've worked on and merging them, as opposed to outright lying. I'm not that dumb. and I'd NEVER compromise safety by saying I could do something I couldn't.

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