And the next stage in the recruitment process is a presentation…

Sarah Owens

If these are the words you dread when you’re going for that perfect job, then here are five tips to help you perform brilliantly:

1 Keep the objective in mind: these are designed to give you the opportunity to demonstrate how you approach a problem and to see how you think. And usually there’s no right or wrong answer!

2 Remember you don’t need to know everything about the subject and spend hours conducting research.  In most cases you will be fine if you make assumptions, as long as you make it clear what you’ve assumed*.

3 Make sure your presentation is clear, concise and has no mistakes.  Run through it in front of a friend if you can and ensure that it doesn’t over run.

4 Try to give your audience a something new or exciting: a different way of looking at a problem or a totally original solution.

5 Go prepared.  Know your presentation well enough that if you’re let down by IT, you can still talk sensibly; take along a couple of hard copies of your work that you can always leave behind if appropriate.

This is a great way for you to showcase your skills so treat this stage positively and enjoy it!

*One candidate actually invented findings from a focus group and continued to refer to the group’s views even when questioned, to considerable positive effect!