Everyone is always asking themselves “how can I distinguish myself in an interview?”
Well, we have one method that is sure to help you stand out!
Interviews were traditionally conducted in person or over the phone, but then COVID happened, and the world changed forever. Now we conduct interviews virtually and this give interviewees a new tool to use during the interview; A PowerPoint Presentation!!
Why This Will Work
Now you may think, no one makes a presentation or “deck” to take to an interview. But think about the message having a presentation gives the hiring manager or interview team:
- This person is prepared
- This person knows how to make a PowerPoint presentation
- This person is committed to the role because they spent the time to prepare
- This person is different than the other candidates
💡 Pro Tip: Look for the company’s latest investor presentation and use the same style and logos found in their presentation. It will save you a lot of formatting effort.
There is another benefit; namely by creating the presentation you will be better prepared. Creating the presentation will force you to think about efficiently structuring your responses to questions.
Check out this Harvard Business Review article on What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation
Building Your Deck
Now let us assume you do not know what the interviewer is going to ask. That is perfectly ok.
As part of your preparation you can ask the recruiter about potential questions and you should also ask yourself what could the interviewer ask me?
Of course, there are the basic interview questions; you can Google them. And then there are the job specific questions. You should focus you presentation on addressing the needs of the role and how you see the team solving the problem.
Check out the information Accelerating Your Career Basics: Mastering The Interview
💡 Pro Tip: Do not just start the interview with telling them you have a presentation. Wait for a question to come up that you have built a slide to explain unless you absolutely know the questions in advance. That way if you do not have a slide that pertains to the interview questions then you can avoid the awkwardness of being prepared for the wrong question.
Final Thoughts
Building a PowerPoint deck is just one way to stand tall above the competition.
Yes, it will feel different and strange.
Yes, it is more work.
However, when you get a question from the interviewer and you say “may I present a slide to explain my thinking on this subject” you will have an opportunity to impress the interviewer, stand out from the competition, and
Accelerate Your Career!!
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