Instead of writing a paper, for the final assignment you will put together a colorful, amazing, and effective PowerPoint Presentation as though you were giving a job talk or interviewing with a group of people at the agency where you are interested in working one day (or your current agency, if your dream is to stay there but continue to be promoted – you still have to choose an advanced position that is/was posted or a similar position at another agency).
Step 1: From the job search activity you completed several weeks ago, choose one job description and cater your presentation to the (1) required experience, (2) preferred skills, (3) educational/professional qualifications, and (4) mission/vision/impact of the organization.
Step 2: Research the organization, even if you work there. Look at what they do, how they say they do it, and what their impact has been on patients, disease outcomes, and the community. If they have a strategic plan published, read it. Commit their mission and vision to memory.
Step 3: Begin curating your presentation. Ask yourself what information you have to include in your presentation in order to get the job. Review the job description and match your experiences to it – are there any gaps that you have to address? How will you go about marketing yourself and addressing those gaps? Think strategically about how you are going to use this 10 minute presentation to get this job. This is a thought process but I should be able to glean that you considered these questions in the presentation that you put together.
Here are the required components for the presentation. Please note that text should be included in the notes section and you should use the slides to grab interviewers’ attention with visuals and infographics that make people remember what you said, who you are, and what you can and will do. That does not mean that you can’t use text at all, but you do so with precision and purpose and your slides are not wordy. You should practice your presentation before the day that you deliver it. Set up a zoom with friends or family members and get their feedback.
Hidden 1st slide before switching to role play: create a slide for the class that tells us the mission and vision of the organization as well as the job description. This is a “hidden” slide because it is not what you would do for a group job interview, but the class needs this information to understand the context of your presentation. Also, include 1-2 lines about why you chose the position and how it fits in to your grand career plan. These lines are in the notes and you say them but we are not reading them on your slide.
Part 1: Personal background (~1 slide)
What information about you is important for the interviewers to know – think strategically – what about you will make you a good fit for the organization or helps you to connect to other employees, patients, the community, etc? Be mindful to not cross any professional boundaries in what you share and share enough so that they get a sense of who you are.
Part 2: Academic experience (~1 slide)
Paste the logos for the schools and training programs that you attended. How fast do you type? Do you have specific mastery of software programs? Put up those logos. In your notes, record what you will say about your academic/ training experiences.
Part 3: Professional experience (~1-10 slides depending on your experience – if you have a resume, 1-3 slides; curriculum vitae, 5-10 slides)
You are not rewriting your resume/ curriculum vitae here. You are putting together visuals that prompt you to talk about your impact, qualifications, and the projects, skills and talents that make you the best candidate for the job. Refer to your leadership inventory, MBTI report, reflections, the activities your listed in your timesheets, and every other role you have had that can be translated into what makes you qualified for the job. Most importantly, plan this part of your presentation so that you are addressing why they want you to join their team. Again, you are choosing visuals, putting together word bubbles and infographics, etc. and writing the comments that you will make in the notes section of the slide (box under the PowerPoint – sometimes, you have to turn this on – look up how to do this with Google). This presentation is not text heavy, but you will be graded based on the design, thoroughness, and attention to detail that you put into connecting your qualifications to the job requirements and the organization.
Part 4: Next steps (~1-3 slides)
This section will look different for everyone. Here are some ideas that you can incorporate:
- Re-cap/ summarize what you have to offer the organization that you are interviewing with-
- Put together a modified asset map
- Why choose me?
- Explain why you are the most qualified candidate for the position but still using graphics and visuals
- Leave them with a graphic or a summary that highlights your passion
- Always end with a “THANK YOU” slide
- Additional hidden slides that you may want to include:
- Answer the question – is there anything else that we should know about you that we don’t get from your resume
- Have a slide prepared with your questions for the interviewers (*required for everyone)
Presentations will be delivered in small groups and you will have to utilize the feedback sandwich to provide each person in your group with constructive recommendations for improvement. An online form will be provided to you so that you can submit your feedback. All students must address the feedback and incorporate it into their final PowerPoint slide deck to earn up to 20 points on the project. The additional 5 points will be scored by the professor on the overall quality of your verbal presentation.
