On the spot presentation at interview
Discussion
Now that we are firmly off topic from the OP's question I will share another experience. Before I do, the reason that I have taken such an interest in successful interviews is because I went on nearly 100 when I graduated and experienced some of the most unacceptable behaviour by people who would have you bark like a dog to humiliate you just because they had the power to give you a job.
So, back in 2000 I did some work for a man that owned a recruitment firm. They specialized in selecting people and placing them in sales roles. He told me to go along to the recruitment session because he knew I had the profile his company was looking for so I would get a position. I liked the idea of having a company car so off I went.
The day did not start well because there was a huge down pour as I walked to the place and I was the only one to get caught out by it. I looked like a drowned rat in the suit I was so proud of on a few minutes previously. In the room there was around 30 people and then a "hiring" panel. We went through the usual individual tests and I was performing well. Then they went around the room and asked each person for a fictional product. I was last to go and by the time they got to my my product had gone. I had to think fast.
"How about a pill that you take when drunk and it makes you sober so you can drive"
Surprisingly positive response from the panel. Then came the curve ball. I was the only one asked to give a name.
"p1ssed-and-Drive"
Crap. Should have run that one through my mind a couple of times. For the next stage of the interview, they selected 5 products and we had to work in groups to make an advert. Of course p1ssed and drive was on the list. My team were not really go getters so I assigned tasks. 2 would be singing the song "P1sed and drive" to the music of staying alive. I wrote the lyrics. Another would be a narrator and I would be the actor. Again, looking back I could have chosen wiser. At this point the "panel" decided that the entire building had to watch our advert. I staggered in playing the drunken idiot, (some would say method acting) while the others performed their role admirably in the background. During the voting it was universally agreed at our advert was the best ever.
Great. I am in! Or so I thought.
At the end of the day they split us up into 2 groups. I was the only one from my advert team in room 1. The others were in room 2. Room 2 got the job. But, remember, the owner of the company had said I had exactly what he was looking for. This was after spending 2 weeks with him not f
king around pretending to be a drunk. He had met the real me in a professional role, the one that would be in front of customers. His recruiting process had failed to align his ideal profile with me.
There are many other examples of where either the interviewer or myself performed badly. This is why I have invested heavily in understanding the value of every aspect of the interview day. Number one priority is that it is a 2 way process. It is my job to see if you are right for the role and your job to make sure the role is right for you. If this is not happening then the interview is a failure even if the person hired works out.
So, back in 2000 I did some work for a man that owned a recruitment firm. They specialized in selecting people and placing them in sales roles. He told me to go along to the recruitment session because he knew I had the profile his company was looking for so I would get a position. I liked the idea of having a company car so off I went.
The day did not start well because there was a huge down pour as I walked to the place and I was the only one to get caught out by it. I looked like a drowned rat in the suit I was so proud of on a few minutes previously. In the room there was around 30 people and then a "hiring" panel. We went through the usual individual tests and I was performing well. Then they went around the room and asked each person for a fictional product. I was last to go and by the time they got to my my product had gone. I had to think fast.
"How about a pill that you take when drunk and it makes you sober so you can drive"
Surprisingly positive response from the panel. Then came the curve ball. I was the only one asked to give a name.
"p1ssed-and-Drive"
Crap. Should have run that one through my mind a couple of times. For the next stage of the interview, they selected 5 products and we had to work in groups to make an advert. Of course p1ssed and drive was on the list. My team were not really go getters so I assigned tasks. 2 would be singing the song "P1sed and drive" to the music of staying alive. I wrote the lyrics. Another would be a narrator and I would be the actor. Again, looking back I could have chosen wiser. At this point the "panel" decided that the entire building had to watch our advert. I staggered in playing the drunken idiot, (some would say method acting) while the others performed their role admirably in the background. During the voting it was universally agreed at our advert was the best ever.
Great. I am in! Or so I thought.
At the end of the day they split us up into 2 groups. I was the only one from my advert team in room 1. The others were in room 2. Room 2 got the job. But, remember, the owner of the company had said I had exactly what he was looking for. This was after spending 2 weeks with him not f
king around pretending to be a drunk. He had met the real me in a professional role, the one that would be in front of customers. His recruiting process had failed to align his ideal profile with me.There are many other examples of where either the interviewer or myself performed badly. This is why I have invested heavily in understanding the value of every aspect of the interview day. Number one priority is that it is a 2 way process. It is my job to see if you are right for the role and your job to make sure the role is right for you. If this is not happening then the interview is a failure even if the person hired works out.
h0b0 said:
I understand that presentations in an interview have their place. I did ask if there was a reason for the request.
But, I have been recruiting in this specific area for an extended period of time and I can guarantee that my most successful engineers would perform terribly in this situation.
I'm very sensitive to interview techniques and have studied/taught best practices to adapt the interview to the profile of the person you are looking for in the role. To test someone's logic through a presentation is unfair. Logic is the problem solving function not the communicating function. But, if they also have to communicate their findings to none engineers then they wil need that skill as well.
I find that a lot of interviews with presentations also have the question "what's your biggest weakness?". If you are still asking that question then I strongly advise that you make an effort to modify your approach.
If engineers are notoriously bad at presenting then surely a learned interviewer takes this into account. The important point is that if the job requires the individual to communicate in one:many situations it makes sense to test for this competence. In my last company we needed people who could write well in a variety of styles from consultation responses to blogs. At interview we may ask them to bring examples of their work but just to be sure we might ask them to write a 200 word piece on something topical. But, I have been recruiting in this specific area for an extended period of time and I can guarantee that my most successful engineers would perform terribly in this situation.
I'm very sensitive to interview techniques and have studied/taught best practices to adapt the interview to the profile of the person you are looking for in the role. To test someone's logic through a presentation is unfair. Logic is the problem solving function not the communicating function. But, if they also have to communicate their findings to none engineers then they wil need that skill as well.
I find that a lot of interviews with presentations also have the question "what's your biggest weakness?". If you are still asking that question then I strongly advise that you make an effort to modify your approach.
ChasW said:
If engineers are notoriously bad at presenting then surely a learned interviewer takes this into account. The important point is that if the job requires the individual to communicate in one:many situations it makes sense to test for this competence. In my last company we needed people who could write well in a variety of styles from consultation responses to blogs. At interview we may ask them to bring examples of their work but just to be sure we might ask them to write a 200 word piece on something topical.
All very true and potentially good practices. My assumption (and that is what it was) was that the profile of the OP's position would be similar to one that I would be recruiting for. Everything I have said could be irrelevant. h0b0 said:
It is my job to see if you are right for the role and your job to make sure the role is right for you. If this is not happening then the interview is a failure even if the person hired works out.
This is something lots of people forget about interviews, you are interviewing the company to see if they fit with you also. You can tell a lot about a company culture from the way they interview. This is also why you should have plenty of questions for the "do you have anything you want to ask us?" part of the interview because you don't want to end up somewhere you don't fit.I guess that there are Engineering jobs that don't need to present and those that do. As an Engineering Manager in the Automotive industry I regularly have to present status and issues up to board level. More junior members of the team present to our local directors every week.
So for us being able to build an argument, present and defend it is a very required skill.
As a massive over generalisation most Engineers are not natural presenters. Then again they do say that good Engineers are probably somewhere on the autistic scale, so social skills are not always to the fore. Dilbert is an excellent caricature iyswim.
Bob
So for us being able to build an argument, present and defend it is a very required skill.
As a massive over generalisation most Engineers are not natural presenters. Then again they do say that good Engineers are probably somewhere on the autistic scale, so social skills are not always to the fore. Dilbert is an excellent caricature iyswim.
Bob
Where is the job based op? I am just curious as our company are hiring engineers at the moment.
I last interviewed for a different role internally and it was mainly an informal chat and having to show examples of previous work using the 'STAR' format, so sounds potentially like a different company.
I agree with the other posters, I think I would struggle with an on the spot presentation. Really not my sort of thing.
I last interviewed for a different role internally and it was mainly an informal chat and having to show examples of previous work using the 'STAR' format, so sounds potentially like a different company.
I agree with the other posters, I think I would struggle with an on the spot presentation. Really not my sort of thing.
craigjm said:
This is something lots of people forget about interviews, you are interviewing the company to see if they fit with you also. You can tell a lot about a company culture from the way they interview. This is also why you should have plenty of questions for the "do you have anything you want to ask us?" part of the interview because you don't want to end up somewhere you don't fit.
I'm a precision engineer, I've made all sorts of weird stuff over the years.
I had an interview at a company that designed and manufactured its own products, one part of the interview involved talking to some of their designers and seeing if I could understand their products just by examining them.
I made a comment to their senior designer that I assumed I was required to provide feedback to the design department during the protype manufacture stage about the best way to re-design and improve any parts to allow for faster/easier manufacture and assembly? After all, just because something is easy to draw doesn't mean it's easy to make or assemble!
He looked at me like I'd just asked for a go on his wife!
I think it was the mention of co-designing a part on the back of a paper Kit-Kat wrapper which later ended up on board a space shuttle that really upset him
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