Required to give presentation at interview - opinions please
Discussion
I have been tasked with giving a 10 minute presentation for a interview in May. I really want the job as the work is around Engineering and Technology.
The title given to me is: What are the challenges of managing projects in a science and technology environment?
Bearing in mind that I only have ten minutes, I am going to answer the question from the prospective that the science and technology field is still evolving and setting a tight requirements specification will be difficult. More so for long term projects than short term as the technology is evolving continuously.
For this reason, defining a budget and a schedule would be difficult and due to the technology evolving, scope creep is guaranteed, placing pressure on schedule and budget. I aim to suggest that large projects be broken into smaller chunks like work packages to stop scope creep and help to keep the project defined as well as all risks managed.
As an ice breaker (or light joke) I will also comment that managing people in the science and technology area would be difficult as they are sometimes not the greatest communicators and seldom sociable animals.
What do you think? Any comments on this would be appreciated.
Thanks.
The title given to me is: What are the challenges of managing projects in a science and technology environment?
Bearing in mind that I only have ten minutes, I am going to answer the question from the prospective that the science and technology field is still evolving and setting a tight requirements specification will be difficult. More so for long term projects than short term as the technology is evolving continuously.
For this reason, defining a budget and a schedule would be difficult and due to the technology evolving, scope creep is guaranteed, placing pressure on schedule and budget. I aim to suggest that large projects be broken into smaller chunks like work packages to stop scope creep and help to keep the project defined as well as all risks managed.
As an ice breaker (or light joke) I will also comment that managing people in the science and technology area would be difficult as they are sometimes not the greatest communicators and seldom sociable animals.
What do you think? Any comments on this would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Agree to all of the above! Regarding the icebreaker, the way you were approaching the communications aspect comes across as too negative. BUT- I would definitely want to put in a communications/culture component in there- because it is a genuine issue (and one I deal with on a day to day basis). It is a balancing act between the science and the business- you'll need to use different vocabulary and acknowledge that the prime concerns/motivating factors will be different for the different parties involved. Different skillsets and different backgrounds.
There is always the issue of budget vs quality vs time, and you almost always have to compromise somewhere
Keeping abreast of what your competitors are doing- do you even know who your competitors are? Are you tracking emerging trends?
Knowledge sharing- it is the job of a good project manager to make sure that everyone has the information they need in order to make good decisions. This goes beyond need-to-know. Foster the culture of sharing of information across the whole team.
Team building, and working as a close knit, cross-functional team. Important that everyone understands the goals, challenges, issues, even if they are not in a position to directly influence them
Understand other conflicts/competing interests internally- yours is not the only project; some of your project team members will be members of other project teams as well in all likelihood.
You have to be flexible- change is constant and you cannot control everything. Don't take things personally if a decision is made (e.g. from senior management) that you disagree with, or impacts on your project. At the end of the day, it is still a business with the aim of maximizing potential to make money.
YTou are right, 10 minutes is nowhere near enough time for this. This would be my icebreaker message, and present a few key highlights.
There is always the issue of budget vs quality vs time, and you almost always have to compromise somewhere
Keeping abreast of what your competitors are doing- do you even know who your competitors are? Are you tracking emerging trends?
Knowledge sharing- it is the job of a good project manager to make sure that everyone has the information they need in order to make good decisions. This goes beyond need-to-know. Foster the culture of sharing of information across the whole team.
Team building, and working as a close knit, cross-functional team. Important that everyone understands the goals, challenges, issues, even if they are not in a position to directly influence them
Understand other conflicts/competing interests internally- yours is not the only project; some of your project team members will be members of other project teams as well in all likelihood.
You have to be flexible- change is constant and you cannot control everything. Don't take things personally if a decision is made (e.g. from senior management) that you disagree with, or impacts on your project. At the end of the day, it is still a business with the aim of maximizing potential to make money.
YTou are right, 10 minutes is nowhere near enough time for this. This would be my icebreaker message, and present a few key highlights.
ks anyway. So drop it. The only 'icebreaker' you need is a warm smile.Great timing!! I was just working on this ready for Monday's interview.
So far I have - Challenges are (with explanations) :
1) Effective Communications with all stakeholders - Few specialists in the science and tech area - must ensure that all involved in project are made to feel valued and involved in the project activities. Stakeholders maybe different companies or different countries.
2) Defining the goal of the project - difficult in fast pace of Science and technology especially the research field.
3) Prevention of scope creep - Linked to above, but research will open up new discoveries etc, easy to over spend and go over schedule.
4) Completing project to Budget - as with any project, but science and tech arena can be un-defined and hence expensive. Changes in government may mean project budget is changed.
5) Completing project to schedule - as above - it is easy to slip if project is not defined and managed aggressively.
6) Managing risks - the major risk is venturing into the unknown - the science and technology areas have massive risks which should be turned to opportunities. This is difficult to manage.
Trying to turn this into PowerPoint slide set, but keep getting side tracked into explaining how i would mitigate the above. Would you put your mitigation ideas onto the slides or talk abou these in the interview itself?
So far I have - Challenges are (with explanations) :
1) Effective Communications with all stakeholders - Few specialists in the science and tech area - must ensure that all involved in project are made to feel valued and involved in the project activities. Stakeholders maybe different companies or different countries.
2) Defining the goal of the project - difficult in fast pace of Science and technology especially the research field.
3) Prevention of scope creep - Linked to above, but research will open up new discoveries etc, easy to over spend and go over schedule.
4) Completing project to Budget - as with any project, but science and tech arena can be un-defined and hence expensive. Changes in government may mean project budget is changed.
5) Completing project to schedule - as above - it is easy to slip if project is not defined and managed aggressively.
6) Managing risks - the major risk is venturing into the unknown - the science and technology areas have massive risks which should be turned to opportunities. This is difficult to manage.
Trying to turn this into PowerPoint slide set, but keep getting side tracked into explaining how i would mitigate the above. Would you put your mitigation ideas onto the slides or talk abou these in the interview itself?
10 mins is 3 slides, 4 tops. The topic could an hour or more long if you wanted it.
Here's one of many available reasons of why projects fail.
http://project-management.com/top-10-reasons-why-p...
Could flash it up. Pick two or three you can talk to with an E&T slant. End with a summary of how you would prevent and learn from mistakes. Headlines and pictures, examples. Don't write what you're actually saying. The ppt is not your script.
They are looking how you communicate problems and solutions. Are you logical, structured and can you tell a story (intro, content, conclusion)
Here's one of many available reasons of why projects fail.
http://project-management.com/top-10-reasons-why-p...
Could flash it up. Pick two or three you can talk to with an E&T slant. End with a summary of how you would prevent and learn from mistakes. Headlines and pictures, examples. Don't write what you're actually saying. The ppt is not your script.
They are looking how you communicate problems and solutions. Are you logical, structured and can you tell a story (intro, content, conclusion)
Ray Singh said:
I have been tasked with giving a 10 minute presentation for a interview in May. I really want the job as the work is around Engineering and Technology.
The title given to me is: What are the challenges of managing projects in a science and technology environment?
Bearing in mind that I :Donly have ten minutes, I am going to answer the question from the prospective that the science and technology field is still evolving and setting a tight requirements specification will be difficult. More so for long term projects than short term as the technology is evolving continuously.
For this reason, defining a budget and a schedule would be difficult and due to the technology evolving, scope creep is guaranteed, placing pressure on schedule and budget. I aim to suggest that large projects be broken into smaller chunks like work packages to stop scope creep and help to keep the project defined as well as all risks managed.
As an ice breaker (or light joke) I will also comment that managing people in the science and technology area would be difficult as they are sometimes not the greatest communicators and seldom sociable animals.
What do you think? Any comments on this would be appreciated.
Thanks.
When can you start! (It was the joke that clinched it) The title given to me is: What are the challenges of managing projects in a science and technology environment?
Bearing in mind that I :Donly have ten minutes, I am going to answer the question from the prospective that the science and technology field is still evolving and setting a tight requirements specification will be difficult. More so for long term projects than short term as the technology is evolving continuously.
For this reason, defining a budget and a schedule would be difficult and due to the technology evolving, scope creep is guaranteed, placing pressure on schedule and budget. I aim to suggest that large projects be broken into smaller chunks like work packages to stop scope creep and help to keep the project defined as well as all risks managed.
As an ice breaker (or light joke) I will also comment that managing people in the science and technology area would be difficult as they are sometimes not the greatest communicators and seldom sociable animals.
What do you think? Any comments on this would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Ray Singh said:
Great timing!! I was just working on this ready for Monday's interview.
So far I have - Challenges are (with explanations) :
1) Effective Communications with all stakeholders - Few specialists in the science and tech area - must ensure that all involved in project are made to feel valued and involved in the project activities. Stakeholders maybe different companies or different countries.
2) Defining the goal of the project - difficult in fast pace of Science and technology especially the research field.
3) Prevention of scope creep - Linked to above, but research will open up new discoveries etc, easy to over spend and go over schedule.
4) Completing project to Budget - as with any project, but science and tech arena can be un-defined and hence expensive. Changes in government may mean project budget is changed.
5) Completing project to schedule - as above - it is easy to slip if project is not defined and managed aggressively.
6) Managing risks - the major risk is venturing into the unknown - the science and technology areas have massive risks which should be turned to opportunities. This is difficult to manage.
Trying to turn this into PowerPoint slide set, but keep getting side tracked into explaining how i would mitigate the above. Would you put your mitigation ideas onto the slides or talk abou these in the interview itself?
Much of the issues will be common to all projects - all yours above are fine, and I'd add the following from software development/implementationSo far I have - Challenges are (with explanations) :
1) Effective Communications with all stakeholders - Few specialists in the science and tech area - must ensure that all involved in project are made to feel valued and involved in the project activities. Stakeholders maybe different companies or different countries.
2) Defining the goal of the project - difficult in fast pace of Science and technology especially the research field.
3) Prevention of scope creep - Linked to above, but research will open up new discoveries etc, easy to over spend and go over schedule.
4) Completing project to Budget - as with any project, but science and tech arena can be un-defined and hence expensive. Changes in government may mean project budget is changed.
5) Completing project to schedule - as above - it is easy to slip if project is not defined and managed aggressively.
6) Managing risks - the major risk is venturing into the unknown - the science and technology areas have massive risks which should be turned to opportunities. This is difficult to manage.
Trying to turn this into PowerPoint slide set, but keep getting side tracked into explaining how i would mitigate the above. Would you put your mitigation ideas onto the slides or talk abou these in the interview itself?
- How to keep management calm when things go wrong (which they will).
- Resourcing is key - trying to get the right people onto your team and stopping them from being diverted/poached by other projects/teams is critical.
- Clear decision-making hierarchy - ultimately, who makes the go/no go decision or commits to additional budget if necessary? Is everyone clear on this?
- Communication - Do you have to go through a zillion meetings a week to keep everyone happy? Are all stakeholders aware of how/when you'll be reporting, and are they happy with that?
Thank you all for your kind help.
The interview was at 10am on Monday 19th and i spent most of Sunday evening finalising my presentation.
At 21:00, i finally decided to give it one last look through. I was horrified when it became apparent that I wasnt happy with the work or the message it was conveying.
I started a fresh with a much simpler approach. More focus on the narrative and less emphasis on the slides and cramming masses of information onto them.
I finished it at 23:00.
The presentation went really well. They loved the content and some of the pictures i had used to make my point made them smile. I used a picture of a baby with a drill to show that some staff are not trained for thier role, but too embarresed or pig headed to admit this. They laughed out loud at this.
It lasted for almost exactly 10 mins. The questions they asked about the points i had made really helped me to give examples of when i had encountered issues with my work and how i had solved these.
Long story short.
They called me today and offered me a postion at the top end of the pay band as they dont feel i have any developmental needs for the role. When i asked for a promotional path, the next step will be senior project manager or programme manager !!
On a side note, when can one start to negotiate the salary? I have only had a verbal offer today over the phone. Do i wait for the paper work to arrive?
Thanks again to all those who replied and thanks to PistonHeads.
The interview was at 10am on Monday 19th and i spent most of Sunday evening finalising my presentation.
At 21:00, i finally decided to give it one last look through. I was horrified when it became apparent that I wasnt happy with the work or the message it was conveying.
I started a fresh with a much simpler approach. More focus on the narrative and less emphasis on the slides and cramming masses of information onto them.
I finished it at 23:00.
The presentation went really well. They loved the content and some of the pictures i had used to make my point made them smile. I used a picture of a baby with a drill to show that some staff are not trained for thier role, but too embarresed or pig headed to admit this. They laughed out loud at this.
It lasted for almost exactly 10 mins. The questions they asked about the points i had made really helped me to give examples of when i had encountered issues with my work and how i had solved these.
Long story short.
They called me today and offered me a postion at the top end of the pay band as they dont feel i have any developmental needs for the role. When i asked for a promotional path, the next step will be senior project manager or programme manager !!
On a side note, when can one start to negotiate the salary? I have only had a verbal offer today over the phone. Do i wait for the paper work to arrive?
Thanks again to all those who replied and thanks to PistonHeads.
Well done.
As for the salary how do you know whether you need to negotiate or not? If you are really happy with the role and the salary is decent then why not accept it? If they have revealed that their offer is at the top of the range then it's both a compliment and a signal that there may be no scope for negotiation, at this point, and that promotion should be your target once you have proven yourself.
As for the salary how do you know whether you need to negotiate or not? If you are really happy with the role and the salary is decent then why not accept it? If they have revealed that their offer is at the top of the range then it's both a compliment and a signal that there may be no scope for negotiation, at this point, and that promotion should be your target once you have proven yourself.
Ray Singh said:
Thank you all for your kind help.
The interview was at 10am on Monday 19th and i spent most of Sunday evening finalising my presentation.
At 21:00, i finally decided to give it one last look through. I was horrified when it became apparent that I wasnt happy with the work or the message it was conveying.
I started a fresh with a much simpler approach. More focus on the narrative and less emphasis on the slides and cramming masses of information onto them.
I finished it at 23:00.
The presentation went really well. They loved the content and some of the pictures i had used to make my point made them smile. I used a picture of a baby with a drill to show that some staff are not trained for thier role, but too embarresed or pig headed to admit this. They laughed out loud at this.
It lasted for almost exactly 10 mins. The questions they asked about the points i had made really helped me to give examples of when i had encountered issues with my work and how i had solved these.
Long story short.
They called me today and offered me a postion at the top end of the pay band as they dont feel i have any developmental needs for the role. When i asked for a promotional path, the next step will be senior project manager or programme manager !!
On a side note, when can one start to negotiate the salary? I have only had a verbal offer today over the phone. Do i wait for the paper work to arrive?
Thanks again to all those who replied and thanks to PistonHeads.
Well done.The interview was at 10am on Monday 19th and i spent most of Sunday evening finalising my presentation.
At 21:00, i finally decided to give it one last look through. I was horrified when it became apparent that I wasnt happy with the work or the message it was conveying.
I started a fresh with a much simpler approach. More focus on the narrative and less emphasis on the slides and cramming masses of information onto them.
I finished it at 23:00.
The presentation went really well. They loved the content and some of the pictures i had used to make my point made them smile. I used a picture of a baby with a drill to show that some staff are not trained for thier role, but too embarresed or pig headed to admit this. They laughed out loud at this.
It lasted for almost exactly 10 mins. The questions they asked about the points i had made really helped me to give examples of when i had encountered issues with my work and how i had solved these.
Long story short.
They called me today and offered me a postion at the top end of the pay band as they dont feel i have any developmental needs for the role. When i asked for a promotional path, the next step will be senior project manager or programme manager !!
On a side note, when can one start to negotiate the salary? I have only had a verbal offer today over the phone. Do i wait for the paper work to arrive?
Thanks again to all those who replied and thanks to PistonHeads.
Re salary you need to be clear on the total value of the package eg they might contribute a small or large amount to a pension, their might be a bonus scheme, if so what is a projected amount for a high performer, car schemes, medical, dental etc etc
Review all the details and frame any discussion in the context of total reward, rather than just base salary.
The verbal response if the base figure seem right range is of the 'excited, sounds good, need to see whole details of course etc'. You can then decide if you wish to negotiate once you have the full picture
The reason i would like to negotiate hard now is that it is a civil servant (god I hate those words) position. I already work in the civil service and know that salary increases at anything other than 1% are a thing of the past. As for packages, apart from the generous flexible working and flexitime offering, there is nothing. Even the pension is not as good as it used to be and I would be surprised if it was that much better than a multinational private company.
As far as i see it, the negotiation i make now will have to cover me for the next 'x' years as I should plan to get no pay incremental pay increases or bonuses.
During the phone call offering me the position, the director of PM mentioned that I the interview had gone well and I would be taken on with 'no developmental needs'.
I know that the salary band is ~ 43k to 51k and i have been offered the role at the low end of the band. Is there mileage in negotiating as I bring with me lots of extras for them - Including security clearance, Chartered Engineer, Prince2 etc.
As far as i see it, the negotiation i make now will have to cover me for the next 'x' years as I should plan to get no pay incremental pay increases or bonuses.
During the phone call offering me the position, the director of PM mentioned that I the interview had gone well and I would be taken on with 'no developmental needs'.
I know that the salary band is ~ 43k to 51k and i have been offered the role at the low end of the band. Is there mileage in negotiating as I bring with me lots of extras for them - Including security clearance, Chartered Engineer, Prince2 etc.
Ray Singh said:
The reason i would like to negotiate hard now is that it is a civil servant (god I hate those words) position. I already work in the civil service and know that salary increases at anything other than 1% are a thing of the past. As for packages, apart from the generous flexible working and flexitime offering, there is nothing. Even the pension is not as good as it used to be and I would be surprised if it was that much better than a multinational private company.
As far as i see it, the negotiation i make now will have to cover me for the next 'x' years as I should plan to get no pay incremental pay increases or bonuses.
During the phone call offering me the position, the director of PM mentioned that I the interview had gone well and I would be taken on with 'no developmental needs'.
I know that the salary band is ~ 43k to 51k and i have been offered the role at the low end of the band. Is there mileage in negotiating as I bring with me lots of extras for them - Including security clearance, Chartered Engineer, Prince2 etc.
Security clearance isn't worth anything particularly (it wasn't when I was at BAE)As far as i see it, the negotiation i make now will have to cover me for the next 'x' years as I should plan to get no pay incremental pay increases or bonuses.
During the phone call offering me the position, the director of PM mentioned that I the interview had gone well and I would be taken on with 'no developmental needs'.
I know that the salary band is ~ 43k to 51k and i have been offered the role at the low end of the band. Is there mileage in negotiating as I bring with me lots of extras for them - Including security clearance, Chartered Engineer, Prince2 etc.
Prince2 is
It's always worth having the conversation that given you don't have developmental needs and already have the core quals their investment is minimal compared to a less qualified candidate, which supports your view that the position is worth xyz . This is assuming they would support external quals for someone who wasn't already Prince2 and/or chartered
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