Graduate – Page 3 – Media Contacts

How to prepare for an interview presentation

Posted by Media Contacts On February 3, 2015 February 3, 2015 Filed under General, Graduate, HR & Personnel, Interview tips, Media, Recruitment Consultancy

I remember my very first group presentation that I had to do as a fresher at university; I hated it. However, as part of my business degree, I had to do many more group and individual presentations and I am not quite sure when it became all very natural! Although there is a difference between academic and interview presentations, I strongly believe the basic points are same.

Why present?

Media Contacts Recruitment Consultants LLP

Being a successful media recruitment agency in London, we deal with countless recruitment processes where a presentation is used as a selection method. In a way, for interviews and presentation both involve the same techniques. You need to do your own research and be well prepared for interviews, and the same rules apply for a presentation too. So, what makes a recruiter use presentations during recruitment selection process? Not all job roles require a presentation to identify the right candidate. A recruiter will want to see the presentation skills of a person for vacancies which are customer facing, heavily focused on team work or management briefing, selling products or services to existing/ prospective clients, doing a high level of networking, public relations etc. for example, if you are looking for conference producer jobs, PR jobs, sales, digital or marketing jobs – it is very likely that you may be asked to do a presentation as part of the recruitment process. Here are some important tips to help you prepare for that winning presentation!

1. Be well prepared, and always have a plan B!

This is a very important – plan and structure your presentation. Are you going to do this presentation in person or virtually? Is the employer is expecting you to take a laptop? I always recommend people save their presentation on portable storage and also in their emails. Do you have handouts for the audience and is it already printed (this is not mandatory, but if you prepare any handout, make sure it is printed)? Check the route to the venue so that you don’t turn up late!

2. Research and understand your topic

Make sure you understand the purpose of your presentation. Typically a recruiter will try to understand your communication skills, how you interact with people, how you deliver information and of course how well researched your subject is. A presentation made with limited preparation can be disastrous no matter how well your CV looks or how highly skilled you are for the vacancy. Therefore, make sure you know what you are talking about and make others understand it!

3. Know your audience

Whether you are dealing with the employer directly or via a recruitment consultant, make sure you know the audience of presentation – as detailed as possible. For example how many people will be on the panel, their position/ expertise within the company etc.

4. Plan and display your presentation

It is natural to become a bit nervous during a presentation, especially if it is about getting your dream job! However, a good, structured presentation can help you overcome this problem and gain confidence. Your presentation should have an introduction; tell the audience who you are and objectives of your presentation. Depending on what topics you have been given to present on, make sure the PowerPoint slides are neatly designed. You should not use too many words or just an image. Each slide should contain precise information, using big enough fonts to make slides easily readable.

5. Look smart, relax and speak clearly!

It does not matter how good your presentation slides look but everything will be spoiled if the presenter is not dressed professionally! So look smart and deliver your speech very clearly (not too fast or not too slow!). Your tone of voice should be relaxed and welcoming.

6. Maintain good eye contact and interact with your audience

The most boring and ill prepared presentation is where a presenter reads line by line of their PowerPoint slides to the audience! So, please prepare your own notes. Show enthusiasm, smile and interact with your audience.

7. Manage the time and take good preparation for Q&A

All presentations should be time managed and you should save few minutes for Q&A. This is part of the planning process, and I always recommend practicing the presentation on your own and timing yourself. This is the best way to adjust your time and contents accordingly.

We are one of the top media recruitment agencies in London, our consultants help candidates who are looking for jobs in PR, Marketing, Sales and Events. All of these sectors may require an applicant to conduct presentation to prospective employers. Therefore, should you need our assistance, please get in touch with one of our experienced consultants on 0207 359 8244 or email [email protected]

Photo credit: freepik.com

Best inspirational quotes about work to fade out Monday blues!

Posted by Media Contacts On January 19, 2015 January 19, 2015 Filed under General, Graduate, Recruitment Consultancy

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Two words; ‘Motivation’ and ‘Success’ are made for each other. Not only for a desired career but also for every aspect of our life. Let’s have a very quick look on how our work life gets affected by motivation. Whether searching for a job or already climbing the career ladder, in line with other relevant skills/ resources, we all need to have the motivation to achieve ultimate results. No work is easy and the level of stress/ destruction varies depending on the type of work we do. Whatever it is, having the correct level of motivation will ease all situations and lead towards the next level. The more we achieve the higher we would want to go, this is natural. Consequently, the thirst for success continues. Here comes the big question, ‘are you doing what you enjoy doing?’ I hear endless complaints everywhere about how unhappy people are with their job. Based on my experience, if you are stuck in a job that you are not interested, no matter how hard you try, it is unlikely to become easy. I cannot always create a happy bonding with all the projects that I manage at work, however, most of my projects are what I want to work on which still require self-motivation (plus inspiration from colleagues) and the good feeling after accomplishing these is incredible! A healthy relationship with your work will also lead to a good work-life balance. So, it does not matter whether you are a graduate or already working, think about what you are doing or would like to do in the short & long term, create your objectives and work towards achieving them.

Here are some interesting quotes to remind us the importance of selecting the correct career path and more importantly, stay motivated 🙂

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. Confucius
To be successful, the first thing to do is fall in love with your work. Sister Mary Lauretta
I’d rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate. George Burns
My mother said to me, “If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general, if you become a monk you’ll end up as the pope.” Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso. Pablo Picasso
Most people don’t recognize success because it usually comes dressed in overalls and looks a lot like work! Thomas Edison
You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. Mark Twain
A career is wonderful, but you can’t curl up with it on a cold night. – Marilyn Monroe
The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else…The driving force of a career must come from the individual. Remember: Jobs are owned by the company, you own your career! Earl Nightingale, Motivational Speaker
Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it. Buddha
We cannot be sure of having something to live for unless we are willing to die for it. Che Guavara
They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. Carl W. Buechner, Author
I’m sick of people sittin’ in chairs stating their problems. Then we roll the videotape… then we have our experts on the topic… I’m in the ‘What’s next?’ phase of my career. Oprah Winfrey
Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood . . . Make big plans; aim high in hope and work. Daniel Burnham, American architect (1846 – 1912)
Trust not what inspires other members of society to choose a career. Trust what inspires you. The Lazy Person’s Guide to Success
Great heights by men reached and kept are not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upwards in the night. Longfellow
When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home. Betty Bender
One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man. Elbert Hubbard
To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth. Pearl S. Buck
When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt. Henry J. Kaiser
The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them. Robert Frost

(Source: various online sources for quotations/ image – canstockphoto.com)

PS: If you are feeling enthusiastic and need help to get the dream job you are looking for, please get in touch with one of our experienced recruitment consultants. Media Contacts is one of the top media recruitment agencies in London, helping employers & job seekers with Media, PR, Healthcare, Sales, Marketing, Digital recruitments (roles that we deal with on a daily basis are – conference producer jobs, account executive jobs, consumer pr jobs, healthcare pr jobs, financial pr jobs, tech pr jobs, medical writer jobs, marketing jobs, sales jobs, digital jobs, editorial and publishing jobs in London).

How to get into Conference Producer jobs?

Posted by Media Contacts On December 22, 2014 Filed under Events, General, Graduate, Media, Recruitment Consultancy

As one of the leading recruiters for the conference industry, we place many people into their first Conference Producer jobs. As it is both a misunderstood area of work, and clients do not tend to hire recent graduates (even for their trainee roles), we are often asked “how can I best position myself to apply for Conference Producer jobs?”

The first thing to understand when applying for Conference Producer jobs is what exactly are the employers looking for. The starting point for a Trainee Conference Producer tends to be:

2:1 or first class degree in either a business or academic discipline, plus strong A-Level grades/baccalaureate
At least 6 months’ (preferably a year’s) commercial experience to build up transferable skills
Strong research, analysis, project management and communication skills. Also evidence of being willing to cold call, as a Conference Producer will make a lot of research calls
Frequently clients also like an international outlook, therefore secondary language skills or evidence of being well travelled

We would therefore firstly recommend that you check that you fulfil the above criteria and demonstrate it effectively on your CV. This itself often leads to a further question from those applying for Conference Producer jobs:

What commercial experience is best?

We would recommend that the best jobs to build up the transferable skills mentioned tend to be sales, recruitment/business consultancy, market research or something that involves project management and/or analysis. If you are applying for Conference Producer jobs in a particular industry vertical you may also want to gain experience in that market (i.e. work in law to become a Legal Conference Producer, or in finance to specialise in the financial market).

You should also demonstrate that you fully understand what a Conference Producer does – employers are overwhelmed by CVs of people thinking it is about party/event management! You should therefore add in a few lines as a “Profile” section of your CV, that outline what the skills are, how you reflect them and why you want to be a Conference Producer.

Finally, anything on your CV that makes you stand out will also help – academic prizes, interesting activities outside of work, examples of where you have taken initiative/shown leadership etc.

If you would like any help in finding your first Conference Producer job, or are an experienced Conference Producer considering your next move, then please get in touch.

Interview questions for Conference Producer Jobs

Posted by Media Contacts On December 10, 2014 Filed under Events, General, Graduate, Interview tips, Recruitment Consultancy

We already have a few articles on what conference producer jobs are, the job responsibilities of a conference producer and other interesting facts about this industry on our blog. Forewarned is forearmed, so let’s look into some interview questions for conference producer jobs. First of all, it is crucial before any job interview to conduct proper company research, know as much as you can about the company where you are going for an interview, and also about the role that you have been shortlisted for. You should also research the company’s events – what are the topics, who are the speakers, where are the events held, who are the typical delegates and sponsors? A good level of industry knowledge, positive attitude, energetic personality and a genuine interest in the potential role will greatly benefit you during the recruitment process. Make sure you are focusing on your positive achievements so that you can add examples when answering a question during the interview. Some of the questions listed below were sourced though Glassdoor and interview-questions.com.

Give a story about yourself that tells us something about you.
What is your biggest weakness?
If you were to produce a conference what would the topic be?
Aside from what is on your CV, what unique skill do you think you could bring to the firm that other candidates could not?
Practical test: Create a detailed mock conference agenda for a 2 day summit on new product development strategies.
What is your expected salary?
What is your usual role in a team?
What are your career goals as a Conference Producer?
What motivates you to work as Conference Producer?
How do you make the decision to delegate work?
Describe a difficult work situation and how you overcame it.
Specific example of a time when your work was criticised
Give some instances in which you anticipated problems.
Why are you leaving your present job?
What was the last project you headed up, and what was its outcome?
How do you keep each member of the team involved and motivated?
What was the most stressful situation you have faced as a Conference Producer?
How do you assemble the information?
How have you changed in the last five years?
What is the most recent skill you have learned that related to being a Conference Producer?
Tell me about an important goal that you set in the past.
How do you handle stress and pressure?
What is a typical career path in this job function?
How would you define success for someone in your chosen Conference Producer career?
Give an example of situations when your leadership skills were needed.
If you were hiring for Conference Producer jobs, what would you look for?
Have you handled a difficult situation with another department?
What do you do when your schedule is interrupted? How you handle it.
What did you like least about your last job?

My personal recommendation on a bullet proof interview preparation is ‘understand the job description inside-out!’, once you understand the skills required for the role you are going to be interviewed for, it will be easier to tackle the interview questions. Some of the essential skills required for conference producer jobs are:

Business skills
IT skills
Research
Networking
Negotiating
Communicating at all levels
Copywriting
Initiative
Meeting deadlines
Persistent
Persuasive
Planning budgets
Project management
Remain calm under pressure
Some marketing/ public relations/ sales experience
Analysis

Finally, if you are looking for conference producer jobs or you are an employer and need help to find the best conference producer for your company – we can help! Please check out our latest jobs here. Also, our experienced consultants at Media Contacts will be very happy to help assist if you have any questions.

Toughest Interview Questions!

Posted by Media Contacts On September 17, 2014 September 17, 2014 Filed under General, Graduate, Interview tips, Job hunting, Recruitment Consultancy

An Interview can cause a lot of stress and a raised heartbeat. Stress can increase considerably when being asked unusual questions that we are not prepared for.

When looking for new employees, entrepreneurs often aim at exceptional talents, who can astonish with their creativity and innovative perspective on weighty matters for the company.

Finding the top talents would be difficult if the interviews were limited only to the painfully standard questions. Therefore, when recruiting candidates many corporations including world giants such as Apple and Google tend to ask how to resolve unexpected problems.

Business Insider presented a collection of Internet users strangest questions, which fell last year in the premises of several giants of global businesses. We present the most interesting one of them:

1.If you were given a box of pencils, list 10 things you could do with them that are not their traditional use. (Google Administrative Assistant)

How would you test an elevator? (Software Development Engineer at Microsoft)
How would you solve problems if you were from Mars (Senior Recruiting Manager at Amazon)
Tell me something that you have done in your life which you are particularly proud of. (Apple Software Engineering Manager)
If you were a street sign what would you be? (Sales Associate at Pacific Sunware)
A Russian gangster kidnaps you. He puts two bullets in consecutive order in an empty six-round revolver, spins it, points it at your head and shoots. Click. You’re still alive. He then asks you, do you want me to spin it again and fire or pull the trigger again. For each option, what is the probability that you’ll be shot? (Internet Marketing Analyst at Facebook)
Why wouldn’t I hire you? (Recruiter at Twitter)
If you were to be a Sony product, what would you be? (Retail Sales Specialist at Sony)
How would you estimate how many radio stations are in the US? (Product Manager at Google)

If you are looking for jobs in PR (Healthcare, Consumer, B2B, Fashion, Retail, Financial PR, Technology PR), Events, Publishing, Marketing (General, Digital) and Sales – do get in touch with us. Media contacts is one of the most successful media recruitment agencies in London. We have more than twenty years experience and our well trained consultants will be able to help you throughout the interview process, so no need to worry about tough interview questions!

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