So you have settled into the interview and your carefully crafted PowerPoint presentation is ready to go. The audience is waiting to hear what you have to say. Your heart rate is up and you are wide awake and full of anticipation. The committee members are sipping coffee and trying to sort through all the data; they are exhausted from cramming in the re-review of five proposals.  You are interview number three, it's 1:30 p.m., they just had lunch and are ready for a siesta….and then, off go the lights. People often say using PowerPoint in the interview process are always a bad idea, but is it really the PowerPoint that’s the problem? I can tell you, as someone sitting across from presenters, it’s not the PowerPoint, it’s the mood. I personally have been in an interview where the team closed every blind, stood in the corner of

It makes it so much more interesting for the listener. Steve Martin - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles We have ended many interviews with this classic movie line rattling around in our heads. The interesting thing is that the selection committee usually knows you are headed in that direction from the first slide. How do you prevent the long painful journey? Have a point? No. Have three, good things come in threes. What are we getting at? Talking points. We have found in our experience (remember that we to interview for our projects too) that we can address nearly any situation if the team knows what to rally around. Talking points provide a roadmap for your team they make your message consistent and drive home the reason you should be selected. Your talking points should be integral to your presentation regardless of format. Photos of projects, words, and deliverables

We have all bombed in an interview in our personal lives or when representing the company that keeps us gainfully employed. As an Owner’s Representative we have the opportunity to witness some great interviews and some horrific blunders. So what do you do when things are not going so well? We recently interviewed a design firm for a project. They were highly qualified, well prepared, and considered a front runner. The interview started off with introductions and general niceties and proceeded into a discussion about the site. The firm went on to talk about what a great site it was and how wonderful it was that there was plenty of room for parking, building orientation, and ease of access. Then they needed to pause. The body language and murmurs in the room led them to believe something was amiss, and it was. The team asked if there was

Per our previous blog we discussed the importance of talking points. This blog builds on that concept. Remember that friend you had in college, the one you loved hanging out with? They always seemed to have a crowd around them often made up of the opposite sex. Recall why you enjoyed their company? Chances are they had these things going for them: They liked to laugh They had wit They could tell a good story So what does this have to do with an interview and talking points? A lot! Ever have an interview that’s going well and then train wrecks in the Q&A? You’re not alone. Chances are you had practiced the presentation portion but weren’t prepared for the free form part of the interview: you may have been thrown a real zinger of a question. You may have known your talking points but you didn’t know

My first project interview as an architectural project manager was terrifying. Not being adept at public speaking, not being familiar with the specifics of the job, and having the feeling your job was on the line, was too much. Fortunately, it didn’t matter. When it came time to interview, our orchestra of a presentation turned into a one-man band. Our forty minute introduction led right into Q&A, which rarely ended up in my court. When I was called upon to contribute, it was usually at the direction of my own superior, the principal-in-charge, not the client themselves. I don’t have sour grapes, in fact, I was truly relieved. As Owner’s Representative, we are involved with the interviewing of firms of types on a regular basis. We see the nervousness in not only the young staff, but principals too. Face it, there is a lot on the line. As