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As part of my foray into the corporate world, I have an all day assessment centre to go to. Sounds fun!
They've asked me to do a 7 minute presentation on a technical subject that inspires me.
I was thinking about fully autonomous vehicles - their possibilities regarding congestion, better use of city space as not stationary so much, opening up rural transport, safety improvements, journey time decrease, personal freedom for young/old/disabled people and I'm sure I can think of more.
But I also wondered if anyone else had suggestions? CRISPR gene editing? Boost axle spacing? No, maybe not that one.... Some new advances in energy production?
Nope.
You want to explain how they get cheese to morph into cheesy string.
👍💨
How the porn industry has driven innovation on the internet....
Industry 4.0 what data can do for me.
Edit. How STW became usable....or:
How Apple will go from the largest company in the world to irrelevant, once physical devices become redundant.
Admittedly, I'm not sure of the middle bit of how we will get there - but I'm fairly sure we will 🙂
I did a presentation on cannibalism as part of my two-day assessment centre, to become a tax inspector. Not quite as bizarre as it sounds, as I'd recently lived in New Guinea. And yes, I got the job.
Sorry, that's probably not very helpful to you, except . . . choose something memorable!
The history of donut development
After handing out donuts to the panel
On a more serious level, solar power is what's going to save us from heat death.
Pick the thing you can talk most knowledgeably and passionately about!
I agree with Esme. Pick something memorable that people aren’t likely to know much about.
Aeroplane. Conveyor belt.
Or..
Is the “meat” in a Pepperami real “meat”?
Then hand a few out..
I think you should tell a story about sending a parcel to yourself
I was on an interview panel a while ago where the presentation topic was simply "an ecosystem of your choice". We had "The taiga", "Sub-tropical rain forests" and "A cow-pat" presented to us (not literally). Guess which one got the job?
Be memorable.
foray into the corporate world
Is there still time to get out?
While autonomous vehicles might be ok, think how many other people may have thought of that too given the company you are applying to. Alternatively, show that you think differently or can make a subject interesting, they aren't there to be read facts and studies, you've got to make the content 'come alive'!
You could just lift the link from the EU thread on here, put that up on a large screen and set the page refresh to 5mins and go get a coffee.
Call it “Individual choice behaviour with social interaction”
Boom
💪🦅🖥💩
Cyber risks, using NotPetya as a case study. Stunning impact, and some really interesting stories within it, eg Maersk and distribution chains.
And has direct relevance to whoever you're presenting to, and whatever the job.
OP I can help you a little with the subject matter if you like. I work fairly regularly with Volvo cars here in Sweden and have taken part in a fair fair of their DRIVE sweden seminars and so on.
Don't pick something too big as a subject - think simple so you can really drill down into the interesting facts rather than spend an age explaining technicalities just so the audience can understand what you are talking about.
One example I can think of (and I have a personal interest in it) is the Starshade - basically a great big piece of origami folding open in space blocking light from bright stars so astronomers can see dimmer stars surrounding them. It's an incredibly simple (and pretty obvious) solution that was so glaringly obvious it took years and years to see it as an idea!
Or go even simpler and just use origami as the subject - how it is used in nature and science alike to solve difficult problems.
Empirical evidence substantiating how 650b makes the trail come alive.
I did making a cup of tea, along with pouring one to each panel member.
Got technical, solvent extraction, homogenisation of milk, and differential heat expansion. Showed research from the tea council. Concluded that a black coffee was best.
Job got.
milk in first, or after?
MIF.
I'm starting a new job next Monday. I spoke about jewellery, bikinis and high heel shoes.
The interviews where I covered those topics were the ones where i was offered the job. Keep it exciting. Odds are that they're having an average day at work.
I like the bikini analysis one.
I’ve got loads of pics of Women wearing them, I must create an album and share it with you all.
🤠👌🍆📸💃
Not a job interview but I once had to do a talk about a personal interest using only three props and I had to make the audience decide if it was a true interest or a made up one.
I chose naturism and I used my clothes as the props.
🙂
Some of those ideas are interesting.... especially the NotPetya thing, but I don't know if they are inspiring as such.
I do see where you are all coming from with the "stand out" part. I guess autonomous cars are pretty mundane, although I do think that is what means they will have such a huge effect on our way of life
How to fit internally routed cables that are secondhand ....
Pick something that genuinely interests you, not something you think they want to hear. This way you'll be naturally enthusiastic.
I had to do this for my first job and gave a 10 minute introduction to some of the wackiness of quantum mechanics as I'd just completed a physics degree. The job was absolutely nothing to do with physics, but the presentation went down a treat.
I think if I'd been asked to do it about the job I was applying for, the fact that I knew next to nothing about the industry may have surfaced quite quickly... 🙂
Pick something that genuinely interests you, not something you think they want to hear. This way you’ll be naturally enthusiastic.
Absolutely this, and whilst the offers of help might be tempting, I wouldn't. Make it your own, and you'll care about it more, know it inside out and this really shows when you present. I wouldn't make it too consensual either (but don't make it about the best way to dispose of bodies or anything that will make them too uneasy).
What interests you or anybody on this forum is not relevant. You need to do something that will interest the panel. Do you know who is on it? Find out about them and do something relevant and topical that relates to an issue the organization is currently facing.
(Or fail the sociopath test)
Blockchain.
Purely on the basis it now seems a race to mention in before anyone else, purely so you can look like you know about it and ask questions of the other people present before they do the same to you.
You've only got 7 minutes, forget big topics like the impact of electric automated cars on society, that could fill a score of thesis'.
Even 'cars' for example is a huge topic. You need to go geeky, like the evolution of car tyre tread. Simple enough of a concept that everyone can grasp the basics without needing their hands holding, but when you start to unpick how various directional and asymmetric treads work, how sipes function, etc you could easily fill 7 minutes. If you started with cars at 7 minutes you'd still be explaining the difference between a sports car and a coupe and everyone would be bored.
Start with a detail (the interesting bit) and work back to how much you can fit into 7 minutes.
I once wrote an essay on the ingredients of toothpaste to explain the product development process, a friend did condoms for the same topic (IIRC both got full marks and his got published as an example!).
Bristol Stool chart...
You could talk about something dull, I imagine it's planning, structure and delivery they're looking at.
Serious - Fusion energy
Not so serious (but seemingly very common in firms seeking VC funding) - Underpants Gnomes.
Take something we all take for granted and question it. Come up with a better system and explain that.
.
Some excellent examples:
Base 10 counting is rubbish, use base 12
Redesign the calender:
Improve leap years
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkt_wmRKYNQ
As I have to run these from time to time, I'd agree with something not many people will know about - fewer awkward questions and it's more about presentation and coherent argument than content specifically.
Please don't do blockchain/cryptocurrency/smart contracts 😀
I guess autonomous cars are pretty mundane, although I do think that is what means they will have such a huge effect on our way of life
I think whats interesting about autonomous cars is they rob the 'driver' of expression. Punishment passes, making progress, tailgating, politely letting someone put out, driving noisily, driving smoothly. They're all ways that people express themselves.
How can I tell you that I'm more important than you without pointlessly overtaking on the approach to the traffic lights - how can I can I exact some sort of pointless revenge on a stranger by refusing to make eye-contact and closing the gap when two lanes filter into one.
I think of all the reservations people express about autonomous transport and all the moral panic - its that removal of the opportunity to express spite that is the real bar to people openly embracing robot cars
Flat Earthers - pick their 'proofs' apart.
Blockchain.
Purely on the basis it now seems a race to mention in before anyone else
Blockch... oh, err, cryptocurrency. In particular Electroneum.
Based on your username, something about electric guitars. It's a test of your communications kills. Have a few interesting factors such as Leo Fender never could play the guitar etc...
just make it interesting and speak about something you know.
If not guitars then effects pedals - I know they tweak the sound but not a clue how it's done, then how different pedals combine, MIDI connections etc. Might be difficult if you can't play sounds as part of the presentation though.
Hey guys - thanks for all the suggestions.
I ended up going with Origami as per Johndoh's suggestion. I watched the documentary and it was really fascinating.
Had the assessment centre/day thing yesterday. There were 6 other candidates.
The first girl stood up and did her presentation. On Origami!
Luckily, she took quite a different approach to it and the two presentations were quite complimentary... but when I saw that first slide!
but when I saw that first slide!
You creased up?