Almost all marketing candidates are asked to put together a piece of work for the second stage of an interview process. It gives the employer a chance to see how candidates put content together, what their thought process is and how they deliver it.
Over the last 10+ years of working as a recruiter in this market, partnering with some of the UK's most exciting brands, I have seen hundreds of presentations; the good ones, the bad ones and the downright ugly ones. As an ex marketer, I’ve even done a few myself so I thought I’d put a quick guide together for preparing and delivering a successful, job-securing presentation.
Guy Walker
I'm an executive search specialist focused exclusively on senior marketing leadership roles at Head of Marketing, Marketing Director and CMO level. I started my career in marketing before moving into recruitment, and that background genuinely shapes how I work. I understand these roles, the commercial pressures that come with them, and what good looks like. I partner with businesses ranging from established corporates to PE / VC-backed scale-ups where the right marketing leader can genuinely change the trajectory of growth. My network is tight, highly engaged and built on long-term relationships rather than a database. No hit and hope and no forcing square pegs into round holes. Just honest conversations and straight-talking partnerships. I'd you'd like a conversation, please get in touch.
10 top tips for preparing an interview presentation
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Make it on brand. Use their logo, their colours and even font. If you can’t find them – ask!
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Like any good story, there should be a beginning, a middle and an end.
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Don’t be afraid to show some personality in your slides.
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Know your audience. Tailor the presentation to the people you’re presenting to.
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If you work on presenting 2 minutes per slide, you will fit your time limit.
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Death by wordiness! Use a variety of content – copy, graphs, images, diagrams etc.
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Don’t over complicate it – death by PowerPoint isn’t a nice way to go.
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Make sure you answer everything on the brief.
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Print out the presentation so you can leave copies behind afterwards.
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Practice, practice, practice!
10 top tips for delivering an interview presentation
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If you feel nervous, slow down. Don’t rush through it! You’ll make mistakes if you rush.
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Stick to the plan.
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Maintain good eye contact. Make them believe what you’re saying.
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Don’t read off the slides – they can do that. Bring the presentation to life.
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Project your voice.
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Have fun with it – entertain them. It will relax you and the audience.
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Be a storyteller! Everyone loves a story and involve personal experiences.
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Speak English! Don’t overuse jargon, acronyms or complicated analogies.
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Loosen up, walk around and be articulate. Don’t stand so still you start putting down roots!
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Leave time for questions at the end.
If you have an interview coming up soon good luck! For further advice, why not get in touch?
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Guy Walker
I'm an executive search specialist focused exclusively on senior marketing leadership roles at Head of Marketing, Marketing Director and CMO level. I started my career in marketing before moving into recruitment, and that background genuinely shapes how I work. I understand these roles, the commercial pressures that come with them, and what good looks like. I partner with businesses ranging from established corporates to PE / VC-backed scale-ups where the right marketing leader can genuinely change the trajectory of growth. My network is tight, highly engaged and built on long-term relationships rather than a database. No hit and hope and no forcing square pegs into round holes. Just honest conversations and straight-talking partnerships. I'd you'd like a conversation, please get in touch.
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