How do you introduce yourself to a potential employer?

March 18, 2007 2:06 PM

(Job interview filter) A friend of mine has been shortlisted for a job interview for a major european consulting company. There are 5 candidates in total and in the beginning they will participate in a group interview. The first part of it requires each candidate to introduce themselves - the time limit for this introduction is 5 min, they will have a laptop, a paper chart and a projector at their disposal. Any ideas for a creative introduction? Anyone ever participated or evaluated something like this? Should my friend stick to discussing only his professinal life or can he throw in some of the private e.g. where he grew up, what his hobbies are, etc. Any ideas and tips will be appreciated.
posted by barrakuda to Work & Money (3 answers total)

Knowing what industry, field, position snd even company would make this much easier to answer. Creativity is prized more in graphic design than in accounting, for example.
posted by mendel at 2:40 PM on March 18, 2007

Your friend should aim to impress. In consulting sometimes the sizzle counts more than the steak. If your friend grew up all over the world and hang glides in his spare time, then by all means include it. However if he grew up in ohio and likes to read wikipedia, he should probably not bother mentioning it. Anything that makes your friend stand out should be included.
posted by sid at 3:08 PM on March 18, 2007

Presentations bore the crap out of people. Using visual aids for a 5 minute presentation on an introduction seems like a lot of overkill. A somewhat funny, intelligent, four and a half minute speech would be much more intresting.
posted by Derek at 8:51 PM on March 19, 2007