prepare a 3 min presentation telling us something about you you think we should know

blobb

big part of any presentation you may be asked to do simply to see 'how you present', is to be interesting, be confident, keep time, avoid stumbling about and avoid the cardinal sin of saying/mumbling "er, that's about it really" at the end.

3 golden rules:
1. Tell 'em what you are going to tell' em
2. Tell 'em
3. Tell what you just told 'em.

conveniently, 3 minutes should allow you to do that (i.e. it's no coincidence they give you 3 minutes). Read between the lines of what they are asking for, know your audience, make it fun and memorable. "I love NT, and here's a long list of all the NT sites I've been to, with pictures" may sound appealing but that's what everyone else will do and it will bore the pants off them. Would you want to work with that person? ZZzzzzz.

a 3 min presentation is not going to be enough time to sell yourself on how much you know about the organisation, the corporate challenges it faces etc... that's for the interview proper. 3 min quick stand up in front of people is targeting you as a personality. Yes, likely they have had a HR training consultant in to tell them this, it's what HR training consultants do.

Above all, make it memorable. I once did a presentation about heavy metal removal from sewage, for a big professional conference, and blasted Hawkwind at them for the first five minutes. One observer said after " that was great, but Hawkwind isn't Heavy Metal, it's space rock.......". Damn, knew I should have gone with Sabbath.
 
Tell us something about you we should know is a general 'topic' that can be applied to everyone and is designed to give an open floor. If you are struggling for a topic, think what it is you do that's a bit quirky: Karate black belt? World record holder for pushing peanuts with your nose? Guitar player?

I'm a trained Elephant rider, I'd probably pick that. Getting a suitable prop may be difficult though......
 

musteatbrain

 bullshit presentation briefs like that give my profession a bad name. Why the fucking mystery? If you want to know something specific ask a bloody straight question, telling the person what you want to know and why, not some vague “tell me about all about a thingy something that we might like”

wankers

rant over!

good luck though

hywelg

No.

VimFuego

musteatbrain said:

 bullshit presentation briefs like that give my profession a bad name. Why the fucking mystery? If you want to know something specific ask a bloody straight question, telling the person what you want to know and why, not some vague “tell me about all about a thingy something that we might like”

wankers

rant over!

good luck though

wis duly awarded. It does grate somewhat as it's such a low level, seasonal job. If I was applying for CEO I'd get it, but it's as far from that as you can get and still be in the same organisation. 
But thanks anyways. 

Funkfingers

Sporky said:

Probably something that demonstrates you'd be great at the job. 

Exactly this. 

The content of the three minute presentation is irrelevant. It ain't what you say, it's the way that you say it.

If the job entails dealing face-to-face with the general public, the employer wants you to demonstrate the ability to convey information clearly and concisely in a way that even the most gormless, drunken tourist could understand ... and do it with a cheerful demeanour. 

Once you can fake that, you've got it made.

amarok1971

Do a study on an egg timer 

Bellycaster

All you need to do is to be able to keep a straight face when you tell people the price of entry.

RandallFlagg

I would do 3 minutes on what you think the role of the National Front in modern Britain is.

Oh sorry, you said National Trust....my bad!

Chris777

You could maybe do a three minute presentation about how many different things take or last 3 minutes, and maybe end with the male orgasm taking less than three minutes.

Heartfeltdawn

VimFuego said:

I have an interview next week for the National Trust, and one of the things I have to do is that above. Now, I haven't had a formal job interview since 2006 (the interview I had last week was more of a chat, very informal), so I am totally out of loop for what gets done nowadays. 
So, I was hoping some of you more corporate savvy types could give me some clues about what I should do for this. 

At least they haven't asked you to get the Playdoh out. 

https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Interview/The-National-Trust-Assistant-Building-Surveyor-Interview-Questions-EI_IE37627.0,18_KO19,46.htm#InterviewReview_19868799

VimFuego

Heartfeltdawn said:

VimFuego said:

I have an interview next week for the National Trust, and one of the things I have to do is that above. Now, I haven't had a formal job interview since 2006 (the interview I had last week was more of a chat, very informal), so I am totally out of loop for what gets done nowadays. 
So, I was hoping some of you more corporate savvy types could give me some clues about what I should do for this. 

At least they haven't asked you to get the Playdoh out. 

https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Interview/The-National-Trust-Assistant-Building-Surveyor-Interview-Questions-EI_IE37627.0,18_KO19,46.htm#InterviewReview_19868799

if it gets to that point I'll just make a cock or something. If they ask me to do a dance or mime then I'm may just flush someone's head down the bogs. 

Fretwired

VimFuego said:

I have an interview next week for the National Trust, and one of the things I have to do is that above. Now, I haven't had a formal job interview since 2006 (the interview I had last week was more of a chat, very informal), so I am totally out of loop for what gets done nowadays. 
So, I was hoping some of you more corporate savvy types could give me some clues about what I should do for this. 

An interview to do what?

You can say you're an ex-army sniper who can keep the vermin under control, especially visiting Tory ministers like Bullshite Johnson.

Sporky

Bellycaster said:

All you need to do is to be able to keep a straight face when you tell people the price of entry.

There are people who aren't life members? 

Fortheloveofguitar

Times like this I thank fuck that I’m self employed and don’t have to deal with such ridiculous methods in order to make money for some other cunts 

Sporky

Take in a chainsaw and a log and carve a likeness of one of them. 

fob

I sat in on a round of interviews where the applicants were asked to do this - no time limit though. Far and away the best one was a guy who demonstrated how to wire a plug. A little bit of history (why we have three pins, why there's a thin coating partially covering the safety-pin etc.), a quality presentation poster and a live demonstration all went to making him stand out on the day.

blobb

I saw a lad do "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" in a five minute presentation. Great that one was, Holy Roman Empire to concentration camps in the time it takes to make a cup of Tea.

octatonic

Demonstrate a thorough understanding of string theory,

4 minutes in they will be begging you to stop talking.

Funkfingers

Sporky said:

... chainsaw and a log ... 

blobb said:

"The Rise and Fall of ... 

... Cirque Du Soleil" - complete with audience participation! 

Phil_aka_Pip

Sporky said:

Probably something that demonstrates you'd be great at the job. 

That's exactly what everyone else will do. Same as writing "I am hard-working and conscientious" on the Personal Profile dept of the cv. It's meaningless BLX and won't differentiate from the rest of the applicants.

@blobb's advice on how is very good, but you still need a subject. May I suggest something you're good at and could take questions on if you had to. For example, "Posting comments on a music forum from the standpoint of a pyromaniac who likes dismembering people". [you get plenty of lols so it clearly works]