Job Talk

OVERVIEW:

The Job Talk assignment is an individual persuasive speech assignment that is designed to allow you to exhibit several of the persuasive tools that you have learned in this module of the class. The premise for this assignment is that you are interviewing for your dream job here at PHNSY or whatever that may be (it doesn’t have to be at the Shipyard). You must exhibit, through establishing credibility, logical reasoning, and dynamism/emotional appeal that you are the candidate your instructor (a.k.a. “the hiring manager”) would want to hire.

Your Job Talk must be between 4 – 6 minutes in length. Within that time you are also expected to use at least FOUR (4) references to original source material (these requirements are identical to what you did for your Informative Speech). This material can be anything from statistics, quotes, or other facts about your industry or field of work that demonstrate your knowledge, enthusiasm, and passion for the job position. It is never a bad thing in a job interview to demonstrate your familiarity, knowledge, skills pertaining to, or enthusiasm for the position being offered!

DETAILS:

With the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, we have seen a massive shift in how companies (both small and large) will interact with future job applicants. Specifically, remote meeting technology such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and others will be practically standard parts of the job interviewing process. This exercise is designed to give you experience that few others have training for at this moment in time – remote interviewing and presentation.

For this presentation you may sit, since both in-person and online interviews in real life would have you sit. The camera setup should still be eye level (no looking “up” or “down” at you from the camera perspective—very important). As the hiring manager, I should be able to see you from the waist up as you discuss your dream job with me. I should not feel claustrophobic on my side because you are set up too close to the camera!

The same principles you learned with your Informative Speech you should fold into your Job Talk nicely. Rather than an overtly-creative attention getter, for this speech your introduction should be a professional greeting and introduction of yourself (name) and the position you are applying for (because the hiring manager needs to know!). Additionally, you should have 3 main points / reasons why the hiring manager should choose you to come work for this company. Carefully consider how you put together these 3 main points/reasons. You are telling the hiring manager a story of you and why you are the “fit” the manager is looking for. Your story must flow well. You can assume that some of these points were part of an advertisement for the job, but as with an in-person interview, your speech should not just be “checking boxes” off a list – you need to exhibit personal investment and motivation too!

As previously stated, you must verbalize (say) at least FOUR (4) references to researched material during your Job Talk. Beyond what you did for your Informative Speech, you also need to demonstrate the knowledge you have gained in our persuasive chapters within this module. Specifically, I will be looking for evidence of a reasoning strategy (deductive, inductive, causal, comparative), a highly organized logical story (logos), establishment of your credibility as a candidate for the position (ethos), and—perhaps most importantly—your ability to connect emotionally (pathos) with the hiring manager watching your video. All three of these classic tools of persuasion should be abundantly evident at points in your presentation. Organization will be a key factor in putting together the most effective presentation.

You may use a speaking outline, but again you should not use a manuscript. If you haven’t figured it out by now, it is totally noticeable when you speak as you unscripted vs. when you’re reading. You need to maintain eye contact with the camera as much as possible because you are speaking to a real human on the other side and making your persuasive appeals directly to that person! That is impossible with a word-for-word manuscript.

GRADING:

Job Talk Speech: 130 points

Job Talk Outline: 50 points TOTAL POINTS

Self-Evaluation: 10 points 200

Standard Grading Deductions

Under minimum time (6 min.): 3 points per 10 second increments

Over maximum time (9 min.): 3 points per 20 second increments

4+ outside references verbalized in Job Talk No deduction

3 outside references verbalized in Job Talk -5 points

2 outside references verbalized in Job Talk -10 points

1 outside reference verbalized in Job Talk -15 points

0 outside references verbalized in Job Talk -30 points

OUTLINE:

References/Citations:

0 citations to source material: -20 points

1 citation to source material: -15 points

2 citations to source material: -10 points

3 citations to source material: -5 points

4+ citations to source material: No deduction

OUTLINE/BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Your outline will be similar in structure to what you submitted for your Informative Speech. Please review the feedback (once posted) for your Informative Speech outline to improve upon any areas the instructor specifically commented upon. You must have both short cites (author, year) to note specific sentences you are crediting to outside sources.

A reference page is also required along with your outline to demonstrate the research you have done on your topic. Please follow either APA (American Psychological Association) style or MLA style. In general, citations include author, year of publication, title, publication title, and (for Internet sources) a URL (http://…). For example, an APA citation looks like this:

Rubin, A. (2000). Impact of Motivation, Attraction, and Parasocial Interaction on Talk Radio

Listening. Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 635-654.

Cite ALL sources. Presentations turned in without citations to sources will receive lower grades. If you are confused about APA or MLA citations, please use Microsoft Word or an online citation generator which will walk you through generating proper citations—all you’ll have to do is copy & paste.