Postdoc job inteview presentation - slide "livery" / logos and references?

Question

I'm applying to my first postdoc position, and I've been asked to attend an interview that will start with a 5 minute presentation on how I meet the job criteria. The work that I'm going to talk about is all from my PhD at University A. The postdoc is at a different institution (University B). What is typical practice for the design of slides in this situation? A conference talk would usually:

1) Utilise University A's branding/identity through the use of logos etc.

2) Include a thank you slide that shows which other people were involved in the work.

At an interview, do I drop the branding to make it clear that I'm representing myself, not a different university? Or do I continue to "credit" them by displaying the branding?

And what about the "contributors" slide - do I use some of the 5 minutes to show that I had been working in a team? Or not mention other people to make it clear that it's (mostly) my work? I am also wary of wasting any of the short presentation time allotted.

Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

Typically, in the departments and universities I'm familiar with, as a student you're also an employee of your current institution, benefiting from their space at the very least and participating in the local research culture. As such, it's appropriate to keep the branding on your job talk slides since it's not just some obligation to the university to credit them, but it grounds you in a context of the research at that university.

Additionally, it's appropriate to keep your acknowledgement slides if there are people to acknowledge. Many PhDs are done as part of a team, and so you shouldn't drop this credit from your slides. That being said, in a job talk, even a short, introductory one, you should concentrate on the parts that you did. You probably shouldn't spend the time reading off all the names and roles of the people who contributed.

Now, given that this talk is short and intended to only be about how you fit the role, it's not even clear to me that you should be treating this as a traditional job talk about your research. I would focus down on the posted criteria and carefully and thoughtfully address how you satisfy them. Presumably you're being given the opportunity later in the interview day to give a traditional academic job talk (i.e. an hour-long seminar), and that's the place where you can dive into your research, credit your team members, funding agency, etc.

Answer 2

I have to disagree with Bill Barth's answer.

You are giving a job talk. A job talk is about your research accomplishments and vision, and how you fit the qualifications of the position. You are not giving a talk on behalf of your old university, but on your own behalf, as an individual researcher. You are seeking individual employment; you are not seeking a position for your current employer.

As such, I think it is entirely inappropriate for most of your presentation slides to carry the "livery" of your current institution. There are a few exceptions, where livery would be acceptable, but still not required.

• On the title slide, where you give your current affiliation.

• On the acknowledgment slide, where you thank your colleagues, advisors, funding sources, etc.

• Any slides that specifically refer to your overall research project or team. But these should be rare.

(I'm the faculty search chair for a top-5 American CS department. In my experience, it is rare for CS talks in any context other than presentations to deans, funding agencies, and potential donors to carry institutional livery. For an interview talk, it would be extremely weird.)